Ben Zornes

1 John 1:8 – Deluded or Delivered

March 4, 2021 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

If we say we have no sin, we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:8

Back in verse 6 John begins a rapid fire set of “if/thens.” Verses 8-10 continue that rhetorical tack. John is setting sail in the glorious sea of Gospel conquest. The first question that arises in setting out on that voyage is obvious: how should the one who is now in fellowship with God understand their relationship with sin (αμαρτια)? Are they still under sin’s dominion if they still commit sinful actions?

John is interested in proclaiming the Gospel which deals with sin. The Gospel doesn’t turn a blind eye to sin, neither does it redefine sin so as to get us off the hook. Two tendencies frequently arise in church history, either legalistic self-righteousness or permissive self-indulgence. One insists that everything is a sin, the other that nothing is. Legalism tries to overcome indwelling sin by looking to one’s own righteousness, and thus must redefine their sin in clever ways, they call it ”holy indignation” instead of an outburst of wrath, or a ”mistake in judgement” rather than an act of selfishness.

The libertine denies there is such a thing as sin at all, clearing the way to indulge in every vice. along with thinly veiled allusions to God’s overwhelming love and kindness. One spits in the face of Christ’s righteousness, the other spits in the face of God’s justice. Both are fundamental misunderstandings of the saint’s relationship to sin.

Though we are delivered from the power of sin and the penalty of it through Christ’s precious blood, yet there remains indwelling sin which must be resisted and overcome. Later on, John will flesh out how the saint overcomes the world (1 Jn. 5:4). What is being established here in the beginning, however, is that denying the presence of remaining corruption in the believer’s life is self-delusion. It is like poking holes in the bottom of the ship and wondering why it ended up in the bottom of the harbor. The Westminster Confession of Faith is profoundly eloquent on this point: “In which war [with sin], although the remaining corruption for a time may much prevail, yet, through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part doth overcome: and so the saints grow in grace, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (Chapter 13, Sec. III).”

All this to say, denying your sin while professing to be a believer is to prove that you are not a believer. Truth doesn’t dwell in you. The saint acknowledges their sin (the very next verse, 1 Jn. 1:9), and so proves that they are a child of the True God. God’s people are those who bring their sin into the Light of God’s truth.

Frail Bonds

March 2, 2021 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

Mankind wants fellowship. But instead of receiving this it in this meal by faith and thus be knit together with Christ and His people, they opt for substitutes. Weak bonding agents of by-laws, contracts, or secret handshakes are selected. This is like trying to build a house using sand instead nails. As you all are smart people you’ve already concluded that this just won’t keep the 2x4s together.

We try to bind ourselves together with sports teams, clubs, Facebook groups about comic book characters, annual family reunions, political parties, and even put lines in the ground to say this is our state. But all of those tethers of loyalty are like webs.

The only thing strong enough to hold mankind together is the Father’s love for His Son which is revealed to us by the power of the Holy Ghost. You can’t hold your life together by putting yourself at the center of it. You can’t hold your family together by maintaining strict conservative values. You can’t hold a nation together by passing good moral laws. The only thing that can hold things together is the One who doesn’t need anything to be held together, nor does He even need to be held together.

Here, in this loaf and cup, we’re shown that God sent His Son to die for you, and the Spirit of God opens your eyes to see it and believe. As you eat it, you partake of God Himself. You partake of all His blessings, and you do so along with all the saints through all history past and all the saints yet unborn.

So taste here true union. Drink here true fellowship. By God’s great love which was shown to us by sending His Son into the world to save sinners, and revealed by the Spirit we are bound together in eternal cords of triune love.

So come in faith and welcome to Jesus…

Slaves to Sons

March 1, 2021 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

Slaves of wicked men live under perpetual fear of torment. Perhaps they became slaves because of some fearful misfortune; but they generally have no means of escape. They cannot escape, because the penalty for runaway slaves is death; they dare not try to escape because the cost of failure is torture. We are born into slavery; slavery to sin. The fear of punishment looms over every action. The whip of shame flicks constantly overhead. Slaves know only fear. All they know behind them and before them is fear.

Not so with sons. Sons are loved. They are welcomed in, the father’s pride beams over them. Sons are disciplined, certainly, but the discipline is administered as a means of correction, not as a final judgement. By Christ, we are delivered from slavery, and thus all our fears, and brought into the household of joy. In this home, God counts us as His very sons and daughters. He beams with joy over us. He gives us our portion of the inheritance. That inheritance is infinite joy. We lay claim to that inheritance by being baptized into Christ. So, these children come not as slaves, but freeborn children. They are free because of Christ’s blood, shed to deliver them from slavery.

Fellowship on the Frontlines

February 27, 2021 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

Introduction

What is the aroma of your home? If your four walls could talk, would they describe a home of joyful love, or bitter carping. The tone and aroma of your home matter. The battlefield is where life-long friendships are formed. In the midst of conflict, fellowship is most necessary. The family is the frontlines for Gospel warfare. Too often we think of it as far off mission fields, or “important” spheres of society, like business, politics, finance, or the sciences. The Christian home is an arms dealer. The wife manufactures the ammo. The husband is then supplied with an arsenal, and then takes aim at the foe. As in any war effort, unity of force is a necessity. Disunity is the downfall of any military enterprise.

Fellowship not Fraternity

An important distinction should be made. The word unity gets thrown around, and can conjure up recent political appeals. While unity is a Bible word (Cf. Eph. 4:3,13), there can be unity on any number of things. What Scripture describes as the basis for Christian unity is the fellowship we have with God and, by necessity, the brethren.

Our fellowship is no mere fraternity of humans. Rather, because of our union with Jesus Christ–the mediator between God and man–we have fellowship with God. Christian fellowship is not based on commonly held beliefs; it isn’t a country club. It isn’t simply coffee and donuts after church. John Calvin once pointed out, “The ungodly have also a mutual union between themselves, but it is without God, nay, in order to alienate themselves more and more from God, which is the extreme of all evils.” Our fellowship is a spiritual communion of the saints through Jesus Christ which binds us into one body (Rom. 12:5, Eph. 2:16). It is in this fellowship with God by Christ that we are also reconciled to our fellow man (2 Cor. 5:18-21).

Christian fellowship is partaking. It is enjoying the benefits of our covenant union with God by Christ (1 Cor. 10:16). When you gather around your dinner table, your children partake of the benefits of your covenant vows. They taste the father’s hard work to fulfill his promise to provide for his bride; they enjoy the haven which their mother promised to make for her bridegroom. Eventually, they will enjoy the fruit of a life of covenant faithfulness by receiving their inheritance.

Fellowship is broken by sin, whether in Eden, or in your home. Sin breaks fellowship. What restores fellowship is forgiveness, and reunion into the partaking of the family riches.

Good Behavior is Not the Goal

One mistake that Christian parents make is that of trying to simply get good behavior out of their kids. They know they don’t want their children to become Philistines. But your goal is not merely good behavior, it is fellowship. God has brought us to enjoy fellowship with Him, and this forms the basis for true fellowship within the church, the home, and the nation. We don’t want to simply have good laws in our nation, we want a nation which enjoys true fellowship, based on the Gospel that sins are forgiven through Christ.

If you aim merely at getting good behavior out of your little ones, you can begin to treat your children like a programmer treats code. Input the code, out comes the program. But that’s not how God wants us to train up our children. Your children are not a pile of cinder blocks. The imagery scripture gives us is that of olive plants, growing up around your table (Ps. 128:3). Meaning you cannot treat them as a clump.

The practical here is that, while in some instances you are shepherding a flock (i.e. at DisneyLand), you can’t forget that you are shepherding individual lambs. Are they a son, or a daughter? Are they teething, or are they conniving the downfall of the empire? Are they needing a nap, or have they become possessed of a devil? Did you make a major life change that’s effecting them, or are they really just being a monster of iniquity?

Here’s a scenario, one child, call him Reggie, is misbehaving. Mom and dad are pulling out their hair to figure out how to corral him. They start to bicker about the approach, they air their complaints about him and each other in front of his siblings. Then one of the other children makes a loud noise, and her head is summarily bitten off. Mom and dad are the tail being wagged, and they’ll soon find the whole home is full of suspicion, and every square inch will be covered in eggshells. So, don’t discipline the whole family for one child’s “squirreliness”. You’ve failed to pave the way for the one child to be restored to fellowship, and as a result, the whole family is prepping for WW3.

Another angle here is that it is quite important that you don’t import stresses from work, marriage, or extended family into the atmosphere of your home. You are working to have an immune system capable of combating any toxin that comes from within or without. Dads, this means that on the drive home from work you need to put all the projects in the briefcase and leave them there, so that when you walk through the door you are breath of refreshment for your wife and your children feel solid beams of joy radiating from you. Cast all your cares upon Christ, and then walk into your home to cast cheerful love upon your family.

Moms, this means not anxiously complaining. Don’t whine to your children about your children whining. If you’re fatigued and feeling like Bilbo Baggins once said, “butter scraped over too much bread,” the kids shouldn’t be able to pick up on it. This is the work God gave you, so do it cheerfully. Clean up that mess of legos, again. Make the next meal. Do another load of laundry. Offer it all up in joyful worship. And husbands, make sure she gets good long Sabbath afternoon naps.

When parents grump about the headaches of their work, or friction with the neighbors, or tiffs with the in-laws, you are sending a message about how your children should face off against their rivals. Your showing them that when they butt heads with their siblings that griping and blame-shifting and envy are fair play. Instead of an aroma of joy, you’re cooking up a stench of strife (Ecc. 4:6).

A Potpourri of Joy

This is all about joy. Fellowship flows out of joy. If we look at 1 John 1:3-4, we see this truth ready at hand: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”

This fellowship with the Father, through the Son, is the only means of Christian fellowship. This apostolic witness of our union with Christ is proclaimed so that joy brims over; so that your home is full of the sort of belly laughter that lasts until your cheeks hurt.

One of the key indicators that a marriage or a family is going sideways is if there is no more joking. The solution isn’t to buy a better joke book. Broken fellowship results in every interaction being poisoned, and the entire home will slowly be paralyzed. The Proverbs 31 woman , however, laughs at the days to come.

Is your home riddled with anxiety? Is it full of back-biting, arguing, joyless interactions? Is it marked by rivalry, envy, and contention? Is fellowship broken? Then first things first: look to Christ on the cross. Your sins are forgiven. Then take stock, and find where you have sinned against members of your family, and go ask forgiveness. Remember that forgiveness is the promise to not remember the others’ faults against them.

This is the valve which makes joyful fellowship possible. When the Gospel is embraced within your home, you can interact with each other without dancing gingerly around the mutually agreed upon landmines. The Gospel starts disabling all the trip-wires of bitterness, envy, rivalry, and strife.

God invites us into fellowship with Him. He is joy. Bright, burning Joy. We partake of Him each Lord’s day, and then He produces fruit in us. Remember that joy is a fruit of God’s Spirit, which is the result of fellowship with the vine. Your home is the frontlines of the battle. You will be a blunt blade, and the munitions you fire will be duds, if fellowship is not maintained. How do you maintain fellowship?

Look to Christ. Forgive your brothers. Laugh at the days to come.

No, The Early Christians Weren’t Communists

February 24, 2021 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

Introduction

It really oughtn’t be an line of argument, but every now and again this question pops up: “Was the Early Church communist?” First off, this is an instance of our bad habit of reading history anachronistically. While we must affirm what good ol’ Solomon taught, “there ain’t nuthin’ new under the sun (my paraphrase)”, we should be careful about taking an economic/political system that arose “yesterday” and pasting it into the first century church’s statement of faith: “Thou musteth share thy private property for the common good.” Even if we grant that the Early Church was “communalistic” (more on that in a second), there wouldn’t have been anything subversive about that; various First Century sects were already practicing a communal living. The Roman Empire contained a wide swath of cultures, and would tolerate just about anything, so long as it didn’t get in the way of Caesar’s tax income. So in that sense, there’s nothing remarkable or revolutionary about what the Early Church did, they were also doing what the OT told the people of God to do for sojourners.

Seeing What’s Not There

But the reason people are led to speculate that the Early Church were proto-communists is built primarily on two passages in the early portion of Acts. This is where the speculation begins:

And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
Acts 2:44-45

Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
Acts 4:34-35

Some wonder whether this “liquidation of private property” was a sort of “repentance” from the greed which private property perpetuated. In other words, they perceive a renunciation of capitalism here, and an embrace of communalism.

However, it takes some mental gymnastics to frame the profitable sale of private property as a repentance for profiting off of private property. “Jael, my love, let’s sell our property at a market determined price to repent of the damning nature of private property.” As an aside, this has a recent counterpart, the Bernie in Mittens meme was turned into a sweatshirt (by Bernie’s campaign site) and the proceeds were given to a charity. Is his making use of the capitalist system in order to give money to some folks in need a repentance of the greed of private property? It ’tain’t, as West Virginians know.

What Was Going On?

What we must do in regards to these text is strive to understand the moment which is described in the early days of the church. Pentecost was a festival where Jews from far and wide (the diaspora) returned to Jerusalem. The Spirit, however, had other plans. As a result of the outpouring of the Spirit, thousands (probably close to 10,000 people) were rapidly added to the number of Christians. They had a lot of mouths to feed, a lot of folks needing a warm place to sleep, a lot of logistical issues. This logjam of various needs explains the development of the diaconate (Acts 6).

But while the early church was experiencing this amazing growth to their ranks, we should not skim over what is plain in the text, “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship (Act 2:42).” In other words, they were being taught Christ’s teachings by the mouth of the apostles. Included, and perhaps prominent in their teaching, was Christ’s pronouncement of the destruction looming over Jerusalem (Cf. Mt. 24). The Apostles knew there was a hammer of judgement hanging of Jerusalem, and the day was soon approaching when getting out of dodge would be advisable. Pray that your flight be not in winter, ’cause the wagon doesn’t have snow tires. So, shrewd Christians knew that in the light of the inevitably of Jerusalem’s destruction, they’d need to liquidate their assets to flee Jerusalem.

This leads to an important point that can’t be stressed enough. Pointing to these passages and arguing that this was proto-communism or communalism is tenuous at best. First of all, the so-called “communist nature” of the early church was not a government run program. It was cheerful giving, free and clear, by each household to care for the needs of this influx of fellow believers who were effectively homeless for the time being. It was not the state taking their money to help their neighbor (which is theft); rather they were cheerful givers.

We should also look to see if this “communism” lasted, and became a permanent feature of the Early Church. The obvious answer is, it wasn’t communism to begin with, and no this arrangement didn’t continue. Of course the church continued to care for the poor, especially the impoverished saints in Jerusalem (look at Paul’s fundraising efforts in 1 Cor. 16:1, for instance).

Two Problems for Those Who Flirt with Communism

If these Acts passages demonstrate early Christinans repenting of private property, we run into two problems very quickly.

The first problem is that as the saints dispersed from Jerusalem, and spread out through the world, they continued to meet in houses (i.e. profitable private property) of wealthy believers (because they had the space for large groups of people). These private properties most certainly had slaves, and various other means of economic production. Why was this sinful owning of private property never addressed in the New Testament? Or, was Paul sinning by going “house to house” in Acts 21 and not rebuking the saints in Ephesus for owning houses?

The second problem is that as the church flourished in caring for the poor, the Apostles also rebuked those who didn’t work (2 Thes. 3:10). In other words, the presence of abundant (and free) generosity of individual saints was not to be an excuse for laziness. Welfare programs were decisively rebuked in essence by the admonitions to labor and care for one’s own household.

Bringing it in for Landing

Now a few things for final thought. The Israelite nation at its prime likely had three tithes rotated every year. It rotated through going to either the Levites & the Temple, funding the feasts & necessary pilgrimages, or to the poor. However, those tithes were on the increase. Meaning that only capital or profits were subject to the tax/tithe. This principle is clearly continued in the culture of the Early Church, by caring for the widows and paying ministers (Cf. 1 Tim. 5).

In summary, no the Early Church was not communist. There was absolutely NO compulsion. All their gifts which are recorded in these early chapters were freely given. Of note, the gifts were given to the church not the state. I’m not political theory expert, but Marx wouldn’t be too pleased with that arrangement. Das Kapital, mensch. After all, Ananias and Saphira didn’t die because they didn’t pay their fair share to the Taxman; rather, it was because they lied about what they gave. Peter tells them that their land was theirs to do with as they pleased. They didn’t have to give any of it, but if they were going to give they needed to be honest about it.

When we’re told that the Early Christians had all things in common, we should see free generosity, not constrained taxation. They were brimful with joy over the Good News of Christ’s redeeming work, that they cheerfully gave of their own needs to support the poor and the needy in their midst. This community was the result of Gospel joy, not the dictate of the Bureau of Human Flourishing. One final thing must be insisted upon, the prohibition against theft in the eighth commandment PRESUMES private property. So, always remember kids, Communists are at odds with the Ten Commandments. Not a good look.

Praying After Supper

February 23, 2021 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

Matthew, Mark, and Luke note that Jesus gave thanks for this meal and blessed it, sanctifying it by His prayer. John’s account of the Last Supper is similar but with a unique feature; it includes a full record of the prayer that Jesus prayed after the supper.

In that prayer, often called the High Priestly prayer, Jesus stands before the Father on behalf of the disciples and for those who would believe because of their testimony. He prays that His people might be made one, even as He and the Father are one. This meal before us was founded by Christ’s blessing, and it was concluded with intercessory prayer.

We’re called to imitate Christ. Now, we can’t imitate His final sacrifice for sin; sorry champ, you’re just not qualified for that. However, we ought to do as He did. One response which this meal should lead us to, is fervent prayer on behalf of others. Christ gave this meal to His disciples so they would memorialize and shew forth His death. He then concluded that meal and commenced His walk to the cross by interceding in prayer for them and for us.

So, we should do likewise. Receive this meal in gratitude, and under the Lord’s blessing. Then stand before the Father, because you are united with Christ, and plead with God on behalf of those in need.

Prayer is how the life of faith breathes. Christ has given us new life, by uniting us to Himself (symbolized in this meal). So now breathe in and out that Christ’s kingdom would come. Pray that God would compel the nations to join us here; bring home wandering sheep; convict hypocrites; undo wicked men’s plans; heal those too ill to even come to the house of the Lord; and pray that in all our dealings, we might show forth Christ’s death until He comes.

So come in faith and welcome to Jesus…

1 John 1:7 – Fellowship in the Light

February 12, 2021 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

But if in the light we habitually walk, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:17

Again, John rocks back and forth between contrasting ideas. Having just noted the impossibile arrangement of the Nicolaitan heresy––and others like them in history––who sought to remain in the dark and maintain their dark deeds while claiming to be in fellowship with God the light, John goes around to the contrasting arrangement: that of walking in the light.

The Greek, and in my translation I seek to bring this out, underscores that the “walking” is continual and habitual. Remaining in the light, or as John puts in His Gospel, “abiding in the vine”, is the basis for our fellowship with each other. There is no fellowship between branches which have been severed from the vine, and those still on the vine. There is unity, however, between the fruitful branches.

However––and this is a point upon which I must wave my hands vigorously so as to ensure that you not miss the point––we walk in the light “as He is in the light.” The basis for our walking in God’s light is Christ’s obedience. Being in Christ ensures that though we are dark as midnight in our sin, we have been brought into the light. This procures for us two things.

1) Fellowship with the brethren.
2) Being cleansed, by Jesus’ blood, from all our sin.

In other words, we are reconciled with our neighbor, and with our God.

The Spirit and the Supper

February 10, 2021 By Ben Zornes Leave a Comment

The church, through all windings of history, has emphatically taught that Christ is memorialized in this Supper. The bread we break is His body, the wine we drink is His blood; this is a cup of blessing, because it overflows with Christ. But the only reason the saints partake of Christ is because of the Holy Spirit’s work.

One of the works which are attributed to the Holy Spirit is that of sealing. After hearing the Word of Christ’s saving work proclaimed, those who believe are, as Paul taught, “sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise (Eph. 1:13).”

The Spirit changes our heart and opens our eyes, so that the declaration of the Gospel is not only heard by our physical ears but is received by faith. The Spirit then seals that faith, confirming to the believer that they are owned a child of God. A seal confirmed that the letter which was received was genuinely from the one who sent it; and thus the contents of the letter could be believed, the promises made would be fulfilled, the benefits conferred would be given.

This is Christ’s body and blood. If you’ve heard & believed the good news that your sins are forgiven and have been given eternal life, it’s only because you’ve been united with Christ. The Christ whose body was broken & whose blood was shed to reconcile sinners to the Father. The only reason that you partake of Christ in this meal is because the Spirit has sealed you.

Calvin put it this way: “the Holy Spirit is the bond by which Christ effectual unites us to himself.” The Holy Spirit binds you to Christ, and Christ brings you to the Father, and by God’s triune grace, you enjoy fellowship with the Source and fountainhead of all the blessings. Fellowship with the Blessed One. Fellowship with God, because the Holy Spirit has sealed you.

So come in faith and welcome to Jesus…