06/25/2024
How do we contend for the truth?
Should we fight it out? Do we use language and humor, sarcasm and wit on social media? Or should we show up physically? Are we to protest? Hand out flyers? Preach the truth publicly in front of the apostates?
Perhaps we are to take the false words they speak and transpose those words with the truth of scripture and point out to the world where and how they are wrong…
Better yet, perhaps we should expose those who preach the falsehood for who they really are. They are scoundrels, hypocrites, liars, thieves and deceivers. If the world knew them for what they are, maybe the world wouldn’t listen to them.
I have been actively engaged in all of the above. And for the record, I want to admit that nothing enrages me more than hearing scripture manipulated by man for gain. Deep in my heart, aside from crimes committed against children, I feel there is nothing more evil on the planet than this practice. I’m not justifying this personal rage, I’m simply acknowledging it exists in my heart.
Apostasy is at an alarmingly high rate today, particularly in America, and it is represented well in my hometown. This has produced (for me) a never ending source of frustration.
Why can’t they see it?
Maybe I’m not presenting the truth well?
Perhaps it’s personal–and they don’t like me? When a pastor and a church blocks you {and your wife} on facebook, you might have a personal issue you’re dealing with.
But it was never the pastor I was trying to reach, it was the people. In the end, it is a feckless mission, akin to trying to empty Lake Erie with a teaspoon. The pastor has the floor and the mic, the people crave the message, and the truth hovers close by but just out of reach, regardless of what any man might attempt. Sadness, frustration and even anger, began to creep into my mind and my prayers. I noticed my motivation transform from save to destroy. Yes, I wanted to present the truth to those being deceived, but maybe more importantly, I wanted to destroy the source from which they are fed.
THEN GOD STEPPED IN….
Two Godly men were sent across my path. One, a frequent target of my zealous wrath, the other, a man I would affectionately call my spiritual father. While all three of us are roughly the same age, I found myself to be a spiritual infant among these two men, whom I have no doubt were on commission by God.
I’ll save the details of the individual meetings for another post because they are so profound that they deserve their own purpose. For this post, I will jump to the conclusion which I pray will bless all who read it.
To begin, I will not minimize the negative effect that false doctrine has on the church. It should never be acceptable or tolerated, and on some level, the body of Christ must resist false doctrine. Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah Witness, Christian Scientists, and yes, the word-faith movement, the prosperity gospel and the charismatic movement all fit into this category. But allow me to offer a proverbial brake to pump as we consider two things as we “resist” these teachings.
First, consider the sovereignty of God.
We often draw on this truth, especially us ‘ultra-biblical’ thinking people. We say it all the time, we believe it in our hearts, but do we truly understand it? The answer is..No. We are not truly capable of understanding sovereignty.
We understand about—- half of sovereignty.
We understand the "easy” side. We can fully comprehend the virtue of Joseph rising to power in Egypt after being sold into slavery by his brothers. We see the miraculous power of God in his story as what was meant for evil is turned to triumph. But an equal part of the sovereignty of God is the act of the brothers executing evil against him. Understanding God’s restraint, (not authorship) of the act is far beyond us.
Consider the cross.
Every detail, every act, every character, every nail, blow, wound, and word, was foretold and orchestrated from the beginning of time. When our Lord cried out, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken Me?” It was a fulfillment of the scripture from Psalm 22. —This is sovereignty.
How many of us blame the crucifixion of Jesus on Judas? He’s the one that turned Him over, right?
Or does the responsibility fall on the hands of Pontius Pilot? Pilot could have stopped the whole thing.
Did Jesus fight against His captors? Did He resist? What happened when Peter resisted with the sword? Better yet, what did Jesus tell Peter when he told our Lord that He could not possibly go to Jerusalem and be handed over? Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan.” (Mt 16:23)
Are you beginning to see the picture? The sovereignty of God is far beyond our understanding. We speak it, we claim it, but we don’t get it. One more example.
King Saul was anointed by God as the first King of Israel. (1 Sam 9:15) He was by no means a ‘great man,’ but scripture tells us he was chosen by God for this purpose. He eventually became disobedient, and spent years trying to murder his successor David, who was a man after God’s own heart. David could have defeated Saul, but instead he spent nearly a decade on the run, living in caves, fearing for his life. He understood that Saul was ‘chosen.’ David had faith in the sovereignty of God and that when God wanted him to reign, He would make it happen. David never fought back. He never organized a resistance. Even though he knew Saul was ‘mad’ and he had every right to take over the kingdom of Israel, he never sought power, but rather, he sought God’s will. David, a man after God’s own heart, understood the sovereignty of God. David was eventually overthrown by his own son, and again, he did not not fight, he fled, while he had every opportunity to crush the resistance his son was organizing. While he was fleeing he was cursed at by a man in 2 Sam 16, David’s people who escaped with him wanted to kill the man, but David responded by saying, “Let him be, maybe God told him to curse me.” David understood that God’s will IS being accomplished. It is our flesh that veils our role in His will–and so we create our own role and call it “our calling.”
The second point I’d like to make in this post that is directly related to the sovereignty issue is even more controversial, the doctrine of election.
These two ideas run parallel throughout scripture and one cannot exist without the other. There are many in the body of Christ who cannot square these concepts up and I would simply appeal to those christians who struggle with this to embrace the idea that absolute truth is not necessarily true because it is understood. In other words, something can be true absent its understanding. We all acknowledge the trinity, though we can’t wrap our head around it. The doctrine of election is difficult because we believe it takes our decision, or our choice, or our free will out of the equation. This is especially hard in the ‘false church’ because the false church puts the power of faith in the individual. The false church is centered on the individual, not the will of God. So this doctrine is vilified as heresy while oftentimes sovereignty is accepted, at least on some level.
We want to believe we are in control. We desire power. We want to influence. We are taught that with the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling us we can change the world. The operative word there is WE. It is our will along with God’s will. We truly think in our hearts that we are a team with God and that He will use us because ….. He needs us.
Rest assured, God will use you. You will serve the will of God. And you do have the choice to obey and seek Him with all your heart or serve His will as Saul, or Judas or Pilot served His will. The only difference between us and Saul, is the blood of Christ. Saul is in you. Pilot is in you. How many times have you washed your hands of a situation where you could have stepped up to the plate for Christ? How about Judas? Do you think there is not a Judas in you? Just because your betrayal of Christ has not been immortalized forever in scripture doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. None of us is good. No, not one.
The will of God will unfold, precisely as God chooses. When we start to believe that we have a role in how that happens, we must pause. One must consider what role he is playing in the act. Is he Saul, or David? Are not both appointed by God?
Jesus warned us to take out the log from our own eye before we remove the speck from our brothers. Can our zeal to be righteous and correct place us into the role of persecutor and divider? In other words, we get wrapped up in man-centered issues and perform man-centered acts, to cause or create spiritual outcomes. And this is a direct result of a lack of understanding of our role in the body of Christ. We think we are David, when in fact, we are Saul. We justify war for a right cause, and kill people in the process. To those who are liberated we are David. To those killed in the war, we are Saul. You see, we are one in the same while we operate in the flesh.
What I’ve learned is while battling what I understand to be falsities in the teaching of the gospel, for every person “I” think I bring to the truth, I’ve hardened many more away from it. I have no control over whether people seek the Lord. I can’t sell the Lord. More importantly, false teachers are a judgment. False teachers are a spiritual appointment that I have no power against. And ultimately, false teachers are used by God to strengthen, fortify and unify the Body of Christ.
Our role is to obey, love, and seek His will in all things.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
The Lord brought two men to me to stick a mirror in front of me and show me the image that was staring back at me. While I expected to see David, I did not…..it was Saul.
The Lord God is so powerful, so mighty, and so holy. I will never again assume a posture in which I believe I am acting on His behalf—One that presumes that I am representing His best interest and it is my role to carry out His will for Him. What an arrogant, ignorant, self aggrandizing position to take…
I repent of the self-importance I displayed to all. I hope you will all forgive me. I thank God for the correction He has so graciously bestowed on me, and while these words I’ve shared to convey this remarkable reflection are not sufficiently complete, I hope you are blessed with a new perspective.
That perspective is this. Never assume that your will is a reflection of God’s without careful examination of the heart. Seek Him first in all things. Humble yourself before His throne and be aware that your opponent may very well be appointed by God. We are small, and when spiritual power begins to creep into your mind, know that this illusion is not of God, but the enemy. God’s will be done! May God bless you all.