Christian Living
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There are many roads that have veered away from the foundational truths of God's Word. A plethora of doctrines and beliefs have led to a widening of separation between Believers. Many of these pursuits have been human desires to enhance their own needs and objectives. Somewhere along the Christian journey, there has been a desire to receive instead of give, to be served instead of serving, to be the center of attention instead of the giver of attention. Many of the Christian roads lead to misguided doctrines that cater to a “selfianity” instead of Christianity. Much of what is displayed by Believers is an evidence of how far the Church has swayed from the basic truth of God's Word. There can be no questioning as to the sincerity of the truth seekers, but what their motive is exposes their vulnerability. Every year there is yet another promotion of a supposedly new discovered truth from God's Word. People in Indiana say, “If you don't like the weather, wait a day.” Believers seem to have the same attitude; “If the teachings are too boring, wait around, a new teaching is coming.”
In this time of history, we are seeing a continual ripping of Biblical truths. New teachings are tearing away the fabric of Scriptural intent. ( Luke 5:36-39) Instead of the Church building on the basic principles of God's Word, a newer gospel, which is not the Gospel, is eroding Christianity's basic beliefs. Paul warned in his letter to the Galatians to be aware of those who divert from the Gospel and teach things that are contrary to Scriptural intent. The consequences of diversion is to render separation from those who teach such. (Galatians 1:6-9) Today, wrong teachings tend to go unchallenged due to not wanting to offend anyone.
The effort that is being exhibited to bring relevance to the Church is making the Church even more irrelevant. Those in local church leadership gather in their mission control center and brain storm ideas that might cause an awakening in the constituency and, at the same time, entice the non-committed to join them. Their efforts might constitute a temporary rise in emotional involvement and new faces, but eventually it will grow old and mission control will once again be in session. Look back over the last fifty years and you will see a trail of temporary fixes.
What can the Church do to regain its faltering position in Gospel promotion? One of the first things is to do away with “brain storming” at mission control. It is time churches allow the Holy Spirit to chair the board meetings. It is time to move from mental ideas to Biblical facts. A lawyer once came to Jesus seeking how he might inherit eternal life. Jesus simply asked him what he understood from reading the Word. His response was the key to not only eternal life, but also to the abundant life in the here and now: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” Jesus complimented him on his answer. The Lawyer seemed a little hesitant and he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25-29) This recorded experience sheds light on how the Church today tends to experience God's Word. We know what the Word says, but we tend to look for some “wiggle room” when it comes to compliance. The Church must accept the Word of God with simple trust and obedience. When we learn to love vertically, we will love horizontally. What the world needs is love without judgment. The more we love God with our total being, the greater our love for one another. The more we love God, the more we will reach out to the unlovely. Church growth is directly related to the degree of our love feast!
This simple, but profound, truth holds the key to a successful church, no matter how big or small it is. Let the Church teach love. Let the Saints practice love, and then watch the Church expand from its Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria into all the world. (Acts 1:8)
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