I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. 1 Timothy 3:14-15
This passage seemed almost to leap off the page during my reading this morning. Not so much the part about Paul hoping to come soon... I included that for a bit of context, for Paul is writing to a young minister by the name of Timothy in this epistle. No, the bit that jumped out at me was what the church is supposed to be: a pillar and buttress of the truth. Not a fun place to be, nor a social club, nor even a Sunday morning feel-good gathering. We, the collective church of the living God, are to be a pillar and a buttress of the truth. That means that we are literally to be firm supports and stabilizing structures to uphold the truth. What is the truth? Well, it is laid out from page to page in the Word of God, all pointing to the fallibility of man and the fact that the intentions of mankind's' hearts are "only evil all the time," and pointing ultimately to the desperate state of man in need of saving. The epitome of truth, the Savior and the One who answers the question of , "How will man, already dead in his sin, be saved to life?" is Jesus Christ--the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
I was humbled by the enormity of the task of being a pillar and buttress of the truth, or even being a part of it. This is no small job any structure, for without support and stability, no structure can stand. This structure--the Church--is build on the most solid foundation imaginable--Jesus Christ; on the Truth. With that in mind, the Church as an entity is built to provide support and stability for that Truth, making the whole structure stand firm when blasted by the attacks of the enemy. For make no mistake, Christian--we are always at war! There is nothing funny about it, really, though it has been our recent habit to make light of our sins or to be "real" to the point of belaboring our sins rather than exalting our Savior.
Just as we would not build our houses with weak or shoddy and termite-ridden supports, we must not build our church with them. If we are trying to wiggle around the uncomfortable parts of the truth, the reality is we are wiggling ourselves right out of being what we are called to be. We are not supporting the structure--we are moving out from it entirely.
All these thoughts have been mingled lately with the awareness of the enemy who sows weeds in with the wheat and of Paul's many exhortations in his epistles not to compromise the Word or to be enticed away from sound doctrine by any smoothly-taught words or trends. It brings to mind young David, who fought Goliath... and why? Not because he was so very patriotic, but because he simply could not stand to hear someone hurl insults and blasphemy at his God! It was for his passion for the good name of the Lord that David faced down something larger and more powerful than himself, and it is for that same passion that we, as the church, MUST face down anything that stands in the way of the truth! It is not our job to win battles, it is merely our job to stand firm, to engage the enemy, and to trust that God will bring victory no matter how heavily stacked the odds are against us. After all, we are His church--why would He not show up to save us if only we are willing to take those steps of obedience in faith?
Finally, I am compelled to remember who it is that we are called to serve. Today's church is caught up so much in being relevant and making folks happy that we seem to have quite forgotten that it is ultimately God we need to be worried about pleasing. Jesus Himself reminded His disciples not to fear those who can kill the body, but to fear the One who has the power to destroy both body and soul. He is not saying here, "Tremble in uncontrollable terror," but rather recognize that the disapproval of other men is a mere nothing when faced by the vast and unknowable power of the Creator God. We do not dare to earn His condemnation, for under it, who can stand?
We, as a church, should not be catering to men, but to God. We should be upholding His truth as He has given it to us in His word. We are not commanded to like it, nor even to enjoy it when it conflicts with our culture, but to uphold it, firmly and without wavering even in the face of adversity. That is why so many times in the New Testament we are called upon to persevere, because it is not without difficulty that we will manage to remain on the narrow road.
Paul even writes to Timothy, "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." He follows that with an exhortation to continue in what he has learned. It is why Paul reminds the church at Ephesus to put on the full armor of God... and after they have done everything, to stand firm.
It is also why the Corinthian church is called upon to "purge the evil person from among you." There is a lot that can be overlooked in love, for love covers a multitude of sins. This, however, refers to personal insults or slights, I imagine especially since our self-absorbed human nature tends to read a slight out of a simple, misunderstood phrase. Love does not cover blatant disregard for disobedience to the commands of the Lord within the church. Everyone makes mistakes, and grace can be given in these cases. But there are mistakes and then there are small acts of defiance that seem minor to us, especially if we look at them through the lens of our culture. Any act of defiance, however small, is not acceptable when viewed through the lens of what Christ sacrificed. His sacrifice was too great to take lightly anything that does not produce a genuinely recalcitrant and humble heart, too heart-rendingly magnificent to inspire anything but heartfelt gratitude and an eager desire to please and honor Him. Anything less, I fear, is not truly faith at all but mere lip service, chaff that will be burned up by the fires to come.
And so, Church, what must we do? We cannot continue to sit on our laurels, content in our comforts and pleasures and simply let the Church crumble from worm-eaten pillars. I admit, I would like to enjoy comfort and pleasure as much as the next guy. But it is not my job, and frankly a soldier does not get to choose a cushy spot on the front lines of a battle. We are on the front lines. In the days to come, it will only become more and more apparent. It is vital that we look to the Source of truth, the Fountain of Living Water. It is critical that we cultivate a love and desire for Him and for His glory. And it is urgent that we remember that James, half-brother to our Lord, encourages us to keep ourselves unstained by the world. We absolutely must remember his further admonition:
Just as we would not build our houses with weak or shoddy and termite-ridden supports, we must not build our church with them. If we are trying to wiggle around the uncomfortable parts of the truth, the reality is we are wiggling ourselves right out of being what we are called to be. We are not supporting the structure--we are moving out from it entirely.
All these thoughts have been mingled lately with the awareness of the enemy who sows weeds in with the wheat and of Paul's many exhortations in his epistles not to compromise the Word or to be enticed away from sound doctrine by any smoothly-taught words or trends. It brings to mind young David, who fought Goliath... and why? Not because he was so very patriotic, but because he simply could not stand to hear someone hurl insults and blasphemy at his God! It was for his passion for the good name of the Lord that David faced down something larger and more powerful than himself, and it is for that same passion that we, as the church, MUST face down anything that stands in the way of the truth! It is not our job to win battles, it is merely our job to stand firm, to engage the enemy, and to trust that God will bring victory no matter how heavily stacked the odds are against us. After all, we are His church--why would He not show up to save us if only we are willing to take those steps of obedience in faith?
Finally, I am compelled to remember who it is that we are called to serve. Today's church is caught up so much in being relevant and making folks happy that we seem to have quite forgotten that it is ultimately God we need to be worried about pleasing. Jesus Himself reminded His disciples not to fear those who can kill the body, but to fear the One who has the power to destroy both body and soul. He is not saying here, "Tremble in uncontrollable terror," but rather recognize that the disapproval of other men is a mere nothing when faced by the vast and unknowable power of the Creator God. We do not dare to earn His condemnation, for under it, who can stand?
We, as a church, should not be catering to men, but to God. We should be upholding His truth as He has given it to us in His word. We are not commanded to like it, nor even to enjoy it when it conflicts with our culture, but to uphold it, firmly and without wavering even in the face of adversity. That is why so many times in the New Testament we are called upon to persevere, because it is not without difficulty that we will manage to remain on the narrow road.
Paul even writes to Timothy, "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." He follows that with an exhortation to continue in what he has learned. It is why Paul reminds the church at Ephesus to put on the full armor of God... and after they have done everything, to stand firm.
It is also why the Corinthian church is called upon to "purge the evil person from among you." There is a lot that can be overlooked in love, for love covers a multitude of sins. This, however, refers to personal insults or slights, I imagine especially since our self-absorbed human nature tends to read a slight out of a simple, misunderstood phrase. Love does not cover blatant disregard for disobedience to the commands of the Lord within the church. Everyone makes mistakes, and grace can be given in these cases. But there are mistakes and then there are small acts of defiance that seem minor to us, especially if we look at them through the lens of our culture. Any act of defiance, however small, is not acceptable when viewed through the lens of what Christ sacrificed. His sacrifice was too great to take lightly anything that does not produce a genuinely recalcitrant and humble heart, too heart-rendingly magnificent to inspire anything but heartfelt gratitude and an eager desire to please and honor Him. Anything less, I fear, is not truly faith at all but mere lip service, chaff that will be burned up by the fires to come.
And so, Church, what must we do? We cannot continue to sit on our laurels, content in our comforts and pleasures and simply let the Church crumble from worm-eaten pillars. I admit, I would like to enjoy comfort and pleasure as much as the next guy. But it is not my job, and frankly a soldier does not get to choose a cushy spot on the front lines of a battle. We are on the front lines. In the days to come, it will only become more and more apparent. It is vital that we look to the Source of truth, the Fountain of Living Water. It is critical that we cultivate a love and desire for Him and for His glory. And it is urgent that we remember that James, half-brother to our Lord, encourages us to keep ourselves unstained by the world. We absolutely must remember his further admonition:
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:4-8
Father God, we are Your children, Your church, and Your body. We admit we have grown fat and lazy, complacent in our comforts and allowed false doctrines to creep in here and there. We have been so long sheltered and so richly blessed materially that we have forgotten what it is we are fighting for, or even that we are fighting at all. Our love for You has grown cold, and for that we are truly sorry. We repent, Father, and we ask that You will purify Your church. Teach us to obey, teach us to love You, teach us to really believe. Guide us in navigating the rough passage ahead, for in the increasing darkness of the world, our need for Your light is greater and greater. Awaken a passion for Your Word within our hearts and light a fire within us that cannot be quenched by any darkness. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit and build your Church again as a pillar and buttress for Your eternal Truth. This we ask in Jesus' name and for His sake, amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment