Being the Remnant Church: “Don’t Go to Egypt”

From: LCMS Revitalizing Congregations blog

There are several different words that have been used recently to describe the religious landscape of our rapidly changing culture. Some are more helpful than others.

The term “post-Church” is a bit confusing because there are still many churches in America and we are actively starting new churches. It takes some explanation to clarify that the term post-Church is a shortened version of “post-Constantinian Church” — a historical reference that tends to confuse as many people as it helps.

“Post-Christian” is another term that is widely used. It rightly indicates that the  American church has greatly diminished in numbers and influence from the peaks of the middle of the last century. While it is an accurate description of our culture, it is not a meaningful way of describing the Church in our culture.

Among the options, the best descriptive title of the Church in present day America is probably the “Remnant Church.” Not only does the word remnant aptly describe the diminished Church in our nation, it is a biblical description that provides critical guidance to church leaders and members.

The most frequent use of the word remnant in the Bible is in reference to the people of Judah who were spared from the Exile or who were preserved in it to return to Israel.  Not surprisingly, Jeremiah uses the term more extensively than any other book of the Bible. We can learn some valuable lessons about being the Remnant Church in America from the Word of the Lord that Jeremiah proclaimed to the remnant of Judah. One of the most important lessons is “Don’t go to Egypt” (Jeremiah 42:19).

God spoke this command to the remnant remaining in Israel to redirect them after they had made plans to go and live in the land of Egypt. As a remnant, the people had lost their status, strength, and security. They faced serious hardships because they were small in number, vulnerable to their enemies, and living under the rule of a hostile government. They were faced with the harsh realities of being a remnant and they didn’t like what they were experiencing.

Though God had told this remnant that He had a purpose for them in Israel and He had assured them that He would preserve them in their land, they were looking for a better solution to the hardships of being small, insignificant, and vulnerable as a remnant. They looked to Egypt for their new source of status, strength, and security. Concerned for the well-being of His people and wanting them to look to Him alone for what they needed, the Lord responded clearly and forcefully through His prophet: “Don’t go to Egypt.”

As the  Remnant Church in America, we need to take the command “Don’t go to Egypt” to heart and understand how it applies to us in our context.

Like the remnant of Judah, we have lost much of what we once enjoyed in our culture in terms of status, strength, and security. The Church is no longer respected as an institution, clergy are often viewed with suspicion, and believers are treated with disdain when speaking the Word as Christ’s witnesses. The political clout that had promoted and preserved biblical values has given way to defeats in all three branches of our government. That same government has taken an active role in fighting for the perceived rights of the advocates of immorality and against the liberties of the people of faith who will not embrace them.

Some Church leaders are calling on Christians to fight against this rapidly rising tide of hostility toward orthodox Christianity and to remain steadfast in the Faith whatever the costs may be. But many others are calling their people to go to Egypt.

The Egypt that entices the Remnant Church in America is not a foreign country, but our own country that has become foreign to us. The status, strength, and security that the Church has lost is now found in the activist organizations that endorse and promote various sins under the banner of equality and in the politicians who have found new life in supporting their causes.

Going to Egypt for us is leaving the Word of the Lord in one way or another in order to find ways to tolerate, accept, or embrace the popular values of our culture in order to regain the status, strength, and security that we no longer have. “Don’t go to Egypt” is a clear warning to flee from that temptation and a call to embrace our remnant status and purpose.

The road before us is not pleasant and it is certain to be filled with the hardships of being small in number, insignificant in the public square, and vulnerable to our adversaries. In other words, being the Remnant Church is a call to the Cross. We can either take up our crosses and bear them in Christ for the sake of the world or we can abandon that call, set our sights toward Egypt, and attempt to reclaim greatness in the world. Our Savior’s urgent plea for His Remnant Church — for our sake as well as for the sake of those who are perishing around us —  is “Don’t go to Egypt.”

[Next in the series: Embrace God’s Purpose for the Remnant]

Questions to consider: 

• How has the overall church’s decrease in numbers and influence in America had an effect on my congregation? Our members? Me?

• What is the “Egypt” that is tempting us to rely on something other than the Lord and His Word for the prosperity (or survival) of our congregation?

• What do we as a congregation need to do to overcome the temptation to “go to Egypt”? What do I need to do to overcome this temptation?

What Happened at Nicea?

A recent blog by Fred Sanders at "The Scriptorium" gives a nice synopsis of the Council of Nicea -- which began on May 20, 325.

Athanasius in particular perceived that if Christ truly reveals God and reconciles us to God, then Christ must be fully divine, must in fact be homoousios, of one essence, with God. Many theologians in the fourth century continued to be squeamish about applying this metaphysical “substance” language to God and Christ, but the strategy of Nicaea was to adopt it as a necessary implication of Christian commitments. Once Arius had raised the ontological question so forcefully, it could only be answered in ontological terms. Earlier theologians, even one as great as Irenaeus, did not use such explicitly ontological terms to describe the Son’s relationship to the Father; nor did they use explicitly ontological terms to deny the Son’s unity with the Father. Arius started it. When he innovated, Nicaea innovated right back. You might be able to do theology without the help of categories like substance, but once you invoke them, there are wrong answers and right answers.

CrossTalk: Jesus Loves His Enemies

In just two and a half weeks, we will observe the most solemn day on the Christian calendar. We call it Good Friday. It marks the day when God Himself died for the sins of the world.

This is the exact polar opposite of what we would expect! After all, if you had created something from scratch only to have it turn on you and attack you, what would you do? If you liked it well enough, you might give it another chance. But if it kept on attacking you incessantly and viciously, I think any reasonable person would finally reach the conclusion that it needed to be put down.

But God has created us out of nothing. He created us to be and to behave as human beings -- namely to be perfect depictions of His own love right here in the world. "In the image of God" He created us. But far from depicting God's selfless love in the world, we are habitually self-seeking. Instead of living in eternal gratefulness for the unmerited tender mercies that God has given us, we resent His authority and rebel against His rules.

It would be perfectly reasonable for God to "put us down." He would have every right to wipe us off the face of the planet and start over. But He doesn't! Instead, He came to earth to BE put down. He came to BE wiped off the face of the planet for you. That's what happened on Good Friday.

 What punishment so strange is suffered yonder!

 The Shepherd dies for sheep that loved to wander;

 The Master pays the debt His servants owe Him,

  Who would not know Him.

 The sinless Son of God must die in sadness;

 The sinful child of man may live in gladness;

 Man forfeited his life and is acquitted;

  God is committed.

What shall we say to all these things? How could we be anything else than totally won over by such love toward us? Do we thank Him by continuing to ignore Him, His Word, His Worship, His purpose for our lives?

Are we not in the least bit curious to know more about this God who would go to such extreme lengths for us? Why would He do such a thing? If He loves me so much as to do this for me, what does that say about His commandments for me? Can these possibly be so hateful toward me when everything else I know about Him is so loving towards me? How can you continue to hate and war against a man who is -- even now -- giving Himself so totally to you?

If you are not regularly attending Church to hear the gracious words of this crucified God, do youself the biggest favor of your life. Come and hear Him out.

If you are already hearing His words and worshiping this crucified God, remember just how blessed you are to know Him. Recall the joy of the day when you first came to know the joy of His love. And pray this is infinite, self-sacrificial love He gave to you while you were still His enemy, might be made into your own infinite and self-sacrificial love for your enemies.

CrossTalk: New Light, New Hope

As I write these words, the sun is bright, the air is cold, and the Baby New Year, 2016, is only a few hours old. There is a good reason we call the New Year a "Baby." Just as with the birth of a new child, there is a sense of wonder and excitement at the possibilities and the hopes for this new life. So also, a new year brings us the excitement and hope that comes with fresh starts and new possibilities.

For me, the most striking feature of the New Year is light. The past three weeks have been the darkest of the year. With only four minutes of variation, we have seen the sun only a little more than 9 hours a day. But once you have made it to New Years Day, you start seeing the daylight increasing by leaps and bounds. Tomorrow, we gain another minute; and in a week, we will have gained seven more! Last fall, while the days were growing shorter by leaps and bounds, the sense of darkness was oppressive. But now we get to experience the opposite effect.

When you stop to think about it, this is really a remarkable thing. Planets like Mercury, Venus and Jupiter have very little tilt in relation to the sun. This means that their days are about the same length year in and year out. But the earth is tilted 23 degrees on its axis. As a result, we get to experience predictable seasonal changes every year. This is not simply "nature" that we are experiencing, it is God's special creation that makes each day from here on out increasingly light and cheery.

In other words, just as last fall, God was intentionally giving us less light and teaching us endurance and patience. So also now, God is intentionally giving us ever more light in our days and teaching us that the darkness never lasts forever but will always be dispelled by the light. In fact, it is no mere accident that this reversal of trends -- from increasing darkness, to increasing light -- happens right around Christmas. By God's own plan, the seasonal rhythms that He put into nature serve to illustrate the Spiritual reality that Jesus is born to be the Light of the world. As the prophet had foretold, "the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light! And those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a Light has dawned. ...For unto us a Child is born. To us a Son is given." (Isaiah 9:2,6a)

It is with the coming of Jesus that we see another reason for hope and joy. We are told in Matthew 1:21 that He is to be called "Jesus" because He will save His people from their sins. "Jesus" means Savior, specifically "the LORD saves!" Sins and shortcomings are a huge reason for sadness and sorrow. They have an accumulative effect. With each shortcoming, you get farther and farther behind. With each sin, your relationships are more and more strained. No matter what you do, you cannot get back on top of things and life seems to be spiraling out of control. If only there were a "RESET" button. If only you could wipe out the sins of the past and start fresh. If only you could get rid of the baggage that haunts your past and fills you with dread of the future. Short of this, there is no optimism for the future. You can only expect the sins and shortcomings of the past to continue to poison your future.

"But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared." (Psalm 130). Because of Jesus, your dream for a RESET button is not just wishful thinking. God has actually repaired the past -- your past. The price was great, but it has been paid!  Because of Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection, God Himself can indeed give you a fresh start through the forgiveness of Jesus!  This is the greatest reason for optimism. In Christ, you are no longer weighed down by your past. You need no longer be doomed to the past patterns of self-destruction. In Christ, God breaks the bonds of addiction to sin. In Christ, God Himself lifts you out of the ruts. In Christ, you have a fresh start, like a newborn babe.

This brings us back again to the Baby New Year, 2016. It's a picture of what God can do for you in Christ. Fresh as a baby, innocent, pure, unscarred, with nothing to prevent it's full development into the person that God created it to be. The New Year is a time for hope because Jesus is in the world. All that is gloomy, dark, old, and sinful, is made new in Him.

Joy to the world! The Lord has come!

CrossTalk: Kindness As Spiritual Warfare

"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does  not produce the righteousness of God" (James 1:19-20).

It's hard to miss the ever-increasing level of rancor and hostility in our world today. The internet seethes with it, and cable news shows have turned it into big money. It bothers me. A lot. And it probably bothers you.

There are several obvious culprits. Cable television has fragmented and polarized the news-reporting business. Social media and internet blogs have made it possible to isolate ourselves into ideological echo-chambers where we hear only what we want. The internet, in general, has so swamped us with information that we rely on our favorite spin-meister rather than weigh the facts for ourselves. On top of all this, "conversations" carried on by keyboard and backlit screens make it easy to forget the humanity of the person on the other end. We yell at the screen and type words that we  would never, ever, say if we were speaking face-to-face.

We could go on forever about all these explanations, but that would miss the bigger picture. It sees only the temptations; but  fails to recognize the Tempter. "We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians  6:12). The ghosts and goblins running around on Halloween are not real. But Satan's presence in our everyday conversations is very real.

Satan is less interested in the position you fight for than in the fact that you're fighting. He loses when you are willing to die for something; but he wins when you are willing to kill for it. The anger and the rancor that swirls all around you -- and oftentimes pulls you in -- is not just a by-product of disagreements. It is Satan's primary intention.

Satan is all about tearing apart relationships. He wants to turn children against parents, husbands against wives, voters against elected officials, workers against employers, citizens against police, brother against brother and, most of all, creatures against their Creator.

The apostle Paul saw this clearly. So he teaches, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:31-32). This is not merely about ettiquette. This is spiritual warfare.

When we resist the spirit of the world, when we refuse to become angry with those who oppose us, we are standing with Christ against Satan. This does not mean that we simply surrender the field and let the blasphemies of Satan go unopposed. But it does mean that we speak the truth in love. It means that we defend Christ, and not ourselves. It means that we live in peace -- even when the world rages against us.

There are worse things than losing an argument. Losing your humanity is the real danger. What is worse than being insulted? Insulting. What is worse than being deceived? Deceiving. What is worse than dying? Murdering.

So take a break from social media. Turn off the cable news show. Seek out those who disagree with you and have a face-to-face conversation over a glass of lemonade. Nobody has ever been won over by an internet meme. Nasty emails do not create unity or foster love.

When anger is directed at you, remember who the real enemy is: not your neighbor who is angry, but Satan who angers him and wants to anger you. Always remember that we do not battle flesh and blood but principalities, powers and the rulers of the darkness of this age.

Most of all, take comfort in the fact that real battle has already been won. Jesus rose from the dead to defeat Satan. You are not responsible to save the world. Jesus does that for you. You are only given to live in that victory by forgiving others as God in Christ forgives you. You are blessed to be tenderhearted toward those who oppose you, just as the Father tenderly gave His only-begotten Son to a world that opposes Him.

The Son of God has absorbed the wrath of the world. There is no more need to respond in wrath. Jesus lives and reigns to all eternity. He is still in charge. His Word will not and cannot lose. But His victories are hidden and unnoticed. They happen one heart at a time. They happen every time the peace of Christ rules in the hearts of those who trust in Him.

CrossTalk: Jesus, the Lord and Giver of Life

Watching your children at play can teach you volumes about the nature of the universe. Take Legos, for instance. My son can build and destroy, then build again all afternoon in perfect happiness. But when his brother comes into the room and destroys what he just built, immediately there is conflict and anger.

Parents called in to referee the dispute will say things like, “Who built this creation in the first place? What right did you have to destroy it if you didn’t build it? You must build it again, just exactly as it was before you destroyed it.” Sometimes that settles the matter. But sometimes the destroyer is unable to rebuild it. Then another remedy or punishment is necessary.

Here we see a fundamental truth at work: Nobody has the right to destroy someone else’s creation. This is especially true if the destroyer cannot possibly rebuild what he has destroyed. This is more than child’s play. It is instilled in every human being because every human being is created in the image of God.

Our sensibilities about fair play give us insight into God’s commandment: “Thou shalt not kill.” God’s command against murder is not an arbitrary dictate. Far from it! It is based in the fact that God alone is the author and giver of life. Life comes from God and from nowhere else. Since God alone can make life, only God can give permission to destroy it.

We read of this in the very first chapter of the Bible. “God said, ’Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food” (Genesis 1:29). Unless God had spoken these words, we would have had no right to eat salads, or bake bread. In fact, according to these words, human beings originally had no right to eat meat. It was only later, after the Flood, that God gave permission to kill and eat animals. “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything” (Genesis 9:3). By these words, God blessed hunting, fishing and ranching.

But even as God was granting permission to kill and use every kind of life He had made, there is one form of life that remains off limits. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in His own image” (Genesis 9:6). Killing another human being is not permissible except as God’s own punishment upon the murderer. Why? Because “God made man in His own image,” and only God can do that.

What happens when this basic teaching is rejected? What happens when generations are taught that life is a result of random chance acting over billions and billions of years? What happens when the conception of children is treated as a mere mechanical result of men and women ‘breeding’? What happens when medical technicians convince themselves that they can create life in a lab, or preserve it forever?

Where these false ideas prevail, people act like gods. When people act like gods, they do not become more god-like; they become less human, and their own lives – life itself – is degraded.

Don't kid yourself into thinking otherwise. God is still the one and only author of life. To this day, nobody has ever observed or even explained the sponteneous generation of life. Even with cloning, in vitro fertilization, and various medical marvels, we are still light years away from doing anything more than manipulating lives that can only be created by God.

But because our culture has deluded itself into believing that life is in our power, a Frankenstein scenario is being played out before our very eyes. For the past several weeks we have been horrified to see Planned Parenthood working with a cabal of unethical profiteers. The smallest and most vulnerable human lives are being targeted for destruction in order that we might use their parts to build a brave new world. If you are unaware of this investigation, see it for yourself at: www.centerformedicalprogress.org.

We didn’t create these lives; and we couldn’t put them back together if our own lives depended on it! So where did God give us permission to destroy them? He never has; and He never will.

Knowing this, there is only one healthy response: repentance. It is time to step back and take stock. There can be no excuse for what is happening in Planned Parentood clinics and frankenstein-type labs around the country. And since there is no excuse, it must not be defended but defunded – not covered up, but exposed. “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret” (Eph 5:11-12).

Feelings of revulsion are appropriate. They are signs that we have not completely lost our humanity. But they must not cause us to turn a blind eye. These feelings ought, rather, to impel us to speak out and speak up for the weakest among us. Barbarity is not the price of progress. It is the mark of regress. Love does not respond with a shrug, but with tears. Tears of repentance are healing tears.

It is not too late. For the God who alone creates life has come also to restore life. What we could never repair or rebuild, He has. God’s own Son was conceived in the womb of the Virgin, and His body was given over to mutilation and death in order to restore you to true humanity.

Broken and bleeding bodies will see resurrection to life on the last day. Broken and bleeding souls already now are forgiven and restored by His own blood through the repentance of sins. Joy replaces tears of repentance.

Examine your thoughts and words and actions. Turn from every attempt to find life apart from Christ. Look to Christ alone as your life, and see your life restored.

God plans parenthood – whether it occurs in keeping with our own plans or not. And the God who plans parenthood does so because He delights in your life and He delights in restoring your life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

CrossTalk: Keep Calm and Marry On

Since last Friday (6/26/15), one topic has dominated every front page, every news site, every talk show, and many private conversations. The topic is marriage. What is it? And what happens next? What does it mean that the Supreme Court mandated a new definition of marriage for every state in the Union? What was the original definition in the first place? Let’s start there.

The marriage of a man to a woman is about children. There are a thousand different ways of loving somebody. Love can be as mild as sending a card or as powerful as dying for a friend. But only one loving activity has the potential to conceive another human being, and that is the marriage union. Once a new human being begins growing in his mother’s womb, our love obligates us to care for the child in the best way possible. That is marriage.

Mothers are always present at the birth of a child. Fathers should be as well. Marriage is the institution ordained by God to keep fathers and mothers together with their children. As long as the father and the mother remain together, there may be more children or fewer children, but all of them are blessed to have their own father and their own mother with them in the same home. Should a mother have more children with a different father, or a father have more children with a different mother, this blessing is compromised. Parents have to bounce between two or more homes, and the children feel the effects.

Since every child has the right to live with his or her own father and mother, governments that care for the rights of children have a vested interest in promoting marriage both by law and by incentives. All of these laws and incentives are aimed at encouraging the two people who conceived the child to stay together comprehensively, exclusively, and for life.

The Supreme Court did not uphold this definition of marriage. Instead, they created a new one. The new definition of marriage does not involve children. It is first and foremost about the desires of adults. Yes, laws about the raising of children will have to be updated in order to accommodate this new definition of marriage, but this is an afterthought and not the starting point.

So what does this mean? What is a Christian to do? There is much social pressure to conform your definition of marriage to the Supreme Court’s new definition. The Church has even been put on notice by the Solicitor General himself that we may face stiff fines and penalties if we don’t change our message to parrot the government’s position.

Keep calm and marry on. Marriage has not changed in the least. Your marriage is still about taking care of your children. Your parent’s marriage is still about taking care of you. Jesus Christ is still the author of such marriages and Jesus promises to help you in this beautiful and noble work.

The thunder from Washington, D.C. has not changed marriage. It has only withdrawn the government’s support of it. But this now gives us an opportunity to think about and talk about some things that we have taken for granted for a long time. So let’s talk. No matter whether you agree or disagree with the Supreme Court ruling. No matter whether you agree or disagree with your brother, or cousin, or neighbor. It is time to engage in thoughtful conversation.

Christ’s Church is with you. We will continue to speak about marriage as God instituted it at the beginning. We are here to support your marriage for your children’s sake. We are here to support your parent’s marriage for your sake. We are here to help those who have been hurt in marriage. The Church exists because we love all people. And this love impels us to so speak and act.

And how does Jesus support you? By dying and living again to forgive your sins. Jesus forgives sins. He doesn’t just wish them away or deny that they are sins. Jesus forgives sins of all kinds, also sexual sins of all kinds. True love means true forgiveness. The True Lover is the True Forgiver. His love is comprehensive, and exclusive, and unwavering.

Because Jesus is the True Bridegroom He will never give up on you. After all the blood that He shed and the pain that He endured to win you, there is no social pressure or governmental penalty that could possibly change His mind now. So keep calm and marry on.

Pastor Jonathan Lange,