My War on Hypocrisy!

You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
    but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” (Mt. 15:7-11)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Mt. 7:21-23)

In a recent discussion I had with a layperson, I tried to explain that not everyone in church was a Christian. They may show up and go through the motions but they are not true converts. Nor is everyone in Church a member of God's elect. (Mt. 13:24-30) This seemed like news to this person. 

A preacher needs to preach the whole counsel of God. (Acts 20:26-28) This includes predestination, election, law, sin, judgment, hell and grace! We do no one any favors when we leave them with the assumption that everyone is going to heaven if they say a prayer, perform good works or know who Jesus is. The Christian must see themselves as a sinner in need of a redeemer. They must recognize an old self that once was and a new self that is of God's making! (Eph. 4:17-24)

A hypocrite means a mask-wearer, the root word coming from the masks worn by actors in Greek theater. A hypocrite plays the part but is only a pretender! Unless there is a true encounter with Christ leading to true conversion, we remain false in our sins!

Is God Using Rob Bell for God's Greater Glory

There has been much written and said about Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins. A link to Bell's own introduction is included here https://www.robbell.com/lovewins/ Many will agree with Bell's comments. He leads a 10, 000 member church and by the world's standards is considered a success. Orthodox writers have panned the book as heretical. Bell likes to pose questions to his audience setting them up for a non-offensive and palatible answer. Let us not forget that the crafty serpent set Adam and Eve up for the Fall with a question, "Did God really say..."  But I would like to ask a question myself: Is God using Rob Bell for God's own greater glory? Let's be clear. I disagree with Bell's teaching. I find them to be universalist in nature and his use of Scripture smacks of modernism. But God neither slumbers nor sleeps. Can God be using false teachers for His greater glory in the redemption of the world? Why do people flock to preachers of all kinds whose teachings twist Scripture? The answer may be that these teachers are raised up as a judgment upon people who desire a 'gospel' that fits a self-centered ideal rather than a Christ-centered truth. The bible warns that false teachers and false prophets will arise. This is no surprise to God! Jesus proclaims, "And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will will be saved." (Mt. 24:1-13) Note the word, "will". It's going to happen and is happening. It's part of God's plan and we cannot stop it. And the one who endures will be saved. Only those who endure will be saved! So, like the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in Paradise, it's there and we will be judged by our consumption. We will also be judged by God's Word, that commanded, "Don't eat!" Those who endure will be saved!

St. Paul warns Timothy that "the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions. And will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." (2 Tim. 4:3,4) Note the word, "will". False prophets and false teachers are here for our judgement. We do not have to eat of their fruit (Mt. 7:15-20)

Listen to evangelist Paul Washer remind us why we seek out false teachers. Repentance means turning away from our own passions and turning to God and His help through Jesus Christ. For love to win, the truth must be preached!

Church Conflict and its Solution!

¹ Brothers and sisters, in the past I could not talk to you as I talk to spiritual people. I had to talk to you as I would to people without the Spirit—babies in Christ.² The teaching I gave you was like milk, not solid food, because you were not able to take solid food. And even now you are not ready.³ You are still not spiritual, because there is jealousy and quarreling among you, and this shows that you are not spiritual. You are acting like people of the world. (1 Corinthians 3:1-3, New Century Version)

What is the cause of conflict in the Church? Why are people petty? The answer can be found in Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. Some are spiritual, some are not. The petty, the self-centered are people of the world. In other words, they may be in church but they are acting out of their fleshly, carnal, non-spiritual desires. The only way to deal with such people is to do what Paul did, remind them that they are acting like people of the world. If they claim to be converted, then remind them they are acting like infants and need to grow up. A true Christian has the Holy Spirit abiding in their heart thereby informing their conscience what is right and wrong. Paul did not look for consensus. He spoke the truth and so should we! Christ came for His sheep. Not for the goats!

ARE WE SOWING RICE CHRISTIANS?

Yesterday I found myself in a parish that I once was a member of when I was a teenager. My sister and mother are members there now. It is ensconced in the wealthy northern suburbs of Atlanta. While I wore my collar, I sat in the pew listening to the sermon and stood in line to receive communion. The sermon was preached by a professional acquaintance of mine from several years ago! The readings appointed for the day were rich. 1 Kings 17:17-24 told of Elijah stretching himself upon the body of a dead boy crying to God to bring life back into the boy and the boy came back to life and was returned to his mother who would have been destitute without his care. From the Gospel of Luke the widow of Nain mourns the loss of her only son only to have Jesus say, "Arise!" and he too is returned to his mother who would have been destitute without her son. (Luke 7:11-17) And let us not forget Paul's Letter to Galatians where he proclaims that the Gospel is of God and hence supernatural rather than an invention of men. How else could he be a Christian proclaiming salvation to the Gentiles! (Gal. 1:11-24) Alas, the sermon really did not address the fact God can raise people from the dead. Or that the Gospel is supernatural in nature. In the sermon there were a couple of nice stories. They were more about how humanity can do the right thing. Really nothing about what God can do that is supernatural. If you feel good, perhaps you will see God.

So I come home, flop on the couch and turn the TV on. On TCM was an old Gregory Peck movie, The Keys of the Kingdom. The movie was about a Scottish RC priest who is somewhat of a misfit in his hometown. He is sent off as a missionary to pre-revolution China. There he sees an old dilapidated church building and 2 hosts who tell the new rector that everyone left when the previous pastor left as they had no one to receive payment from to stay and worship. But this couple will help repair the buildings and grow the church for their customary stipend. Fr. Chisolm, Peck's character, replies he has no money and has no intention of raising up "rice Christians". At this the couple leave in a huff and mock the priest's efforts in establishing a medical mission and a parish.

As a parish priest for over 20 years, I have encountered similar sentiments from my North American mission field albeit more subtle than the Chinese who looked forward to American and European missionaries doling out the wealth. Fr. Chisolm knew what a true convert was. But do we who pastor in comfortable America? There is an overriding, "What's in it for me?" attitude among church goers. When we make people happy, we are creating Rice Christians. Our goal is to preach Christ crucified. Are we bold to say that miracles abound today and that God still heals? Are we honest when we cannot say we have witnessed a miracle that defies explanation but are humble enough to appeal to The Almighty to show us one? After all, God is supernatural! Any effort to make church for selfish reasons is an effort to sow Rice Christians. When we define God on our terms rather than the Scriptures, we are making Rice Christians. It is no wonder that people church shop.

Later in the movie Methodist missionaries arrive in the Chinese village where Fr. Chisolm has labored many years. Knowing that it has not been his job to build a church but rather seek the lost for Christ's sake, he welcomes the Methodists as co-laborers! The Church for Fr. Chisolm was what Jesus wanted, not necessarily his traditions!

The problem with the American Church is that we want to build an institution, not the Body of Christ. We want to talk about ourselves and not about what God is doing or can do. We do not want to confess that maybe we are blind and deaf to His presence. A confession that requires repentance!

The truth is that Jesus is doing all the work to draw people to Himself. Those of us who are true believers can be missionaries in our own denominations and accept others who are members of Christ's fold in spite of our traditions!