Clarification?

Based on some of the feedback I have received, I have concluded that it is necessary to provide some details of my position and clarify statements I made in my last post.  No doubt additional questions and concerns will arise based on the following:

Regarding salvation

1)  Salvation is an act of God and is made effectual in individuals through the Holy Spirit convicting and regenerating the heart of sinners.  The preaching of the gospel is the means through which this is accomplished.

2)  Salvation is not the result of responding to an altar call or saying a sinner’s prayer.

3)  Salvation is not the result of church discipline, however biblically it may be practiced.

Regarding Eternal Security

1)  I believe the doctrine of “once saved, always saved” is one of the most grievously misunderstood teachings of the modern American church.

2)  Just as salvation is granted by grace and not earned by any human means (including ancestry, behavior, or personal decision), eternal security is attributable only to the steadfast trustworthiness of God’s election and purpose.  We are eternally secure only if we are predestined unto salvation before the foundation of the world.

3)  Without an overall biblical perspective about salvation and the duty and role of the Church, this doctrine can lead to unspeakable evil acts conducted by dedicated church goers — those that believe themselves to be “born again” Christians with an assured place in heaven regardless of immoral, sinful behavior.

Regarding Church Discipline

1)  Since church discipline does not have the power of conversion, by itself it would not have been responsible for the rebirth of Dr. Tiller.

2)  The lack of church discipline can generate unwarranted satisfaction with one’s standing before the Lord.  In other words, without church discipline as a part of the overall practice of the Church, unrepentant sinners are led to believe (or are specifically taught) that their salvation is assured.

3)  In the book of Romans, Paul tells us “you are not under law but under grace.”   Nevertheless, in the next verse and throughout the New Testament, the Bible makes it clear that conversion results in fruit.  Christians are expected to demonstrate that they are a new creature by their words and actions.

In summary, I think Dr. Tiller was not aware of the basic principles of the faith.  He may have known that the wages of sin is death, but what did that matter to him?  He was not aware that he was a sinner and that his actions were contrary to the law of God.  The Church’s failure to discipline him sanctioned the choices he continued to make.  He did not think it necessary to repent because he had not been made aware of his error.

Dr. Tiller’s sin remains his responsibility, but his blood is on the hands of all of those that know Christ and had an opportunity hold Dr. Tiller accountable, but did not act.

Church Discipline and the “Good” Doctor

Why is church discipline so hard?  Is it because the Bible is unclear regarding the procedures?  Hardly.  Is it because we are unconvinced of its effectiveness?  Most likely, few of us have enough experience with it to draw any conclusions.

I would argue that, for the most part, we choose to not discipline to avoid confrontation and disagreements within our “happy” church homes.  It is like a home in which the parents avoid their responsibility and fail to teach their children the ways of the Lord and discipline accordingly.  Without such shepherding, the children become lawless, spoiled, selfish and rebellious.  What at first seems to be the easier path ends up being the way to certain destruction.

I think we justify our reluctance to exercise church discipline based on two interrelated aspects of our own spiritual lives.

1)       We are not convinced that the offense in question is sinful or in need of correction.

2)      As sinners, we believe ourselves to be inadequate to the task of pointing out the speck in a brother’s eye.

We refuse to be convinced that certain behavior and choices are sinful because we love our sin!  Holding others accountable opens us up to being confronted on our own transgressions.  We don’t practice church discipline because we don’t want to be disciplined!

We are quite fond of the opening verses in Matthew chapter 7 that warns against judging others inappropriately.  We use verses 1 through 5 to convince ourselves that we must never accuse others of wrongdoing because our own sins are so great.  However, in the very next verse, Jesus continues His teaching by warning against giving holy thing to dogs and casting pearls before swine!  Jesus does not prohibit our judging of others, He simply clarifies the standard by which we are to judge – God’s word!

Indeed, we must be prayerful and exercise wisdom as we consider each situation.  We cannot take the task lightly and our evidence against the brother or sister must be clear.  However, we must not allow our congregations to continue as they are – filled with lawless, spoiled, selfish and rebellious children.  Like the parents of the undisciplined children, the church leadership is responsible for correction of their flock.

These thoughts came to me as I read about the tragic slaying of the abortionist, Dr. George Tiller.  His crimes against innocent life are well-known, and I will not recount them here.  Suffice to say that to any honest student of the teachings of Christ, there is no doubt as to the sinful nature of his profession.  The commentators express shock regarding the fact that such a crime (his murder) was committed in church.  I, too, was amazed, but my shock focused on the crime that lead to his being, not only in church, but officiating at a service ostensibly devoted to worshipping the Holy Lord!

As a professing believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, Dr. Tiller subjected himself to Church guidance and discipline.  The Church failed him, and it is likely that he died an unrepentant murderer of thousands.  How many more Dr. Tillers are there in our congregations?  How many more professing Christians are deluded by the refusals of pastors, elders, and lay people to step up to the responsibility they have to each other?

Neither the illegal killing of abortionists nor legislation will rid this land of the abomination of abortion.  Only by the blessing of God through an obedient and faithful church will our nation turn from its evil ways.  May the Lord deliver His people from fear, weakness and irresponsibility.

Syncretism

Syncretism – The tendency to blend the world (culture) around us into the Church.  This includes the incorporation of beliefs and practices that are contrary to scripture.  Syncretism is typically a gradual process in which seemingly small accommodations to outside beliefs lead to further, more damaging compromises.  Over time, the result is an essentially new religion that shares little with the original faith.

Like the term sectarianism, syncretism is a pejorative word and as such, it is seldom used.  Syncretism is often promoted as a “good” thing under less controversial names such as “becoming relevant,” “broadening the appeal,” or even a scripturally savvy term taken out of context like “becoming all things to all people.”

Examples in today’s society are often not as clearly seen as is the case with the Amish and sectarianism because they have been incorporated into our worldview as “normal.”  One obvious example, however, is the practice of celebrating Halloween.  Originally a celebration honoring the dead, the holiday was recognized as an important part of the cultural lives of the pagans with whom the Church wished to “become relevant.”  In spite of Church endorsement, the resulting “All Hallows Eve” and “All Saints Day” have little, if any, Christian meaning.  Nevertheless, most Christians have incorporated the rituals and regularly celebrate the holiday; seeing it as harmless fun.  Other examples range from what many conservative evangelicals would consider outrageous to subtle compromises that only the purest puritan might recognize.

The Biblical examples of syncretism are many and serious, especially in Kings and Chronicles.  Solomon and Jeroboam are key examples, but most kings (in both kingdoms) between Solomon and the exile are accused of this sin because they embraced the pagan gods of the people around them and permitted the worship of those gods to take root among God’s people.  See especially 1 Kings Chapter 11.

Can you think of examples of outside culture being incorporated into the Church?

Christians in Culture — Prologue

There is a great debate among evangelicals regarding the relationship and interaction between the Church and the culture.  How should the Church and the individual members therein strike the balance between being “relevant” and being “set apart”?  “In, but not of”?

The next several posts will be dedicated to the discussion of Christians in culture.  This is obviously a huge topic that could be the sole theme for a blog, so I will not claim to be exhaustive.  At this time at least, I do not expect to address a large number of specific details of the debate (music, clothing, etc.).  Rather, I plan to review what I consider the biblical principles behind the debate.  I will present my ideas on how the principles might be applied to the specifics, but do not expect a resolution to the rock music vrs hymns battle during this series.

Within those bounds, I hope for a significant number of comments to fine tune the direction of the discussion.  Much of what I intend to post will be drawn from material that I prepared prior to starting this blog.  Therefore, I hope (but refrain from promising) to increase the frequency of my posts to every other day.  This, of course, is dependent somewhat on the “fine tuning” mentioned above….

Next:

Installment #1 “Christians in Culture:  Defining the Starting Points”