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I am reposting my lecture as one blog to make it easier to access.

“Holiness and the Mission of the People of God”

An Address Presented by Dr. Brian D. Russellat the 1st Annual Holiness Emphasis Week at Asbury Theological Seminary – Florida Campus on November 8, 2005.

What if following Jesus Christ were the only true means of unleashing all of the talents, passions, and gifts that God implanted in us at our Creation and of living an unbelievable life in which we fulfill our true destiny as human beings?

Is this a ridiculously lofty goal? Perhaps. But as we spend our time together talking about an Old Testament view of Christian holiness, I want us to keep this question at the forefront of our minds.

Mission, Holiness, and Community: Forgotten Values?
The evangelical church today stands at a crossroads. At stake is the root understanding of the Christian life. Too many of us equate being a Christian merely with going to heaven. Too many pastors do not help the cause much through their words and deeds. I was visiting a relatively large suburban congregation recently. In the middle of the sermon, the pastor remarked, “It is my job to make sure that each of you gets to heaven.” I was struck by this comment. Initially, I thought, “OK. This pastor really has a heart for his people.” Then, I looked around at the close to two thousand faces around the worship center and realized the problem. The congregation was predominantly comprised of affluent, young professional families. Most in attendance were between the ages of 25 and 45 along with their children. If the whole point of Christianity is to get to heaven, then why doesn’t God teleport us there at the moment of our conversion? What does the Christian life mean for a healthy person in their 20’s or 30’s? Is it merely a waiting game until death? Is the church simply a warehouse or an oasis from the world in which we pass our time until we receive the final boarding call from God?

I met Dan at Starbuck’s for coffee. While we were talking, he shared his frustrations with a ministry to Twentysomethings that he had launched. Initially, it had blossomed. The core of volunteers had been mobilized. Announcements were made in his church’s worship services and mailings. The ministry grew quickly to about 40 regulars. The problem was that no one was inviting and bringing new friends. This group simply brought together Christians of a similar age group into yet another activity at Church. Don’s vision wasn’t for getting Christians together to hang out. His vision was to create a group to reach outside the church in order to impact and transform the world for Jesus Christ.

My daughter Micaela had just finished Kindergarten around the time of the above events, but she has demonstrated a clarity and conviction on this issue that cut through the above dilemma. We have many crosses of various shapes and sizes throughout our home. Micaela and I were talking about Jesus, and she said, “Daddy, I think that I understand ‘why Jesus died on the cross.’” I replied, “Tell me, Micaela…Why did Jesus die on the cross?” She smiled and said enthusiastically, “Jesus, died so that we can live!” She’s got it. I have learned to trust my daughter’s theological instincts. She instinctively realized that salvation is not merely a future promise, but a present reality. It is fundamentally about living the life that God desired when He created us in the first place. It is living a mission.

The mission isn’t the continued existence of a local church or even the perpetuation of current ministries. The mission is nothing less than unleashing believers in Christ for life-changing service to the world. It is experiencing true life by serving as God’s hands, feet, and voice in our world.

Isn’t this the testimony of Scripture?

Abraham was called to be an instrument of blessing to the world (Genesis 12:1-3).

Israel was delivered from Egypt so that it could serve as a “kingdom of priests” (i.e., God’s ambassadors in the world) and a “holy nation” (people who reflect God’s character to the world) – Exodus 19:4-6.

Jesus came to seek out and deliver the lost.

In Ephesians 2:8-10, Paul wrote:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith– and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter wrote:
1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

The church exists for mission. Have we forgotten this?

Yet, there is a second problem in the church today. It was hinted at in several of the Scriptures cited above. It is not merely a misunderstanding about the centrality of mission. It is also a misunderstanding about the necessity of reflecting Christ-like character. God has called us to be holy. Holiness in essence is a call to Christlikeness. As we will see, mission and Christlike character cannot be easily separated. Another generation had a bumper-sticker that read “Not perfect, just forgiven.” This at least presumed that there was some standard for Christian living (even if most failed to live up to it). Many in our present generation understand forgiveness, but many of us lack an understanding of what God seeks to do in our lives. The issue is not forgiveness. Of course, God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus offers forgiveness for all who believe, but God wants more. God wants to transform our lives. God wants to shape us and recreate us so that we reflect not merely our own strengths and weakness; gifts and imperfections; character traits and flaws, but more and more each day we will begin to reflect the character of Jesus Christ. Yet, this is not the witness of much of Christianity in its North American context. Sadly, the ethos and character of the church is not significantly different from that of the surrounding culture.

Ron Sider in his provocative book The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience wrote in part:
Scandalous behavior is rapidly destroying American Christianity. By their daily activity, most “Christians” regularly commit treason. With their mouths they claim that Jesus is Lord, but with their actions they demonstrate allegiance to money, sex, and self-fulfillment.
The findings in numerous national polls conducted by highly respected pollsters like The Gallup Organization and The Barna Group are simply shocking. “Gallup and Barna,” laments evangelical theologian Michael Horton, “hand us survey after survey demonstrating that evangelical Christians are as likely to embrace lifestyles every bit as hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered, and sexually immoral as the world in general.”1 Divorce is more common among “born-again” Christians than in the general American population. Only 6 percent of evangelicals tithe. White evangelicals are the most likely people to object to neighbors of another race. Josh McDowell has pointed out that the sexual promiscuity of evangelical youth is only a little less outrageous than that of their nonevangelical peers. (Books and Culture)

The key however is to see the relationship between mission and holiness. If these are not bound together, mission becomes ineffective because mission fundamentally is the reflection of God’s character to the world in order to connect that world with the Creational interests and intentions of God. Mission is only God’s mission when God is reflected through its practice. Because without holiness, Christian leaders are simply dangerous. All gifts and talents apart from a Christ-formed center are powerless to impact lives. Apart from holiness, we simply feign godliness while actually promoting worldliness. A commitment to holiness guards us against the false signs of a “successful” ministry — high attendance, building projects, popularity (don’t get me wrong here as these are not bad things — they simply are not a true gauge of success). Holiness frees us for the sort of mission-focused ministry that Jesus dreamed about on the cross — a life altering, world changing movement of Christ-followers fully unleashed to go.

Lastly, as suggested by the inclusion of “people of God” in the title of this talk. There is a corporate dimension that is intangible to a biblical understanding of both mission and holiness. Mission and holiness cannot be understood apart from community. Community is rapidly becoming a tiresome cliché. Everyone seems to want it, but it rarely manifests itself in more than superficial ways.

I learned the other day something interesting about everyone’s favorite coffeehouse Starbuck’s. Part of this chain’s success lies not in its coffee but in the ambience of its outlets. Why do people go to a Starbuck’s? For the community, right? What is interesting is that its executives admit that Starbuck’s has created more of a perception of community than an authentic community.

If the mere perception of community can create a successful and profitable corporation, what would an authentic biblical community of persons who reflect God’s character in their lives and live missional lifestyles create?

Our churches produce individual believers rather than a corporate body that moves forward as a whole to reflect Christ’s character and connect others to God. It is not enough to live a missional lifestyle and to reflect God’s character apart from relationships. In fact, I believe that God created all of us with an innate desire and need for community in which we can truly interact with one another with transparency, deploy our God-given gifts and talents fully, and lovingly serve as a source of hope in our world.

How Can We reengage with this vision in our day?

I think that it begins with a rediscovery of the biblical message itself in general and a fresh reading of Old Testament in particular. I want to begin at the beginning and allow the Scriptures themselves to map out God’s vision for God’s people. The Bible seeks to convert us out of our own parochial self-interests to its own perspective.

Let me raise our initial question again:
What if following Jesus Christ were the only true means of unleashing all of the talents, passions, and gifts that God implanted in us at our Creation and of living an unbelievable life in which we fulfill our true destiny as human beings?

Rooted in Creation

I hope it is not a surprise to you that I am rooting my answer to this question primarily in the Pentateuch (Genesis – Exodus). Of course, part of this is simply the result of the limits of time. But most importantly, I believe that we can rediscover the true message and importance of God’s call to holiness of heart and life only when we capture an overarching sense of God’s intentions for Creation and for His people both corporately and individually. The Pentateuch or the Torah serves as God’s authoritative instructions for how the redeemed nation of Israel was to conduct itself in the midst of the nations who were to be the ultimate recipients of God’s blessing (e.g., Gen 12:1-3; Isa 49:6). Thus, if we can gain a sense of the beginning part of Scripture, we can better understand how we as followers of Israel’s Messiah – Jesus Christ – are to live and embody God’s purposes in our day.

Please turn with me to Genesis 1:26-31

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground– everything that has the breath of life in it– I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning– the sixth day.

Genesis 1:26-31 brings the Creation story to a climax by describing the creation of humanity in the image of God. It is clear from a careful reading of Genesis 1:1-2:3 that its author intends to declare that the creation of humanity marks the pinnacle of God’s creative work. It is only after God fashions humanity - male and female - that He assesses his work as “very good” (v. 31). Until the creation of humanity and throughout the first five days, God had used the adjective “good” to describe his handiwork. With the creation of humanity, all Creation is elevated to “very good” status.

The image of God or imago dei has received much treatment through the millennia. This text has rightly been recognized for its importance, but it tends to be an overinterpreted text due to its own lack of detail. Readers rightly desire to know the precise and specific meaning of the phrase image of God. What characterizes this image? What does it mean for understanding the human person? What implications does it have for individuals and communities?

Various theologians over the years have explained the imago dei in terms of humanity’s rationality, community, psychic awareness, ability to act independently. Note that all of these ideas focus on the internal character of men and women. These suggestions are plausible, but they are inferences based on the text rather than elements cited explicitly in the text itself. Too often through the centuries theologians have found in the phrase whatever constituted the popular understand of the human person in their day.

What does Genesis 1:26-31 actually say about the imago dei? Interestingly enough, we find a portrait of holiness, community, and mission at the center of God’s creational designs for humanity.

1) The problem is that the text does not focus on what the imago dei is, but rather on humanity’s function which comes as a consequence of being bearers of God’s image. This is important however because it suggests that the Bible is not so much interested in giving us the ontological meaning of imago dei as much as it is in converting us to a life in which God’s people can embody God’s original mission. A missiological focus is implicit in humanity’s creation in the image of God.

In the Old Testament, the word selem is translated as image. It tends to refer to that which is visible. In other words, imago dei points to humanity as representatives of God in Creation. Throughout the Scriptures, creating visible representations of God is prohibited. It is striking to recognize that in Genesis 1 God created people to serve as a visible image of the divine. We are to reflect to the rest of creation something of God’s purposes and character. I would submit to you that this is the essence of true holiness – i.e., that we His people through our lives and conduct witness to the rest of creation the reality of the invisible Creator God. We are God’s representatives and agents. We may read this as a missiological mandate: God created people to be reflections of the Creator God. Humanity stands before the remainder of Creation as a witness to the God who has fashioned the heavens and the earth. Thus, from the beginning of Creation, we see that humans were born for a purpose. One in which mission and holiness cannot be so easily separated.

As a result of being forged in the image of God, humans fulfill a key role for God. Humanity was created to rule over creation. In our day, this has ironically been twisted into a warrant for abusing the earth and devaluing our fellow creatures. Genesis does indeed grant a high place to humanity, but this has to be understood in light of a representational authority. Humanity does rule for its own sake or prerogatives. Humanity exercises dominion over creation on behalf of God. The actions of people are to mirror those of God. Humanity’s mission is to reflect God’s character and prerogatives in its exercise of authority. We don’t act for ourselves, but for God and for others. This is the only sort of dominion that Genesis envisions. In its wider context, Genesis 2:15 confirms this reality, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (italics added). We may even call this dominion through servanthood. (Christopher J. H. Wright, “The Old Testament and Christian Mission” Evangel 14 (1996): 38.)

The Apostle Paul will make a similar connection between creation and mission in his Second Letter to the Corinthians. In the same context in which Paul describes those in Christ as part of a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17), he uses the language of diplomacy in stating that as part of the new creation, “so we are God’s ambassadors as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Cor 5:20).

Walter Brueggemann adds this commentary
“There is one way in which God is imaged in the world and only one: humanness! This is the only creature, the only part of creation, which discloses to us something about the reality of God. This God is not known through any cast or molten image. God is known peculiarly through this creature who exists in the realm of free history, where power is received, decisions are made, and commitments are honored. God is not imaged in anything fixed but in the freedom of human persons to be faithful and gracious.” {Walter Brueggemann, Genesis Interpretation (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982), 32.}

This world matters very much to God. Salvation is not merely about “going to heaven.” It is about living lives in tune with God’s Creational purposes. Being a follower of Jesus Christ cannot be defined by mere piety or by what one doesn’t do. God created us for an active life and for profound purposes. I don’t think that it is an over-statement to say that the sort of holiness envisioned in the Bible is one in which we truly become fully and authentically human. This is a holiness that our world desperately needs – one in which the character and purposes of our Creator are authentically reflected in the lives of the only part of creation made in His own image. This is the sort of holiness that will draw others to God.

2) The imago dei trumps issues of sexual differentiation among people. So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them (v. 27). Male and female equally and fully reflect the image of God. There is no sense of subordination here. There are no limits placed on the extent to which either man or woman can function as God’s ambassador. Being fully human implies that we function as God’s representatives on earth. The tensions between the sexes that we experience to this day seem absent in this text as well as in the subsequent narrative in Eden (Gen 2:4-25).

Male and female are presented as complements to one another. They each bear the divine image and thus were created to reflect equally the character of God to all of Creation. Tensions and issues of domination and inequality are not the Creator’s original plan. These are the result of the Fall of humankind in Gen 3-11.

As we reflect on the interplay between holiness, mission, and the people of God, let us reaffirm the biblical truth that there are no bit players – but that all of the people of God – male and female need to be unleashed fully if we are to be faithful to God’s Creational intentions.

3) The imago dei is not limited only to certain humans. An Egyptian text from ca. 2050 BC entitled “Instruction Addressed to King Merikare” reads:

Well tended is mankind – god’s cattle,
He made sky and earth for their sake…
He made breath for their noses to live.
They are his images, who came from his body…
He made for them plants and cattle,
Fowl and fish to feed them…
When they weep he hears…
For god knows every name (Lichtheim, AEL 1:106)

What is remarkable about this Egyptian text is that it is a rare example from the Near East in which humans as a whole are valued. It is more typical to devalue people as slaves of God or, if image language is used, it is deployed only in reference to a great King. Our biblical text however places no limits on the scope of the term. It applies equally to all persons, male or female. The implications of this cannot be overstated in our world today. Racial tensions, ethnic squabbling, and dangerous explosions of nationalism continue to remind us of the divisions that exist among those whom God has created to bear his image. Even our churches reflect this. It is cliché but it remains a valid critique of modern Christianity in America to say that Sunday morning worship remains the most segregated time in our nation. Yet, Paul clearly saw the reality of a new humanity in Jesus that reflects our Creator’s original plan:

NRS Galatians 3:28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

This truth is crucial for a correct orientation toward humanity. All persons are born in the image of God. This means that each person carries intrinsic value in the order of creation. Each human has the potential to live out God’s creational intension. The scope of our missiological focus then is universal. There are no throw away or disposable people. We cannot pick and choose worthy recipients for the Gospel message. All are worthy because all bear the image of God. Thus, all possess the potential to fulfill God’s purposes. Chris Wright reminds us, “Mission is not primarily to Hindus and Muslims, but to people in God’s image to whom God can speak and who stand before God in his judgement and mercy.” (Wright, 32) I would add to Wright’s reminder that we are not called to minister to the homeless, the addicted, the impoverished, the narcissistic, the suburban, the urban, but simply to those who desperately need God.

Conversely, this truth speaks a word against the degradation and continue devaluing of human life in our country and world. Every person is born with an intrinsic value in the eyes of God. Every life has a wealth of potential. Every person lost to starvation, violence, and disease represents a loss to the wider human family. The Church needs to take this truth seriously in its embodiment of God’s mission. Furthermore, this means that, if the Church is to take this truth seriously, leadership will become less clergy focused and more lay led.

4) Creation in the image of God seems to be the basis for the special relationship that is forged between the Creator God and humanity. It is clear from the biblical witness that all of the world belongs to God and that God cares for all creation. Yet, it is worth pondering that it is to the newly created humanity alone with whom God converses at length. God’s blessing (vv. 28-30) is direct address and suggests that humans have the capacity to act according to God’s wishes. Humans are empowered to rule over the animal world and subdue it. Subdue should not be equated with unjust dominance or abuse. Genesis 2:4-25 helps to emphasize this point. We find God conversing with his newly created man and working together to name animals. Man is to till the earth. The implication here is that humanity is to start with what God has created and build upon it.

Humans are to be stewards of God’s creation. The long standing dichotomy between social Gospel and personal evangelism is wrong-headed – I don’t want to ridicule the roots of this tension in an anachronistic way (liberal theology was and remains problematic), but it is time to reaffirm biblical truth and reclaim a true biblical scope for our ministry.

Why is all of this important? Two reasons:

1) We now live in a post Genesis 1-2 reality. Genesis 3-11 describe the persistent presence of sinful choices and actions by humans. Sin has fractured God’s creation. Genesis 1-2 stand as a witness to the Creator’s original intentions and as a reminder that our world was once “very good.”

2) In order to understand salvation, these texts point to what full salvation would look like. It is wholistic – much more than an opportunity to “go to heaven.” Salvation is an invitation to become the persons that God intended us to be. It is a return to Eden.

Corrupted by Rebellion

The focus of this lecture is on God’s purposes of missional holiness for the people of God, but we need to take a brief detour on the why God’s purposes have been subverted – human sin and rebellion against God’s creational intentions. If everything that we discovered about God’s intentions for humanity in Gen 1-2 is accurate, then why do we struggle to see these things lived out in our world? Genesis 3-11 provides the most extensive narrative reflection in Israel’s Scriptures on the human problem.

The Fall of Humanity
Genesis 3-11 describes humanity’s unwillingness and ultimately our inability to live out God’s Creational intentions. God created humanity in God’s image for holiness, mission, and community – but we discover in the stories of Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Noah, and the Tower of Babel that sin has a pervasive grip on the human family and as a consequence we live in a fractured world of broken relationships between humans and God, humans and the environment, and humans with one another.

The world of Genesis 3-11 is a world in which creation is abused, in which men and women seek to dominate one another, in which brothers take up arms against brothers, in which violence is rampant, in which immorality is pervasive, in which community exists but as is seen in the Tower of Babel story (Gen 11:1-9) its corporate will manifests itself in a scheme to “make a name for ourselves” – i.e., glorify our selves rather than our Creator.

Genesis 3-11 is set in the ancient world, but if we read it carefully and honestly, I don’t think that we can escape from the conclusion that its realism describes a world very familiar to us — our own. The times have changed, humanity has advanced technologically but do not the same issues that threatened the cosmos in Gen 3-11 remain to this day. As the British writer G. K. Chesterton wrote, “What is wrong with the world? I am.”

Genesis 6:5 is an apt description of the inhumanity of Gen 3-11:
“The LORD saw how great was humanity’s wickedness on earth, and how every plan devised by his mind was nothing but evil all the time.” 6:11-12 follow: “The earth became corrupt before God; the earth was filled with lawlessness. When God saw how corrupt the earth was, for all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth.”

A millennium later Paul would write, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

The biblical story however does not end by groveling in the problem. It narrates the story of God’s mission of salvation and re-creation. It speaks out today loud and clear that we were created for so much more than for which we currently live.

Restored through a Recreated, God-Reflecting, Missional Community

A. God’s Mission
What is God’s response to a corrupted and fractured Creation? It is a movement to redeem and bring reconciliation. In other words, God takes up the mission explicitly in the vacuum created by humanity’s refusal to fulfill God’s purposes.

Despite the fact that Genesis 3-11 narrates the problem of human sin and rebellion, we can clearly see God’s salvific desire to reach out to the crown jewel of his creation.

i) In the aftermath of Adam and Eve’s lack of truth and their choice to disobey, God comes with a question:
NIV Genesis 3:9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

Humanity has hidden itself in the garden, but God comes looking for community.

ii) Although Cain in on the verge of murdering his brother Abel, God attempts to intervene by appealing directly to Cain in advance of the fratricide.

NIV Genesis 4:6 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

iii) Genesis 6-9 portrays a restart as God unleashes judgment on Creation, but significantly despite human rebellion God preserves a remnant of people and animals who will serve to repopulate the earth and fulfill God’s original purposes.

Genesis 9 contains God’s covenant with Noah. God blesses Noah in terms reminiscent of Genesis one. God also reaffirms the dignity and sanctity of all human life. Furthermore the specific nature of the Noahic covenant reaffirms God’s concern for all of Creation.
NIV Genesis 9:12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” 17 So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

Alas, the fresh start with Noah quickly disintegrated into the debacle at Babel (see above; Gen 11:1-9). Human sin, despite the missionary efforts of God, continues to spread exponentially.

B. Call of Abraham
In Genesis 12, a chapter in the Biblical story of holiness, mission, and community opens. Roughly four thousand years ago, God called Abraham to serve as the progenitor of a new missional community through whom the world would be blessed:

NIV Genesis 12:1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

The stories that follow in the remainder of Genesis tell of how these great promises to Abraham pass from generation to generation. The key is to focus on their overall intent. God is not cutting off Abraham from the world in an exclusive move of privilege. Rather Abraham is being called to form a new community for the rest of the world. In other words in context, Abraham’s family will be the agency by which God will bring blessing to the world as described in Genesis 3-11.

You may be wondering how holiness fits into this story. Does it not appear that the promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are unconditional and that their character matters little? After all, none of Israel’s ancestors stand as paragons of virtue – how many times did they pass off their wives as their sisters? (chuckle – chuckle)
These stories are fundamentally about God’s faithfulness in the progress of his mission to bring blessing to the world through Abraham, but there are clear hints that conduct and lifestyle truly matters for this mission to be successful.

NIV Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”

NIV Genesis 18:17 Then the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”

The full implications of this remain to be spilled out in the books of Exodus – Deuteronomy.

C. Exodus and the Sanctification of God’s People

In a critical reading of the book of Exodus, it is fashionable to emphasize Exodus as a story of liberation to freedom. Popular renditions of the Exodus tend to reinforce this understanding. The animated film The Prince of Egypt ends with the crossing of the Red Sea. Cecile B. DeMile’s epic The Ten Commandments does include the reception of the Ten Commandments at Sinai but its dominant focus is on the liberation of Israel. Yet, when approaching the book of Exodus, the reader may be surprised that the story of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt encompasses only the first 15 chapters of its 40. The dominant feature of Exodus in terms of space is not the Exodus story itself but the events at Sinai in which the newly delivered nation of Israel learns what it means to live together in community as the people of God.

In other words, the book of Exodus is not a story of liberation, if one means by liberation a narrative of deliverance to autonomous freedom. Israel is not free at any point in the book of Exodus. In fact, there is no word for freedom in the Old Testament. The book of Exodus then is actually a book about mission. God delivers his covenant people from an illegitimate ruler, Pharaoh, who sought to prevent Israel from fulfilling the purposes for which God had called Israel’s ancestors (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) to accomplish – namely serving a missional function for the rest of creation by being the agents through whom God would bless the world. God does liberate Israel from bondage, but it is a purposeful deliverance in which Israel is not granted autonomous freedom (or even democracy) but is unleashed into the world in order to fulfill God’s creation wide salvific purposes. The narrative of Exodus then is about unleashing God’s people from bondage and shaping them into a holy community which will embody the redemption that God seeks to work.

The focus of Exodus then is on shaping an ethos in which the liberated do not become the oppressors. It is thus not merely about the elimination of sin or deliverance from some form of oppression. Rather Exodus is truly about a conversion to a mission – namely a participation in God’s salvific purposes for Creation. I like to put it this way: Exodus is not about freedom from, but freedom for.

That Exodus is ultimately about holiness, mission, and community rather than on mere liberation comes becomes crystal clear in Exodus 19:4-6:

NIV Exodus 19:4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

After the call to remember God’s actions and an invitation to relationship, this text spells out the unique position of Israel among the nations as well as Israel’s peculiar vocation as God’s people.

Verse five declares that God’s people are his own special or treasured possession. This phrase may also be translated as private treasure. Most people have treasured possessions – perhaps a family heirloom, a picture, a favorite coat; God’s most beloved possession, however, is his people whom he has saved by his grace and brought into his holy presence.

Scripture certainly affirms that God loves everyone in the world regardless of who one is or what one does (John 3:16). Jesus Christ gave his life for all people. Our text in Exodus 19 is simply emphasizing the truth that God has an even deeper affection, relationship and attitude toward those who are distinctively his own through relationship. Out of all of the people and nations on earth, God’s people his special people.

This status as God’s people, however, is not a position of arrogance, a point of pride or a place of privilege. My brother-in-law is twenty years younger than I am. When I married Jackie, “Greg” was only three years old. Jackie’s other brother already had children so Greg was affectionately known tongue-in-cheek as “Uncle Greg” from his childhood. Uncle Greg was born late in life to his parents, and he has always held a special place in his mother’s heart. As a youngster this was already obvious, but just in case you were not paying attention, Greg would remind you: “I’m my Momma’s baby” was his motto. I can remember trips back to Ohio to visit Jackie’s family. Uncle Greg decided that it was his job to police the home, and he would follow me in order to make sure that I was not breaking any of the house rules. This was humorous in and of itself, but even more illustrative were the many times when I would try to correct Greg’s behavior. He would always declare, “I don’t have to listen to you because I’m my Momma’s baby.” He learned early that with status comes power.

Too often, status and privilege lead to domination and power plays over others. The status of God’s people in the Bible, however, is never about power. It is about servanthood. Centuries later, Jesus will put it this way, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45). Yes, the people of God are truly His treasured possession. Yet, this status is a means to a greater end – the fulfillment of God’s glorious plan. God grants Israel this special position precisely so that it can serve a missional role in the world as God’s servant-nation.

“…Indeed the whole earth is mine, but you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exod 19:5-6)

These verses provide Israel with its primary vocation: a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation. These two phrases point us to the life for which God has delivered His people.

First, the phrases “kingdom of priests” and “holy nation” emphasize the corporate or communal character of God’s people. The mission envisioned involves the whole people of God. It is about a redeemed community. It is not merely the vocation of a spiritual elite. For the ancient Israelites, this meant that the entire nation was to be characterized by its priestly role and holy character. This remains true for the Christian church since it has been grafted into Abraham’s tree (Rom 11:17-24). Each one of us who trusts in Jesus Christ is part of the body of Christ. Thus, each of us has an individual contribution to make to this mission.

Second, Israel as a whole was to serve a priestly or mediatory role! Yes, there were still official priests in ancient Israel who fulfilled certain tasks. But Exodus 19 declares that the people of God as a whole are to serve a priestly function. What does this mean? Priests serve as a link between God and the world. The intention of this call is for all of God’s people to be witnesses in the world. In Ancient Israel, among other things, priests were responsible for teaching the law and for offering the required sacrifices. In other words, these worked to establish an ethos for the community to embody and provided a means for reconciliation and forgiveness with God. This is a crucial point for how we read the rest of the Pentateuch which is primarily made up of legal materials. We need to read the legal materials not as stifling regulations but as a missiological ethos by which Israel would point the nations to God.

Third, Israel was to be a holy nation. Through its practices and ethos, Israel was to reflect the very character of the God who delivered His people from Egypt. Holiness in ancient Israel was about “getting the Egypt out of Israel.”

In case any of you are doubting that mission, community, and holiness remain vital core values for today’s Christian church, let us turn our attention to a final text:

NIV 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Here from the 1st century AD is a text in which the Apostle Peter draws explicitly upon the vocabulary of Exodus 19 in order to describe his vision for the people of God in his time. What do we find? Holiness, mission, and community.

Being a holy nation is tied intimately with being a kingdom of priests. They cannot in the end be separated. We function effectively as Christ’s ambassadors to the extent that we reflect Christ in our lives. This is true because our lifestyle along with our words testifies to the character and identity of God. Our ethos as a community of faith speaks volumes to a watching world.

Hamburgers are one of my major weaknesses. I love them…especially the ones that I see on television. It seems as though every time that I give up eating them one of the fast food chains strategically begins placing advertisements that run during some of the programs that I watch at night. Whenever I am hungry, inevitably a delicious sandwich encompasses the entire television screen during a commercial break. It looks great — hot and juicy, piled high with toppings, all on a fresh bun – and to complete the picture, it is served fast by a helpful smiling employee. Drawn in by the ad, I make a trip to the restaurant the next day to purchase a burger and fries. Unfortunately, I usually end up with a stale bun, lukewarm overcooked meat, and sparse toppings. Instead of the friendly workers on TV, I am confronted with tired overworked persons who seem agitated when I request some ketchup to go with my fries! Too often I leave disappointed. Over the years, I have learned to avoid fast food whenever possible, but if I do go, I expect very little.

Much of the rest of the Old Testament exists as a testament of the failure of Israel to live out faithfully its privileged position as a missional community. But as we know, this is not the end of the story, Jesus Christ came to embody all of God’s designs and purposes for Israel and through his life, death, and resurrection to unleash anew the power of God for renewal, salvation, and hope.

Yet, in many ways, we ourselves in 2005 have failed as well to live the life for which Jesus died.

Israel’s Failure and the Hope of the Church

As I have argued, God’s vision for Israel in the Old Testament remains his essential call in the life of the Church.

God calls us to a full-orbed, world-changing, revolutionary ministry in which we reflect God’s character, connect our world with God, and relate in a new community of affirmation, healing, and empowerment.

The distinctive message of the Wesleyan-Arminian side of the Church is that all of this talk is not merely pie in the sky gibberish or a reality to be experienced only in the next life. Each one of us has been Created for So Much More than we can possibly realize. As I reflect on my own vocation as a member of this faculty, I am humbled by all of the talent that sits before me in my classes – persons whom God has called into servant ministry. When I dream, I think about the huge impact that each of us may have in God’s Kingdom.

There is ultimately only one person who can thwart us. It is not the devil (though he may try). It is not some abusive person. It is not your children. Your parents. A spouse. A friend.

Friends, the only person who is keeping us from experiencing a God-honoring and truly human life of mission, holiness, and community is the one whom we see in the mirror each morning. Remember the narrative of Gen 3-11 — these are the stories of our lives – none of us is so lucky to be excluded from this company.

I am not going to stand up here this day and proclaim a quick fix. But I will say this: God, very much desires for each of us in this room to surrender ourselves anew to Him.

Jesus died and was raised from the dead so that we might have life.
But there comes a time in our life when we wake up and realize that we need to die to our self-will so that Jesus can truly live in and through us. This is the heart of Entire Sanctification. This gets at the root of salvation. Jesus died and was raised, and the Holy Spirit has been sent so that we can be unleashed powerfully and purposefully into the world for the sake of world. Jesus died and was raised so that we might live holy lives in which the character of Jesus is reflected in us and in the communities that bear his name so that the world may truly know God in all of His Glory.

How do we experience this life-altering transformation? I don’t think that there is a simple cookie cutter answer to this. Some persons testify to a dramatic and instantaneous experience; others speak of a gradual growth into it. I suspect that there are elements of both. There is a moment of crisis, which may need to be repeated from time to time, and there is progressive growth following these crises.

I will share one angle: We have to get to the point at which we really die to ourselves. Self-will is the root of sin. We need to realize that all of our gifts, talents, abilities, and personal resources are not enough to live the life that God desires. We need to recognize that our infirmities, skeletons in the closet, and on-going patterns of sin continue to haunt us. We need to read the stories of Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, Noah’s Ark, and the Tower of Babel, etc. and recognize that we are gazing at our own reflection. We may have trusted in Jesus Christ previously (or not), but we need to reach a point when we are desperate for God to do a greater work in our lives. We must open ourselves anew to God by surrendering all that we are to him. We have to ask God to come into every nook and cranny of our homes and clean them all out. We will then begin to walk moment by moment in obedience to the Spirit’s leading. We will find that our growth in Christ increases, but this will not be a mere increase in knowledge but in effectiveness. Most importantly, precisely because we are surrendered to God, we will discover that we exist as a community for mission. Holiness, mission, and community – inseparable, essential, and available. None of these exists as God desires apart from the other three.

What about us? How will we live? Will others see the life of Jesus Christ in us or will they mostly see the endless cycles of self-will and wasted potential spinning out of us? Students, what kind of leader will you be? Someone who is dangerous to yourself, your staff, your family, and your church or will you allow God to shape you into a truly dangerous leader. Someone who through the power of the Holy Spirit makes the gates of hell shudder. Someone who is fully devoted to God and who will steadfastly advance the kingdom of God mightily through a life of spirit-filled, evangelistic servant leadership as a member of the sanctified people of God. At heart, we will become the sorts of people that others would like to become. Our infection of holiness becomes contagious to the watching world.

As I stated at the beginning, my daughters Micaela and Katrina steadfastly affirm that Jesus died on the cross so that we can truly live. I am going to take my chances that they are right. What about you?

What if following Jesus Christ were the only true means of unleashing all of the talents, passions, and gifts that God implanted in us at our Creation and of living an unbelievable life in which we fulfill our true destiny as human beings?

© 2005 Brian D. Russell

Tags: Holiness, Mission //