The Biblical Foundations of EVBC, Part 2
Tom Shrader continues a three-week mini-series on the defining characteristics of East Valley Bible Church, covering the church's practices of weekly communion, a casual environment, and box-based giving, before turning to an extended examination of biblical stewardship and financial giving. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 16, 2 Corinthians 9, and Romans 12, he argues that all of life — including money, time, and energy — belongs to God and is held in trust by believers as stewards, not owners. The teaching concludes with a call rooted in Romans 12:1-2 and James 1:22 for Christians to be doers of the Word, living visibly transformed lives that flow from belief rather than mere religious behavior.
“Christianity at its core is not an ethic or behavior, it's a belief system. What makes him a Christian is that he believes Jesus died for his sin, and he's come to Him in repentance and faith.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: The Biblical Foundations of EVBC
Recorded: 2008 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 47 min
Themes: giving, stewardship, money, communion, church identity, generosity, obedience, transformation, struggling with generosity, new to the church, church member, questioning finances, new believer, young adult, seeking a church home, wanting to live out faith
Scripture: Acts 2:42-47, 1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 Corinthians 11:23-28, 1 Corinthians 16:2, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Luke 12:34, Psalm 24:1, Haggai 2:8, Romans 8:28, Romans 12:1-2, 1 Timothy 4:10-12, 2 Timothy 1:13, 2 Timothy 2:14-15, 2 Timothy 3:1, 2 Timothy 4:1-2, Matthew 5:16, James 1:22
Theological Themes: biblical stewardship, ecclesiology, sanctification, lordship of christ, means of grace, Romans 12, doers of the word, corporate worship
Full Transcript
Introduction: The DNA of East Valley Bible Church
I'm going to invite you to start in 1 Corinthians 11. As you turn there, let me remind you what we're doing. This is a little mini-series — last week, this week, and next week, three weeks total. It came as a result of a pastoral staff meeting where the question was asked: what are the phrases or sentences, no more than a sentence, that would express things that are part of who we are or part of the DNA at East Valley Bible Church?
When we began this, it started as just a little exercise. It ended up taking several weeks. At the end of it, we compiled a really exhaustive list of phrases and sentences, and we thought, wow, this is pretty cool — this is what God's doing. We are also not naive or blind, and we could see the things we had hoped would be in our DNA, maybe even should be, and aren't. So it really was an important exercise for us, and I felt it was important for you to share in it.
The only time and way to do this is on Sunday morning. If I scheduled a Wednesday night meeting and said, come in for three weeks to talk about the DNA of East Valley Bible Church, you wouldn't show up. And this is important. Since this is family time and family business, I made the choice — along with the approval of the elders — to take three weeks to talk about this.
Last Week's Foundation: Acts 2 and the Universal Church
Last week we looked at the church universal. In Acts chapter 2, Peter delivers this incredible message, 3,000 people believe, and at that point the question becomes: what do we do next? They devoted themselves — Acts 2:42 through verse 47 — to the apostles' teaching, breaking of bread, fellowship, and prayer. That's what we talked about last week.
So if you missed it, and maybe you're someone who is church shopping, what should you look for in a church? More important than easy ingress and egress is the apostles' teaching, breaking of bread, fellowship, and prayer. Those things should be there. They're going to manifest themselves in a whole bunch of different ways.
This has been a reflective moment for me as well. I go back to those days when we said, we think we want to start a work in the East Valley. We met over at the Grace Inn — about 20 or 25 of us — and started talking about church, the biblical mandate for it, and a whole bunch of other things. As we listed them, what I discovered, and what we collectively agreed was true, is that almost all the things we talked about were preferential issues, not biblical issues. They were responses to biblical commands.
In other words, I need to teach the Word — but does it matter how I teach it? Does it matter if I use PowerPoint or not? We need to worship — but does it matter whether there are drums or organs or choirs or one guy with a tambourine? It doesn't matter. They're preferential things.
Two Core Categories: Theology and Biblical Worldview
Now, I want to be the church historian for a moment and take you through some things. It was about 17 years ago that we were starting East Valley Bible Church, and there were a couple of things we talked about in areas of preference that were really unique to us. I took all of those sentences and phrases and tried to group them into two big categories, and then one side category.
The two big categories were, first, theology — the understanding of God, especially His sovereignty, and how it practically affects us. I'm going to talk a lot about that next week. The second category, which we'll touch on both this week and next, was the challenge we see in Scripture for us to live with a biblical worldview.
As I was preparing last week's lesson, this concept emerged: we have transformed hearts, informed minds, and we live a radical life. That's what God has called us to be. That needs to flow through the blood at East Valley Bible Church — it needs to be all over our DNA. A transformed heart, an informed mind, and the result of those two things is a radical life. When you hear a phrase like "changed lives, change lives," that was all over us when we started. That's deep in the roots at East Valley Bible Church.
Three Distinctives Others Noticed About EVBC
Before I get into that today, I want to note that there were three things, when we started, that I would hear from others in the community as they identified East Valley Bible Church. These are more operational and functional. Number one, that we did communion every week. Number two, that it was a casual environment. And number three, that we didn't take a collection.
Two of those things have been embraced by a lot of people over the years. One is still pretty unique — and that one is communion. In the early discussions, I said it appears to me that when the church gathered together in those early days, they took communion almost all the time. Why don't we do that at church?
Communion: Rooted in Scripture
When you look at 1 Corinthians 11:23, Paul writes: "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the
Communion as Weekly Practice
"The Lord in the night in which He was betrayed took bread. When He had given thanks, He broke it. He said, 'This is My body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same way, He took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the cup of the new covenant in My blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of Me.'" And here is the summary of that: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes again."
When we take communion, we are remembering, looking back, and proclaiming. We are literally preaching the gospel to ourselves and to all around us, remembering the Lord's death. We have had on numerous occasions men and women and students whose eyes God has opened and used that time of communion to bring them to faith. It becomes a declaration that not everybody is a child of God just by birth, but that one is born spiritually into His family. God opens their eyes, and we proclaim the gospel.
Now, when we sat around and discussed this, a lot of churches don't do it this way. And I want to be clear — saying that is not being judgmental. I am not making a judgment on anyone. Just because we do it does not mean everybody has to do it. This is simply how we do it.
The criticism we heard from outside was this: if you do communion every week, it is going to become routine for your people. The assumption was that I was referring back to my Catholic background. I said no — I am simply reading the Scripture to you. And here is what we decided: keeping this from becoming routine is your responsibility, not ours.
We do not need to bring in some elaborate production with video and everything else to keep it fresh. He is your Savior. He died for you. If that is not compelling to you, then that is your problem, not mine. Our responsibility is to create the environment and to remind you of that truth.
He says in verse 28 — because already in Corinth the communion supper had become distorted and turned into all sorts of other things — that each man must examine himself. He speaks about how solemn this is. So when we talk about the DNA of East Valley Bible Church, communion on a weekly basis was truly a part of our DNA from the beginning, and that is why.
Style and the Environment We Create
The style of how we gather does not seem like a big deal anymore, but if you could go back to 1991, when I taught dressed essentially like this, it was revolutionary. There was nobody dressing like this in that setting. I think now I am actually overdressed, to be honest with you. I ask the elders every year if I can teach in the summer in shorts, and they say no. But last week when I introduced you to Luke, he had on jeans, flip-flops, and a golf shirt. It was nothing remarkable — but it was revolutionary then.
Giving and the Offering Boxes
The other thing that nobody did then, which we introduced, was not taking a collection with boxes by the door. That was a really interesting discussion, because the general concern was that people would not give if they had to go to the door to do it. My response was twofold.
First, in the course of a worship service, giving is a part of worship — but when you are planning that service, you cannot take a collection until twenty-two minutes in, when all the giving units are in place. I am not being cynical; that is simply the reality of how it is planned. All of a sudden you have a moment of worship and then everything stops to do special music to create the right atmosphere. That may sound critical, and I am not trying to be critical, but for those of us who grew up going to church, that always seemed awkward.
The second compelling reason was this: we do not want to put any pressure on those of you who are guests or who do not share our faith. This was driven home to me a couple of months ago when some friends from back in Davenport came down and were in the service without my knowing it. My brother told me the story afterward. He asked them how it was, and they said three things: it was long, they sang way too much music and stood the whole time, and — and this was the telling part — one of them said he had a twenty-dollar bill that he kept wanting to give, but he could not find any place to give it. And I thought, well, that is exactly our point.
Now, the boxes themselves have had an interesting journey. In the early days we could not figure out exactly where to put them in the old building, and then one Sunday the boxes disappeared — with all the money in them — which was a problem. We later found all the checks strewn about. We had originally kept the boxes outside, and we realized that was probably not a good idea, so we brought them inside and chained them to the wall. Then we had Easter services off campus, and we would be sitting there and suddenly realize we had not brought the boxes. But God has taken care of us, honoring the principle that if you are a follower of Christ, you are going to want to give.
A Word on Money and Giving
Having said all of that, I want to take about ten minutes and talk about money and giving. This may surprise you: I would say the single most universal criticism I receive from elders, staff, and those who evaluate my teaching is that I do not talk enough about money. If you are here thinking you have never been to a church where that could possibly be true, or that this must be your one unusual visit — let me assure you, that criticism is consistent and constant.
Money and Spirituality
All he is talking about is money. You cannot win this discussion — I gave up a long time ago. Here is why this is important: not because we need the money. I do not care; God figures that out. It is important because it is a significant spiritual issue for you. I can talk about celibacy for singles, monogamy for the married, obeying your parents, working — all of that. But when I talk about money, all of a sudden we tighten up and get very defensive.
Here is what John MacArthur writes: how people view money is an effective barometer of their spirituality. Money is neither good nor bad in itself. Corrupt people can put it to evil uses; good people can put it to righteous uses. Though it is morally neutral, what people do with their money reflects their internal morality. As Jesus said in Luke 12:34, "Where your treasure is, your heart will be also."
These are familiar statistics to some of you, but not all. In this Bible there are five hundred or so verses about faith and five hundred verses or so about prayer, but there are two thousand verses on money. When Jesus was teaching and wanted to really drive home a point, He would tell a story — a parable. Of those parables, over half of them deal with money.
I have thought a lot about why we respond the way we do to this discussion of money. Why are we defensive? I will tell you why: because it is an area of our spiritual life where we do not do very well. So any time you push in that area, you resist.
The Statistics on Giving
Consider some large-scale numbers gathered from Protestant churches since 1916. In 1916, the Protestant community gave approximately 2.9 percent of their income to the church. During the Great Depression, the number rose to 3.2 percent and stayed there through the prosperity that began in 1955. In the year 2000, with disposable income roughly 400 percent higher than in 1916 — adjusted for inflation and taxes — we give less than during the Depression, less than in 1916: about 2.6 percent of our income.
Someone has said that if Christian churches were to give ten percent of their income — the old tithe concept — giving within churches on an annual basis would increase by 139 billion dollars. And that is exactly why we get so upset about this topic.
What the Bible Says About Money
The Bible does not forbid us from owning money at all. It simply warns against the danger that the love of it is the root of all evil — that money can creep in and make us forget God. Money can bring us to a point where we begin to trust our riches rather than Him. Because it is the root of all evil, what that means is we will do all sorts of things: we will compromise our convictions because of it, it leads us to pride, and all manner of other dangers follow.
The Bible also tells us how to have money in acceptable ways. We can have it given to us. We can make it through investment, savings, or good planning, and all of that is to be commended. But the Bible says clearly that the primary way we are to acquire money is — what would you guess? Work.
Stewardship: Owner vs. Steward
Let me give you some things from the pen of the Apostle Paul, drawn from a couple of passages in 1 and 2 Corinthians. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verse 2, and as you are turning, let me continue.
Here is the overarching principle — and I will tell you that if you get this concept into your head, if your transformed heart gets this into your informed mind, radical behavior will follow. The concept is this: all that you have — your money, your life itself, your time, your energy, your effort, all of your stuff — are resources owned by God. He has transferred possession to you, but not ownership. This is really important. "The earth is the Lord's and all it contains" — Psalm 24:1. Haggai 2:8: "The silver and the gold is Mine, declares the Lord." Our relationship with our stuff and our life is therefore that of a steward, not an owner.
Now, when we talk about money I am going to keep going there, but understand it is everything. Some of you have a lot of money; some of you do not have much. When we talk about time, consider this: all of you have 168 hours this week that you need to steward.
Here is the difference between a steward and an owner. If I sit down with a financial advisor and we work through a plan, I give him my concepts. A good advisor will draw out my investment goals and my parameters, and we will formulate a plan based on my desires and needs. He is allowed to steward and manage my money — he has a fiduciary relationship with me over it — but it is not his to do with whatever he wants. He does not own it. The same is true of you. This is not your life; it is not yours to do with whatever you want. It is yours to figure out what God's investment strategy is for your life — time, energy, effort, money — and to follow His strategy. You find that strategy by following His Word. Your life is transformed when you see yourself as a steward, not an owner.
Every Christian Should Give
Here is the second principle: every one of you should give. First Corinthians 16:2 says, "On the first day of each week, let each of you give." If you are here today and you are a Christian — whether you are the CEO of some large corporation or you are fourteen years old and babysitting — this applies to you.
Planned Giving
Here is the third thing: planned giving. The passage is 2 Corinthians 9:7 — "Let each do as he purposed in his heart." He is talking about money. That word *purposed* is the only time it appears in the New Testament. It means a predetermined, premeditated plan of action. It is strategic in its nature. It is not give what is left over.
I confirmed this yesterday with Susan. We were in the car driving down to watch the Iowa game, and though they only beat lowly Iowa State, I have learned from watching ASU and the U of A that any win is a win. I said, "Susan, I am going to say something tomorrow and I want to make sure it is right, so tell me if I am wrong." At our house, I make decisions and we decide together where money is going to be spent, but I do not handle the money.
When Susan was sick — in her darkest, sickest day, when she literally could function twenty to thirty minutes a day — I said to her, "Sweetie, here is the deal. I can figure out how to do the laundry. I can figure out how we are going to eat. I can live with a degree of messiness. Any of this whole sphere, if it is your job, we can outsource or manage — except for these thirty minutes that you are going to have to figure out the bills and pay them. I do not know how to do that, and I do not want to learn."
So I wanted to confirm this with her yesterday. I said, "When you write checks, what is the order?" And she said, "The first two checks I write every month: church, house." Every month. She does not sit down and calculate all the monthly bills, all the income, all the everything, and then figure out what is left over to give. No — it is a predetermined plan. You have to have a plan of giving.
Regular and Cheerful Giving
Giving should be regular. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16, "on the first day of every week." Here is a rule of thumb: if you are paid weekly, give weekly; if you are paid every other week, give every other week.
Giving should also be voluntary and cheerful. The passage says, "Let each one do as he has purposed in his heart" — not grudgingly, not under compulsion, for "God loves a cheerful giver." Now, I have gotten in trouble a couple of times when I have taught this, because I said: if you cannot give cheerfully, do not give at all. Several people, I think appropriately, called me on the carpet and said that is just not right. They asked, is it not a spiritual issue? Yes. Should not everyone give? Yes. You would not say to somebody, "If you cannot be monogamous cheerfully, do not be monogamous at all."
Randy Alcorn writes: "God loves a cheerful giver. This doesn't mean we should only give when we're feeling cheerful. Cheerfulness often comes during or after an act of obedience, not before. So don't wait until you feel like giving. It could be a long wait. Just give and watch the joy." What makes joy and produces joy in my heart is obedience to what God has called me to do, and what He has called me to do is to be a cheerful giver.
How Much Should I Give?
I get this question a lot: how much should I give? The biblical, New Testament answer is that if you have been given a lot, you should give a lot. I will not tell you how much you should give, but I will help you frame the question — and this is important. This is another life changer. If I ask, "How much money should I give?" I will get one answer. But if I ask, against the backdrop that this is a matter of stewardship, "How much of God's money should I keep?" I will get a very different answer.
This is a big issue that you need to grapple with and get to the ground. If you are single, this is easier. If you are married, it is oftentimes a source of great contention, and I understand that — but that does not mean you avoid it. You need to come to one mind on this. You need to be purposeful about it. And we see in Scripture that God really values sacrificial giving. As Paul writes to the church at Corinth, he reminds them that the Macedonian churches were poor, struggling churches, and yet they gave out of that. They gave against that backdrop.
This Is About You and God
If I were to put a bow on all of this: my whole point here is not to extract money from you. God does not need your money, and we have money enough. It is like I said years ago during a building drive — I said there is good news and bad news. The good news is we have all the money we need. The bad news is it is in your pocket. But we have all the money we need. God is not poor, God is not going out of business, and neither are we. If you walk out of here thinking, "They must need money," you have really missed the point. This is about you and God. This is not about us funding something.
Nor, just to ease your mind, do I have the foggiest idea who gives what — and neither does anyone else. Even the money counters are not in there every week, so they do not know. The only person who has access to that information would be Neil Pitchell. The way I have always explained it here is that this is a matter between you, God, and Neil Pitchell. And even Neil — I asked him today, "Do you know how much I give?" He said, "I have never looked." So it is not as though anyone is out checking on this.
A Practical Summary
Let me summarize why this matters. It is a spiritual issue, but here is some practical, helpful advice — especially given the backdrop we have now. You need some sort of a budget — and I know you hate that word — along with long-term financial goals. You need a plan.
Stewardship and Financial Discipline
You can't just let this go, because you'll overspend and waste. The more money you make, the more you need a budget. If you're only making twelve hundred dollars a month, God's got you pretty much on a budget. But if you're making twelve thousand a month, you've got all this money, and you're going to diddle it away. I know — I've been there, I've done that.
Let me give you two more things that are really important. Spend less than you earn — that's a very important concept. Avoid debt like a plague, and get control of your lifestyle. One of the things that's happened in the last nine months, for Susan and me, I think around the church, and among the people I talk to, is we look and we say: we really have let things slide. It's not even being crass — it's just inertia when things are going well.
I hear a tremendous number of people saying that. "I didn't realize how much money I was spending. I didn't realize how many things in my life I've turned into a need when in fact they really are a want." So here are some questions for you to ask yourself: How much of God's money should you keep? Is God pleased with your giving? What's limiting your giving? Are you more concerned about storing up treasure on earth or in heaven? And are you winning the war on materialism? Those are really provocative things.
A Word to the Staff — and to Ourselves
Here's something cool, because Neil didn't know I was going to talk about this. Here's an email that went out to the whole staff. What I love about this is that we don't sit here and talk to you without talking to ourselves. Neil had no clue I was going to bring this up. The email was addressed to the staff, so if you're on staff here and our internal email is working, you received this.
Here's what it said: "As we approach budget time — and we do our budget right now, our budget cycle starts right now, we spend two and a half months to prepare it and finalize it mid to end of December — I can't help but think about what will happen economically next year. While no one has a crystal ball, I do expect the economy to remain fragile through 2009. The best course of action for us as individuals is to be disciplined, avoid splurging, identify and cut out unnecessary expenses, save for what is essential, and hedge against those tough times. We can all benefit by developing good spending habits, confront and cut up credit cards." I like this line: "Use your home as a savings vehicle, not an ATM. Establish and contribute regularly to an IRA or your 403(b)."
But here's the close: "However, do not neglect the grace of giving. Regardless of the economic conditions, giving helps us recognize our Lord's care and provision for us and our trust in Him." When you talk about the uniqueness of East Valley Bible Church, that is part of it.
Our Mission: Helping One Another Learn God's Truths
I want to invite you to open your Bibles now to 2 Timothy. Our mission statement — and we are right now in the process of reviewing all these things, and while there may be some addendums and amendments and some changes, the thrust of it will stay the same — reads like this: to glorify God by helping one another learn God's truths and live biblically changed lives. To glorify God — that is 1 Corinthians 10:31: "Whether you eat, drink, or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God." How do we do that? We help one another learn God's truths.
Paul is writing to his protégé Timothy, and these are pastoral letters. He is writing to Timothy as a pastor, preparing him to deal with churches. So he is talking about not only what is important in his own life, but what is going to be important for the people in those churches to hear and to learn. There are wonderful insights scattered all through these letters. There are only ten chapters in 1 and 2 Timothy combined, and you would do yourself well to take one chapter a week and plow through it — that will give you something to do between now and Christmas.
In 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 13, Paul writes: "Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me. Do that in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." That is the call to help one another learn God's truths and live biblically changed lives. He continues in chapter 2 verse 14: "Remind them of these things and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words." And then, for Timothy as a teacher and for us as students, verse 15: "Be diligent in presenting yourself approved to God as a workman who is not ashamed and accurately handles the word of truth."
The Urgency of Preaching the Word
Why does this matter so much? Look at chapter 3 verse 1: "In the last days difficult times will come and men will be lovers of self and lovers of money" — and it goes on to expound on all of this. In the times that you and I live, in the world we inhabit, these are difficult days. When people by their natural instinct love money, love themselves, and all the problems that flow from that arise — what is the antidote?
Chapter 4 verse 1: "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is the judge of the living and the dead by His appearing — preach the word." That is our mission. To glorify God by helping one another learn God's truths. "Preach the word, be ready in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort." And then there is that little phrase at the end of verse 2 that some of us really need to take hold of. All of this — the reproving, the rebuking, the exhorting — is not to be done in some down-your-nose, authoritative, in-your-face, hard-nosed, selfish way, but to do it with patience and instruction. To glorify God by helping one another.
A Transformed Heart, Informed Mind, and Radical Life
One another learn God's truths, and the end result of this is that we will live a biblically changed life. With a transformed heart and an informed mind, we live a radical life — a biblically changed life. What has happened is that we begin to live not naturally, but supernaturally. That is what a transformed life is. That is what a radical life is.
A radical life is a life that looks at the world and says, "I understand worldly wisdom. I understand conventional wisdom. I understand what they teach and what they suggest." But it is not as concerned about worldly wisdom as it is about godly wisdom.
Romans 12 and the Pivotal "Therefore"
Mark your place in 2 Timothy, because we will come back, but turn to the left to Romans chapter 12. There is a pivotal, key moment in this book, and this is a bit of an overstatement, so be gracious as I make it. In Romans chapters 1 through 11, those first eleven chapters are jammed with doctrine — profound truths that in a nutshell go like this: we are all sinners, our sin has separated us from God, there is nothing we can do about it, but God moved. He sent His Son so that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us on the cross.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. We are in bondage to our sin, but God has intervened and now we are free to do well. Salvation is utterly, completely, entirely, and wholly an act of God. He is going to have mercy on whom He has mercy — it is His deal, not ours. He is sovereign. That is why He says in Romans 8:28, all things work together for those who love God and are called according to His purpose — God works them all together, and that is the key part.
He then asks, what can separate us from the love of God? Nothing. That is just a fraction of what is packed into those eleven chapters. When you get to chapter 12, the first word is what? "Therefore." Now, because all of that is true, therefore, there is only one reasonable response — to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. In other words: God, here is my whole life. It is Yours.
Because my life is changed by Him, I am now an instrument He uses to change other lives. I have a transformed heart and an informed mind, and I am going to live a radical life. That has all sorts of ramifications for how we live, but at the core of it, Romans 12:2 issues this call: do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed — how? By the renewing of your mind. And how is the mind renewed? By setting it on the things above, by concentrating, meditating, and studying His Word, and by contemplating God — who He is and how He would have us live.
Two Paraphrases Open It Further
Let me take this a little further with two paraphrases. The New Living Translation renders Romans 12:1–2 this way: "So, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a holy and living sacrifice, the kind He will accept. When you think of what He has done for you, is that too much to ask? It's the only reasonable response." Then it uses this phrase: "Do not copy the behavior and customs of the world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." A transformed heart, an informed mind, and a radical life.
Eugene Peterson, in his paraphrase The Message, handles verses 1 and 2 this way, and I really like these: "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you. Take your everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going to work, walking around — place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him." Then verse 2: "Do not become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking about it. Instead, fix your attention on God and you'll be changed. You're not going to change yourself — you'll be changed from the inside out." Radical life.
Changed Lives Are What Change Lives
One of the phrases that has been in the DNA of East Valley Bible Church for a long time is this: changed lives are what change lives. Not programs. You can have programs and strategic plans and all manner of initiatives. But what actually changes a life, what is compelling, what will capture the world around you, is that world seeing you live a radical life — the result of a transformed heart and an informed mind. They will look at you. They may not immediately say, "Give me Jesus," but they are going to hear and see the gospel.
Teaching with Your Life — 1 Timothy 4
Turn now to 1 Timothy. Paul is writing to this young man, and look at 1 Timothy 4:10: "For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Prescribe and teach these things." Timothy was a young man, and Paul addresses that directly. Look at what he says in verse 12: "Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe."
Again, allow me to read those same verses from Eugene Peterson: "This is why we've thrown ourselves into this venture so totally. We're banking on our living God, Savior of all men and women. Get the word out. Teach all these things." And then: "There's more to it than just saying it. Don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life — by word, demeanor, love, faith, and integrity." In other words —
Visible Lives, Core Beliefs
There is to be something visibly different about how we live. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 5:16: "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they see your good works." Christianity at its core is not an ethic or a behavior — it is a belief system. At its core, Christianity is not how we behave; it is what we believe.
You might say, "My neighbor Bill — he's a great Christian guy." What do you mean? "Oh, he does this, he does that. When we're gone on vacation, we don't even ask him — he comes over and cuts the grass. All the holidays, he's down feeding the hungry. You can count on him." Stop. Buddhists do that. Jews do that. All sorts of people who would not say they are Christians do that. Atheists do that. What makes Bill a Christian is that he believes Jesus died for his sin and he has come to Him in repentance and faith. That makes him a Christian.
Now, because he is a follower of Christ, he will begin to do all those things. But a person can be doing all those things with a heart that has not changed — and that could be religion at its worst. Just out there doing all these things, saying, "God has got to accept me."
Suppose — and it doesn't work this way, but suppose it did — that you died and stood before God, and He said, "Why should I let you in here?" and you started rattling off everything you had done. His response would not be impressed, because you cannot do enough. We have sinned, and our sin separates us from God. The only thing that brings that right back together is Christ. And because I know Christ, I let my life shine in such a way that they see those good works — they see something there. Timothy, you preach it, but they need to see something in your demeanor, your love, your faith, your integrity.
The Core DNA of East Valley Bible Church
If we look at East Valley Bible Church at its core — right there in that DNA — what is central is helping one another learn God's truth and live biblically changed lives. Our lives are changed by God because we have a transformed heart and an informed mind, and we live a radical life.
One last passage — turn to the left from 1 Timothy to James. James is a little epistle, but it is hugely practical. We once did a verse-by-verse study of James and called it Blue Gene Theology — rugged, practical, comfortable, everyday. Here is the essence of the book of James: chapter 1, verse 22 — "Prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves." It is not enough to hear. It is not enough to study. It is not enough to know all the doctrine or to pass the 101 and 202 and 303 classes and everything that goes with them. That is not enough. We study so that an informed mind produces a radical life.
Do not be just a hearer of the Word. Shame on us — and shame on us on two counts. If we don't study the Word, shame on you; there are places where people never even get to the Word. But equally, shame on us if we study and hear it and do not do it. When we talk about the DNA of East Valley Bible Church, this is at the core of it.
Phrases That Capture Who We Are
Here are some of the phrases the men here mention: love is an action word; "For God so loved the world"; church doesn't end on Sunday. What we are trying to say is that we are to integrate Christianity into our whole life — not segregate it or segment it to Sunday. And there is this one: dying for Christ is easier than living for Him. That is the call on our life, and that is what is in the DNA of East Valley Bible Church.
There are also some operational distinctives. We don't take a collection. We do communion every week. We have a somewhat casual environment. Those are all important things. And that giving — giving is a really important issue. That is between you and God, and you need to figure it out. If you are making a dime, you ought to be giving — purposefully determined, premeditated.
Transformed Hearts, Informed Minds, Radical Lives
All of this flows from the doctrinal truth that we are now in union with God. Therefore, we do not copy the behavior of the world. We are not conformed to the world; we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. What we strive to be — what we love to be — is a group of people whose hearts are transformed, whose minds are informed, and who are living radical lives. And that is all through His power and His grace. You cannot do it on your own. You have to submit to Him, ask Him for the power to obey, and He will give it to you.
Father, help us see this truth. We look at that clock on the wall and it is ticking away, and there are things that are so important. But God, don't let us just walk away and check a list and say that's done. Help us understand that the people around us should see a difference — that what we believe will affect how we behave. God, let us be a people with transformed hearts and informed minds who are living a radical life. God, do that work in our lives. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.