I'd say that most of the Christians I've met are doomed to a lifetime of immaturity. Even our leaders are doomed in this way. The problem is that we face little to no adversity. Sure, Christian's might be the butt of jokes in many circles, particularly in a university town like Manhattan. Yet, few of us have been openly jeered at, spit upon, beaten, or otherwise harmed. We're just looked down upon as rather slow and dimwitted, unfashionable, and politically incorrect. We're slighted, but not truly persecuted.
This is really a blessing in many ways, but still leaves us with very little motivation to gain true spiritual maturity. I believe a friend of mine, Doug, said it quite well when he said that "True maturity is really having a heart of brokenness." (my paraphrase) I would augment this by saying that it's the ability to trust God to do what is good even when the circumstances indicate otherwise.
As immature Christians, we too often try to come up with methods or programs or "tricks," if you will, to try and make Christianity work. These things aren't bad. However, many times they obscure some of the real facts of what's going on. In some ways they try to make up for the fact that God is unpopular by trying to make him seem cool. We want to come up with ways of making it easier to explain the gospel without scaring people. We want to offer God without the risk of catching people's "hang-ups."
However, I find no such teaching in the Bible. Sure, Paul often started a sermon by referring to familiar terms for a region or using idioms that reached out, but when he told the gospel he said it in full. It's not a pretty message.
I think if we're really to show true maturity and seek after Christ without compromise we need to stop trying to put together good programs and encouraging better ways of convincing people. Instead, we really need to focus on God Himself and just tell His story as is. If I have to err on trusting some method or err on trusting God, I should err on trusting God.
Unfortunately, I don't think I or many other Christians I know are very good at this. Cheers.
Thanks for your note; thanks,
Thanks for your note; thanks, also, for referencing a comment of mind. I don't know that I've ever been quoted before :~)
I think yours is an important voice; it serves to balance out the extreme view that exploring new and "improved" *ways* of doing church, worship, preaching, etc. is its own end. It is not. The end is a transformed sinner on the path to discipleship.
However, I would caution you not to overlook the importance of communicating truth in a fashion relevant to the hearers.
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Let's consider Paul's example, from 1 Corinthians 9:
20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Matthew Henry suggests:
In innocent things he (Paul) could comply with people⿿s usages or humours for their advantage. He would reason with the philosophers in their own way. And, as to converted Gentiles, he behaved among them as one that was not under the bondage of the Jewish laws, as he had asserted and maintained concerning them, though he did not act as a lawless person, but as one who was bound by the laws of Christ.
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There's a healthy tension here. We should not be so consumed with the means that we forget that the Gospel message itself is ultimately what transforms the heart of the hearer. But we also should not brush aside any consideration of how to display God's truth in a way that makes sense to the hearer. This requires prayerful thought and examination and is too often done without either. As we come to God with a heart of brokenness (you know I would come back to that) and ask for the leading of His Spirit in that venture, I believe He will answer.
Thanks for listening.
Doug
I agree...
There's a need for sober judgement in all things. There is a tension between reaching out to an unbeliever and trusting God to work in her life. However, I believe we need to be careful not to inject our own preferences into this tension, which I believe is Paul's point. The truth is that we are merely tools that God may use to perform the task of persuading. The work is all God's.
The focus should be upon building up our knowledge and compassion in Christ to reach others. Then, God can use us. The problem becomes when we focus on human machinations rather than Biblical knowledge to reach people.
For example, I recently heard a Christian say something to the effect of, "The Bible can't help me deal with the day-to-day problems of raising a teenager, but listening to advice from other parents helps." That's BS. This indicates a lack of Biblical wisdom. I won't say getting help from other parents isn't a great idea, but the Bible contains enough principle to apply directly to the situation.
Therefore, my point is that God has given us the answers in our Scriptural "armory," as Dr. David Jeremiah called the Bible this morning. We just need to know which swords in that armory are most appropriate to the situation and use them with power.
Thanks for sharing more
Thanks for sharing more of your thoughts. God's Word and His Spirit are indeed what accomplish the work of inner healing and transformation in the heart of the believer and unbeliever alike. The means, i.e., the 'mode', is significant only inasmuch as it creates a clear pathway for God to work. Hence, it is incumbent on us to thoughtfully consider the modes we use to express God's Truth, but we should not rely on them for the act of transformation itself. I believe this is happening in some of what is being called the 'emerging church' movement. Some in the church have assumed that the Message will not bear fruit unless it's dressed up properly. In extreme cases, one might even claim they belong in that group Paul suggests as "having a form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Timothy 3:5). Not that I stand in judgment over these, but we would do well to recall that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). As we look to God's Word and seek His Wisdom, He will reveal to us the means whereby we can best reach a generation. Meanwhile, we are wise to reserve judgment over those whom God has placed in spiritual authority, trusting and admonishing them to seek His wisdom as they consider the mode(s) for revealing God's Truth in our midst.
Blessings, Andrew. And thanks for being my friend.
Doug
Amen.
Cheers,
Sterling