A Pilgrim's concerned thoughts of the American Christian Church

I would like to open with a passage taken from the timely work of Dr. David Wells titled “No Place for Truth: Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology?”

"The disappearance of theology from the life of the church and the orchestration of that disappearance by some of its leaders is hard to miss today, but, oddly enough not easy to prove.  It is hard to miss in the evangelical world in the vacuous worship that is so prevalent for example, in the shift from God to the self as the central focus of faith, in the psychologized preaching that follows this shift, in the erosion of its conviction, in its strident pragmatism, in its inability to think incisively about the culture, and in its reveling in the irrational.”

Resolved: If left to itself and in disregard for consistent reform back to, and the constant practice of Scriptural authority and historic Truths and doctrine, the assembly and worship of today will inevitably erode the presumed spiritual condition of its members, leaving them weak and fragile in the hand of an always underestimated enemy who will easily confuse and destroy an over inflated faith built on religion rather than theology.  It will be our pride that assists him.

Church should never be about “having a place where we can feel the warmth of fellowship and the sense of belonging and of reverence”, nor should the atmosphere neglect to teach doctrine with the hope of preserving life or a false congregational harmony.  I want to know my God and I believe it to be the imperative duty that my leaders; all those appointed into higher positions in the church and responsible for all the disciplines that the Word affords, are to communicate clearly, and without shame the whole Word of Truth both doctrinally and systematically.  These, of course, come after the regular scheduled reading of the Word which is to be the primary course for genuine worship.  If there are those who oppose or wish to communicate preference for a more self appeasing service that will draw spectators and that could potentially and arrogantly hinder the moving of the Spirit, gracefully bid them farewell if they refuse to repent and submit to the authority of the Church.  Since Jesus is the Word and the Word became flesh and that flesh had to shed blood unto death to satisfy the demand for atonement and the quenching of the Father's wrath, than we should revere the Word as highly as humanly possible to ensure we aren't presuming upon the Holiness of God.  Christ's death and resurrection purchased eternal life for all who will believe.  Worship is about the decrease of man and the exaltation of God who mercifully saves.  The precious blood that was shed and the life that was given for the Church are far too valuable to attempt to add anything else to the Word.  Today's Church doesn't understand brokeness, or humility, or continual repentance when we assemble under a banner of celebration as if we have entered into rest, free from the sins that so easily beset us.  As long as we are alive we are still sinning so we should always approach with boldness in Christ and humility as men.  Jesus is very much alive in His person and as The Word which gives life to all who will be empowered to hear.  Why would we forsake the Word?  Why would we abandoned the revealed Truth of the Word that our ancient Church fathers have written down in confessions and creeds as if we needed a new wheel?  It will always be the Word that calls us, justifies us, and leads and empowers us through sanctification until the Word is ready to bring us Home.  We are to offer ourselves wholeheartedly to the Word.  The Word is freely given to us yet, at the highest price to the Giver.  We will never understand the full extent of that transaction between God the Father and God the Son but we can pray that our worship is received in honor of such an event in redemptive history.  The Word demands obedience and has sent us the Power to ensure that obedience.  Anything less than total devotion to the Word would cheapen or take advantage of that transaction.  Our duty is to discipline ourselves in the consistent hearing of the Word as we are conformed into the image of our Savior.  The Word feeds our faith as we continue our journey through the land of the enemy and will be our strength as well as our shield as we encounter various test, trials, challenges of life, and attacks, all of which are only against the Word and His sovereign will for our lives, in hope that we will abandon the Truth.  As new creations in Christ Jesus, we are vulnerable and need to feed the appetite for the holy; the Truth, that the Spirit within us requires.  It is the Church that has been authorized to nuture new souls in the Kingdom , and to teach them the doctrines of their faith, the disciplines their faith demands, and the methods of being a disciple, so later on, they too can pass on this wisdom to those they are responsible to.  There is nothing as important in life than this, and this is the essence of taking up your cross and following Him.  It is all for His glory and the fulfillment of His sovereign will. 

Discipleship of Christ requires comittment and proper discipleship is to be taught so the Church continues to grow as we reflect the Gospel through love toward our neighbors.  It is not our job to pour wrath on our neighbors or ignore their hell destined condition.  It is the Church's duty to lead it's members through the and equip it's members to lead their neighbors to the Word.  The assembly is to be for the believer and their disciples (family members) not an amusement park where all are welcome and loved by a one dimensional God who loves all and overlooks their sin.  The Word commands one day out of the week to be set apart from the others for rest in God; a day dedicated to the worship of God, and time to nurture the believer's Spiritual nature.  A day dedicated to separating the believer from the world- because that is the believer's mission field or place of work; field to harvest.  How long do you think one would survive when your output is greater than your intake?  Without sounding legalistic- you would be foolish to think that you can run the race of faith in this world while starving the Spiritual nature.  That just simply wouldn't happen because if you are genuinely saved- God the Holy Spirit would not allow it.  I guess now would be a good time to interject my caution statement:  If you are struggling, or have not changed, or are too fond of the world and are only a "Christian" because you know with your intellect that Jesus died for you but still dabble in the sins of your past- than you are not who you say you are.  The Cross still calls to all- even you, and the message of the Cross will always be "repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ fo the forgiveness sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit".  The Word wants to be depended upon because it is His Way, His Life, His Truth, His Power and He knows what we need, when we need it, and how much of it we need.  We must reverse what is common in the churches of today, deny the worldly flow, and refuse to get trapped by the desires of our flesh.  Today’s church, by way of negation, is teaching undisciplined worship, both in the individual life of the congregant as well as the local assembly when it 'worships' devoid of the Word.  The danger is that if this is left unchecked, most local assemblies will lead many directly to apostasy; fooling many into thinking that they are assured of the Kingdom while delivering them into the hand of grave disappointed.  As long as people assemble under the banner of self rather than the genuine worship of the one True God in Spirit and Truth, I will take leave of absence from these so called "Christian" gatherings so as to not be “carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own (my) stability” (2Pet3:17b).  Yet will I consistently and confidently pursue God with an ever mindful prayer that I would continue to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”.   We are called to holiness; we are called to be different and our cause to weep should always be for the lost and the possibility of insufficient time for them- not for the Spiritual condition of the Church.  If this is the direction that we, the so called American Christian Church is going, than we have lost our Way and we are in desperate need of reform.

Higher Ground

Higher Ground

            It should never come as a surprise that with greater enthusiasm to the Word comes greater resistance from our faithful tempter.  Take for example the doctrine of election.  It is difficult at times to understand such inspired issues, but the reward of the glimpses given into the mysteries of God, strengthens the bond between Savior and sinner.  The Word reveals some of the attributes of God and the more we know about the Word, the more we know about our LORD since they are one in the same: In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh….  But oh the struggle to remain disciplined! 

 

            For me it will always be a matter of attitude. Our attitude or mood usually derives from our thoughts or experiences and I do not believe it to be any different with Holy matters.  Otherwise, God would not have wasted the breath nor Paul the ink when we read: whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ~Phil 4:8.  Since sin entered the world through the medium of man and since our depraved hearts are continually wicked, than apart from God, where can any of those things listed be found?  Herein lies the problem with many people’s theological positions that I believe projects them off course for an indefinite amount of time or off the radar all together.  What you know about God and His will can only be found in the Word.  This demands you look at the Word as the Highest Authority and as Holy; inspired text from the One and Only True God.  You will otherwise never come to the position that this world and all that is in it is worthy of nothing good except immediate destruction. It just goes to show you that even after a planetary cleansing with water- sin still remained because Noah and his immediate family were spared.  It had nothing to do with what Noah decided as much as it had everything to do with God executing His predetermined plan or tree of humanity (so and so begat so and so) up to the day Jesus was born.  Man may have only been created, so that Jesus could be born, so that Satan could be destroyed.  One omniscient and omnipotent enough to give and orchestrate life by allowing and causing events, certainly is capable of devising a plan of redemption for exactly who He chooses and at the precise time He determines.   We as sinners are programmed to sin until the software is rewritten on our hearts, and our minds are opened to see God as Holy and our self as wholly, purely, and consumed of wickedness.  God as the Author and Finisher or Founder and Perfecter of our faith must be acknowledged for putting His own Life into these dead bones.  What was once incapable of worthy sacrifice is now capable of trusting obedience since we no longer have anything to sacrifice except ourselves for the glory of God.  Election is the right of the Giver to give to whom He pleases for whatever associated reasons if there are any.  If I have one hundred dollars that I want to give away- maybe because I possess all the money on the planet, or for any other reason, I am entitled to give it to whomever I will: maybe I will sit at a traffic light and wait for the first ten cars that have to stop at the line because of the stop light.  Maybe I will walk into a store and stand at a register and give the next two customers each fifty dollars.  None of this is based on who the individuals are or what the individuals have done but because of the predetermination to give something to someone because of a need that everyone on the roadway or in the store has.  God though, knows all people by name just as an artist knows his works of creation, and by His sovereignty and His grace He promotes or permits an opportunity for another sinner to hear the wonderful news of His Son and instantly gives new Life so that sinner can exercise their new faith to accept the precious righteousness of Christ Jesus.  For how else could someone acquire something of such great value (eternal life) if it isn’t given to them?  The recipients of such love will always be tempted to think of qualifying reasons for their salvation and not another’s.  Hopefully for that individual, God has effectually called them and if so, He will lead them to the Truth, otherwise it takes the glory away from the deserving One and sets oneself on a difficult religeous journey.  Sadly, it is the diluted gospel of today that leaves many wanting of the Truth, disillusioned as to who God is, and in denial about their true spiritual condition.  It is God through His Apostles that writes:

--even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.  In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.  ~Ephesians 1:4-6.

 

--For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.  ~Ephesians 2:10.

    

 --Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body.  ~1Corinthians 6:19+20.

              What assurance we have in knowing that God the Father sent Him and calls us, Jesus being our perfect righteousness, and the Spirit depositing it within us.  Nowhere in that equation do I read a part given to sinful man to play.  Our only part or responsibility comes after regeneration and is to allow Christ within us to be seen around us.  We may never know what we are to accomplish specifically in Christ which is why we must remain constant in what God sees as significant~ the little things, like obedience.  In this day and age, it is difficult enough to live out the calling of holiness much less preach the Gospel.  But being ready to give reason for the hope that is within us demands that we continue to seek after a simple yet disciplined Way and cling to the things of higher ground so our hearts and minds and attitudes are always ready to serve.  If you truly appreciate what Jesus has done for you at Calvary, than let your appreciation live through your life; your spiritual worship: the decisions you make, the Way you converse around all who see you, and the manner in which you treat your fellow man.  It is only by consistently living Christ centered, God fearing lives that bring great honor to our Lord- and those who genuinely believe, hate their sin that Jesus had to die for.  This only makes sense because if our focus is on Word opposing (worldly) matters, than we are certainly not who we think we are in Christ, which is why it is easy to excuse our ignorant behavior and resort to our own moral standard, since in our natural estate this is what we have been doing since the fall.  This is why we are exhorted to: put to death therefore what is earthly in you…~ Colossians 3:5.  All believers in Christ will encounter the battle of wills (self vs. God’s) and the spiritual realm (temptation vs. faith) for domination of the fallen condition or the new creation in Christ Jesus.  Let me save you some time- if there is a spark of passion for Christ in you- fan it into flame before you go into the wilderness to be tempted.  Don’t trust anyone to teach you without the Word- you seek after it yourself through literary repetition of the Word.  Our convenience or fast food mentality doesn’t apply to understanding the Gospel which is why I know our greatest obstacles are looking to God to empower us to set aside our pride; our will, and letting go of the things that control us and trusting in the One who can do all things…; shame on me for perverting and manipulating such a precious gift like grace.

            It is great that we desire to contribute to the cause of salvation as we have been commissioned to do, but to insult the power of the Holy Spirit by taking claim to something that existed prior to “in the beginning” is naturally human and divinely despised.  Oh the wickedness that lingers in the hearts of man; continually searching for an iota of credit to be received as one that assisted God with His plan of Salvation.  We as mere humans are a disgrace to God’s Grace, yet with great pity God moved toward those numbered among His elect and with pity, mercifully used His own Son; our Christ, to allow a select few to inherit something so indescribably beautiful and lovely as a renewed and intimate relationship with our God the Creator- despite our due recompense.

 

            As Peter prayed at the beginning of his second epistle, Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord… 2Peter1:2, I too ask of my Lord to refresh our hearts with broader understanding so that our lives in Christ would be opened wider to receive a greater portion of His wisdom and understanding.  Our faith in Him should always be hungry and I long to see the day when my faith becomes sight and I have been resurrected above the circumstances that the enemy enjoys weighing me down with.  His word states that if we will seek Him we WILL find Him.  It will only be in our individual quests for more of Him that He will enable us to understand enough to maintain our course in Him.  With broader understanding comes greater appreciation and then the willingness for perfect obedience.