Jesus

Why This List Should Just Go Away

Faithful Stewardship 1 Comment

nopeI see this Internet Meme or Poster passed around on Facebook and included in Blogs and church marketing campaigns and it always grieves me. It popped up again twice this week, so I’ve decided it’s time to debunk this message. Now, I am certain that many of you have “liked” or “shared” something of this sort before in social media or in email. I’ve seen it and refrained from commenting on it before. My desire here is not to condemn anyone for sharing something that they thought was good or helpful or even accurate. At first glance, it seems like a good thing, right? I mean, how could encouraging folks that they aren’t beyond God’s reach possibly be bad? I think that such an approach to this meme is innocent enough, but once you look at the details, I think you’ll realize that nothing with these types of errors and falsehood could ever be considered “good”. In fact, there is no redeeming this concept, it is fundamentally flawed in its approach and execution.

I chose this particular iteration because it took the route of placing in a Scripture reference as “fine print” as if to say that the poster is Biblically accurate. We’ll get to that a little later, but I want to address the heart of the problem with this poster first.

Do You Seriously Think God Can’t Use You?

Okay, so right at the start, we are in a bad spot. The person who is thinking, “God can’t use me” needs to be corrected in their thinking. The Bible isn’t about us, it’s about God. The Gospel isn’t about us, or our potential, or whether or not God can use us. So, the person to whom this poster is speaking is already suffering from false doctrine, and a poor understanding of the Gospel. Our salvation isn’t dependent upon what God can use us for… it is wholly and completely dependent upon what Jesus Christ did upon the Cross for us. That He bore our punishment as the final atoning sacrifice so that in Him we are free from our sin, free to serve God, free to love Him.

Genesis 1:1 (ESV) 1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

John 1:1-3 (ESV) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

We serve a God who created everything out of nothing. Whatever He does, He does by His Will, for His purpose, for His glory. That we get to play any part is by His Grace and Mercy. He doesn’t need anyone or anything to bring about His Purposes.

Another problem with this premise, is it is born out of this “God sees potential in you…” or “God has a destiny for you…” false Gospel narrative. It comes from the notion that God has planned some level of greatness for each Christian. This is heavily marketed to Youth Ministries. I suppose the desire to inspire and motivate young Christians to be faithful to God and to have a desire for good works is a good desire, but this method is abusive. Not everyone is called to be a patriarch or a revolutionary. In all of the Bible, only one person got to be a Moses, a Joshua, a Peter. Moreover, God isn’t limited to only using heroes of the faith, or believers for that matter… He used King Cyrus to restore Jerusalem after the Exile… a pantheist! There are millions of faithful followers of Christ whose names never made history, and that’s okay, so long as their names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The truly frustrating part about this point is that the “fine print” passage of scripture resolves all of this bad teaching if it would just be given proper attention in full context. So, Let’s look at what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1 (we’ll underline the portion that appears on the poster).

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (ESV)
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

The real question isn’t about how many failed people God has used before, it should be about whether or not you believe your sins are covered by the Blood of Jesus. Who are you to question whether or not the blood of Christ has the power to cleanse you of your unrighteousness? Either you’ve accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ or you haven’t. If you have, accept what the Bible says of you, and “let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord”. If God had ruled anyone out due to their sin, we wouldn’t have the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:1-10 (ESV)
2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy,because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The answer to “can God really use me” isn’t “well, He’s used a lot worse”. The answer to that question should be, “…if it were about who can be used of God there wouldn’t be anyone left, God would have judged us all long ago. It’s not about what we can do for Him, it’s about what He did for us.”

Artistic License or Falsehood?

Now that we’ve settled that matter, we have a whole different problem to contend with. The laundry list of characters and character flaws that are supposed to demonstrate God’s ability to use us is filled with… well… falsehood. Some of them I’ll accept as Artistic License… but they are still presented in support of a false narrative concerning the Gospel and Christian walk.

  • NOAH WAS A DRUNK Really? Who writes this garbage? He got drunk once and became the first recorded victim of incestuous rape. Let’s look at what the Bible says about Noah.
    • Genesis 6:6-9 (ESV) 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. 9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
    • 2 Peter 2:4-10a (ESV) 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,10 and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.
  • ABRAHAM WAS TOO OLD Too old for what? Here we have a shifting sense of the point being conveyed. Are we now saying Abraham was too old for God to use him,ortoo old for Abraham to have a child? Even that is wrong, because he firstfatheredIshamel by Sarah’s slave. So he wasn’t too old for procreation. Even after God gave him the son of promise, Isaac, Abraham lived another 75 years… that’s nearly an entire lifespan for us now.
    • Genesis 17:15-21 (ESV) 15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”
    • Abraham was making excuses and trying to get God to take Ishamel as the son of promise. God refused the request, but made it clear that Ishmael would become a great nation, just outside of His covenant.
  • ISAAC WAS A DAYDREAMER Seriously… whoever came up with this nonsense hasn’t read the Bible. Nowhere in Genesis 22-27 is there any indication of a proclivity for daydreaming, especially not in the sense that this is somehow a character flaw that God needed to overcome. The closest we can come is in Genesis 24 when Abraham sends for a wife for Isaac. In the past chapter, Sarah has died and been buried. This is important to remember since the bulk of 24 tells of events taking place far away from Isaac.
    • Genesis 24:58-67 (ESV) 58 And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.” 59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
      “Our sister, may you become
      thousands of ten thousands,
      and may your offspring possess
      the gate of those who hate him!”61 Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way. 62 Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. 63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming. 64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel 65 and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
    • So where is this Beer-lahai-roi? It is the place where the Word of the Lord came to Hagai, after Sarah had treated her harshly and caused her to flee. It is the name of the well and it means “the well of the Living One who sees me” (Genesis 16 (ESV))
  • JACOB WAS A LIAR I’ll concede this point as “Artistic License”. Yes, Jacob lied, and it didn’t go well for him. Still, Jacob was chosen by God as the heir of Promise over Esau while still in the womb. He lived a hard life, and wrestled with God and walked away with a permanent limp.
  • LEAH WAS UGLY That’s quite a stretch. We know only that her eyes were weak (or soft), and we know that Jacob’s desire was for Rachel. Now, she might have had a lazy eye or poor eyesight, the text doesn’t go into detail, but to say that this means she was ugly is a fabrication. It is also guilty of presenting a false notion that maybe it’s easier for God to work with pretty people, since this list is supposedly about the kinds of character flaws God has overcome so He could use certain people. Rank falsehood.
    • Genesis 16:13-14 (ESV) 13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.
    • It just occurred to me that this might be an attempt to address those Christians who are crippled by ugly duckling syndrome (of which I was for a very long time). Is pointing to Leah really the answer to this false premise? Laban tricked Jacob by swapping daughters for the wedding, and then God opened Leah’s womb before Rachel’s because of Jacob’s treatment of Leah. This is the kind of garbage that comes from trying to inject human reason into Biblical historical narrative and then allegorizing it for today’s “hardships” rather than simply preaching law and Gospel.
  • JOSEPH WAS ABUSED First of all, Joseph was abused because his brothers hated him for giving a bad report of them and for sharing his dreams. Prophetic dreams, given to him by God. But this list isn’t about teaching Biblical truth (clearly), this list is someone’s human attempt to reach hurting Christians by twisting Scripture. All of it under a false premise that somehow we need to believe in ourselves that God can use us. That is a false Gospel. We need only believe in Jesus as the Christ, our atoning sacrifice, our Redeemer, who loved us enough to die on a cross for our sin.
  • MOSES HAD A STUTTERING PROBLEMUhm, No. This is a common myth. First of all, Moses was making excuses and trying to back out of God’s calling.
    • Exodus 4:10-17 (ESV) 10 But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” 11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” 13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. 17 And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
    • Acts 7:17-22 (ESV) 17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another kingwho did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
  • GIDEON WAS AFRAID Yes, yes he was, and rightfully so. However, God called Gideon. I’ll give this one an “Artistic license” pass.
  • SAMSON HAD LONG HAIR AND WAS A WOMANIZER If we are going for the whole “Champions of old had major flaws, too” bit… Solomon wins in the category of womanizer. But are you KIDDING ME with the long hair bit? No really… (I confess, I’m more than a little frustrated by this list) how does this even fit into this list at all. Trying to reach out to the “long-haired hippy” crowd or the “pony-tailed biker gang” by having them equated with Samson? Let’s look at why Samson had long hair, shall we?
    • Judges 13:1-7 (ESV) 1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so theLord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. 2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, 5 for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” 6 Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, 7 but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”
    • His long hair was commanded by God. I’m going to close out this list with Scripture references only, and we’ll close briefly. Wow… what a horrible meme.
  • RAHAB WAS A PROSTITUTE Yes, before the Israel came and she served Israel. James mentioned her in his teaching James 2:24-26 (ESV).
  • JEREMIAH AND TIMOTHY WERE TOO YOUNG God chose Jeremiah as His Prophet, and Timothy had some of the best training possible since Christ ascended into Heaven. He was discipled by the Apostle Paul, and his Jewish mother and grandmother had taught him the Scriptures from a young age.
  • DAVID HAD AN AFFAIR AND WAS A MURDERER Yes. Internal inconsistency, for by then God had already used him mightily. What makes David special is his heart of repentance, a heart that was after God.
  • ELIJAH WAS SUICIDAL I can’t… ugh… no, this is false. We covered this recently in a CTT post, and you can read the account in 1 Kings 19 (ESV). He felt like he failed God and asked God to kill him (for his perceived error).
  • ISAIAH PREACHED NAKED … any research at all, here?… God told him to do this, just read the text. Isaiah 20 (ESV).
  • JONAH RAN FROM GOD Yes, he did. Because he didn’t want Nineveh to repent, for he knew God would forgive them if they did, and he wanted Nineveh to be judged. Book of Jonah.
  • NAOMI WAS A WIDOW How is this even on this list? This isn’t even remotely a character flaw or a sin.
  • JOB WENT BANKRUPT This is just… I mean I can’t… *sigh*. Book of Job. The steadfastness of Job.
  • PETER DENIED CHRIST Yes. Jesus warned him he’d do it, and it happened. He repented and was restored.
  • THE DISCIPLES FELL ASLEEP WHILE PRAYING Yes, they did… and then they fled when Jesus was arrested.
  • MARTHA WORRIED ABOUT EVERYTHING “everything” is a stretch. Jesus pointed out that Mary had chosen the better thing to focus on (Luke 10:40-42 ESV).
  • THE SAMARITAN WOMAN WAS DIVORCED Yes. But why stop there? She was a Samaritan, She had been married 5 times, and was currently sleeping with a man who was not her husband. And yet, God loved her enough to point out her sin and presented Himself as the source of life.
  • ZACCHEUS WAS TOO SMALL … that’s just petty, even for this list. Why even include him on this list? He was rich.
  • PAUL WAS TOO RELIGIOUS No, he was wrong. He persecuted the church with great zeal out of ignorance. He didn’t realize that Jesus was the Christ until Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. I hate that the seeker-sensitive crowd throws this out as an attack at those like myself who insist on taking everything to the Scriptures, but I digress… this pain is almost over.
  • TIMOTHY HAD AN ULCER Yes, and Paul encouraged him to drink a little wine for his stomach. You see, Timothy was trying to just drink water even though Paul taught at length about the food and drink laws no longer applying. Perhaps Timothy was struggling with religiosity? Let’s face it… we all will struggle with this from time to time.
  • LAZARUS WAS DEAD Yes, and his death was part of God’s plan to demonstrate His Lordship over death and the grave. John 11 (ESV)

This list is not only unnecessary (for the lost or the saved) it is wrong. Bible twisting is evident in the majority of the examples cited, and the aim of the meme shifts in odd ways as the list progresses. Just… stop. This is not what we, the Church, are supposed to be doing to God’s Word. This is NOT faithful stewardship of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is falsehood. This is wrong. In closing, let’s look to Paul’s encouragement to Timothy:

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (ESV)
1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For 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, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist,fulfill your ministry.

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
In Him,
Jorge

DiM | “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” by Hillsong

Faithful Stewardship 18 Comments

Today is “Discernment in Music” day here at Faithful Stewardship.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Today, rather than wait for a song to play on the radio, I thought I’d start by looking at whatever was trending as a “top Christian song” on the radio today. According to Billboard Music, the top contender is clearly “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong United. In the interest of full-disclosure, I am not a fan of Hillsong Church.  I disagree with their theology (Dominionism, Chrislam, Presence, etc) and their ecclesiology (emergent, seeker-driven, leadership model, mega-church). I will do my best to evaluate the song on its own merits, but I wanted to state plainly that I’m fighting to suppress a strong bias. If I fail, please forgive me. The good thing here is that if you take objection to my analysis and do so biblically, you are also practicing discernment and the goal of this post can be met, even while we disagree on the “value” of this song. Let’s take a look at the lyrics of the song pulled from the AZLyrics.

“Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)”

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

[6x]
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

Okay, so if you’ve read my “Discernment in Music” posts before you probably know that the first comment I will make about this song is that it’s lyrically vague. It tends to bounce a bit between focusing on the singer and the “You”. If this is a song about God, then it presents an odd uni-directional theme where God is only “out there” where feet may fail, or out upon the water. This is keeping with much of Hillsong and Bethel style theology where we always need to be “pioneering” into the unknown if we really want to know God. Is that Biblical? Not really, because God has gone to great lengths to present us with the Bible.  While we cannot hope to fully know God in this life, what He has made known of Himself is indeed knowable by reading and understanding the Scripture. This skewed theology suggests that living a quiet, steadfast life of prayer and submission to scripture is somehow less-than what we really need to be doing, or what God really wants from us. If it is a song of encouragement, I’m not clear on what we are being encouraged to do or to believe. If it is a song of worship, I’m not sure who or what is being worshiped. Because the song’s focus bounces between the singer and the “You”. Are we worshiping God for who He is or for what He is going enable me to do?

What Does Hillsong United Say About the “Oceans”?

I’m not surprised. Almost 8 and a half minutes of glowing generic and vague praise for the song, without any insight. They just wrote a song and were like “woah, God put His hand on it” and they love the song and love the reaction the song produces. Because it connects to people “no matter where they are on their spiritual journey” or “even if they aren’t on the spiritual journey yet but they might get drawn to God”. I find it interesting that the conclusion we get at around 7:50 is that “we need to step outside of our own understanding… and just know that, yeah, just gotta live the life of faith”. I’ve seen this a lot with Hillsong style music presented as worship… the lyrics don’t make sense and don’t convey a clear message. How does that Glorify God? How is it supposed to “draw people closer to God”? Does getting a cheer and joyful reaction from the crowd at the started of the song equate to people “progressing in the journey” (and seriously… why are we talking in such vague, mystical, terminology?). They wrote the song, but they can’t tell you what it means, or even why it should be considered a worship song. Well, this video was of no help. So, we’ll have to practice discernment at face-value.

Narcissistic Eisegesis of Jesus Walking on Water

But wait, isn’t the story of Peter walking on water? No. While Peter does walk on water (briefly), that is not the point of the story; therefore, I will not be referring to it in that light. Let’s start by reading the text.

Matthew 14:22-33 (ESV)
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

So, the song starts with the singer placing him/herself in the place of Peter, but not at “You come walking to me on the water in the midst of a storm”, but “You call me out upon the water”. This passage is often taught from the false notion that it’s about Peter needing to “step out of the boat” and some pale allegory about how each of us will face a moment in our lives when Jesus will expect big things from us and call us to do the impossible, to walk on water and place our faith and trust in Him… believing for a miracle. That’s NOT the point of this story. This is a one-time event that takes place for a singular purpose… in verse 33, ” And those in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God“. Peter and those in the boat were worried that Jesus was a ghost. Jesus speaks to them to calm then down and Peter says, “Lord if it is you…” This is a special event, with a special message, one that points to Jesus NOT Peter. It is captured in Scripture for us to know that Jesus truly is Lord. If you are going to put yourself into this passage, you are one of the guests in the boat, who worshiped Him saying, “Truly Jesus is the Son of God!”. Scripture doesn’t record anyone else walking on the water. And why allegorize the story to dumb it down so that Peter’s walking on water (woah, that’s awesome) becomes as mundane as getting a promotion at work, or being found “not guilty” by a jury in a civil suit? No matter where we are, Jesus is with us. Jesus sent them across the water, and He stayed behind to pray; yet, while they were battling the unfavorable wind and waves, He appears, walking on the water, saying “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid”. And even when Peter, after compelling Jesus to prove who He was by commanding Peter to walk on water, doubted and began to sink, Jesus caught him. Peter didn’t get a second chance to walk on water… because us walking on water was never the point. Placing our faith in Who Jesus is, the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God is the point. This is a point that each of the disciples, including Peter, would be tested again, and fail again. Peter would end up denying Christ 3 times after the arrest of Jesus. But Peter was one of the first to believe that the Christ had risen, for he rushed to the empty tomb at the word of Mary Magdalene and the others.

Generic love Song in Vague Bible-Speak

Now, the second verse, and a bit of the refrain seem generally true-ish. Not really pointing to any scriptural truth or doctrine. But the problem here is that it is being presented as a worship song. The object of our worship, and the reason for our worship should be plainly identified. As I mentioned earlier, it’s not clear if God is the object of worship. If we assume the “You” is the God of the Bible, then we still aren’t clear if God is being worshiped for who He is or for what He will enable us to do. It suggests that unless He calls us out onto the water (step out into the unknown?) and do something radical, then we can’t trust in Him like we ought to, nor will our faith be strengthened. So does that negate the “I am yours and you are mine” bit from Song of Solomon? Can we rest in His embrace if we aren’t “walking on the waters”? This imagery only works if you buy into the notion that the story of Jesus walking on the water is actually what each of us must do as Christians.

Conclusion

This is a seeker-sensitive church band. They represent a brand, a theology, a way of doing church that isn’t prescribed in Scripture. So, when we listen to their music, we ought to pay close attention to what is actually being sung. We must take every thought captive, and that isn’t limited to the obviously sinful thoughts. Every. Thought. As far as the lyrical content of this song, I find it to be of no more Biblical value than the song “Feelin’ Good” by Michael Buble. This song is clearly “spiritual” in the “metaphysical” sense, but that doesn’t make it a good candidate for a Worship song to the Creator of the Universe, Jesus Christ. They are selling music, they wrote a song they hoped would sell and were greatly surprised by its reception in South Africa. They are very excited by the “energy” shown by the crowd whenever this song is played. I’m sure they are very excited that it’s been in the Billboard Hot Christian Chart for 47 weeks, and is currently #1. They are a band, they make their living by playing music. They also represent a HUGE church movement, one whose doctrine is highly questionable. My concern isn’t really Hillsong, but you and your walk in Christ. Is it a sin to like this song? I cannot make that determination for you, because it is so vague it is written specifically for hearers to apply their own meaning to the song (this is what is meant by “we want people to connect to the song”). If this song is your favorite, and you just find you are really “moved” by it whenever it is playing, check your doctrine. Know what it is you are confessing and praying and worshiping. Don’t mentally check-out and roll around in the “spiritual emotion” elicited by the song. That’s not worship, that’s a form of sensuality. The song isn’t outright pagan, but it is vague enough to support a pagan world view. The “you” could easily be directed toward a “spirit guide”, and now we have a real problem with the meaning of the song. It is a chart-topper because it makes people feel good, nothing more.

Jude 1:24-25 (ESV)
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

In Christ,
Jorge

DiM | “Always Been About You” Fellowship Creative

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Presentation1As I continue working out a blog schedule here at Faithful Stewardship, I heard a song on the radio this morning that I found rather catchy. I realized it had been a while since we last practiced discernment in music that gets airplay on Christian radio. So, I think a good topic for Tuesday posts will be a music review that we will call “Discernment in Music”. Some common reactions to my music reviews take the form of , “you’re really over-thinking these things…” or “you can’t restrict artists to only writes songs you approve of” or “you have a critical spirit”. Understand that this is an exercise in taking every thought captive… every…. thought. I don’t expect everyone to agree with my assessments, or to like them. If I’ve at least caused you to exercise discernment while listening to music, I’ve done my job.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

The song I heard this morning that caught my attention was “Always Been About You” by Fellowship Creative. If you listen to popular Christian radio, you’ve probably heard it recently. If your radio station hasn’t played it yet, there’s a good chance they will later (unless they’ve made a stance against certain ministries). Let’s take a look at the lyrics of the song pulled from the band’s website.

Always Been About You

Out here, the greatest love is bold
Out here, the greyest skies are gold
Out here, it’s all laid on the line
Out here, you’re always on my mind

And it’s always been about love
It’s always been about grace
It’s always been about hope
And it’s always been about faith 

It’s always been about peace
It’s always been about truth
Everything that’s ever been before
It’s always been about You

Out here, we’re running with the light
Out here, we’re breaking up the night
Out here, the lost are coming home
Cause out here, no one goes alone

And it’s always been about love
It’s always been about grace
It’s always been about hope
And it’s always been about faith 

It’s always been about peace
It’s always been about truth
Oh and everything that’s ever been
It’s always been about You

We will run for you
We will go for you
We will fight for you, you

We will run, we will run
We will go, we will go
We will fight, we will fight
With everything, everything

And it’s always been about love
It’s always been about grace
It’s always been about hope
And it’s always been about faith

It’s always been about peace
It’s always been about truth
Oh and everything that’s ever been
It’s always been about You

Now, as I said this song was very catchy. It is sung and performed extremely well. Great buildup of instruments, great backup accompaniment, just very well done. Now, the first verse starts off, well… oddly. I have no idea what “Out here” signifies. No clue. I was hoping the song would resolve it later, but it doesn’t really make it clear. I do have a thought about what this means, but we’ll save that for later, because I draw that opinion from outside the song. The chorus is very fun, and quite catchy. The idea that “it’s always been about love, grace, hope, faith, peace, and truth” is awesome and easily draws an “Amen”. The final “You” is assumed to be God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). Some Scriptures that immediately come to mind during the chorus are as follows:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV)
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Galatians 3:7-9 (ESV)
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (ESV)
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

John 14:6 (ESV)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The chorus of this song is chock full of Gospel nuggets. As the music played, my mind raced through all of the wonderful passages Gospel of Jesus Christ revealed in Scripture, and it put a smile on my face. As the song broke down into the bridge, I started to notice the song was a little unbalanced. If we will run for you, are we running for God (“you” is never clearly defined) or are we running for our brothers and sisters (“out here, no one runs alone”)? If we are fighting for “you”, what are we fighting against? By what means?

If this were a sermon, this would be an example of attempting to preach pure Gospel, while skipping over and avoiding Law. You see, until we come to grips with the reality of sin in our lives, and the debt that we cannot pay on our own, the Gospel rings hollow. This is why I’m not a big fan of the feel-good, “Just ask Jesus into your heart”. Instead, I believe it best to follow Peter’s answer after his first sermon (where he preached both the Law and the Prophets concerning Christ) in Acts 2:

Acts 2:37-41 (ESV)
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

You see, you cannot simply skip over sin and repentance. It has indeed always been about God, but before there was grace, there was Holiness. Adam was to obey. He sinned, and God’s Grace immediately took action, as He promised to send the Messiah to redeem His creation.

This song is not a sermon. If you were attending a concert, you’d be hearing several songs. In the context of a performance, depending on when this song was sung, another song might be dedicated to preaching the Law (calling out sin and the need for repentance). On the radio, you’ll hear this song on its own. By itself, it’s a really catching “positive” message in vague language.

Where is “Out Here”?

The Fellowship Creative is a band that serves as the praise and worship team for Fellowship Church, a seeker-sensitive Mega-church led by Ed Young. Fellowship Creative is to Fellowship Church what Jesus Culture is to Bethel Church. I mention this because it serves as a warning flag. In the vagueness of the lyrics, knowing the theology behind it is necessary for Biblical discernment. As for the “Out Here”, I believe it references their church, and their way of approaching church (seeker-sensitive). I believe it to be intended as an anthem for the seeker-sensitive model of church, where the goal of the actual church meeting is to attract non-believers into the building in hopes that they will embrace the message of Christ (while they skip/gloss over tough topics like sin and repentance). Now, if you are unfamiliar with Ed Young or the seeker-sensitive movement, I can understand if you think I’m “reading too much into things”. While looking through their YouTube channel, they had a video of themselves performing this song at the C3 conference in 2013 (C3 should serve as a warning flag, too).

No doubt an incredible performance and light show. I’ll admit, I thought “that’s cool” when I realized the band was up above the stage light screens. Such a grand display is great for entertaining the world. It’s what they do for each other and for themselves. However, when you take a vague song emphasizing a positive-only Gospel (no sin, no repentance) and wrap it in worldly showmanship, what you get is a great song that might as well have been a cooking recipe. The world often talks/sings about and extols love, peace, and a generic concept of “God”. But they don’t agree with the Biblical definitions of each. They don’t even accept the notion of absolute truth.

Do they have any good songs?

Yes. I quickly found a song on their most recent album that I liked lyrically. We still don’t have a clear picture of the sinful state of man and his need for a Savior, but at least we get more specific on what Jesus did for us.

The One I Need
This world, this beautiful world
Is still not enough for me; it’s not my home
Instead I fix my eyes on the Maker of earth and skies
My Savior, who came and died and rose for me

And I will give my heart to the One who took my place
And I will lift my voice to the Name above all names

Jesus, Lord of Heaven
I give my life to thee
All else, I surrender
You are the One, the One I need

My God, let nothing eclipse my view
Cause nothing compares to you; You’re all I need
At the cross, Your love rained over me
You’re more than enough for me; Jesus, you’re enough

And I will give my heart to the One who took my place
And I will lift my voice to the Name above all names

Jesus, Lord of Heaven
I give my life to thee
All else, I surrender
You are the One, the One I need

And I will give my heart to the One who took my place
And I will lift my voice to the Name above all names

Jesus, Lord of Heaven
I give my life to thee
All else, I surrender
You are the One, the One I need

Jesus, Son of Heaven
You left your throne for me
Forever, I will follow
You are the One, the One I need

Conclusion

This is a seeker-sensitive church band. They represent a brand, a theology, a way of doing church that isn’t prescribed in Scripture. So, when we listen to their music, we ought to pay close attention to what is actually being sung. We must take every thought captive, and that isn’t limited to the obviously sinful thoughts. Every. Thought. For Christians who are grounded in the Bible and have studied what the Bible says about sin, repentance, forgiveness, holiness, grace, love, mercy… this song can serve as a pleasant reminder of scripture. But so can any song on the radio that mentions faith, love, truth, grace. The sad part is that for an organization that calls itself the church and prides itself on reaching the lost… the song teaches nothing. It presents a half-gospel, one that implores the unbeliever to “accept Jesus” without acknowledging and repenting from their sin. That’s great for church attendance, in the short run, but it does the individual no good to only hear half of the Gospel. As with all musical artists, there are some songs that are good, others that are not so good. My concern isn’t really them, but you and your walk in Christ.

Jude 1:24-25 (ESV)
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

In Christ,
Jorge

Looking for a New Church

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churchBe blessed today and this weekend. So we made it through a 5-part series on The Church. I want to thank you for enduring what was essentially me laying out my understanding of what the Bible teaches regarding the Church and subsequently the church. I am really looking forward to moving on to different topics that have been placed on the back burner while I worked diligently to complete this series. However, I didn’t want to dive into anything new on a Friday, so I thought I might share some thoughts regarding the search for a new church body. I do not presume to be able to tell you exactly how to find a new church body for your family, but I would like to share some thoughts and some questions that I feel should be asked whenever the search for a church body is at hand.

Why are you looking for a new church body?

Aside from having to relocate due to work or family needs, this is perhaps the single most important question for which a Biblical answer must be found. Now, let me begin with the obvious and work toward the subtle. If the church you have been attending has wandered off into false doctrine, false teaching, or a different gospel then the “why” of the matter has been identified. We can then move on to the “how”. Are you leaving because of an individual? Personality Conflict? you were offended? These motivations are tougher to pin down, but they tend to be the vast majority of reasons that folks leave their local churches. I’ve made these categories quite broad because I don’t intend to give a panacea response for highly personal situations. I will say that personality conflicts exist everywhere, because each of us bears responsibility for our own conduct, speech, and personality. The Body of Christ is also composed of people, forgiven and adopted children of God who still walk in fleshly and sinful bodies. So, if your response to personality conflict is to leave the church, you will be leaving often. I’ve met a few church-hoppers who tend to only survive about a year or two before some drama “pops up out of nowhere” and they are “forced” to leave, usually creating as big a vacuum as possible either being on staff or in the worship team. Finally, there are those who want to leave because they (or their kids) just want to find something “cooler”, “more exciting”, or more “relevant”. This last group I can honestly say has the wrong “why”. They don’t understand the purpose for church and are instead looking to be entertained or have their itching ears scratched.

How did you leave the last church?

I have never been a fan of ultimatums. Anyone who demands the church bend to his or her will “or else I’m leaving and taking my money with me” is a carnal, fleshly, immature Christian at best. Similarly, causing a big scene to act out the fore-gone conclusion that you are leaving is equally infantile. So let us look at how the Scriptures tell us to address problems within the Church.

  • A problem of false teaching/doctrine/gospel. While I consider this to be the easiest “why”, it is perhaps the most heartbreaking, gut wrenching, and difficult “how” we will face. Depending on how long you’ve been a part of this congregation, how involved you and your family had become, and how your closest friends feel about the issue at hand, it can lead many to simply never say anything or to suddenly disappear without much explanation. Why? Because this is an issue of leadership in the church. Since we just finished examining 1 Timothy, we’ll start there and I am including old-testament foundation for these rules.
    • 1 Timothy 5:19-21 (ESV)
      19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

      • Deuteronomy 19:15 (ESV)
        15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.
    • Galatians 1:6-9 (ESV)
      6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

      • Deuteronomy 13:1-4 (ESV)
        13 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.
        Note: this holds true even if the sign/wonder/miracle actually happens. The miracle alone does not serve as proof.
    • One note I’ll make on this is that if the structure of the local church is in error (not in keeping with Acts, Titus, Timothy) then this matter can be very difficult to resolve. Pray, search out the scriptures, and ask for Wisdom from God the Holy Spirit, and do what is right, leaving the outcome in God’s hands. Something that is prevalent in today’s Evangelical churches is a false notion of “unity under the visionary” instead of Unity in the Word of God. It generally comes with a Mosaic church structure where everyone is expected to follow (and abide by) the word of one or two leaders and they have the final word (often times, preemptively).
  • Personal Conflict. This is a very broad category, but the Bible does cover how we are to respond in these matters.
    • Matthew 18:15-20 (ESV) 15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
    • 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 (ESV) 1 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!

Now, in the interest of full disclosure and transparency, these things are rarely easy or clean. We recently stopped attending a local church over doctrinal concerns and church-structure. We were very involved in the church and didn’t realize there any problems until some major shifts in doctrinal focus and awkward disciplinary calls forced my wife and me to start searching the Scriptures for answers. That search revealed a great deal. Still, we did not purpose to leave the church because we were sure that God had led us to that church (even more so now that we’ve grown so much as a family through the whole experience). I spent 2 months discussing doctrinal issues with the Pastor (at the time I was on staff) regarding what I believed to be mishandling of Scripture in sermon material taught nearly verbatim from popular mega-church leaders. After two months, I stepped down off of staff. A month later, another family was given a false rationale for why we stepped down and not a single elder of the church approached us. It was then that we decided we could no longer attend that church, though we longed to maintain relationships with those who truly considered us their brother and sister. We are currently being fed in a church of a different denomination, and completely different style of service from what I grew up with, but we are being fed well. We are not in a rush to become members, but we thank God for His Grace and Mercy for our family.

What should we be looking for in a church?

Who is being preached, Christ or man? First and foremost, you should be looking for a church that faithfully preaches the Word of God. This isn’t something you can determine in a single visit. If they post their sermons online, listen to them with an open bible and take notes. Pause the sermon, open to the scripture being referenced. Is the context being conveyed? Is it being used in context? Is it a full quote? Is the passage being defined by Scripture or by the speaker’s life experience? Are you being taught what the Word of God says or are you getting life advice loosely justified by a random scripture quoted out of context? Are you getting an anecdote to help understand what Scripture is teaching or is the anecdote being presented as proof that a life tip is valid? What is the scripture to pastor ratio?

Christian Denomination. This is NOT a denominational choice, because there isn’t a denomination that has a corner on the market. Denomination plays a major role in familiarity and a sense of commonality for many people, so if you are uncomfortable stepping outside of your denomination, then you must continue to focus on faithful preaching of the Word of God, you just might (depending on your geographical location and preferred denomination) be choosing from a very small pool of churches. When it comes to denominations, it is important to gauge each denomination’s doctrine against the Scriptures, not by what one denomination accuses the other denomination of believing. I find this particularly true of the “Reformed” (Calvinist) denominations who are very quick to call anyone who disagrees with TULIP a Pelagean. The best example of this is that despite the Catholic Church declaring Pelagianism heretical (Council of Trent) most Reformed Churches lump Catholics under the semi-Pelagean banner because of their emphasis on man’s response to the Gospel of Grace (Council of Trent also declared the doctrine of passive grace heretical, basically the U, I, P in TULIP). So yeah, take each doctrine and compare it to the Word of God, not to some other doctrine since not every point of each doctrine can be taught from Scripture because they attempt to explain in-depth what the Bible doesn’t explain. What the bible does explain, like the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they must agree upon (and for the most part Protestant denominations do agree on the Gospel). Now, among Protestants there are 2 major divisions, Monergists and Arminians. Monergism is a label that covers Lutheran and Calvinists (who disagree on double-predestination and sacraments). Calvinists are found in Baptist and Presbyterian traditions, though some Baptists lean more Arminian these days. Arminians disagree with TULIP in that they believe that Christ made the only way of salvation but did not preassign people to believe or not to believe; rather, they hold that in the hearing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, man must choose whether to listen and accept the Word of God as the Only Way of Salvation, or reject it and be condemned my their lack of faith. This doctrine can generally be found in Wesleyan Methodist Churches, Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Free-Will Baptists. I’m still dealing with these categories in broad terms, but hopefully you can see that there are denominations you might actually find some common ground with you weren’t aware of before. Once again, the standard is the Word of God… not the denomination you grew up in.

Who is being praised and worshiped? Okay, so we haven’t spent a great deal of time on this one here at Faithful Stewardship. But who is being praised in the Praise and Worship at the church. Is it truly focused on God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? Or is it focused more on who we are, what we are doing, and what we are going to get? Are we worshiping the Biblical Savior or are we just sort of singing love songs understood to be pointed at Jesus, but not clearly articulated as such? Is it about praising and worshiping God or is the focus more on entertaining non-believers?

Non-Denominational or Evangelical? While each of these labels has some meaning to those who wear them, they lack any solid definition that could serve as a filter for looking for a new church.

  • Non-denominational. What it should mean is that they don’t point to any ideology of man and their aim is to stick with Biblically defined Christianity. In practice, what you will find is that they broke away from one of the denominations and still hold to most of that denomination’s doctrine except for a few key points. What makes them problematic is that you have no way of knowing up front what they do or do not believe/teach. You just have to talk it out, or attend their membership information classes (even then you still need to ask all of the questions that you can). Many take the road of dividing what they call “essentials” and “non-essentials” of the faith… but rarely are the “non essentials” clearly defined. I have also seen that most “non-denominational” churches are former Pentecostal or Charismatic churches looking to distance themselves from the label. Perhaps one of the most dangerous elements of non-denominational churches is that they are rarely held accountable by anyone. In the New Testament, the Church in Antioch looked to the Church in Jerusalem for encouragement, direction, and guidance. Paul strongly rebuked the Galatians for blindly accepting the false gospel of the Judaizers and exercised authority, correction, and instruction over them.
  • Evangelical. This is supposed to mean that the church’s focus is in Evangelism, or Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What has been taking root in modern Evangelical churches lately is a false social gospel, where the goal of the church is to entice non-believers to enter their doors and stay long enough to hear the Gospel. Much of the church-growth, seeker-sensitive, emergent theology expansion has been within evangelical churches. In order to achieve rapid growth and high attendance numbers, they’ve abandoned preaching Law in accordance with Gospel, therefore we get a half-picture of a Savior but we don’t get an understanding of our need for a savior. Prosperity and Word of Faith doctrines also thrive in non-Denominational/Evangelical circles.

Fathers, remember your role.

In closing, I want to remind fathers to remember your roles as heads of your house. You are the priest of your home. Whether you are members of a local church family, struggling through trials and tribulations, or searching for a new body of believers, your responsibility to feed, nurture, and instruct your family never goes away. Pray continuously, and dig into the Word of God and bury it in your heart and share it with your wife and kids. Church is not a means of offloading the responsibility of leading your family spiritually, church is where you get the training you need to better fulfill your responsibility. Plugging your family into church is essential for Christian living, so I’m not suggesting that a father can replace the church, he can’t. My point is that regardless of church membership, a father’s role remains the same.

Well, this ended up being longer than I anticipated. In trying to address a broad scope of issues, concerns, and categories of doctrines, it is possible that some may feel I misrepresented their denomination or church. That was not my intent, I’m just trying to give some broad-scope definitions for those who (like I was a year ago) might never have thought about what all of the denomination stuff really meant. I’m not interested in bolstering or attacking any denomination or doctrine of men here… my only focus, and sole purpose here is to point to the Word of God and what it teaches. As always, if you have additional or specific questions/concerns, feel free to comment or contact me directly.

 

Jude 1:24-25 (ESV)
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

In Him,
Jorge

 

The Church | Part 5

Faithful Stewardship Leave a comment

churchAs we close out our study series of the Biblical picture of the Church, I want to be absolutely clear that I am not trying to “call out” any specific churches, or fellowships, or pastors. I’m not trying to convince you to leave your church, or join mine. The purpose of this series is to clearly state my doctrine regarding church and to challenge individuals and heads of households to weigh everything they are taught in their church (down to the very structure of said church) against Scripture. I will endeavor to keep these discussions on prescriptive passages in God’s Word, plainly written for us to follow. If you take umbrage with any of my assessments or commentary, I ask that you take some time to share your thoughts or questions with me (either via comment below or personal message). If you take issue with what the Scriptures say… well, I leave that to you, your elders, and God the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s Closing Thoughts in 1 Timothy

Today, we will close out our reading in 1 Timothy, with a look at chapter 6.

1 Timothy 6 (ESV)
1 Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. 2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.

Teach and urge these things. 3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

I really should have included the beginning of chapter 6 in yesterday’s post, since Paul is closing out those thoughts. The “these things” are pointing back to all that was discussed in the previous chapter. Notice how Paul again revisits the charge to resist false doctrine. I find it interesting how in our modern-day liberalism often accuse those who dare to exercise Biblical discernment as being puffed up with conceit, and even having an unhealthy craving for controversy. Paul is making clear that it is not those who hold Scripture who are guilty of such sin; rather, those who teach a different doctrine that does not agree with the Word of Jesus Christ. We also see Paul warning of the trap of riches. Notice also the wording toward the end of verse 5, “…imagining that godliness is a means of gain“. As heirs to the Kingdom of God, through the blood of Jesus by His Grace and Mercy, we do have an inheritance… in Heaven. Jesus did not promise worldly riches, in fact, He specifically taught in Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV) 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We live in a time where so many false teachers have become rich and living lavish lives preaching a false doctrine with false promises of earthly riches through living godly lives. Brothers and sisters in Christ… that is not the Gospel, and it is not our Promise. God blesses His children here on earth according to His Will and plan for us in this life, but the Promises laid out in Scripture primarily for the life that is to come, in the Great Day of Christ’s Return when we join Him in the Heavens.

11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

It is not impossible for the rich in this present age to be faithful stewards of God’s resources, though it brings along its own temptations. Namely, that earthly riches tempt man to set their hopes on their riches and themselves rather than on God.

20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you.

Did you know that the Greek philosophers Plato, Socrates, Euclid, and Aristotle all pre-date the virgin-birth? By hundreds of years. The Roman Empire replaced that of the Greeks, and had philosophers of their own (Cicero and Ptolemy), all pursuing earthly “knowledge” via metaphysics and philosophy. Many of the early heretics pulled from these “ancients” for their Gnosticism, Pantheism (multiple gods), and Panentheism (god is in everything). In our present culture, the temptation is to believe that due to man’s vastly superior scientific accomplishments, we should now change how we read Scripture (particularly the Genesis accounts of Creation and the Flood) based on what the world falsely calls “knowledge”.

My Closing Thoughts for this Series

The Bible lays out very plainly how God intends for His Church (and churches) are to be structured, managed, and overseen. God has made it clear how the church is to be led, what its focus should be, and its purpose. The Church is to build up the Body of Christ into the fullness of Christ who is the Head of His Church, and we who comprise the body of Christ are to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ as ministers of reconciliation. The smallest unit of the church is the family, God’s first institution for man to embrace as a picture of the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, the Church should first seek to raise up fathers, priests and leaders of their households who raise up the next generation in Christ. After showing themselves approved, they should likewise raise up other fathers. Those who wish to teach and become overseers should therefore be tested and appointed as Paul laid out clearly in Titus and 1 Timothy. Regardless of what you might have heard from a celebrity seeker-mergent “pastor”, the role of the Church IS to feed God’s sheep. In some cases literally. Christians need to step up their game in sharing the Gospel with the lost in the world, but the role of the Church Elder (pastor, teacher, overseer) is to serve the Body of Christ as one who will give account.

Specific concerns and special cases

  • The Church was not granted the authority to determine itself, its doctrine, its structure, or its purpose. Christ is the Head of His Church, and the Apostles and the Prophets are its foundation, with Christ as the cornerstone. The Reformation was a move to return to Biblical doctrine, not a reinvention of the church. The Catholic church refused to repent, so the Protestant Church was born. The role of Elder is to preach the Word of God and to correct all false teaching. Elders do not have the authority to change Biblical doctrine. They have the authority to correct, rebuke, and training in righteousness according to the God-breathed Scriptures (2 Timothy 3). There is nothing in Scripture that leaves room for the Catholic doctrine of the Pope or Papal authority to pronounce unchangeable doctrine (ex cathedra). Such authority was not given to the Church. Additionally, there is no reason to believe that God would be raising up new Apostles to lay new foundations for the church. The foundation has long been laid in Scripture. I do believe that 1 Corinthians 12 through 14 remain as valid and instructive of the Gifts of God the Holy Spirit, but God is not changing the Body of Christ or Scriptures. We have been given the Word of God by which we are to test every spirit and every teaching to know if it is from God or from a spirit of error.
  • Churches with women pastors/elders/deacons.  As we saw in 1 Timothy 2 and in 1 Corinthians 14, having women in a position of authority over men is prohibited. When we see a church with a female pastor, we know that something is wrong. Either the church is completely lacking in godly men, or the church has simply decided to disregard Paul’s instructions to Timothy, Titus, and the Corinthians. I do believe Grace can be given to those in transitional periods, or newly formed churches planted within strongly matriarchal societies (such as in various African tribes); however, the Word of God is sufficient for all instruction and correction. God’s plan for mankind is for man to bear the mantle of leadership an its responsibility. Men cannot be expected to step up and perform their Scriptural role as men, when the church has willfully placed women into positions of leadership. A woman cannot Biblically disciple a man into his rightful place of leadership. In 2 Timothy 1, Paul praised Timothy’s mother and grandmother for planting the seed of God’s Word in his heart, and Timothy was charged to guard the gift given him. Paul took Timothy as a disciple, an adopted son, and trained him in the Word and the Ministry before setting him as an Elder.
  • Youth Ministries. This series was sparked by my post on How We Do Church. We don’t see anywhere in Scripture where the youth are separated from their parents and taught their own things. Throughout Scripture, the expectation is for fathers to raise their sons and daughters in the ways of God until the time comes when they leave their fathers and their mothers and cleave to their spouses, becoming one flesh and starting their own families. So, our modern “youth groups” present a problem of usurped authority (although often with permission). We’ve embraced the worldly messaging that says that parents just don’t understand their own kids, therefore we need a young pastor who can “speak their language” to reach them with the Gospel. How can we assess how a man manages his household when we’ve inserted others into the role of discipling his kids? How can we command the fathers to turn their hearts toward their children, and the children to honor their fathers, when in church we encourage them to look to a “youth pastor” for guidance, love, and instruction? Is there truly a way of “doing it right” if the Bible doesn’t provide us with a guideline or parameters for such a ministry? I think we should have outreach programs for lost youth, but we need to reach their fathers and mothers. We need to focus on equipping the fathers and mothers in our congregation to be the leaders, role models, teachers, and counselors for their children. That is what youth ministry should be focused on. Do I expect all churches to abandon their Sunday school and youth group models immediately? No. But we should return to Biblical standards of family and church guided by the power and wisdom of God the Holy Spirit.
  • What about the fatherless families? The young men in the congregation who do not have fathers at home are starving for mentors and discipleship more than anyone else. The answer is for the Elders and the other Fathers in the church to disciple them, and for the older women and mothers to gather around their mother to strengthen and nurture her. Divorce is more prevalent in our day than widow/widower. It is outside of God’s plan for us, and is far more difficult and treacherous as a result. We are the Body of Christ, and when one member of the body hurts, we all hurt; therefore, we are supposed to come together to help those caught in sin (guarding ourselves from sin) to restore one another into right standing with Christ. That doesn’t always mean the marriage gets restored, but repentance and the forgiveness of sin is available at the foot of the Cross.
  • Praise and Worship. Well, nothing has been addressed thus far by Paul in his letters regarding a “worship pastor”. The Elders are overseers of the church, and they are to teach the Word of God and discipline those who step outside of it. What we sing is more important than what instruments are involved in the accompaniment. What we do in church must always Glorify God and edify the Body of Christ. It must be orderly (1 Corinthians 14). I will say that since the Church is indeed for the believers, any attempt to manipulate the purpose of Praise and Worship so that the unbeliever can be entertained is foolishness and should be rebuked sharply. Christ must be our focus, now and forever, in our praise, in our worship, and in how we live our lives. To the unbeliever, we preach Law (repentance from sin) and Gospel (forgiveness by the blood of Christ). I care more about the conduct/focus/heart/content of worship than I do the method or technology employed.

Thank you for taking the time to read these posts and share your thoughts, questions, and comments. I pray that this has helped or challenged some to read the Word of God to test all that I’ve said here. As I hear from those at Stand Up for the Truth and from Chris Rosebrough, don’t ever read what I’m writing with an open mind; rather, do so with an open Bible. Test everything I share against the Word of God. Where I am found faulty or deficient, please point me to the proper Scripture.

I’d like to close with Paul’s charge to Timothy at the end of the second epistle:

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (ESV)
1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For 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, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Amen. May the Lord bless you and keep you.
In Him,
Jorge

Series: The Church | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5