A brief note: I’ve switched back to WordPress from the wiki and have started using Markdown, hence all the strange characters you’ll find in some posts. I’m cleaning them up slowly. Expect to see some new content soon. Cheers, and happy new year!
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Ryan
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Ryan
Media Desensitization
It is becoming more and more difficult for Christians to maintain compassion in this world simply because we are bombarded with so many emotional stimuli. We no longer hear of “wars and rumors of wars”; we see the actual combat on live TV. Our newspapers are so filled with crime, violence, and corruption that we bypass the front page and turn to the comics or the sports page-and sometimes the crime and violence are even worse there! We have desensitized ourselves. We are no longer our brother’s keeper.1
This ties in very well with the TV fasts Chris, Kelly, and Julie are all taking (and that I do without really calling it a fast). I’ve never thought of our media this way before, but I find this statement very true.
1 Wiersbe, W. W. (1988). Prayer : Basic training. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.
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Ryan
Dimming the Light
The one thing that does more damage to the ministry of the Word than anything else is the careless neglect of the church. The world cannot destroy the Word of God, but the church can defeat the ministry of the Word by careless living and shallow ministry. Unless we read the Word, study it, memorize it, meditate on it, and practice it, we will be overcome by the world instead of being overcomers of the world.
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Ryan
Enemy Territory
If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. John 15:19
Quite possibly the most controversial message Jesus might teach, were He alive today, is quoted above. The world wants everyone to feel included, to belong, to be apart… at least on its own terms. Messages of peace, prosperity, hope, etc. abound but lack the backing of a supernatural, eternal God. God’s message is quite different: you are in enemy territory, and you are not wanted there.
How differently might we live were we to really believe this message? Would we live as we do today, almost like everyone else around us, just slightly more spiritual or pious? Or would “the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one” because he knew “he was numbered with the transgressors” (Luke 22:36-37)?
Aside: Some may find amusing the fact that the next verse quotes the disciples saying they have two swords among them and I have that number as well, among several practice swords. I don’t think Jesus’ words here are literal, though; rather that we should have a war-time mentality towards our use of resources.
I know I’ve already asked several questions, but they all really lead to this one: What would the world look like if all the Christians lived on mission? What would happen if we really lived what the Bible teaches? Maybe we do, and I’m just missing it? I don’t think I am; I think we, as a whole, are not living as we have been taught. So what’s it going to take? Natural disasters? Economic disasters? Persecution? All these except persecution have happened. This same pattern is found throughout the old testament, as well. If it takes persecution, it’s coming. If our lifestyles have been an attempt at holding back the floodgates of persecution, we might as well give up now. It’s coming, and we might as well start living as we should have been all along. “All to Jesus, I surrender all….”
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Ryan
Take Heed Ye “Christians”
Judas Iscariot is an example of what can happen when people half-heartedly follow Christ and are not fully trusting Him. I fear that our churches may contain many people who are professed Christians but who have never been born again through faith in Jesus Christ. Judas was not committing gross public sins. I am sure he was highly respected by his fellow apostles and by those who followed Jesus. But Judas was a counterfeit; his ministry was only a cover for his sins. We have every reason to believe that, like the other apostles, Judas performed miracles and preached sermons; yet he died and went to hell. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).
Just because you go to church and read your Bible, you may not know the Lord. You must seek him with your whole heart, turn from sin, and turn to Christ. Take heed. We are in the last days. Ensure you will not turn out to be like Judas.Finally, Judas reminds us of how close a person can come to the truth, and to salvation, and finally be lost. If any person ever had the privilege of knowing Christ, it was Judas; but it did not lead him to salvation. Judas heard our Lord preach, saw Him perform miracles, and even lived with Him and handled His finances; yet Judas Iscariot died a lost soul. John Bunyan expressed this awesome truth at the close of his Pilgrim’s Progress: “Then I saw that there was a way to hell, even from the gates of heaven….”
Judas went out “and it was night.”
“While you have the light, believe in the light, in order that you may become sons of light” (John 12:36).
Wiersbe, W. W. (1988). Prayer : Basic training. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.-
Dustin
This is the very subject that God the Holy Spirit is putting on my heart right now, seeking out the unregenerate sheep within the flock. If we would learn how to get our congregations to think upon their salvation with fear and trembling, if we would preach and teach the gospel lovingly and unapologetically, I think more people would realize their need to truly repent and turn from their sin.
Unfortunatley, there are more groups that think that attendence is the by-product of regeneration. Oh, there is much foolishness going on these days. Most “leaders”, however, are blind themselves and don’t even realize what’s happening right in front of them.
May God truly have mercy on our souls……As far as being in the last days, I’m not sure we are there, I just think God has illuminated our need for Him that much more to some. After all, people have thought that they’ve been in the last days since the NT was written.
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Julie Riley
What a thought… I have pondered on this for myself recently. How easy it is to ‘trick’ myself into thinking I am right with the Lord, but if that were true, how can selfishness, pride, envy, greed, etc. have any room to take root in my heart, actions, and life? To truly think about Judas and all of the ‘right’ things he was doing, yet he was completely, hopelessly lost. This is quite a wake-up call.
When Christ was here, He warned us of the last days being near (Mark 1:15). We should all live expectantly, hoping that tomorrow may be the Day. This does not mean quit living, rather, take the intense reality check and fulfill His calling to come to Him (as well as bring others to Him) for repentance and TRUE salvation.
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Ryan
My Thoughts on the Church
In The Master Plan for Evangelism, Robert Coleman describes the method Jesus used to proclaim the gospel and lead his disciples. Reading through the gospels, one can clearly see the simplicity and truth of the approach Coleman describes. Jesusâ approach involved prayer, calling people to repentance through the message of the gospel, living closely among those he discipled, teaching them by example and then sending them out, time and again to practice what they learned from him. This model was practiced by the early Church in Acts. In those days churches met in homes, synagogues (when possible) and town meeting halls, but buildings were very unimportant for the mission of the Church.
In contrast, churches today are centered around the buildings in which they meet. âCommunity,â if it exists, generally consists of once- or twice-a-week meetings generally centered around âfellowshipââwhich generally means a few minutes (if any) of real spiritual discussion dispersed amongst topics of political, business, or other natures. Prayer is often relegated to âprayer meetingsâ and prayer on Sunday mornings rather than a 24Ã7 way of life. The need for repentance is forgotten as we want all to feel welcome and not condemned. In other words, the Christians in churches today segregate their spiritual lives from the rest of their lives almost to the point of extinction. Of course, this statement does not define all Christians today, but it does define a vast majority.
How can the church today become the Church that Jesus wants? To understand that, we probably should go back to where things began to go wrong, and that takes us back to Constantine. Thatâs a bit too far to cover everything, but suffice it to say that once Christianity and the world agreed to get along, Christianity and the Church began to become little-âcââs; they became less than what they should have been (1 John 2:15-17).
We live in a society and world that encourages working outside of the home (sometimes at distances of forty or more miles), both parents working and convenience and speed over simplicity and hard work. Our lives are generally spent with the people we work with and the nuclear families we come home to, when they havenât been fragmented. Worst of all, most people describe themselves as âspiritualâ even though they canât quite describe what that means consistently and use it really as a way to try to shut up evangelists. This society is a poison, and we are told in scripture that we are not a part of it, but you would be hard-pressed to find many Christians who do not join in with society (John 17:16-19).
The churchâs current attempt at a solution has been to try to meet people where they are and not demand the rigors of the life Jesus described of believers: âSo therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my discipleâ (Luke 14:25-35). Again, calls for repentance are almost unheard of today. If they do go out, they are few and far between or softened so as not to offend. Some people, both inside and outside the church, think that real believers no longer struggle with sin and thus have no need for repentance. Those who hold such a view are foolish, and we should so reveal this foolishness by openly repenting and calling one another to repentance. One need look no further than many biblical heroes for need further evidence: David and Peter, James and John, Jonah, Abraham, and countless others. We need to repent and turn again to the Lord. âA broken and contrite spirit [He] will not despiseâ (Psalm 51).
Most tasks in the church today have fallen to paid staff and a handful of volunteers. Most believers today are expected only to come once a week, help out financially, possibly bring a friend, and possibly contribute in some way to the many programs created to replace the original form of discipleship. All these allow us to become more and more disconnected from one another, as well as Jesus Christ, which should be our primary goal (Phil. 3:7-11). Again, this isnât true of all believers, but the stereotype sadly fits a majority.
Programming has so permeated the minds and hearts of Christians that we can hardly think of anything else. Ask anyone who confesses they donât like programming what we should do instead, and they will come up with more programs, though usually very different from the current curriculum. Now, programs have their place. A good many services could not be performed without some level of administration; however, these should never be the ends for which we strive to honor our Lord.
We need much more than good ideas. We need more than a manâs vision. We need more than careful planning. We need faith. We need belief. Though this may at first startle, a church with four quadriplegics with real faith and persistent prayer is worth more than ten thousand able-bodied men and women willing to fall in to listen to a sermon, shake a few hands, teach a Sunday School lesson, and maybe cook a few meals. (And whoâs kidding who; very few of us could even claim that much activity in our churches.) The Lord does not want Marthas but Marys [1] (Luke 10:42).
Does this mean we should completely stop all programs and works as a church? By no means! However, we must each and everyone realize and cling to the truth that God has bought us with the price of his very own Son. We are not our own, and He has given us an example to follow: discipleship. We are to go and make disciples before all other activities. That does not mean we go and bring someone to the church. That means we go and introduce them to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to the Lord Jesus Christ, their only hope of salvation.
Our petty cares and concerns have overwhelmed us. Our current recession fills the minds of most. Why? What could possibly concern us? All we have has come from the Lord. He gives, and He takes away. None of your concern will do you any good. Itâs been paid for, and your eternity is secure. Go and make disciples. Go and meet with the person that sits in the pew next to you. Go and meet with the person who sits down the hall from you at work. Buy the beggar on the street dinner and sit and talk with him while you eat together. Share the Lord and all the good things Heâs provided you. If those people donât go to your church, who cares? We should consider our churches less and the Church more. We belong to a kingdom that is coming and is within our hearts even now, not to the domains put in place by men.
That all sounds well and good, but how to implement it? Yes, that is an excellent question. You see, ever since becoming a believer, I have wanted someone to show me how to transform into this life Iâve described above. I found that somewhere along the way, this training and teaching was lost. Weâve moved to a primarily academic study of God via catechism and Sunday School classes with little âshow and tellâ of how to really be a Christian in your community. Missions training tries to prepare people for this, but often they have so little time that their methods seem a bit forced and programmed. Long-term, foreign missionaries have to learn this, but they do so as part of their integration into another culture and canât quite adapt it when they return⦠or so it seems.
I believe some members of the older generations who remember what it takes, what it looks like to really love your neighbor daily. In my lifetime, I have learned how to be more and more private and to keep my comings and goings to myself and my friends. To tell me to âgo and love [my] neighborâ probably looks a lot different to me than it did to my mom and dad, and the same is likely true for them. Older men and women should share and teach younger men and women. We must once again join and be apart of one anotherâs lives.
So hereâs what I believe should happen:
- We must begin to earnestly pray and fast (Isaiah 58). The most important in the life of believers and the body is prayer. God gave us this most wondrous gift to commune with him, and we sorely need to turn first to prayer in all things. We generally turn first to our thoughts and plans, then to prayer. We need to become a prayer-first people. Many already do this, but they should speak up more often to remind us. Everything we do should be preceded, covered over, and followed up with prayer. We should even consider a 24-hour prayer chain. We should also seek to pray for and with the lost and their needs. This is one way we can reach our community and our neighbors who might otherwise take no interest in Christ. However, prayer here is not enough. With prayer, we must provide action. We must pray, then we must act on those prayers to help all we can to find the Lord.
- We must repent and expect revival by faith. Reading through Church history, revival always follows repentance, not the other way around. However, churches today seem to think that throwing a revival will lead to repentance. We think that âgood preachingâ will lead to repentance, even if the need for repentance is not preached. We must preach repentance and the need for repentance. This will be hard at first and may even require exercising church discipline, but through preaching the Word, committing to one another, sharing in humility and vulnerability, and trusting one another will get us there. Yet even getting to that point will be difficult. Our church struggles desperately with gossip. I know far more than I should and the people who should be told directly are not confronted. Pride runs rampant in the hearts of many, and false humility is sowing seeds of destruction for our fellowship.
- We must pray over, identify, and put to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit given to every believer. Every member of the church has been given gifts with which to serve the body. In their giftings, each is a voice of authority, some for teaching, some for administration, some for prophecy, and so on. Yet how often do we ignore or try to silence those because we either donât recognize their gift or donât like what is said. We need to help each member discover and find a way to serve based on the gifts the Lord has given each person. We need to listen to them and give heed to their direction, which is from the Lord. Leadership positions should not be assigned because we need to fill it; leadership positions should be recognized based on what people are already doing.
We have a mission to make disciples. We do not have a list of action steps telling us in exact detail how to do so, but we do have the wisdom and experience of godly men and women whoâve tried some things and learned some things from the Lord which they could impart to others. Weâve tried programming, but programming always feels like programming to the recipient and not like the genuine love of neighbor that is needed. We must come together in prayer and discipleship, both within and without our church, and spur each other on towards the image of Christ in us.
We still have time. If we begin to confront the pride, gossip, and other common sins publicly, we have a chance to rebuild trust and lead the body to true unity in the Spirit. This will be hard; we will lose some people of their own accord, and we will be forced to ask some to leave who refuse to repent (Luke 14:25-35). We must handle this delicately and in a spirit of love, and I wonder if we can really do this given the length of time since real church discipline has been regularly practiced. We have no choice. We are so called, and we should love our Lord and our fellowship enough to pursue true unity. We know we can expect revival to follow. Isnât unity and revival worth the effort?
Footnotes
1 Actually, I believe the Lord wants a Mary heart and Martha actions (James 2:14-17).-
Dustin
Enjoyed reading your thoughts, Ryan! I think you have some good insight here.
I do have one question. In your second to last paragraph you talk to making disciples. You state that “We do not have a list of action steps telling us in exact detail how to do so…”. Would you agree that, although we might not have what we would label in modern terms as an “action plan” or “job description” for making disciples, scripture does tell us that making disciples is to be done in the context of the local church?
My thought here is that if it is true that disciples are to be “made” in the context of the local church, and since we do have the identity and purpose of the local church given to us in the scriptures, could we conclude that perhaps the way we make disciples is simply learning how to “function” within the community that makes up the local church? I think that’s what you were getting at as well, but then when I read, “We must come together in prayer and discipleship, both within and WITHOUT (emphasis mine) our church, and spur each other on towards the image of Christ in us” I wondered if you were submitting that discipleship should occur outside of the context of the local church. I don’t think that’s where you were going, but just want to clairify in case I read it wrong (which I am very prone to do
My fear is that we have tried to make this thing a LOT harder than it is as it comes to models of discipleship making (and missions and a whole lot of other things as well). But at the same time, because we want to re-invent everything, we can’t even follow the simple explicit commands that the scriptures give us.
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Ryan
Very good questions, Dustin, and you did read everything as I intended. First, I’d like to clarify what I mean below by “local church”: the body of believers in a concentrated area, generally a city. The fact that we have broken into multiple denominations and factions is, I believe, unbiblical, though the meeting of smaller groups of the church I think is fine. Thus, discipleship within the “local church”, to me, could mean discipling my co-worker who may or may not be a member of the church that meets in the same building I do but does live in my city.
However, I think that scripture in no wise indicates that a person must even reside in the same city. Wasn’t Paul the discipler of Timothy, even though both traveled and were not really of any particular city’s church? This may be a rare exception when speaking of the “local church”, but I think the point is necessary. Discipleship requires locality and frequency with a true believer, in person, and according to the Word of God, not necessarily based on a specific building, denomination, or locality.
As a whole, I believe the “local church” to which a member belongs should hold him accountable to what he is teaching/learning, and oversight is not limited to one’s own church, but to the true Church, the Bride of Christ. We are all accountable to one another, not just our “local churches”, for we are in fact one (John 17:21). The “local church” and denominations are constructs men have concocted to make things easier to classify and label but are not laid out as necessary in scripture.
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Jason B.
Dustin,
Hey brother. What does the term ‘local church’ specifically mean? Where is it specifically described in Scripture? Where is it specifically stated in Scripture that disciples are to be made in the context of the local church as you stated in your first paragraph? Just curious. Great last paragraph, I keep saying ‘lets just be A+ at praying, fasting, studying God’s Word and fellowship.’ -
Julie Riley
Ryan – great post! I love your 3 ‘action steps’, although I know saying that by saying that, you cringe. But, they are. Prayer/fasting, studying His Word, and utilizing each believer and their specific giftings are paramount to being an effective Church for Him, versus a bunch of social butterflies with a false sense of a good conscience.
I would say that in this spread-out society, even if we work 40+ miles away from home (or never leave the home), we can still be lights where God has placed us. Seeing as we are each the Church, discipling those you see everyday – at your best and at your worst – can be more of a true model of discipleship, versus grabbing coffee or doing a Bible study for an hour/week.
Waiting around for the assignment of ‘discipler’ or ‘disciplee’ can quickly lead to laziness, playing straight to our comfort zone. I am not saying, however, the latter method cannot work, as I am a product of both assigned and chosen discipling. Both can be effective, yet how many of us would choose the former?
Also, learning from the older generation, while also realizing I am an ‘older generation’ for some, is imperative. What a perfect model Christ has shown us! Now, onto implementing it…
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Ryan
Do You Follow a Judas?
Was not Judas the perfect model of economy? Was he not the sort of man who, in these days, many a father would point out to his boy as an example? Hear him say, ‘Boy, if you want to get on in the world, imitate Judas Iscariot. He is the model man. He is a Christian and yet he has a keen eye for his own advantage and is a sharp man of business.’ C. H. Spurgeon
Whet your appetite? Read on.-
Julie RIley
What a great sermon from Spurgeon… and quite convicting. I had never thought of Mary’s frame of mind when sitting at the feet of Jesus, anointing him with perfume. Quite an amazing act of love and sacrifice! It is a humbling realization to see how genuine her actions were, and how she did not speak of it at all, or ask for advice/opinions/etc. She just served Him in the moment. Pretty awesome.
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Ryan
The Church and Basketball
I played basketball for the last several years at a church league in Houston. (I will leave alone for now my thoughts on churches building their own gyms, lest I digress.) When the league started, the men running the league set firm rules about attitudes and behavior. If anyone crossed the line, they were asked to leave the gym and possibly leave the league.
In the early days, this worked wonderfully. As with any church league, the players were rougher and less skilled than players in other leagues Iâd played in; yet they were generally more mouthy. A few players tried the rules and found themselves kicked out of the gym, and I believe one was removed from the league altogether. The total number of infractions, however, was small.
Fast-forward a few years. I suppose the men running the league decided they didnât like asking people to leave the church. Maybe that sounds funny to many of you, as well. So instead, the games got rougher, more mouthy, and less fun. The last game I played in, the refs called a technical on one of the opposing players then called so completely in that teamâs favor because of their whining that one ref came over to me and told me that he didnât call a foul on another player that had smacked me in the head âbecause we had gotten the ball back.â Really?
I believe this pattern to be indicative of the American Church in general these days. No one is willing to call fouls or ask people to leave. At some point, we decided turning people away or calling people out was not good for PR, so we stopped. Now we face a church age in America where most claim to know Christ and expect eternal life, as well as their âbest life nowâ without really understanding the other side of Christâs message: âIn this world you will have tribulationâ (John 16:33).
We must once again call fouls and, when necessary, even ask those who really donât belong to leave, lest the entire church body is brought down. Many will think this harsh, but what options have we? To this we are called, are we not, to teach and preach the whole gospel?
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Houstonmom
I read this a few days ago and have been thinking about why we don’t call fouls. First of our, the church is not much different than the culture. The culture is very tolerant. Secondly, to call a foul you have to have your life together. Many Christians have so much perpetual sin in their lives we cannot call someone else to theirs.
And if we did call foul, in this day and age the person would just leave and go to another church. Most people are not closely enough tied to their church for them to really care if others wanted to bring church discipline.
I think the most powerful churches in America will be the remnants that form seeking true community and accountability with each other. I believe the good news about our times is that true believers will gather and get back to basics. When this happens, we will see church discipline again.
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Ryan
Consumer Christianity
Iâve noticed a concerning trend in Christianity today: consumerism. Yes, that shop-till-you-drop mentality has penetrated the Church at large. Donât think so? Think about how many churches you or your friends have attended. Think about what you do today in church. You go, you sit, you listen, you get up, you leave, you sit, you listen, repeat. Thatâs your Sunday service in a nutshell. It reminds me of the way I used to look at the Catholic liturgy when I was younger.
That isnât inherently bad so long as you then go out and live the gospel. But how many âChristiansâ today do that? Too many people with an icthus on their cars drive like maniacs and ârevenge driveâ when cut off in traffic. Iâm perhaps blind or cynical or both, but I just donât see it that often, even in myself. That troubles me.
Wiersbe again here:
Suffice it to say now that a true disciple is not a reservoir but a gushing fountain, an artesian well of spiritual blessing. He does not live to get; he lives to give. What he receives from the Lord, he shares with others; and in sharing, he receives even more. He is careful to guard the precious spiritual investment God has put into his life, but he also invests that treasure in the lives of others.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1988). Prayer : Basic training. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.
Amen? So whatâs happened? Why? Why you? Why me? Where is our love for Jesus Christ?
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Julie Riley
Excellent point, Ryan. I, too, fail to see the Gospel in myself and oftentimes resort to my comfort zone of routine, forgetting the amazing GIFT He is to me. Wiersbe’s point of not living to get, but living to give is so simple, yet comfort-zone-shattering.
I would also offer that churchs are representative of the church-goers’ heart. I know my prayer life can oftentimes be considered ‘consumer-minded’. Coming to Him for what I want, need, or desire, versus coming to Him to just be with Him, striving to have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2: 9-16). If we focus on getting our own hearts right with Him, the church will come back to being the Church.
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Houstonmom
I agree. I think we’re consumers in at least two ways: material and spiritual. We like the material comforts that this time and place in the world has provided. I love having an a/c church with electricity, pews, piano, etc.
I think a bigger danger to the church is that we’ve become spiritual consumers versus worshipers. That is why churches have different services with different styles. This has resulted in a huge generation gap between different ages of Christians and is far away from the Bible’s standard. Because we want to consume worship in our comfortable way, we have a fragmented American church. We even have segregated Sunday School classes. Many people who attend Houston churches do not find meaningful relationships (within the church) with folks outside their ages/marital status. I’m concerned the American church will have to undergo severe persecution before we return to a Biblical model.
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Ryan
Defending the Faith
Iâm currently reading Wiersbeâs Prayer: Basic Training. I have found a lot of good information in it, much of it unexpected in a book on prayer. In particular, I found this quote most enlightening: âThe best way to defend the Bible is to practice it.â Can anyone put it any better? This statement was the conclusion of the following illustration:
I sometimes get the impression that some zealous Christians today are so concerned about guarding the Word that they forget to obey it. They think they are serving God by their “holy crusades” of accusation and attack, crusades that are not always based on truth or motivated by love. I recall with a sad heart a young man who used to stand at the steps of our church building and pass out literature that condemned certain schools and preachers. I asked him why he didnât pass out gospel tracts to lost sinners. When we asked him to go away from the church building, or else to come in to worship, he shouted: “Iâm a fighting Fundamentalist and I donât care who knows it! You people are not preaching the truth!” I appreciate any believer who wants to defend the faith, but his belligerent attitude made a mockery of the faith. The best way to defend the Bible is to practice it. Wiersbe, W. W. (1988). Prayer : Basic training. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.
Many have differing opinions, and I would love to hear yours. I find myself agreeing completely with Wiersbe here. I think we spend too much time in study and never put anything into practice. Look at all the people who call themselves Christians but are known by the evangelical community as âSunday Christians.â Look at all those evangelicals who focus of the love of God over his wrath and whom the fundamentals call âwatered-down gospel teachers.â Look at all the fundamentalists with their walled-garden churches and signs proclaiming the facts that they are KJV, pre-trib, pre-millenial, etc. Everyone is so focused on doctrine that we have our own versions of Pharisees and Sadduceesâpeople who think they have it but have completely missed Christ in their midst.Now, I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity offender. I tried to pick on everyone above, but if you are upset that I missed you, please comment, and Iâll throw your group into the mix.
Seriously, though, Iâve noticed that when you work through serving together with someone who may not see things eye-to-eye with you, a lot of the academic details fall away and you find yourself not so far away from agreeing with your once-nemesis. Itâs the label (e.g. denomination, political party, doctrine name) that divides more than it is the truth.So letâs begin to get back to the practice of the gospel and take a holiday from arguing our fine doctrinal points. Certainly, continue to study and to learn the truth of God. Never cease from that precious duty, but donât let it alone define your faith.
Julie Riley is discussing. 
Dustin are discussing. 
Jason B., 
Julie Riley
6:24 pm on February 21, 2009
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I love this quote… desensitization is so prevalent and so quick to sneak up on us… I see it in girls’ (and I emphasize ‘girls’) clothing becoming more defined by revealing fashion rather than God’s Word. Or, the increasingly popular view of marriage, where I-deserve-more attitudes have replaced the weight of an oath taken before God. Or, the selfish fixation on physical beauty vs. the true inner beauty that never fades… and on, and on…
It is too easy to buy into these sub-par standards when we are inundated with them. Thank you for the reminder, Ryan/Wiersbe, to battle these stimuli with what we know to be true and unchanging – God, Himself.