This week we will examine The Separated Church as another problem with the American Church today. This probably doesn't need to be said, but the Bible cleary teaches that there is only One Church and only One Body of Christ. What I am presenting in these blogs is the idea that individual local churches often pick up certain "flavors" that characterize their attitudes, their ministries, and their members. So this week we will look at The Separated Church.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
"The Holy Church"
"The Holy Church" in this blog is to be distinguished from "The Separated Church," which I will talk about next week. Although they are very similar and usually go hand in hand, the distinction I would make is that The "Holy" Church discussion has to do more with personal and individual holiness from all that is percieved to be sinful or worldly while The "Separated" Church has to do more with separation from Christians or non-Christians that participate in any of these activities.
Let me begin by making some things very clear. First of all the Bible calls all Christians to be holy. 1Peter 1:14-15 says, "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, (15) but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct." So there is no question that we, as believers, are called to be holy people. The question that must be answered is "What does it mean to be holy?" The word "holy" in both the Hebrew and Greek simply means "to separate." This is why the angels in Isaiah 6 as they circle the throne of heaven cry out "Holy, holy, holy" to God Almighty. The angels are perfectly pure and sinless, but God is still separated from them because of His very nature. That is the definition of holy - to be separate. In the Scriptures it is very clear that this holiness is in relation to sin. We are to be separated from the sin that comes from Satan, our flesh, and the sinful world system around us. Remember that we are never called to be separated from sinners (cf. I Cor 5:9ff), but from there sinful activities. So this is the biblical definition of holiness. A truly "Holy" church is one that encourages and teaches its people to separate from sin, but also teaches them to interact with the culture around us and love the people of this world (kind of like God does in John 3:16). I have no problem with this kind of church. So why did I entitle this critique "The Holy Church."
Let me begin by making some things very clear. First of all the Bible calls all Christians to be holy. 1Peter 1:14-15 says, "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, (15) but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct." So there is no question that we, as believers, are called to be holy people. The question that must be answered is "What does it mean to be holy?" The word "holy" in both the Hebrew and Greek simply means "to separate." This is why the angels in Isaiah 6 as they circle the throne of heaven cry out "Holy, holy, holy" to God Almighty. The angels are perfectly pure and sinless, but God is still separated from them because of His very nature. That is the definition of holy - to be separate. In the Scriptures it is very clear that this holiness is in relation to sin. We are to be separated from the sin that comes from Satan, our flesh, and the sinful world system around us. Remember that we are never called to be separated from sinners (cf. I Cor 5:9ff), but from there sinful activities. So this is the biblical definition of holiness. A truly "Holy" church is one that encourages and teaches its people to separate from sin, but also teaches them to interact with the culture around us and love the people of this world (kind of like God does in John 3:16). I have no problem with this kind of church. So why did I entitle this critique "The Holy Church."
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
The Comfortable Church
Last week I wrote about the Social Club Church. I decided to turn this into a kind of series and each week I will write about a different "Church" mentality that we have created (at least in the USA, that is). Today's church is called The Comfortable Church. All you have to do is talk to a few people looking for churches or people who really enjoy their church and find that the issue of being "comfortable" is a big deal for American Christians. I hear phrases like this all the time. "Well, we just weren't comfortable with that church." "The preaching at that church made us feel uncomfortable." "So and so's church wasn't very welcoming and we didn't feel very comfortable there."
Being comfortable is big business in our society. We have all sorts of gadgets and electronics that are designed to make it easier for us to cook, clean, live, etc. This all translates into making us more comfortable. We are not used to discomfort in America. If something makes us feel uncomfortable it must be a problem and we will change the channel, put the book down, walk away from the conversation, or leave our church to find one that is more comfortable.
The problem with all of this is that Christians are never called to be comfortable (contrary to Joel Osteen's message). Actually you find that the most common illustrations of the Christian life have to do with hard work, enduring through trials, and focusing on the prize. Illustrations about athletics, a soldiers life, or the hard work of a farmer abound in Scripture (Eph 6, 1 Tim 2). We have made "comfort" a new idol of America. We don't want to be made uncomfortable and we will fight for our comfort at all costs. This comes across in several ways.
First, we see it in a lack of commitment. People are comfortable. They don't want to be bothered with committing to serve in a church body. They don't want to volunteer their time to serve at a homeless shelter or make meals for a rescue mission. They are too busy with their own life to be inconvenienced with loving someone else who has needs in their church. We have replaced a sacrificial love for others with a love for own comfort.
Second, we see it in the preaching. Pastors want people to leave every Sunday feeling comfortable. Unfortunately we see no biblical precedent for this. Every time the Apostle Peter or Paul preached it was very direct and created a division between those who chose for Christ and those who chose against Christ. I have actually told my people that if my messages make them feel uncomfortable then that probably means we are on the right track. We should be made to feel uncomfortable. The church isn't a petting zoo, but a training grounds. Our primary purpose is to build people up. We must love others, but true love will also involve dealing with sin and holding people accountable to their commtiment to follow Christ and be more like Him every day.
Third, we see it in our lack of discipleship. We toss this word around, but do we really mean it. Do we really believe that the last command given to us by Jesus Christ was to make disciples (Matt 28:19-20)? If we do, then why aren't we more serious about it? Attending a service once (or twice) a week isn't a commitment to discipleship. That is a commitment to be fed each week by your local pastor and hang out with Christians (called "fellowship" to make it sound more spiritual). Where is our commitment to disciple others? Where are the men and women stepping up to train others in one-on-one situations or small group sessions? This is where true discipleship will take place. This is where you can get to the heart of the matter and discuss personal sin issues and hold people accountable for their actions, while also encouraging them and loving them on a personal basis.
Enough of being comfortable. I don't want to be comfortable; I want to be Christ-like.
Being comfortable is big business in our society. We have all sorts of gadgets and electronics that are designed to make it easier for us to cook, clean, live, etc. This all translates into making us more comfortable. We are not used to discomfort in America. If something makes us feel uncomfortable it must be a problem and we will change the channel, put the book down, walk away from the conversation, or leave our church to find one that is more comfortable.
The problem with all of this is that Christians are never called to be comfortable (contrary to Joel Osteen's message). Actually you find that the most common illustrations of the Christian life have to do with hard work, enduring through trials, and focusing on the prize. Illustrations about athletics, a soldiers life, or the hard work of a farmer abound in Scripture (Eph 6, 1 Tim 2). We have made "comfort" a new idol of America. We don't want to be made uncomfortable and we will fight for our comfort at all costs. This comes across in several ways.
First, we see it in a lack of commitment. People are comfortable. They don't want to be bothered with committing to serve in a church body. They don't want to volunteer their time to serve at a homeless shelter or make meals for a rescue mission. They are too busy with their own life to be inconvenienced with loving someone else who has needs in their church. We have replaced a sacrificial love for others with a love for own comfort.
Second, we see it in the preaching. Pastors want people to leave every Sunday feeling comfortable. Unfortunately we see no biblical precedent for this. Every time the Apostle Peter or Paul preached it was very direct and created a division between those who chose for Christ and those who chose against Christ. I have actually told my people that if my messages make them feel uncomfortable then that probably means we are on the right track. We should be made to feel uncomfortable. The church isn't a petting zoo, but a training grounds. Our primary purpose is to build people up. We must love others, but true love will also involve dealing with sin and holding people accountable to their commtiment to follow Christ and be more like Him every day.
Third, we see it in our lack of discipleship. We toss this word around, but do we really mean it. Do we really believe that the last command given to us by Jesus Christ was to make disciples (Matt 28:19-20)? If we do, then why aren't we more serious about it? Attending a service once (or twice) a week isn't a commitment to discipleship. That is a commitment to be fed each week by your local pastor and hang out with Christians (called "fellowship" to make it sound more spiritual). Where is our commitment to disciple others? Where are the men and women stepping up to train others in one-on-one situations or small group sessions? This is where true discipleship will take place. This is where you can get to the heart of the matter and discuss personal sin issues and hold people accountable for their actions, while also encouraging them and loving them on a personal basis.
Enough of being comfortable. I don't want to be comfortable; I want to be Christ-like.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
