Calvary Road Baptist Church
“THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST: ITS
TRAINING”
We will now attend to the training of
the church of Jesus Christ. It is not the purpose of this message to train the
church of Jesus Christ, but to show beyond reasonable doubt that God’s plan for
His church of redeemed and baptized believers is that they be trained. What do
I mean by the word train, especially when using the word as a verb? As defined
in the Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, training is
the preparation of someone by means of education, instruction, and practice.[1]
The implication of the goal of training, of course, is the development in an
individual of a set of abilities and skills for the performance of one’s duty.
We recognize that the primary means of
God’s grace by which sinners are converted to Jesus Christ is the foolishness
of gospel preaching, First Corinthians 1.18 and 21:
18 For
the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us
which are saved it is the power of God.
21 For
after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
One of the serious problems facing
contemporary Christianity, particularly in western culture with its emphasis on
individualism and the isolationist tendencies by which so many people live out
their lives are people, married couples, and even families existing in a
starkly anonymous and unaccountable way. Imagine Christian folks sitting under
the preaching of God’s Word, coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, but
then remaining relatively unconnected and reserved in their reluctance to allow
proper training to take place so they will know how to live the Christian life
they have been given; how to be husbands and wives, how to be parents and
children, how to be workers and supervisors.
What I hope to show you by means of
this evening’s survey of both the Old and the New Testaments is that such an
approach to the life lived for God is not advanced as a desirable way of
learning how to serve and please God. It is quite obvious that our
consideration of this matter will not be very deep, but I hope it will serve to
show you that God’s plan has always been for His servants to be trained to
serve God in various capacities in a personal and accountable way. Granted, the
progressive nature of revelation means the examples found in the Old Testament
will be scattered and not fully developed. However, we will see the pattern of
training emerge over time, as well as the pattern of training tragically
breaking down, abandoned, or misused in some instances, with its full development
seen in the New Testament, especially in the life and personal ministry of the
Lord Jesus Christ with His disciples.
We Begin With EXAMPLES OF TRAINING IN
THE OLD TESTAMENT
Abraham is as good an example of
training as we can hope for. We might well imagine that Abraham trained his
nephew Lot, though we are disappointed that he took Lot with him to Egypt, a
trip that was clearly out of God’s will and resulted in his acquisition of
Hagar by whom he later sired a child. Not a good lesson to teach a nephew. Sadly,
after returning from Egypt Abraham and Lot were so wealthy their herds could
not graze together so they separated, which eventually resulted in Lot living
in the wicked city of Sodom. However, in God’s providence we are as a result of
that move shown evidence of Abraham’s training of others. When Sodom was sacked
and Lot was kidnapped we are told of Abraham’s response when the news of Lot’s
trouble reached him, in Genesis 14.14:
“And when Abram heard that his brother
was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house,
three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.”
Military historians recognize that
Abraham and his trained men undertook the first successful nighttime military
raid in recorded history, during which Lot was rescued. Note that Abraham’s men
were trained, from a Hebrew word for those who were trained, tried, and experienced.[2]
Do you imagine this result was accidental, anything other than hands-on
instruction given to trusted men who were relied upon to protect both Abraham
and his family? Think again.
Jump ahead with me in your reflection
to Joseph. You know the story from Genesis of Joseph’s brothers betraying him
by selling him into slavery. While serving in Potipher’s house we learn that
everything Joseph did in service to the Egyptian was blessed of God.[3]
Where do you think Joseph learned how to manage a rich man’s household? Could
it be that maybe he was trained by his own father? As well, do you think he
learned to fear God and was persuaded of the rightness to resist temptation on
his own, or do you think his father taught him? To be sure, God blessed Joseph
so that his organizational skills were sharpened and matured over time in
Potipher’s house, and certainly while Joseph was unjustly imprisoned. However,
whether Pharaoh ever realized it or not, I am quite confident that Joseph’s
blessings from God, from which he derived great success as the second most
powerful man in Egypt, can be traced back to the personal and intimate training
he received growing up from his aged father.
Now, consider Moses. A Jewish child
taken in by Pharaoh’s daughter and raised as her own, is there any doubt that
the Egyptian education he received was not only second to none but also extremely
personal? How many other kids do you think his tutors had to worry about as he
was growing up? Maybe one. Perhaps two others. Of course, Moses also had to
learn to be a shepherd as an adult so he could shepherd the children of Israel
when he led from out of Egyptian bondage. However, the foundational instruction
Moses received as a child, which had to include how to lead large numbers of
people as an Egyptian leader, he learned in a very personal and intimate way in
Pharoah’s household.
Next, comes Joshua. Where do you think
the right hand man of Moses and the man who led the fighting troops who would
defend the children of Israel in battle learned his craft? From Moses, of
course. No Israelite slave would by natural instinct know how to successfully
lead an army in battle. Thus, it was his intimate association with Moses, who
himself had been taught military trade craft by the Egyptians, that resulted in
Joshua learning from one who had himself been taught by the very best. But it
was an intimate instruction, don’t you see, and not the lessons learned from
any lecture or from being self-taught.
Consider now the prophet Samuel. Remember
that he was the answer to Hannah’s prayer for a child, who was then given to
the LORD’s service in Eli’s household when he
was about four years old. Thus, the essentials of his character were already
formed through the loving devotion of his godly mother who taught him to love
and serve God. However, Samuel did complete his growth to manhood in the
household of the high priest Eli, who was an ungodly fellow who raised two sons
to be reprobates. Sadly, though he was a great and devoted man of God,
privileged to anoint Israel’s first two kings, Samuel failed as a father
himself, raising two worthless sons who did not fear and follow God as their
father had. The reason? Perhaps Samuel just never learned how to be the father
of his sons because of the terrible example of fatherhood he had grown up with.[4]
Next, there is Solomon. Solomon’s
father was David, the sweet psalmist of Israel. But we must admit that David
was a terrible father, setting a terrible example, while admittedly being a
great warrior and worshiper of God. Being the eighth son of Jesse, maybe David
was not hardly raised himself, so he did not really know how to raise sons
except to train them in the art of warfare. Solomon, too, gives little evidence
of being a good father himself, though we do have the book of Proverbs he was
inspired to write (no doubt after most of his children were raised). However,
if you read Proverbs it is obvious that much of the book is devoted to the art
of raising a son, with clear evidence that such is to be done with intimacy and
a great deal of personal attention to detail. Sadly, few men and women have
been raised by such fathers.
I close our consideration of the Old
Testament with the prophet Elijah. I mention Elijah because from the time of
Samuel down to the time of Elijah we find references in the Old Testament to
the school of the prophets, the children of the prophets, and such comments as
that. However, remember that a prophet was not primarily a predictor of the future,
what we call prophecies, but someone who declared God’s truth; a preacher. How
do you think this school of the prophets, these children of the prophets,
learned their craft? By intimate and ongoing association with the prophets who
came before them, older men, far more experienced men, who took the time to
provide personal instruction to them. So you see, whether it is raising
children, developing leaders to succeed you, or training up men who will
proclaim God’s truth, the right way to get it done is shown in the Old
Testament scriptures to be training that is accomplished (not in any classroom,
though instruction is certainly needed) by means of personal education of
facts, application of facts by instruction, and then the actual practice of
that newly acquired and developing set of skills. Of course, all of this fits
perfectly with the plan for rearing children by means of education, instruction,
and practice that was presented by Moses in Deuteronomy 6.4-9:
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD
our God is one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be
in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,
and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest
by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and
they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house,
and on thy gates.
We Now Move On To EXAMPLES OF TRAINING
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Keep in mind that in the New Testament
the lessons learned in the Old Testament were not cast aside and forgotten. Quite
the contrary. What we find in the New Testament adds to that body of knowledge
about training already presented in the Old Testament:
The prime example of training is found
in the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ in the four gospels. Consider
His approach to making disciples. First, there was the inner circle of three
chosen men; Peter, James, and John. Those three were taken with Him to the
Mount of Transfiguration, Mark 9.2-13. There were the twelve apostles, Matthew
10.1-4. Then, of course, there were the seventy, Luke 10.1. By the time of our
Lord’s resurrection from the dead, ascension, and the Day of Pentecost, there
were 120.[5]
During the course of His three and a half years of public earthly ministry
commencing with His baptism by John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus Christ chose
from among His followers different men whose lives He invested in. He ate with
them, slept with them, traveled with them, provided different levels of
personal instruction and teaching to them, and generally engaged in the development
of their character and personalities. Important to remember, through all of
this, is that He gave them responsibilities and held them accountable.
Matthew
16.24: “Then said Jesus unto his
disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow me.”
Luke
9.23: “And he said to them all, If
any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross
daily, and follow me.”
To put to rest any doubts about the
personal nature of His instruction, consider Luke 11.1:
“And it came to pass, that, as he was
praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him,
Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
Of course, this led to the Savior
providing for them what is sometimes called the Lord’s prayer, a template
useful as a guide for disciples to know the essentials of praying to God.
With the Lord Jesus Christ providing
the example, we find much instruction provided by the Apostle Paul in the
epistles he wrote. Listen as I read, and try to imagine what else these verses
could suggest if they do not demand the personal ministry of one Christian to
another:
First Thessalonians 2.7-12: 7 But we
were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:
8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing
to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls,
because ye were dear unto us.
9 For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for
labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we
preached unto you the gospel of God.
10 Ye
are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and
unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:
11 As
ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father
doth his children,
12 That
ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.
Sadly, there are these days both
mothers and fathers who are not intimate and attentive to their children, but
you see from this passage it ought not so to be. How many mothers and fathers
know, really know, how to parent their children in this fashion? I have
observed very few over the course of my forty plus years as a Christian.
Ephesians 4.11-16: 11 And he gave some, apostles; and
some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For
the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ:
13 Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That
we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about
with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning
craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the
head, even Christ:
16 From
whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every
joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every
part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Take note that Paul shows here that
developing Christians for a life of ministry is not so much different from
raising children. And any parent who has more than one child knows that no two
kids are alike, no two kids have identical needs, and every child requires
personal attention and intimacy to be raised properly. Of course, the great
example of this was Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles Wesley, who
spent personal and private time with each of her nineteen children at least
once each week while they were growing up. She knew how to do it the right way.
Titus
2.1-8: 1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in
faith, in charity, in patience.
3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour
as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of
good things;
4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love
their husbands, to love their children,
5 To be
discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that
the word of God be not blasphemed.
6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in
doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is
of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
Someone comes into the church after
trusting Christ and being baptized. Who is to say that guy or that woman knows
anything about being a real Christian husband or a wife, or knows the first
thing about being a Christian dad or a mom? Are they to limit themselves to
being the kind of mom or dad, husband or wife, their own parents were? Good
grief, I hope not! And what about those who did not have a mom or a dad in the
home, and therefore have absolutely no idea how to effectively get the job done
of raising children or being a godly spouse? Where are such poor babes in
Christ to learn how to live the Christian life? See the word teach in verse 4? It
translates sophronizo and has to do with encouraging, advising, and urging upon
someone a course of action.[6]
Now look at the word exhort in verse 6. Translating a word meaning urge, exhort,
encourage, its meaning developed over the years from a word that initially
meant to call to one’s side.[7]
That provides a mental picture of a certain level of intimacy, does it not?
It is undeniable that training is so
thoroughly woven into the scripture as a means for raising children, as a means
for developing leadership, as a means for providing for a successor, as a means
for training young women how to love their husbands and their children, as a
means for training young men how to be real men, and as a means for bringing
Christians in the church to spiritual maturity with skill sets that will enable
them to serve God and bear fruit.
Is it not therefore tragic when our
western cultural biases reinforce isolation from people, justify inappropriate
autonomy from those who would mentor us and hold us accountable as they train
us to live for Christ? Let us therefore recognize that since the church of
Jesus Christ is the pillar and ground of the truth, First Timothy 3.15, we
should certainly be committed to learning how we ought to behave ourselves in
the church. That can only fully be accomplished when we recognize that training
involves more than lecturing by a pastor or a teacher, and involves more than
devotional Bible reading and prayer by a committed believer. It also involves
appropriate application of the truth to our lives by a mentor and the
practicing of that applied truth under the watchful eye of that mentor.
Are you being trained at present? I
would suggest that you prayerfully consider coming to talk to me so that we can
arrange for you to be trained after the scriptural fashion. After all, how else
is Christ’s command that we teach you to do all things whatsoever He has
commanded to be fulfilled?
[1] Webster’s
New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, (New York: Barnes & Noble
Books, 1996), page 1936.
[2] Francis Brown,
S. R. Driver & Charles A. Briggs, The New
Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew And English Lexicon, (Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson Publishers, 1979), page 335.
[3] Genesis 39.2-6
[4] 1 Samuel 8.3
[5] Acts 1.15
[6] Bauer, Danker, A
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature,
(Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), pages 986-987.
[7] Ibid, pages
764-765.
Question? Comment?
Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Fill out the form below to send him an email. Thank you.