Do We Stand For Truth?
Several years ago I had a Pastor that taught me that before I stand in the pulpit or write something that may influence someone’s heart, I should always quiet myself before the Lord. Then I was to consider everything He had given to me during the past weeks. He instructed me to pray then for His Spirit to give me peace and discernment and ask Him to stay close so that I don’t wander.
So with that in mind, I was considering what I was going share in this message, I began to reflect on some very serious conflicts within the church I attend. Sadly, what is happening in our church, is happening throughout many churches. Pastors and congregations seem to be forgetting fundamental principles found in the Scriptures. I am specifically talking about how our Father divides, elects and separates. Say it again: divides, elects and separates; divides, elects and separates.
That’s right. He makes distinctions between Truth and Lies; Clean and Unclean; Holy and Debased; Pure and Impure; Right and Wrong. The problem is that the modern Church mistakenly cries for “unity” and ignores what is clearly written in the Scripture. It is as if He is seeking uniform agreement.
Modern churches are continually attempting to bring widespread inclusion in hopes of growing their membership. The problem is that wherever you search in the Scriptures you will find anything but tolerance and inclusion.
Go ahead and study it for yourself. What you will find is that Yahweh divided light from the darkness, evil from good, truth from deception, chaos from order, Israel from everyone else. Then, when you consider the sacrificial system you see these same divisions and distinctions established between clean and unclean, holy and profane, divine and fleshly, priestly and common. Ritual purity, sexuality, and diet are all divided into the acceptable and the un-acceptable. You will also discover that Yahweh does not tolerate the unacceptable, and He will exclude those who act out the unacceptable.
I have said it before, but when Jesus called folks to follow him, He was quite explicit about what the requirements were. He expected total commitment: “None of you can be my disciples unless you give up everything” (Luke 14:33). Sacrifice was expected: “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Those who want to come with me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me’” (Matthew 16:24).
In Luke 14:25-35, Jesus seemed to be laying out all of the requirements of being His disciple. And He seemed to be discouraging people from committing themselves to Him! He seemed to want to weed out anyone who followed Him if they wanted to continue their sin.
I’m serious. Just look what Jesus said:
This is why He divides, elects and separates. Long ago, even before the advent of Jesus, the Lord created a winnowing process. As Pastor and Teacher Tom Bradford noted, “This process never included a universal inclusion, but by careful and well-defined exclusion. The Kingdom of God is a members only club that has the narrowest gates to enter, and yet establishes the broadest barriers to intruders or pretenders. This winnowing process of the Lord eventually reduced the entire world‘s population to a remnant of people who love and trust and are obedient only to Him: He divides, elects, and separates.”
I apologize for continually repeating myself here (and for the past week), but our modern churches are being led astray by a lack of discernment and we must understand. We hear preachers declare that the Scriptures are divisive, and peace is more important than sound teaching. As a result, we frame our messages to be friendly, agreeable, and relevant, instead of being a confrontation with the gospel of Christ. Once we soften our message, we are no longer effective witnesses of the Gospel.
All of those hot topics of our modern age such as abortion, feminism, homosexuality, and other politically charged moral issues pose the most obvious threat for our churches. Our undefined theology and our desire to reach the “Un-churched” no longer allows us to take any firm biblical stands. The moment we defy the spirit of the age, we forfeit our appeal. So we either have to remain silent or to capitulate. Either way, we will compromise the truth.
Let me give you an example. If your church is not willing to take a firm stand against abortion, how is it going to deal with other areas of erosion? If your church lacks discernment enough to condemn such overt errors as homosexuality or feminism, how is it going to handle any other sin?
Many evangelical churches have completely abandoned preaching about hell, sin, and the wrath of God. Their stand is that Yahweh’s primary attribute is benevolence–and that overrides and supersedes His holiness, justice, wrath, and sovereignty. Where are the preachers like Jonathan Edwards, who cried out, for the “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”
No, we prefer a God who is, as Aryeh Tepper wrote in his article, “The Pale God, “a grandfatherly figure, kind but, truth be told, somewhat out of it, sitting in a corner, tolerant of the various paths his children have chosen, content when surrounded by his grandchildren, desiring only to be recognized and see his offspring stay connected. It would take an outrageous sin for him to get up out of his chair and say something that might cause even slight discomfort.”
No, we no longer want to address our greatest need, which is forgiveness for our sins. Instead of offering prayer and deliverance, we offer 12-step and send our church members to Psychologists and Psychiatrists.
The only hope for our churches is for us to return to Scripture and sound doctrine. We desperately need to recover our determination to be biblical, our refusal to comply with the world, our willingness to defend what we believe, and our courage to defy false teaching. The plain reality is that unless we collectively awaken to the current dangers that threaten our faith, our adversary will continue to attack us from within our fellowships. I love the words from Charles Spurgeon:
So with that in mind, I was considering what I was going share in this message, I began to reflect on some very serious conflicts within the church I attend. Sadly, what is happening in our church, is happening throughout many churches. Pastors and congregations seem to be forgetting fundamental principles found in the Scriptures. I am specifically talking about how our Father divides, elects and separates. Say it again: divides, elects and separates; divides, elects and separates.
That’s right. He makes distinctions between Truth and Lies; Clean and Unclean; Holy and Debased; Pure and Impure; Right and Wrong. The problem is that the modern Church mistakenly cries for “unity” and ignores what is clearly written in the Scripture. It is as if He is seeking uniform agreement.
Modern churches are continually attempting to bring widespread inclusion in hopes of growing their membership. The problem is that wherever you search in the Scriptures you will find anything but tolerance and inclusion.
Go ahead and study it for yourself. What you will find is that Yahweh divided light from the darkness, evil from good, truth from deception, chaos from order, Israel from everyone else. Then, when you consider the sacrificial system you see these same divisions and distinctions established between clean and unclean, holy and profane, divine and fleshly, priestly and common. Ritual purity, sexuality, and diet are all divided into the acceptable and the un-acceptable. You will also discover that Yahweh does not tolerate the unacceptable, and He will exclude those who act out the unacceptable.
I have said it before, but when Jesus called folks to follow him, He was quite explicit about what the requirements were. He expected total commitment: “None of you can be my disciples unless you give up everything” (Luke 14:33). Sacrifice was expected: “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Those who want to come with me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me’” (Matthew 16:24).
In Luke 14:25-35, Jesus seemed to be laying out all of the requirements of being His disciple. And He seemed to be discouraging people from committing themselves to Him! He seemed to want to weed out anyone who followed Him if they wanted to continue their sin.
I’m serious. Just look what Jesus said:
“If people come to me and are not ready to abandon their fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers, and sisters, as well as their own lives, they cannot be my disciples . . .”Why would He say those kinds of things? Was He intentionally trying to get rid of some of them? No, He wanted people who were interested in serving His Father. As someone wisely pointed out “Jesus seeks quality over quantity.”
“Those who do not carry their crosses and follow me cannot be my disciples . . .”
“You must first sit down and figure out what it costs . . .”
“None of you can be my disciples unless you give up everything . . .”
This is why He divides, elects and separates. Long ago, even before the advent of Jesus, the Lord created a winnowing process. As Pastor and Teacher Tom Bradford noted, “This process never included a universal inclusion, but by careful and well-defined exclusion. The Kingdom of God is a members only club that has the narrowest gates to enter, and yet establishes the broadest barriers to intruders or pretenders. This winnowing process of the Lord eventually reduced the entire world‘s population to a remnant of people who love and trust and are obedient only to Him: He divides, elects, and separates.”
I apologize for continually repeating myself here (and for the past week), but our modern churches are being led astray by a lack of discernment and we must understand. We hear preachers declare that the Scriptures are divisive, and peace is more important than sound teaching. As a result, we frame our messages to be friendly, agreeable, and relevant, instead of being a confrontation with the gospel of Christ. Once we soften our message, we are no longer effective witnesses of the Gospel.
All of those hot topics of our modern age such as abortion, feminism, homosexuality, and other politically charged moral issues pose the most obvious threat for our churches. Our undefined theology and our desire to reach the “Un-churched” no longer allows us to take any firm biblical stands. The moment we defy the spirit of the age, we forfeit our appeal. So we either have to remain silent or to capitulate. Either way, we will compromise the truth.
Let me give you an example. If your church is not willing to take a firm stand against abortion, how is it going to deal with other areas of erosion? If your church lacks discernment enough to condemn such overt errors as homosexuality or feminism, how is it going to handle any other sin?
Many evangelical churches have completely abandoned preaching about hell, sin, and the wrath of God. Their stand is that Yahweh’s primary attribute is benevolence–and that overrides and supersedes His holiness, justice, wrath, and sovereignty. Where are the preachers like Jonathan Edwards, who cried out, for the “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”
No, we prefer a God who is, as Aryeh Tepper wrote in his article, “The Pale God, “a grandfatherly figure, kind but, truth be told, somewhat out of it, sitting in a corner, tolerant of the various paths his children have chosen, content when surrounded by his grandchildren, desiring only to be recognized and see his offspring stay connected. It would take an outrageous sin for him to get up out of his chair and say something that might cause even slight discomfort.”
No, we no longer want to address our greatest need, which is forgiveness for our sins. Instead of offering prayer and deliverance, we offer 12-step and send our church members to Psychologists and Psychiatrists.
The only hope for our churches is for us to return to Scripture and sound doctrine. We desperately need to recover our determination to be biblical, our refusal to comply with the world, our willingness to defend what we believe, and our courage to defy false teaching. The plain reality is that unless we collectively awaken to the current dangers that threaten our faith, our adversary will continue to attack us from within our fellowships. I love the words from Charles Spurgeon:
Yet, surely, there must be some who will fling aside the dastard love of peace, and speak out for our Lord, and for his truth. A craven spirit is upon many, and their tongues are paralyzed. Oh, for an outburst of true faith and holy zeal!Nickolas
With these Morning Messages, I take you on guided tours to, as Bunyan described, the Celestial City. At times we linger at corners familiar and unseen. And explore the depths of our faith along the way.
The trail is long, but there’s no hurry. Though we do need to stock up on supplies for the way, and that’s where I need your help. If you enjoy these messages, please consider becoming a contributing member of this tour group. It will be very much appreciated.
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