New buildings, family life centres, projects and programs have drawn many into the churches. They may have also helped to keep some in churches, but they have never drawn a man or woman to Christ. We may even think that the dynamic spirituality of our fellowhisp will bring men to Him, but it never will. The church can actually be a distration and hindrance to true conversion if it allows membership in the church without rebirth in Jesus and then a continuation to follow Him. Mere church attendance and activism can work to appease the conviction the Holy Spirit is seeking to bring into our lives and may enable us to feel safe in a spiritual condition in which we actually remain lost.
The true Church is the most dynamic social entity the world has even known. We must be careful that people are not drawn to our assemblies or a man instead of to the Lord. It is common for people to say the right things, change their outward behaviour and even sincerely believe the doctrine of Christ in their hearts. It is possible to be quite "spiritual" and not know Him, as the Lord Himself testified.
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 7:22-23
"The branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me" John 15:4
To be joined to the Church through Christ is life and power. Seeking union with Christ through the Church is vain. One cannot be joined to Christ without being joined to His body. We have often made it easy for one to be attached to the body without being joined to the Head. Paul presented Christ crucified to the unsaved. He understood that if people were drawn by anything but Jesus, the conversion would be false. Paul used no psychology or methodology. He used something much more powerful - THE GOSPEL.
There is great danger in "not discerning the body rightly" and allowing those to join us who have not come through the Door. We must also begin to know one another after the Spirit and not after the flesh. Only the Spirit can judge accurately. Appearances are almost always deceiving. King Saul appeared humble; it was said that he was "small in his own eyes". David appeared arrogant and insolent, rebuking the armies of Isreal for their timidity and saying that the King's own armour was not good enough for him. We must rise above the tendance to follow the first one who appears to be head and shoulders above the rest.
4 comments:
I long to operate more precisely in biblical discernment. It is easier for me to hear and trust the Lord when He is speaking prophetically - but, I cringe when I sense something amiss in another person. "Lord, is that You or is that just my flesh?" I wonder if there is a connection between greater dicerment and an increase of true, biblical love? I'll have to pursue that...
Thanks for the thoughts to chew...
By the way, how did the word that Karen wrote on her blog go over with the leaders at your church?
Yah, I know what you mean, Brian. I have the same difficulty..and I do have a tendency when I "sense something amiss" to jump to my own conclusions or judge something before the "time". The Lord reminded me of this scripture as I am writing this - 1 Corinthians 4:4-6 (The Message)- Im going to pray more into this myself.
As far as how the leaders responded to Karen's exhortation, I'll ask Pastor Jack (aliases JF, JFR, JR, JFRL, etc)to leave a comment to let you know.. *smile*
Cathy, Karen, Brian:
Thanks Cathy for bringing Karen’s recent posts to my attention. I used the “Gimmicks vs. the Real Deal” article as a lead-in to a discussion with our church elders about re-envisioning our church. It generated some good, affirmative feed-back.
It’s a step in a process of weaning us off the “purpose driven” / “church growth” mind-sets and leading us to become “a house of prayer”, rather than “a house of programs”. Thanks, Karen, for your thoughtful posts, and I encourage you in your writing ministry.
~ Jack
Hey
Its a process for all of us, isnt it? And, so often, its 3 steps forward, 2 steps back or even 10 steps back. What amazes me through all of our ups and downs is His grace and mercy and patience. He knows our hearts desire to do His will; thus, I have to bank on His holding on to me, often in spite of me. *smile*
Thanks for the encouragement. Its a joint journey - we are all pieces of such a large, corporate picture and we need each other.
Karen
Post a Comment