Are You In or Are You Out

Good morning, and welcome. I'm sorry I missed last Wednday's post I was at Boy's Camp with a bunch of 1^st - 6^th graders. We had a great time and several boys made decisions to follow Christ Jesus.

Now here is my Sunday post one day late, I apologize for it being late also. In the Book of Ezra, chapter 2 a tough decision was made and some people were excluded. In the U.S. we are all about including everyone so this may seem harsh, but was it really? Read on and you decide.

Moving ahead to Ezra chapter 2, we see a long list of names and may likely be tempted to skip the chapter altogether. It makes us wonder what lessons could possibly emerge from a protracted list of people? You might also wonder what preacher would be foolish enough to read this text in Sunday morning worship.

When a pastor was going to preach on Ezra 2, the Sunday morning bulletin noted the Scripture reading as: Ezra 2:1–70. He had planned to read only sections from this chapter—about fifteen verses. That Sunday, his ordinary schedule was changed, however, and he had to miss the opening minutes of worship in order to visit some Sunday school classes. He thought He had carefully timed events to make sure He would arrive back in worship in plenty of time to read the verses, but, unfortunately, things did not go as He had planned (naturally!). When the time came for the Scripture to be read, He was still busy in the classrooms. One of his associates, realized that someone had to read the Scripture lesson in the pastor's place, so he stood up and proceeded to read Ezra chapter 2—all seventy verses!

Don't worry I am not going to read all 70 verses, but I hope you will see, this passage contains hidden treasures for the careful interpreter. But how can a bunch of names be of uses to all Christians and Christian communities?

As we start our look at the second chapter of Ezra, remember that these listed did not leave their homes willingly. They were Jews forced from their homeland by Nebuchadnezzar, they had not left because they wanted to.

Starting in verse 2 Ezra presents us with a family tree of sorts. It is not a fully developed tree, designating who “begat” whom, but it does provide an accounting of exiles who returned to Palestine and from whom they descended. Ezra was intent on demonstrating that those who returned had legitimate claim to the task of reconstructing the temple.

1. Count Me in … Or Count Me Out!

The list in Ezra 2 shows who rightly belonged to the restored community and who did not. It registers who is counted in and who is counted out. The structure of this list reveals fundamental values in the Jewish community of the time.

First of all, it shows the centrality of the temple. Priests, Levites, and others who worked in the temple receive special mention. Second, the list shows the importance of an individual’s place of birth. A significant group of people are known by their city of origin rather than by their family of origin (vs. 21–35). Third, and foremost, the list displays how much Israel valued ancestry. Those who could prove their genealogical roots, belonged in the community; they had a place in the restored nation.

We all desire to be counted in, to belong to a group. We hate feeling excluded. A graduate student at Harvard, theology professor invited him and his wife to a dinner of theological faculty in the Boston area because he knew the student would be interested in the discussion topic for the evening. When they arrived for hors d’oeuvres at the faculty lounge of Weston Seminary, rather than welcoming the graduate student and his wife with friendly smiles, a couple of his other professors greeted him with puzzled looks. Finally, one of them asked: “Why are you here?” His tone of voice let the student know that he had broken in on a “closed” club. After he explained that his theological professor had invited him, the other professor appeared to be satisfied, but the poor student and his wife spent most of the evening feeling like an unwelcome outsider. Because he was a student, not a faculty member, he was not accepted as one of the group.

This is what happened to those who could not identify their family backgrounds. Verses 59 and 60 specifically call out those who “could not identify their father’s house or their genealogy, whether they were of Israel” (vs. 59). The text does not say what happened to these people, though they were probably treated as outsiders. I know that sounds unfair, but you need to remember that God’s covenant with Abraham included the blessing of his descendants (Genesis 12:2). Moreover, intermixing pure Jewish stock with pagan families consistently had led Israel into serious trouble. Invariably, every time they compromised the sacredness of ancestry, God’s people quickly compromised the holiness of their religion. 

 

The priesthood was hereditary. Only the descendants of Aaron were to serve as priests. If supposed priests could not demonstrate their family background, they could very well be impostors.

If someone asks me to officiate as the minister at their wedding and my response was something like this: “Sure, I’ll marry you. But my ordination papers, and my page and line number have been lost, so I can’t prove that I am a licensed minister. But I really am, so there should be no problem. Right?” Wrong! Anyone who needed a legal minister would most likely go some where else.

In the discussion above I have attempted to explain the reasons for Israel’s exclusionary policies, but should such measures be followed today? Yes, when it comes to a job that involves say state secrets, or military secrets. 

But what about us? By us I mean Christians. If we are not careful the same thing can happen to us. The very things that give us a sense of belonging can exclude others. It could be that the very categories by which we feel included in the body of Christ actually exclude other people? It seems there was a church, who followed a cherished tradition for welcoming visitors. During each worship service they would ask visitors to stand and introduce themselves to the congregation. To them this seemed like a friendly, welcoming gesture. But a new pastor soon noticed that the majority of visitors never stood. In fact, they seemed to preferred not to introduce themselves to a room full of strangers and they looked a bit uncomfortable being asked to do so. What seemed warm and friendly to the church members actually seemed intrusive to many visitors! 

 

As Christians we affirm that membership in the body of Christ depends simply upon one's faith in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. We also accept that we are call to draw outsiders to Christ Jesus by welcoming them into our gatherings. (Matthew 28:18-20). Does your attitude say, “I serve an all loving Saviour?” Do your actions say, “Welcome, to our gathering or to the family?” 

As a Christian does your life contradict or confirm your spoken convictions? We can become so comfortable with each other that a visitor or a non-christian doesn't feel welcome. 

 

2. A Church Full of Ministries (vs. 2-58)

There is something wonderful about being in a group of church people. We share common values; we speak the same language; in summery, we feel included because we share a similar subculture.

It seemed that this was the same for the Children of Israel. They were the dispossessed, they were the captives taken from their homeland by force or the decedents of those taken captive. And now they were all going home.

Notice Ezra's, list of those returning.

1. There are the leaders of those returning. (vs. 2)
2. The men of Israel – the laymen (vs. 2)
3. The Priest (vs. 36-39) – There are four characteristics of the priest. He was (1) chosen of God; (2) the property of God; (3) holy to God; (4) he offered gifts to God, and took back gifts from God
4. The Levites (vs. 40) – They stood midway between the people and the priesthood, which culminated in the high priest. They could not sacrifice, burn incense, or see the "holy things" until covered.
5. The singers (vs. 41) – They were trained for the music of the temple of the LORD.
6. The gatekeepers (vs. 42) – Came from among the Levites; protected the gates of the temple, the store rooms, treasuries; protected the temple articles of worship services; the furnishing of the temple – flour, wine, oil, incense, and spices.
7. The temple servants and servants of Solomon (vs. 43-58) – They came from people captured during Israelite's conquest of Palestine; they served the Levites by doing the lowliest jobs.
8. And then those who could not prove their lineage.

Just as the returning Israelites had a specific job, you have a specific gift for the furtherance of God's kingdom. And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:28)

As a Christian you are all called to share the Good News, that Christ Jesus died on a cross, was buried, and rose again. And as Christians you have been given a gift or gifts to help with the spreading of the Good News. Are you being faithful to that task?

3. Is Exclusion from Christian Fellowship Ever Right? (vs. 61-63)

Those who returned were all the Children of Israel, but each had their place and for those who could not prove their bloodline they well...It seems the things that gave them a sense of belonging also excluded some.

The “fatherless” priests were excluded until the high priest could make a definitive determination of their fate. Intermixing pure Jewish stock with pagan families consistently had led Israel into serious trouble. Invariably, every time they compromised the sacredness of ancestry, God’s people quickly compromised the holiness of their religion. Also remember that the priesthood was hereditary. Only the descendants of Aaron were to serve as priests. So you can sort of understand why a people who were seeking to be restored to God would want to be ethnically pure. 

 

As Christians we may, on some occasions, draw lines that keep folks from joining in the fullness of Christian fellowship. When we do this, we must be clear and intentional, and we must be certain we stand upon solid biblical ground. For example, here we invite all Christians to participate in communion. People who have not confessed faith in Christ Jesus may attend worship with us but they may not receive communion. Similarly, we welcome all Christians to join our church. But a potential new member who says, “I like your church but I don’t believe in Jesus” would be advised to wait to join until he or she confessed faith in Christ Jesus.

Sometimes Christians must exclude a brother or a sister from fellowship. Scriptural teaching in Matthew 18:15–17 and 1 Corinthians 5:1–5, 11 contradicts principles of “niceness,” or political correctness. When a Christian continues to sin without repentance and rejects restorative care from the church, then the church has grounds to exclude him or her from fellowship for a season. Christ Jesus reminds us to regard that person “as a heathen and a tax collector” (Matt. 18:17). While Israel excluded those who could not prove their ancestry for life. We must remember that no one is beyond redemption. If the Christian brother or sister who is out of fellowship will repent and turn from their sin and so reconciled with God they should be welcomed back into Christian fellowship. Christ Jesus died for all, even the one who walks away for a season or two or...

One last point on exclusion. Although all Christians are called to minister ~ for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;(Ephesians 4:12), not every Christian has a right to serve in a leadership role. For instance, a young man came by the pastor's office because he “felt called to the ordained ministry.” The pastor quickly discovered that this young man had never served as a lay person in any role that demonstrated his pastoral abilities. Moreover, he had recently punched another member of the church over a petty argument. The pastor sensed that, if, indeed, God were calling him to be a pastor, he would need time to grow in his ministry skills and to mature in his faith before he would be prepared to lead. But this young man would not be slowed down. He demanded ther pastor's full and immediate support, requesting a positive recommendation for seminary. In good faith as a steward of Christ’s ministry, the pastor could not encourage him until he had demonstrated fitness for pastoral ministry, so he stormed out of the pastor's office in a rage because “He had been unsupportive.”

Conclusion:

We all want to feel apart of something, a sense of belonging. But you have to be careful

not to fall into the trap of exclusiveness as a follower Christ Jesus. If we are honest with ourselves it is easy to develop an us and them mentality. However we must remember that Christ Jesus invites sinners into His fellowship and calls all Christians to maturity and to service. We have our commission and we have our special tools to complete the task given.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour it is easy to see church as some kind of country club or a place full of hypocrites. And you might be right. But the truth of the matter is that church is a fellowship of individual forgiven sinners who have started a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. It is a place where we meet to study His Word so that we can grow to be like Him. It is a place where after being beat-up by this old world we can meet with other Christians and be revived. It is a place where when we mess up, we know we will find forgiveness instead of disapproval. This is what the church is, but there is more so much more; it is a place where you can start your own personal relationship with Christ Jesus and experience His saving grace. All you have to do is ask.