Blast from the Past

Nailed to the door . . . .  061011

We know the world is “going to hell in a hand-basket,” so to speak, but what about the “church”?  What’s it going to hell in?

What?  Did he just say the “church” is going to hell?  Well, yes and no.

Any careful reading of scripture makes it very very clear that the “church” - that is the institution that bears that name, is NOT ever going to be healthy until He comes.

The Gospels and the Apostolic Writings all make it very plain that the institution will be rife with tares, and goats, and wolves, false prophets, mean people and satanic servants.  That’s just a fact.  A sad fact - but a fact.

We love to talk about how the “church” has compromised with the world.  So, what’s new?  First Church of Corinth  is not unique. 

Of course the “church” has compromised with the world.  Of course there are tares and goats.  He said there would be.  What’s the big deal?

Too much of our attention today is taken up by, “us and them,” and not enough time is intentionally focused on, “me and Him.”

From Paul the Apostle to Barna’s analytics it is clear that the “church” as an institution has been and  would always be corrupted to one extent of the other.  What do we think the Reformation was all about?  As bad as it was, what was the true purpose of the Inquisition?

OK - rant over.  Point to keep - It is not about US and THEM - the necessary focus must be ME and HIM.

He is the one responsible for the security of the church. We have other things to do in reference to “church.”

Eph. 4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

It’s great to warn and admonish - even to correct and discipline those who may be tares or goats or even wolves but that does not make for what He aims us at in Eph. 4.  There is and always has been only one Lord Protector of the Faith and it wasn’t Oliver Cromwell!..It is Jesus the Messiah our Redeemer.

In my view we make too big a deal and spend too much time looking for the tares (etc.) and not enough time striving to;
equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

There was a day and there were a people (somewhere there still are) who understood that WE weren’t the point, He was.  They were serious about their faith - both in terms of the truth to be held and the truth to be lived.  They understood the dire necessity of studying the Word and that this was not a, “take the course,” or “:do the work book,” but rather a lifetime duty of every believer.

There are those that are referred to as nominal Christians - that is Christians in name only but the problem with that is - they aren’t Christian.  Why do we play this name game?  Where is the mutual and biblical expectancy that those who claim Christ as Lord will live as Christ is Lord? 

It’s easy to talk about the “church” as something out there.  But the plain fact of the matter is that only those who are slaves to the only Lord are the church.  Yes, there are different levels of maturity but more and more that maturity is measured by time and not by knowledge, understanding and living.  One can be in the “church” all their lives and still not be a believer, much less a slave to Christ.

Paul hit the nail on the head when he says:
1 Corinthians 11:28
Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

With these words of admonition why are we so prone to spending time, money and effort determining who is or isn’t the church.  Why are we not focusing on how the world, the flesh and the devil work to get us - individually - to compromise.

Sure, I’m troubled by all the “marketing” junk and “seeker sensitive” garbage not to mention the watering down of God’s holiness the minimization of Christ’s Lordship and the prostituting of Grace.  I do worry about the “church” as a institution.  But we will not stand collectively before Him.  He did not die for an institution and the Spirit is given the the church via each individual not en-mass.

OK - my point is that the corruption of the church as an institution is a wonderfully powerful distraction.  It distracts us - each of us - from our obligation to grow in Him, to serve Him and to serve each other. Why do I need to be consistently told that “they” or “that” is wrong?  What good does that do me?  How does that aid me in being a good a faithful servant?

Yeah, I’m pretty self-focused when it come to following Him.  Sure I want to encourage, admonish, support, even goad my brothers and sisters but when we let ourselves get distracted by the outrageous actions of questionable believers we run the grave dangers of pride and self-complacency.

What I hope and pray consider is taking aserious look at what might be distracting you from your own personal growth in the knowledge and following of Him.  It's just too easy to look at the big picture and stand there like a dear in headlights.  It is through each of us He intendes to work - WE are the church - the church isn't an "it."

It is a biblical principle that is part of the body suffers it all suffers.  if part of the body is weak, it is all weak.  No part is inconsequential of unimportant.  that means YOU and ME individually are primarily responsible for our individual following of Him.  Perhaps, if we took that individual responsibility and applied the fanaticism we apply to "christian causes," the Church would be healthy.

Consider:

"What we want, if men become Christians at all, is to keep them in a state of mind I call 'Christianity And'.  You know-Christianity and the Crisis, Christianity and the New Psychology, Christianity and the New order, Christianity and Faith Healing, Christianity and Psychical Research, Christianity and Vegetarianism . . .  If they must be Christians let them at least be Christians with a difference.  Substituting for the faith itself some Fashion with a Christian coloring.  Work on their horror of the Same Old Thing."   Screwtape

That, Same Old Thing, is Bible Study, Prayer, Worship, Fellowship, Service.  That same old thing is laboring to grow in His likeness.  In the final analysis it will not be what we stand against nor will it be what we stand for.  In the final analysis is will be Who makes us stand and how faithfully we (you and I) stand.