Don’t stare at my finger - look to where I’m pointing.

Reformers and revivalists don’t just memorialize heroes of earlier generations in the faith, but they do what they were doing. The reformers of the 15th, 16th and 18th centuries continue to point to Christ, the Bible, and the example the early church to mine for gold, silver or precious stones--to build on the Kingdom foundation of Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 3) I think Luther, Calvin and Knox would urge us from the great cloud of witnesses to stop staring at their finger in history, but actually look to the same place they were pointing out for us:  to Christ and Kingdom as our priority.  The gospel is the good news that the kingdom of heaven is near; and, there is a lot more grace for us to receive than we thought.

Man-made tradition and religious wisdom tend to get in the way of God’s commands over time, so we need pruning – back to the source of the True Vine.  A remnant will always remain attached in a fierce allegiance to Christ alone, and from there, bear much fruit that lasts. Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, is the original founder, and still the leader, of his own movement called Christianity. This movement has multiplied tens of thousands of times since the early church and throughout the globe today. 

Every disciple of Jesus can make him their model for ministry through a direct personal relationship. We can receive the same power that Jesus had in the Holy Spirit to help us live up into his 50 commands effectively.  Find these again in the red letters of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John…and teach others also to obey all that Christ has commanded us. Every command is like a promise in disguise, showing how we can receive by faith alone, through the Holy Spirit, an exponential kind of Kingdom life from heaven’s resources.

The form of “church”, or ecclesiology, can tend to get rigid when instead it needs to stay flexible and responsive to Christology and missiology. The head of this Body is Christ. The purpose of this Body is his mission in the world, which he loves his way. The church and all of her structures need to stay flexible and function well to propel the mission to plant the gospel concerning Jesus Christ into people of every tribe and tongue. Let’s be making disciples who actually obey the red-letter commands of Christ in Scripture, and teach others to do the same as they are doing.