More Than Flowers Need The Rain

The Anabaptists began by reading their Bibles. Grebel and the others in their group were inspired by Luther, just as Zwingli was, but they didn’t just understand a new theology. They saw a new lifestyle that, at the center of it, was the reading of Scripture. When they determined to baptize each other, it was because they saw clearly in the text that which neither Luther and Zwingli saw. When they were exiled and died, it was not for love of peace, nor for love of martyrdom—it was because they loved the text better than life.

While they held the words of Jesus, their Lord, as higher than any other writings—especially in the Sattler tradition—this was not to demean their desire for the rest of the text. Rather, they saw Jesus’ words as bringing light to the rest of Scripture, the OT providing background for Jesus and the NT fulfilling Jesus. Anabaptism was community, but it was a communion of the Word. They would understand the Jewish tradition of dancing with Torah, for the Word of God is the source of life, the source of joy, the power of God. They needed God’s words more than flowers need the rain, more than they need air to breathe. Their passion for the truth of God had no limit.

Never would they have accepted our excuses to ignore the Bible. They would never have said, “The first century was a different culture,” for they wanted their society to be a culture of the Word, to imitate and to put flesh on it. They would never have said, “The Bible is full of contradictions,” for they would have embraced those contradictions, passed through them and come out the other side with God’s truth. They would never have left a passage saying, “There are many ways to understand this section,” but would have worked through it until they understood what the Spirit of God was saying through that passage to them, that day.

Why do we not reflect this passion? Why do we, the baton-holders of the Anabaptist tradition, give a nod to Scriptures as proof-texts or as the “basis” for our theological ideas, but we do not live in it as fish live in the sea? How can we be satisfied with Bible studies that are so filled with the prejudices and influences of this world’s politics, this world’s moralities, this world’s questions, not allowing the Bible itself to lead us into questions and for us to seek it as a parched traveler seeks water? Why do we leave the study of Scripture to “experts”, and just believe what they say?

Are we concerned about seeming too fanatical, too “fundamentalist”? Are we too concerned about drawing more people to the church who may not care for the radical views that may result if we actually drew the whole Word of Jesus into our hearts and lived it out? Or are we simply lazy, considering the analysis of text and impassioned stands to be the place of the schoolchild?

God save us from our lethargy! Lord, we pray with Anselm, “We ask that the words of the Scriptures may also be not just signs on a page, but channels of grace into our hearts.” Help us to love the Word more than we love life.

A Quick Course on Shunning

What is “shunning”?
In conservative Mennonite practice, it is the exclusion of a member of the church due to sin. This would include eating with a member or conversing with them in some groups which have very strict interpretations of the passages involved. Biblically, this practice would be some form of separation, or lack of fellowship. Some of the biblical phrases associated with “shunning” or “excommunication” are: “Treat such a one as you would a tax collector or Gentile,” (Matt. 18:17) “do not associate with” (I Cor. 5:9), “do not eat with” (I Cor. 5:11), “drive out” (I Cor. 5:13),” have nothing to do with that one—do not treat him as an enemy but warn him as a brother” (II Thess. 3:14-15) or “do not allow such a one in your house.” (II John 9-11)

The general context
“Shunning” is the last step in a whole process that believers who are guided by the Spirit use in rebuking or correcting a believer who is involved in continual, unrepentant sin (Matt. 18: 15-17). “Shunning” should never be done to unbelievers, nor should the process even be begun by those who are unspiritual, or by those who are unrepentant of their own sins (Matt. 7:1-6; Gal. 6:1; I Cor. 5:12-13).

The Process of Judgment
1. Privately confront a believer in sin with gentleness. (Matt. 18:15-17; Gal. 6:1-2; Luke 17:2; James 5:19-20)

2. If the believer repents of his sin, then he is to be forgiven and the sin is wiped away. (Matt. 18:21-35; Luke 17:2-3)

3. If the believer in sin does not repent, speak to one or two other believers who are guided by the Spirit, and make sure the one confronting is doing so righteously. (Matt. 18:15-17; Gal. 6:1-2)

4. If the confronter is righteous in his judgment, then he or she takes the one or two believers along to confront the sinning believer, to witness either his or her repentance or lack of repentance. (Matt. 18:15-17)

5. If the sinning believer has not repented, the matter is to be brought to the church, who encourages the brother to repent.

6. If he still does not repent, then the sinning, unrepentant believer is to be treated as a “gentile and a tax-collector.” This is shunning—the final step in a process of confronting an unrepentant believer.

What does it mean to treat someone “as a gentile and a tax-collector”?
While Jesus treated those who were tax collectors and gentiles well, the typical Jewish pattern was to not eat with such a one, enter into their homes or to fellowship with them in any way. The rest of the NT seems to support the idea that when Jesus was speaking about treating the unrepentant as a tax-collector, it is to treat them as a normal Jew would treat such a one—not how Jesus did specifically.

Inside v. Outside
There is one thing we need to remember in this whole discussion: Biblically, there is a clear distinction made between those who are “inside” and those who are “outside” (See I Cor. 5:11-13). In Jesus’ day, he counted the religious Jews to be “inside” at that point, but that they would unpleasantly find themselves “outside” on the last day. While, on the other hand, those currently considered “outside” would in the end be “inside,” due to their repentance (See Matt. 21:23-43). But even though Jesus turned the definitions topsy-turvy, the distinction between those in the kingdom of God and those outside of it remained.

Even so, the church in the first century continued to understand that those inside the church were those who would inherit the kingdom of God. These are not “church attenders”, but “church fellowshipers” (so to speak). These fellowshipers are those who share in the church—do the work as well as reap the rewards of the church, those who participate in it. Those who are in the sidelines of the church aren’t necessarily among the fellowshipers (See James 2:2-7 and 5:1-6 for a description of the “rich” who seem to be attending the church and yet still not a part of it).

To eat with someone in the first century is to share some close association with them—a camaraderie. To “allow into the house” in II John probably means to invite them to attend (and possibly teach in) a church service. It is also possible that if a believer refuses to accept the church’s discipline or mandates, they will not receive the social services the church offers (I Tim. 5:11-14; II Thess. 3:10-11).

And those among the “fellowshipers” are those who continually repent of their sin. They may repent seven times in a day (Luke 17:3), but confess their sins, seeking to revoke them. Those who do not forsake their sin, especially when confronted by a loving brother or sister in the Lord, do not belong to be a part of the fellowship. To fellowship with God—to remain repentant before Him—is to share in the church; to not remain confessed, “walking in the light” is to not share in the Lord, and thus to not share in the church (I John 1:3-9).

And so it is necessary to cease fellowship with those who call themselves brothers—an “insider”—but are unrepentant in their sin, thus looking like an “outsider”.

So how far do we take this?
On the one hand, there needs to be a clear break with those who are unrepentant believers (or false teachers, such as in II John 9-11). There cannot be the fellowship/sharing as there would be for a normal believer. I believe that we can biblically support the following separations:
• No social help except that which is offered to anyone who walks in off the street.
• Not allowing participation in the Lord’s supper.
• No camaraderie or intense friendships.
• No inviting to fellowship meals or event specifically geared toward “believers only”.
• In severe cases, such as false teaching, not allowing to attend a service.
On the other hand, Paul says that a brother under discipline shouldn’t be treated as an enemy, but warned as a brother (II Thess. 3:14-15). I take this to mean that we shouldn’t treat such a one with hatred, but to remind them that this treatment is only temporary until their repentance. We ask, even plead for their repentance in order to save their souls from death (James 5:19-20).

And this is the other main point. Shunning is only temporary until repentance, which is the goal of the whole process. If we continue to separate from fellowship after repentance has taken place, then the Lord has some severe words to say to us (Matt. 6:14-15). The final step, we pray, in any process of discipline, is forgiveness and full acceptance of the believer back into the fellowship of God and the brethren.

Types of Christianity

Jewish Christianity
Determining that Christianity is best represented by the race or culture of Judaism. Salvation is found by being joined with the Israel of God.
Examples: Ebonites, Nazarenes, Messianic Judaism
Positive points: Jesus was Jewish and expressed his teaching and lived his life in a Jewish context. An understanding of that context is necessary to understand Jesus.
Critique: Jesus, although a Jew, can be expressed just as well in a non-Jewish setting. Also, modern Judaism is far removed from the various Judaisms of Jesus’ day, both culturally and in their values.

Nicean Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by the earliest creeds—especially the Nicean and Apostolic. Salvation is found through faithfulness to the foundational truths about God and Jesus."
Examples: Christian Research Institute, as well as many other cross-Christian parachurches.
Positive points: The early creeds were and are well used to protect the Church against false teachers. These creeds express some important basic points of belief in all Christian beliefs.
Critique: Jesus expected not only to be believed in, but obeyed. The Spirit of God does more than the creed-based churches give him credit for. Some aspects of the creeds go beyond Scripture, but they are still expected to be the basis of salvation.

Byzantine Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by the various Eastern Churches, which date themselves to the beginning of the Jerusalem church. Liturgical worship, Trinitarian theology and the writings of the church fathers are emphasized. Salvation is found through joining and remaining faithful to the Orthodox church."
Examples: Eastern Orthodox churches—Antiocian, Syrian, Greek, Russian Orthodox.
Positive points: The simplicity of worship and understanding is welcome to everyone, no matter what economic or education level. Their focus on human sinfulness and the necessity of humility is essential to Jesus’ teaching.
Critique: The Byzantine churches were influenced by cultural changes and Platonism long after the apostolic period. They best represent the Eastern church of the 8th century, not the church Jesus began.

Roman Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by the traditions held by the Roman church, including honor and obedience to the Roman pontiff. Usually includes some form of honor and exaltation of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Salvation is found by joining and remaining faithful to the Roman Church."
Examples: The only example is the Roman Catholic Church—but that’s enough!
Positive points: The Roman Church has remained flexible enough in recent years to welcome many who want to “just follow Jesus.” The leadership of the Roman Church has exercised enormous humility in repenting from evil actions of the past.
Critique: The Roman Church’s tradition has strayed from focusing simply on Jesus’ teaching, to also welcoming various doctrines concerning Mary, the pontiff, the apostolic succession, liberation theology and other non-Biblical traditions.

Evangelical Christianity (Three types)
Christianity is best expressed by the attempts to find an apostolic tradition by emphasizing salvation by faith and grace alone, and each person’s obedience understanding and obedience of Scripture. Rooted in a religious reformation begun in 1519 by Martin Luther.

a. Lutheran Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by retaining all Roman traditions except those that directly oppose a Lutheran interpretation of Scripture. Salvation is found in faith in Christ."
Examples: Lutherans, Anglicans, Episcopalians
Positive points: Simplicity in gospel message.
Critique: Not warning their congregations against greed and other sins that would keep them from God’s kingdom. Too much emphasis on the personal nature of religion, and so neglecting the necessity to evangelize or to be bold in one's faith.

b. Calvinist Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by emphasizing a Calvinist interpretation of theology, especially predestination and God’s complete control over all events in the universe. Salvation is found by the choice of God, demonstrated by faith in Christ."
Examples: Presbyterians, Reformed
Positive points: Strong organization and emphasis on Christian education.
Critique: Having human theology, not the Bible, as the basis of their salvation. Teaching that obedience is responsibility, not mercy.

c. Anti-nomian Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by faith in Jesus, with no manner of obedience to God being necessary (except perhaps a few cultural mandates, such as gainful employment and heterosexual impulses). Salvation is found through confessing Jesus as Savior alone."
Examples: Dallas Seminary, Campus Crusade for Christ. Anti-nomian sects existed before evangelicalism, but after the Reformation, almost all anti-nomian sects joined with evangelicalism.
Positive points: Simple, easily accepted presentation of some important points about Jesus. Good focus on evangelism.
Critique: Not actually teaching the gospel of Jesus. Jesus is salvation to those who obey him as well as those who believe some doctrinal points.

Heterodox Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by an interpretation of Scripture other than the accepted, Orthodox position. Salvation is found by believing the non-Orthodox teaching."
Examples: Arians, Unitarians
Positive points: The Orthodox presentation of Christianity is weak at points when looking at the Scripture, especially in their philosophical explanations of the trinity and the nature of Jesus.
Critique: Just taking an alternative view from the Orthodox does not make one any more Scriptural. Sometimes the Scripture does not answer the questions we want to ask, and so we must limit ourselves to that.

Philosophical Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by a human philosophical construct, such as Marxism or human reason, which is used to tie together all understanding about God and the spirit world found in the Bible."
Examples: Aquinan Theology, Marxist theology, Liberal theology. Jeffersonianism, most academia.
Positive points: Jesus does communicate to the various philosophical viewpoints, and philosophy often is a needed critique of various Christian positions.
Critique: Ultimately, these positions replace Jesus with human reason or a philosopher. Many of these also deny any real spirit world, which Jesus proclaimed as being very real, and effecting humanity.

American Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by God’s recent focus is on the United States, which is chosen by God to represent his kingdom. Whatever failings that are in the United States—as determined by certain central values (such as heterosexuality and a pro-family focus)—will need to be corrected and then the United States will be blessed by God. Salvation is found by supporting and reviving the chosen nation."
Examples: Revival churches; Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, some Southern Baptist
Positive points: Certainly high divorce statistics, general acceptance of homosexuality and sexual immorality in general are indications of moral decay.
Critique: Causing those who sin to lose their rights or to be considered sub-human is not loving in Jesus’ teaching. Also, the United States cannot be a Christian nation, for there is and only will be one—the Kingdom of God.

Christendom Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by the rule of an authoritative, Christian nation. Salvation is found through belonging to and being faithful to the Christian nation."
Examples: Some Greek Orthodox, some Roman Catholic, some American Christians.
Positive points: Attempt to improve morality in a nation.
Critique: Jesus is the only king of God and the kingdom of God is God’s only nation. True Christendom can only be found when Jesus returns to earth to rule himself. Everything else is just a sham, and the wars they declare are in opposition to Jesus’ law to love one’s enemy.

Pentecostal Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by those who have faith in Christ and who display their baptism in God’s Spirit by speaking in tongues."
Examples: Assemblies of God, Foursquare, Youth With a Mission
Positive points: Good emphasis on Jesus, obedience and guidance by the Spirit.
Critique: Too much focus on tongues as being “the” gift. As Paul says, there are various gifts, and not everyone who is guided by the Spirit has the same gift.

Prophetic Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by a modern prophet whom God has chosen to interpret the Scriptures, or to give a new Scripture. The prophetic witness determines what is significant to believe and obey. Salvation is found by obeying the prophetic witness."
Examples: Mormons, Christian Science, Jehovah’s Witness, Shakers, Seventh-Day Adventist (which is not a cult), some Charismatic.
Positive points: They are all attempting to speak the gospel anew in a new place and time.
Critique: Jesus as interpreter of the Scripture is replaced by a prophet. Jesus alone is our salvation, and no prophet can replace him, for there is no other teacher that has been risen from the dead.

Pluralistic Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by a Spirit that communicates differently to different individuals and peoples. There are multiple ways to gain God’s favor, and Jesus is only one of them."
Examples: Conversations with God, Buddhist interpretations of Christianity, Bahaism.
Positive points: Emphasizes love for all people, no matter who they are.
Critique: The various religious authorities of the world contradict each other. Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Krishna and others cannot all be right, nor can they all be obeyed. Most of the teachers also require exclusive faithfulness. To accept them all is to accept none of them.

Peace Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by a moral position that includes: no violence, mutual aid, and simple living. Salvation is found in believing and obeying a peaceful interpretation of Jesus."
Examples: Mennonites, Quakers.
Positive points: Faithfulness to Jesus includes both commitment to him and obedience. Those who obey these moral positions will be living something very akin to the Christian life.
Critique: Violence in and of itself is not wrong, for God can, and does use it. Jesus’ teaching itself needs to be emphasized, not a politicized interpretation of it. A way of life is not, in an of itself, following Jesus—evangelism and endurance through suffering are also necessary to obey Jesus.

Holiness Christianity
"Christianity is best expressed by communities that have at its head those who have reached a state of “perfection”, where sin isn’t a concern for them any more."
Examples: Wesleyan church, Holiness churches.
Positive points: The Scriptures emphasize that their people need to be holy, pure of sin.
Critique: Those who think that they have no need to repent anymore are arrogant, and no longer listen to the Spirit who convicts the world of sin. The leadership of Jesus are humble enough to admit their sins and mistakes and to confess them and have them forgiven.

What is the Truest Christianity?

Jesus Christianity:
Christianity is best expressed by communities that are committed to Jesus as their only leader and teacher. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for Jesus, no matter what the cost to their relationships, finances or lives. They listen to the Spirit and are guided by him through visions, dreams, gifts and Bible interpretation to be like Jesus in all their ways. They hold allegiance to no nation or denomination, but honor God the Father above all, are fully committed to Jesus and live by the Spirit in all their lives. They are bold in their faith, loving all people, doing no one any harm, welcoming all, especially the needy and those seeking the Lord.

Communities like this can exist in almost any of the groups above, but they are often considered to be “strange”. These communities can never be accepted by the world, and ultimately—at one point or another—they will be rejected by the Christianities that care more for their traditions than for Jesus. But even in this, they are like the Lord.

The Practice of Shalom

Because of God’s tremendous compassion for everyone, I beg you, my dear family, to put your congregations on the altar, as a still living but holy sacrifice to God. This is what is acceptable to God, your sincere act of loving devotion among your congregation. Don’t be formed by the thinking of this era—that of stereotypes and judgment— but be re-created, having your minds rebooted to the will of God, and so proving by your actions what the good and pleasing and complete will of God is.
I was given a message from the Lord to share with all of you: Don’t consider yourself to be better than others in everything. Be sensible, and admit that each one of you has granted each one of you a measure of faith, even if that faith looks differently….Our congregations are to be characterized by sincere love for one another. We are all to be rid of the evil in our congregations, but to grasp onto the good.
We are to have affectionate love for each other. We are to be diligent without procrastination. We are to be enthusiastic in character. We serve the Lord. We rejoice in hope. We endure in suffering. We persist in prayer. We are to give to the needs of the saints. We are to practice hospitality. As the representatives of Jesus, you know already that we are to bless those who persecute us—we speak well of them and do not verbally destroy them. As Jesus, we rejoice with the joyful and mourn with the weeping.
Well, this is how we should behave to other groups of Christians, as well as those outside the faith. We aren’t to be arrogant over other Christians, but we are to associate with the lowly and the weak among us. Don’t be self-important. Just because you’ve got the money, don’t think that you can tell the others what to do. Just because you’ve got the word of God, that doesn’t mean that you can order others around. Just because you’ve proven your faith, it doesn’t mean that everyone has to listen to your opinions. Nor does it give anyone the right to attack others, no matter what they’ve done to you. If someone does something evil to you, don’t act immorally back to them. Instead, spend time thinking ahead of time about how you can do good to everyone. With all of your ability, live in peace and community with ALL people—even fellow Christians who disagree with you. Romans 12:1-19

We Got to Start Somewhere, But There’s Just So Far To Go
What can we do? We live in a world rejecting shalom, pursuing materialism, sexual gratification and false philosophies and calling it happiness. In the midst of their self- authentication, self-actualization and self-gratification, the people of the world has destroyed well-being for others around them. The world ignores the needs of those around them, they avoid thinking of the harm they have caused others and they do all they can to shore up their hope that someday, somehow, their lives will be okay.

This wouldn’t be so bad if the church was really any different. Instead, we live in a church that has bought what the world had to say about truth and joy for 1800 years. The church flies on a pendulum which swings from a drive to punish all those irresponsible and filled with self-interest to being wholly accepting and supporting people even in their drive to destroy themselves and others.

The answer to this is the shalom of Jesus. Jesus calls us to communities of shalom—a disciplined grace which leads to peace on earth. But how can we—when all the governments and churches and non-profits in the world have failed—succeed in creating peace where only chaos and hatred has reigned?

Creating Shalom
1. Understand our baptism
First, we must understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus. To be baptized is to die, to have our old life, with its philosophies and materialism cast aside, no longer living in it. And we must live the principles of Jesus. Jesus is faithful, and we can live in that faithfulness. We must realize that being a follower of Jesus isn’t a matter of belief, but of lifestyle. So we must pursue Jesus—the real Jesus as presented in the gospels—surrender our lives and live for Him.

2. Live the principles of shalom
Then, as Jesus teaches us, we understand more and more the principles of peace that he taught us. We will learn his principles of purity, of faithfulness, of devotion to God and love of others. In all this, we will become more like the people who can create shalom in the world because we will embody shalom.

3. Accept the Anawim
As we learn Jesus’ way, we find that so many of the world’s categories no longer apply. Those which the world rejects—even for good reason!—we will welcome and offer God’s love and peace. Those who are blamed because of their poverty we will receive and share with. Those who are hated we will love and offer hope and community through Jesus.

4. Join a community of shalom
It is not enough for us to enact shalom as individuals, we must be in a community of shalom. This means participating in a group of baptized faithful in Jesus who are allowing God to transform them into shalom-makers. This must be a community welcoming to the outcast and a community ready to participate in koinonia.

5. Speak prophetically
As we live out Jesus’ life and community of shalom, then we must share with others the principles of shalom as we live them out. We cannot speak them if we do not live them, but we must share what Jesus has taught us and we do live out. We do not speak this in order to judge others, but in reality to warn them of Jesus’ judgment against those who oppose shalom.

6. Live in trust and patience
It is easy to get discouraged. We can look at the world and see what a big task it is to transform it. We can look at the church and see how faithless and fear-peddling it is. We can look at our failures to live out shalom, and throw up our hands in despair. But this is where the faith of Abraham (and of Jesus) comes in. Abraham, despite his own failures and weaknesses, despite the impossibilities of the promise God gave him, Abraham trusted that God could and would do it. He never forsook God, but continued in patience, even as he suffered for those who suffered due to their rejection of shalom. Even so, when it looks like all has failed and God is no where to be found, we need to be patient, and give room for God to work in His own time.

7. Pray for God’s shalom
Finally, Jesus tells us to pray for God’s kingdom to come, for the shalom to happen on earth. Ultimately, if peace and justice are to rule the earth, if shalom is to break into anyone’s life, it must be done by God’s work. If that is the case, then our main task is that of asking God to cause shalom to come. Pray for others, that they may experience God’s full shalom. Pray for the church, that they may understand and live out God’s full shalom. And pray for the world that it might be transformed into God’s kingdom.

The Principles of Shalom

So if there’s anyone listening, let me say this to you: Have compassion on the bad guys of your life. Be nice to the mean ones. Answer well those who cuss you out. Pray blessings on those who insult and abuse you. If a cop pushes you, give him the opportunity to beat you up. If a creditor steals money from you, offer him the rest of your account. If the government demands something from you, give it freely. And if a cop steals what is yours, don’t demand it back. In whatever good way you want people to treat you, treat them that way, no matter how badly treat you.
Look, if you only feel good about those who feel good about you, do you think God will bless you for that? Everyone, no matter how bad they are, love those who love them. If you do good things only to those who do good to you, do you think God will bless you for that? Everyone, no matter how evil, does the same. If you loan out money only to people who will pay you back, do you think God will bless you for that? Evil people loan out money for a return, plus interest.
You can do better than that. Love the people you find most unlovable. Act with compassion toward them and lend them money—yes, I know you won’t get the money back. Just do it, knowing that you won’t get anything back for it, not even a thanks. But you will get more back than you would ever expect, but that from God. If you do this, you will be acting like God, the Lord of the Universe—because He, too, does compassionate acts for those who never thank Him and who do the very worst acts on earth. So be compassionate to the same extent God is.
Don’t condemn others and you won’t be condemned by God. Don’t punish for punishment’s sake and you won’t be punished by God, either. If you release someone from a grudge, God will release you. Give freely to those in need—no matter who they are—and God will give freely to you. It’s kinda like a keg party. Take, let’s say a third of keg of beer and give it to your friends. They will take it, shake it up until it fills the keg and then pour it all over you—much more than you gave them! Even so, the amount of compassion you give to those who don’t deserve it will be poured right back on you!
Luke 6:25-38, SKV

Jesus IS the Prince of shalom, the emperor through which peace and justice comes. Not only does he bring it physically, among his people, but Jesus also has given some principles upon which shalom can be built among his people.

Community
Jesus didn’t come to deliver individuals into shalom, but to create a nation of shalom. We cannot see the grace of God as only visiting individuals, but God is creating a community through Jesus who will be able to make a community of peace and justice among themselves.

Be ready
The people of God are to keep one eye on this world and one eye on the world that is to come. The meeting point between these two worlds is the judgment of God. Those who showed themselves faithful to Jesus and God will be delivered into God’s kingdom of shalom. So to be ready, we must follow the other principles of shalom to show that we are ready to be a part of God’s shalom.

Faithfulness
The first principle of life is faithfulness to God. If we live with our eyes on God, always concerned with our faithfulness and devotion to Him in all aspects of our lives, then we will be ready to experience God’s shalom, instead of the shalom of the world. We also maintain faithfulness to others—our spouses, friends, family and all others. Whatever promises or commitments we have made to them, in our relationship with them, we keep.

Do not harm
We make a point not to do anything hateful to another, with a purpose to harm them. No matter what they have done to us, we do not do harm in return. This may put us in a position of vulnerability, but we must trust that God will care for us and avenge us when necessary, not taking such actions on ourselves.

Treating others with respect
Some we are obligated to respect—our betters, our leaders. But we are also to respect those whom the world does not respect, the outcast and shamed. If we provide respect to all, then all will receive welcome and hope and shalom.

Meeting other’s needs
We are not just to not give harm, but to offer respect to others, but we must also give compassion to others when they are in need. We need to feel their pain and seek to do what we can to help. Then, we should share what resources we have to help others. This empathy and open handedness is summarized in the Greek word, koinonia.

Equality of justice
Finally, Jesus emphasizes that these community principles—faithfulness, no harm, respect and koinonia—are not just for those like us, but for everyone, even if some fail, even if some are irritating, act hatefully occasionally and are occasionally faithless. Respect and assistance is to be granted to everyone without exception.

If we are in Jesus, we are to live out these principles, create communities that live these principles out and teach it to others. In this way, we are to accomplish God’s shalom for ourselves, our communities and, eventually, the entire world

The Progress of Shalom

Without exception, everyone has done wrong before God and become offensive to Him. But we all have been given the opportunity to be right before God through the deliverance from the slavery to sin and death which can be found in the Messiah Jesus. When the Father raised Jesus from an official execution, he showed him to be the path to be forgiven of our sins and to have a relationship with God. God proved his justice—which was called into question by him overlooking sins in the past and because of his patience—by making acceptable the one who enters into the devotion of Jesus, and so He proved his actions just….Jesus was given to the authorities to be punished because of our wrongs before God and Jesus was raised from his execution so that we could be made acceptable before God. Therefore, since we have been made acceptable by committed devotion, we have the shalom of God through our King, Messiah Jesus. It is because of Him that we have the right to speak to God and receive the blessings of God, on which we depend on for our very well-being. We boast in our confidence in being a part of God’s glory. You see, we can boast in the sufferings we receive—even as Jesus did—because we know that our suffering gives us the opportunity to stick with God. And sticking with God in the midst of suffering—even as Jesus did— is the test of our true devotion to God. And if our devotion is tested, then we have confidence—because if Jesus was raised by His enduring devotion, so will we. And this confidence will never be dashed because God’s love fills us through the Holy Spirit, given by God, to help us endure in the midst of our struggles. (Romans 3:23-26; 4:25-5:5)

Got World Peace?
Peace, according to the Bible is not just an absence of violence or a peaceful, easy feeling, but it is well-being in a community. When the Bible promises “peace on earth to those obtaining grace”, it is not speaking of a lack of war, but of a ruling principle and nation who would provide for all in need and offer justice and peace to everyone, without exclusion. This well-being and justice is called “shalom” in the Bible.

Stuck With Whirled Peas?
If there is one thing the world lacks, it is peace, meaning shalom. If shalom is a world-wide community in which everyone experiences well-being, acceptance, mutual assistance, and equal justice for all, then we have never experienced it. In every nation, in every era, the poor have been oppressed. The outcast have been thrown out because of arbitrary cultural mores. The religious have judged and rejected all people who did not accept their narrow guidelines. The non-religious have judged and rejected the religious because of their devotion to God. And all people purpose to harm all people who stand in the way of their culture controlling and manipulating all others.

Life on earth is not shalom. It is anti-peace.

Everyone wants peace. Most of us in the world recognize that we are all in trouble, that we don’t have peace, and all of us want to obtain it. Or create it. Or force it on others. To create shalom where there is no shalom is what the Bible calls “salvation.” Frankly, it is a utopian ideal, just like democracy is, just like capitalism is, just like communism. The difference is that the Bible claims that salvation—the creation of shalom in the world—is something that only God can do. Peace and justice cannot come simply from human effort or from anarchy. It must be a work of God that humans join with. But it is initiated by God.

Getting Better All The Time
The first step of God’s shalom-making was creation. God saw the chaos, the pointlessness of the world and made it again. And, according to Scripture, after God’s peace-making, He established humanity to rule over His creation and to keep it in shalom. This plan failed when humanity chose rebellion and chaos instead of God’s shalom.

Another step in God’s shalom-making was choosing Abraham. Abraham was not a perfect man, but he was a person who sought God alone, being faithful to Him, and trusting in Him when all else seemed chaotic. God chose Abraham because of his trust in God and said that whoever would obtain shalom, in all the world, they must be like Abraham and choose his path of trust. This plan failed because people thought that following the ritual of Abraham or being born into the family of Abraham obtained this shalom.

Another step in God’s shalom-making was to create a community of shalom with very specific rules. He chose for His people a nation in slavery—the outcast—so they would know how to treat those who were outcast. And He taught them His ways of love and shalom for all his people. This experiment failed in different ways, over the years. First, the people didn’t believe that God could really give them shalom. Then, they sought out other spiritual powers to grant them shalom. Then, they oppressed the poor, forgetting that they were once poor themselves. And finally, they took God’s rules and make them so burdensome that it became impossible to live them out.

Love Reign O’er Me
Finally, after all of these temporary experiments, God began his final plan for shalom. He sent his Son to be emperor of the world, ruler of his people. First, Jesus displayed shalom by setting people free from spiritual judgment, offering them freedom from diseases and mental illnesses and offering them a new life in God. Then he told the people the life of shalom in God, living by the principles of shalom. Then, finally, he allowed the rulers of God’s people—the priests and elders—to kill him, treating him as an outcast of God’s people. But God vindicated his Son as the only way to God’s shalom, the great Truth-teller. And a new people was created under Jesus, living Jesus’ shalom-principles and testing the world with their message of destruction of the anti-shalom and the establishment of God’s shalom.

Underground Revolution
Through Jesus, God is continually creating communities of shalom—some big and some small. These communities are made up of those who were rejected by the world and who are baptized in Jesus—namely, those who have committed themselves to being citizens of Jesus’ new nation of shalom. These baptized are committed to Jesus’ principles of peace and justice. But these principles are not enough in and of themselves, because we all are too weak, as humans, to maintain shalom. So the Emperor has allowed us to receive the Holy Spirit, who helps us in our weakness to maintain shalom, even when we do not have the strength to live it out.

Then God sent these Jesus communities out into the world. They preached the kingdom— the nation of shalom—and displayed the power of the Spirit. Communities were in this way tested—would they accept the good proclamation of shalom through Jesus, or would they reject God’s shalom? Would they practice shalom with the needy of Jesus, or would they reject them?

This time of testing continues on even today. Many communities of the world—even many who claim Jesus to be Lord—reject Jesus’ principles of shalom. Many in Jesus’ name harm and kill others. Many in Jesus’ name refuse to help the needy. Many in Jesus’ name even reject the true God and seek a distant Spirit who is unobtrusive and will never give anything, let alone shalom.

The Promise of Shalom

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist. And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious. Then it will happen on that day that the Lord Will again recover the second time with His hand The remnant of His people, who will remain, From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, And from the islands of the sea. And He will lift up a standard for the nations And assemble the banished ones of Israel, And will gather the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth. Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, And those who harass Judah will be cut off; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, And Judah will not harass Ephraim. (Isaiah 11:1-13)

A Really BIG Idea
The Hebrew word for “peace” is “shalom”. Shalom is used most often as a greeting in Hebrew culture, even as its equivalent “salaam” is the greeting in Arabic. To express “peace” to someone is to express one’s intent to not do violence and to give peace of mind to another. However, “shalom” in the Hebrew sense is much more than what “peace” means in English.

“Shalom” in the Hebrew Bible is used for the well-being of all of one’s physical needs, such as having sufficient food, rest, shelter, health, longevity, and even a good death, without pain. Shalom also reflects one’s social needs, such as participating in a supportive community and being accepted by that community. Shalom also has to do with one’s relationship with God, such as God approving of one’s actions and of God forgiving our sins. Shalom also has to do with the well-being of a community, such as security, justice, a lack of disasters and reconciliation between those separated by anger. And lastly, shalom applies to the destruction of all those who want to destroy shalom. So when we speak of “peace” biblically, it means a complete well-being, physically, mentally, socially and spiritually and justice within one’s community.

And where does shalom come from? People can create some aspects of shalom, but ultimately, shalom comes from God. As it says in Judges 6:24: “Yahweh IS shalom”. In the New Testament, we find that the peace and justice of God is found through Jesus alone. God gives this shalom to his people, yet we must enact this peace in the world through these gifts of God:

• through the faith of Jesus (Romans 5:1)
• through the Spirit (John 14:26-27),
• through the word of Jesus (John 16:33),
• through prayer (Philippians 4:6-7),
• and through his people (I Thessalonians 5:13)

Promise of Shalom
Yet it seems that God has withheld his peace from the world. The world is filled with disease and destruction and mental illness and hatred. If the source of peace is God, why has he withheld it?
First of all, God did promise shalom very specifically:
Psalm 37:11-- the Anawim will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant shalom
Psalm 119:165-- Those who love the law have great shalom
Isaiah 9:6-7-- The coming king will be the Prince of Shalom, there will be no end of the shalom he brings
Isaiah 57:19-21-- Peace to him who is far and near, but no shalom for the wicked
Luke 2:14-- Glory to God in the highest and upon earth peace among men who are favored

From these verses we can see a few things: First, that God doesn’t provide peace immediately. He doesn’t wave a magic wand and amazingly peace appears. Rather, God’s people have to go through a period of waiting in trials without peace before He gives shalom. Secondly, God, in these promises, say that his peace will come through one individual—His emperor who will establish shalom among his people.

And lastly, we see that shalom is not offered to everyone in the world. We quote the passage, “Peace on earth” as God’s promise, yet that promise is not to everyone, but those who are given God’s grace. Frankly, not everyone is ready for God’s peace. The people who are opposed to peace for some of the world cannot have peace. Nor can the people who are opposed to God, since the Lord is central to God’s shalom. And those who are opposed to God’s king, the Prince of Shalom—Jesus— will also not be able to experience God’s peace, for they reject God’s means of bringing shalom.