The Ideal Christian Community - Rev. Billy Kristanto

GRII KG Retreat 2019
ACTS - A Community that Serves
26-27 Juli 2019

Session #1 - The Ideal Christian Community (Pdt. Billy Kristanto)

The committee has determined ‘The Ideal Christian Community’ as the title of the first session. However, the search for ‘the ideal’ could dangerously be our idol. We are prone to leave our faith in our failure to find what’s ideal, or worse, we might find what’s ideal and be disappointed with it. There are many things that we cannot choose in this world, like the place we were born and the children we give birth to. When we receive what we do not consider as ideal, we might turn cynical, and worse, indifferent and stoic.

I’m not at all implying that we must escape from the search of idealism, but we must be careful in understanding its concept. The Renaissance art depicts a more ideal picture of life, while the later (or contemporary) art a more realistic idea of life, showing its misery and depressing façade. However, if we are to discuss the idealism of a Christian community, we must begin with how God first called us.

Grace and Growth

God called us as we were. In fact, it doesn’t matter where we start. Jesus started with 2 disciples, and later 12, one of them being Judas. What if this is the Bible’s idea of what’s ideal? Compare this idea with prestigious universities that only accept candidates with high SATs. This is because they do not wish to educate candidates with no intellectual assets.

Without ignoring the fact that of course, we demand growth from the accepted unqualified candidates. Alike, God demands us to grow, and not remain static in faith.
The main challenge is to enter an “unideal church”, to accept the unsettling reality and contribute there.
The book “When Sinners Say I Do” suggests how marriage is about two sinners proclaiming a vow for each other. And this reminds me of when sinners go to church. Theodore Beza said that there is a necessity in men’s fallenness to show God’s sovereignty, wisdom and decree. Though we must be careful with what Beza stated we must agree that God loves the fallen sinners more than He loves the unfallen angels. The beauty is not in the sin itself, for our sins are so very ugly. The beauty is in seeing our ugly sins from the perspective of the love of God.

The Beloved
We need to unlearn the term the children of God. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were called the children of God. When Jesus came, He was called the same, as He acted as the children of Israel (promised Davidic King) and the beloved Son (read of His baptism). However, the story of this so-called the beloved goes a long way back. The Israelites were too called the beloved, but they didn’t acknowledge the love and rebelled. The same story is being told in us today, we are the beloved, but we often act as if we have never received such divine love. The world tells us not of the contemplation of the beloved, but the concept that we need to purchase and earn love through our achievements.

A Love-Driver Service

Our retreat’s theme is ACTS (A Community That Serves), but before even talking about serving, we must first talk about loving, and what precedes loving is being loved. This is the true foundation of serving, for serving without love is futile. Perhaps our service is a mere a self-escape, or a search for a thing or two to do to fill our spare time? Finally, you can serve without love, but you cannot love without serving. Service is an action produced out of love, and hence must all service be love-driven.
Sure, if God could use an inanimate object, a stone, to work for His Kingdom, God surely could use those who serve Him with the wrong motivation. But a ministry done out of love is what’s pleasing to God.

Forgiveness vs. Self-Righteousness

Those who have been pardoned greatly, will act out great love. “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little” (Luke 7:47). Love is an action. Sure, we cannot escape the affectionate feeling of love, but above all, love must be shown in action. Those who don’t do much, do not love, do not feel loved, and do not consider themselves as sinners, or perhaps they belittle their sins. Self-righteousness disables us to possess the power to love others. The root of not being able to love is the failure to realize the greatness of God’s forgiveness of our sin.

In the 1989 Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, Martin Luther stated simul iustus et peccator, which suggests that we are at the same time both righteous (as we have been justified) and yet still sinners. Paul did not say “I was the chief sinner”, He said, “I am the chief sinner”.

Union with Christ

When you serve, you serve both Christ and His body. All things done without Christ (Christology) are dangerous. Sermons without mentioning Christ leads to mere moral teaching (although common-grace speaking, moral teachings are better than bad deeds).
Persecutions and sufferings are what unite us with Christ, because like us, Christ has experienced all that. Thus, those who are picky towards what they want to experience, do not live in unity with Christ. Any benefits that we have gained through following Christ (the Head), must we also share with the body.

Calvin Institutes IV.1.3: “It is as if one said that the saints are gathered into the society of Christ on the principle that whatever benefits God confers upon them, they should in turn share with one another”.

Attributes of the Body of Christ (1 Peter 3:8)

1. Homophrones
   
   
   Believers must think alike (homophrones), which does not necessarily mean having the same voice or opinion, but must we be agreeable to each other’s concerns (Acts 4:32). LAI translates the verse as, “seiya sekata”, but I prefer it translated into, “seiya sepikir”
2.  Sympathy
   
   
   Having compassion or feel alike.
3. Philadelphoi
   Having affection among actual siblings. God wants His body to possess a familial affection, that is of course not without any fights nor disagreement. Two siblings could fight, but they will reconcile at last.
4. Tapeinophrones
   Having the humility of mind

Conclusion

Bonhoeffer on his book Life Together states, “Christian community is not an ideal we have to realize, but rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate”. To realize (to make into reality) is active, while to participate is passive. We are not called to transform our idealism into reality, for that would be Pelagianism and Armenianism. As Christians, we are not at all immune to these teachings, thus we should continue to remind ourselves that we are merely invited into a God-made masterplan, and not called to bring our own idealism into reality.

Bonhoeffer was a German himself. He knew of Nazi, how Hitler claimed that God is dead, and everything else that follows the movement. The idea of destructive man-made power and idealism are no strangers to him. Hegel even said it before Nietzsche did, “the essence of idealism is not in our realization”.

We should not strive for idealism in a Christian community, for there is none. If anything, we should get real. It’s about Christian realism, not idealism, which is to accept the reality of what God has created for us to participate in.


This sermon note has not been revised by the speaker