Temptation

"Did God really say..." (Gen.3:1 ESV).  The age-old plan of the evil one and his servants has always been to sow doubt in the hearts and minds of the unwary faithful...to make us question the biblical validity of our faith.   I remember back to my time at Emmanuel & St. Chad Seminary...to so-called systematic theology classes where we were introduced to a "hermeneutic of suspicion".  This was a liberal presumption that everything the church had taught up to the present needed to be viewed with suspicion....and, if judged by present society as the result of ancient myths, be rejected out of hand as irrelevant.  Only that which could be supported by the narrow viewpoint of contemporary social and scientific thinking could be used to shape the mission and ministry of the church.  The seeds of destruction were sown in a whole generation of future church leaders.

Any who have walked through the last 15 years of Anglican church history can see the result of this "progressive" thinking.  The seeds have not only sprouted, but grown into invasive and faith-choking weeds.  Lives and ministries have been destroyed.  Thousands of North American believers have abandoned their faith and their church...and many more remain caught in the web of deceit, concealment and distortion woven by the Anglican Church of Canada and their ECUSA partners in sin south of the border.  As the US & Canadian denominations die, the faithful are vilified and blamed because they stood for truth.  

We should not be surprised by this. Jesus told us that it would happen. "If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you." (John 15:20b)  Thankfully, that is not the end of it. We are a people of promise and know that the trial we endure today will be redeemed, and what the "locust has eaten will be restored." (Joel 2:25 ESV) . Jesus said, "...you will be hated by all for my name's sake, but the one who endures to the end will be saved. (Matthew 10:22 ESV) and..."So, everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven...but whom ever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33 ESV)  

So...the quick answer to the question, "Did God really say?"  is YES!   It does matter what we believe and how we live out that faith in the community.  What we say and what we do matters. Our lips and our lives are a witness and a testament to the teaching, sacrifice and resurrection hope of Jesus.  The thousands who have just given up in the face of the struggle need to see that God does indeed have a hope and future for them. The millions who do not know Jesus need you and me to stand firm for them...to show them that God did indeed say...and his word is true.

 

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Witness

Our congregation is working through what it means to be an authentic Christian community...using Rick Warren's 40 Days material. At one point in the teaching, Rick uses a court room analogy to describe a believer's purpose. It is a powerful illustration of what is both wrong with much of the contemporary church, and how God intends it to be.

First, we are not called to be the judge. That task is God's and God's alone. Only He gets to decide who ultimately will be in the kingdom. While it is our place to discern which behaviours are consistent with God's laws and desires...based on what has been revealed in the scripture, it is not our place to judge who will or will not be accepted by God.

In the same vein, we are not to take on the role of prosecutor either. Satan does an overzealous and consistent job of that. When believers take on the role of condemnation, the result is always hopelessness. God's plan for all of creation is a hope and a future. Our role never involves prosecution and condemnation.

Neither are we called to be a lawyer or advocate for the actions of the accused...trying to prove that what God calls sin is actually righteous, making both the sinner and his/her behaviour innocent. When a church does that we simply end us participating in the sin and leading other lost and confused people to a place of condemnation rather than forgiveness and redemption.

The role of the church, the role of the forgiven sinner...that is, those who have through and by the grace and mercy of God, received forgiveness, is to be a witness. Our calling is to reflect and demonstrate the truth of the gospel, and tell how God's love has changed our lives, and to do it is such a way that those around us can come to understand that there is indeed something beyond the pain and struggle that they are now experiencing. Our calling is to be a consistent witness so that others will want some of what we have been given.

We are not called to be the Judge, the Prosecutor or the Advocate...only a faithful witness.

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