It would seem that no matter where we go, no matter what group of Christians one talks to, a few things are pretty constant: pride and division. I praise God that there are exceptions to that statement, but God knows that His people are more divided today than even in the time of the Corinthian church, which Paul chastised for the following of "Paul, Apollos, Cephas(Peter), and of Christ" .The fact that I feel justified in admitting that disgusts me, and grieves me greatly.
For the great majority of our family's interaction with "denominations" (which are many) we find that the heart of your average church-goer is struggling for the answers to some tough topics. Sometimes they look in God's Word, but most of the time it is an intellectual discussion and arguments about Koine Greek tenses. I am not seeking to pick any fights, nor exercise my prowess (or lack thereof) in debate, and I believe that most of the time such debates are unprofitable anyway.
Do not misunderstand me.
The doctrines of the Bible, those things that I teach in the church meetings, are not up for discussion, nor are they are fluid as some would have you think, molding to culture and up for personal interpretation. Surely, the Word of God is clear and authoritative, it's answers open and easy to find to anyone who will prayerfully search the truth, as led by the Holy Spirit who authored the Bible. God's truth is never changing, it endures throughout culture, political shift, and generations to come will only know the truth
as they study it in light of this eternal truth.
What makes me sad is that when I go to talk to another Christian about revival or sharing the Gospel, it immediately becomes an argument about delivery style, Bible version, and pet doctrines. This is opposed to being about a sinner needing to be reconciled to God through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who died in the place of sinful man. This one time sacrifice from our Savior has taken the back seat to making sure we have the right background on a Power Point presentation, that we buy the latest book or method (yes, they are always for sale, never free) and we get so tied up in what we disagree on that we forget we came out to rescue dying souls from eternal Hell and damnation and God's righteous judgement of sin. We think that selling our methods and materials are somehow the only way God will work. There are wrong ways, and there is liberty in some of this. Let's just be sure that our standard is God's Word, not the way we were always taught or a great idea we came up with. There is nothing new under the sun.
I don't care whether you call yourself a pastor, evangelist, teacher, elder, or any other title. These terms are jobs to do, not titles to brag about. If you are not seeking the direction and indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, your efforts will fail. They may bring in people, maybe even God will have mercy and save souls despite our faulty methods. Only by God's grace could that happen, and we have seen God work so often even though we fail and get prideful too often. Still, you can be sure that if we just submit ourselves to the authority of the Lord, humbly seeking to warn others in mercy, snatching them from the fire, that God will honor our work of obedience and love for those around us. The work is His, not ours. Why must we try to make it about us, when we proclaim to the world that it is not about us? We are just vessels, filled with His Spirit, speaking His words, offering His promise and His salvation. What do we have to be prideful about?
What has always struck me as we see the body of Christ turn into the debate club of Christ, is that it always divides and never unifies. Another thing we hear often, from Christians and those outside the family of God, is this: "I may not agree with what you are saying, but you sure do! You live what you believe, and that is a rare thing in today's church" Wow, I am crushed every time I hear something like this! What must God think of His church being so divided and powerless in our society?
Of all the people that profess to follow Jesus Christ, surely we cannot be the best case example, because we are pretty faulty! Of course, the crowd is in town this weekend holding up their "God hates fags" signs, so in contrast to such a hateful, hopeless message, we are doing quite well, by God's grace. When asked by my friend about that message, the "God Hates fags" guy's response was that they were sick and tired of sin being accepted in our society. I can agree with that part, but lack understanding in how "GOD HATES YOU" is pointing people to Christ or even making anyone think. That message is inflammatory and a terrible and deceptive lie, defying God's perfect character.
God hates sin, He will judge sin, God will send sinners to Hell. I agree with that, but if Paul's message to the Romans is accurate (and it is) then God LOVES us so much that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die for sinners. Not for the righteous, not for the educated over the ignorant, not the rich more than the poor, but for all who will repent and trust in Christ for salvation. It would follow that Jesus' own words in John 3 would be more appropriate, that one must be born again in order to enter the Kingdom of God, that all are condemned already, but that God's mercy is bestowed on all who will come.
I would like to know who is considering repentance and following Christ because of a "God hates you" sign? Nobody, but don't worry, we are not like that guy. All he does is stir up strife and prove to people that not all "Christians" are following the teachings of Christ. Thanks for the help, pal, really! Now I have to apologize to those you have turned away from God before I can share the Gospel with them, that is those who will even bother to talk to me now that they have associated us with one another. Here's an idea, sign guy: if you aren't going to preach the good part, then it isn't really the Gospel. Gospel means "good news" and all you are screaming about is the bad part. We must warn of the wrath to come, we must speak against sin, that makes the good news seem even better, but without the good news, you are just being prideful and last I checked that was sinful..
I have been known to debate in the past, and I never yet have argued a single person into conversion. Showing someone God's Word and humbly, lovingly approaching others in order to share the truth gets a lot of results, whereas argumentatively shoving your fist in someone's face doesn't seem to invoke the repentance we so long for. We must speak the truth, but if our motives are for our own glory or "I am right" is the goal, we must have left our "Holy Spirit goggles" at home.
My heart is broken that those who call themselves by the name of Jesus Christ will spend years debating Calvinism, baptism, and the current status on the gift of tongues, yet never walk in the light that they do have. Too many go to the chapels, cathedrals, seminaries, and "Christian universities" to study more, learn more, fill their heads with knowledge, and then never practice the things they know to be commanded by God to do. DO!! We need to know the full counsel of God, we need to be sure that what we are teaching is accurate and that we can discern God's work that brings Him glory, from man's work for his own glory.
With all this in view, I feel that I have to share this: The most important thing is not knowledge, or even sacrifice, but obedience. OK, so you know a lot, but are you doing what you know? When correcting my son's math work, I want to know if he knows the material. To prove knowledge, he must put it into practice, going beyond theory to the real world.
Jesus said, "Why do you call me, Lord Lord, and not do what I say?" Can you hear the grievance in His voice? Can you see the pain in His eyes as He speaks of eternal life and eternal death, then calls you as His disciple to go out of the building where the church meets and truly BE the church, the bride of Christ, the city set on a hill that shines the light of the Gospel to your town? Can you understand Jesus' frustration with the disciples some days when they listened and walked around following Him, but their hearts were still dark and lacking understanding? Yet, with all this ignorance God entrusted the evangelization of the whole world to this group who were faithless and unbelieving. Read Mark 16 and see if they even had a clue about many of the issues we fight about so much, yet Jesus hands them the keys and expects them to do the job. Here is the key, He sends the Holy Spirit to guide them! Are we being guided in this way, or are we trying to dig the Grand Canyon with a broken spork?
Will you wake up today, or would you rather take the day God has given you today to study some more head-filling, puffing-up book so that you can be more right than others and pridefully drive past a dozen churches on your way to the one that agrees with you completely on Bible version, the current usage of the gifts in Ephesians 4, or the true meaning of the words "fold" and "flock" in John 10?
Will it take the death of a loved one, a catastrophic hurricane, a tsunami, losing your job, or watching your church slowly shrink in attendance from 100...60...30...10...3... until the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ has left your town completely? What will wake us up to the end that awaits the church divided in America?
By all means, you should study God's Word... and then walk out your door, find someone to talk to and speak the words of the Lord to someone. They may be a fellow Christian: don't start an argument, but encourage and edify. It may be a drug addict: speak the truth of God's love and the need to repent and be saved. It may be your brother who has played church for years but in his life has no fruit of the spirit: speak in love and truth, in hope of reconciliation with God. Don't just read it, LIVE IT!
Humbled in God's presence yet again,
A weak and weary servant of a long-suffering Lord
