Passing On Our Curses

In Scripture names were given with a purpose.  When given by God they described the work that He intended to do in the lives of those whom He used for His purposes.  The children of Hosea and Gomer were used by God to show the transgression of the people of Israel.  Not only was their mother an adulterous woman (some translations say a woman of "whoredom"), but the consequences of her unfaithful lifestyle were passed onto her children.  This is evident by the names they were given (see Hosea 1:3-8).  Gomer seemed to be willing to live a lifestyle that gave no consideration to the legacy and consequences she might have been passing on to the next generation.

I wonder if we are not guilty of this in the church today.  It seems like we are very willing to compromise the Word of God and don't really even need a good reason or explanation to do so.  We know what it says about specific things and just ignore it.  What does that say about our faith?  Or, more importantly, about our view of God? 

We have become willing to compromise our reliance on God's power to the point that we could accurately say that we have turned our backs on Him.  Rather than relying on the power of God the church relies on business models, church growth programs, meetings and brainstorming sessions, and whatever idea we believe might "sell our product."  We even go so far as to cancel worship services and prayer meetings to go into the community and do good works for those of the world in hopes that we can bribe them into listening to the gospel someday. The problem is that none of this is portrayed in Scripture.  It all comes from the mind of man.

The problem with all of this (besides the obvious issue that our relationship with God is compromised because we are idolizing the mind of man) is that we are passing on a curse to future generations.  Like the children of Hosea, the church is being given a name that gives little hope for a vital relationship with God in the future.  When our focus is not spiritual, but on good works and material things then the next generation of the church will become focused on all those things.  Rather than being the church of God (or the church focused on God) we become the "community church" (which is rightly name when the focus is not on God).  I am not saying that we forget about the great commission.  We are all called to win the lost.  But to what do we win them?  Community service organizations?

It seems that in all of the meetings and brainstorming that we have we forget about one great truth.  It's God's church!  It is not our responsibility to organize or administrate it.  We are simply to seek God's will and submit to it.  The church is a far cry from seeking, much less submitting to anything other than our own ideas based on cultural whims.  We are doing everything in our power to pass on a curse. 

Sometimes it seems like the only hope that remains for the coming generations is that even in spite of the circumstances that were passed on to them God can still redeem.  He can still call the willing heart back to Him.  God can overcome the curses passed on from one generation to the next, but only God can.  But He shouldn't always have to.  It would be far better for the next generation if the curse of a church that has committed "whoredom" with the idols of the world had turned back to God before the consequences of her sin were passed on in the first place.

Is Sin Really So Bad?

Over the past few weeks I have taken notice of a lot of the sin around me. I've been watching as I see people (even within the church) live as though there is no such thing as sin. Worse yet, they live as though there is no consequence for sin. The Bible tells us, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, AND DEATH THROUGH SIN, and thus death spread to all men..." (Romans 5:12) The consequence of sin is death. Spiritual death. Separation from God. Could God have given us any more clarity on the issue through His Word? Over and over throughout the inspired word we read that SIN IS BAD! Yet we act like sin is alright.

The divorce rate among the church is as high as that of the world. Despite what some of us seem to think, the Bible does indeed teach us that divorce is not the will of God. We expect it from sinners, but it happens among professing Christians, and even in some instances clergy. Professing Christians are just as guilty of fornication, and gossip and other sins as anyone else. Notice that I said "professing Christians" and not Christians.

In spite of our ignorance (often willful ignorance) of God's Word, it still teaches that we are to live above these things. "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be DONE AWAY WITH, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." (Romans 6:6)

The point is this. The Spirit of God does not dwell in darkness. Too often those who claim to be the church dwell in darkness. We condone it by teaching that "we're all sinners." When we do that, we're condoning something that brings death. When we condone it within the church we're bringing death to the body of Christ. There are thousands of people who claim to be Christians who will not give up their sin. They still want to continue to look at pornography, they want to drink, or gossip, or control a church that is God's. They want to live like the world. You cannot be a worldly Christian. Those terms are mutually exclusive. If we are ever going to see revival in the church it will be because we have become serious about seeking holiness "without which NO ONE WILL SEE THE LORD." (Hebrews 12:14)

The Offense of Holiness

I was in a situation the other night where I had some interaction with Christians who are part of various denominational churches. Some were talking, and I sat back and listened to the conversation. Eventually one of them asked me what church I pastor. I told him and he responded, "Isn't that the group that teaches that you're not supposed to sin or you'll lose your salvation?" I told him that it is. He shared that he feels the teaching of holiness is "pretty rough."

I cannot grasp the idea that holiness is offensive. I have taught a lot of things that could be seen as offensive by those who are worldly, but nothing ever seems as offensive as holiness. Even the suggestion makes people cringe. Why? It seems to me that we should be glad that Jesus died to save us from our sins. If we continue to sin, then what has Jesus saved us from?

I have no new idea or thought to share. I have only a question. Why is the idea of Jesus saving us FROM our sins so offensive?

Holy Standard

Against what do we measure our spiritual lives? How do you know that your relationship with God is growing and maturing? I would contend that within holiness movements the standard against which we measure ourselves has become increasingly low. Rather than using the Word of God as our guide, we want to compare ourselves to the atheist who lives next door.

"I'm not perfect, but I'm not as bad as that guy," we tell ourselves. We are always on the lookout for those who are living far below the standard to which God has called us. They give us a great excuse to live beneath the holy standards of God's chosen people. I cannot even count the number of times that I've heard people excuse themselves with, "It's not like I've killed someone."

Here's a fact: If you are not living God's commands, and growing in a relationship with Him, it is like you've killed someone. It's exactly like that. Jesus died to SAVE US FROM our sin. I can't find anyplace in Scripture that would lead us to believe that He died to save us in our sin. Yet, we continue to live in sin. I read a blog by an emerging church leader just last week that claims that it's alright for homosexuals to serve in the church. He began his claim by asking readers to ignore the verses in the Bible that speak directly about homosexuality so that we can debate it from a philosophical perspective. Why can't we debate it from a biblical perspective? Homosexuality is not the only issue that some try to deal with in this way. We eliminate what the Bible says about divorce with regularity. We want to look at everything from our perspective and not from God's. If we eliminate His Word all that we're left with is our opinion.

Again I ask, against what do you measure your spiritual life? I would suggest that it should be God's Word.

Fellowship With God

God desires fellowship with you. The book of Genesis tells us that God walked in the garden of Eden in the cool of the day. He lived in harmony and fellowship with Adam and Eve, and all of His creation. God commanded Moses to build a tabernacle in the wilderness so that He could dwell in the midst of His people. A temple was erected in Jerusalem, again, so He could live with the people. Even in our day God desires this fellowship. He wants to live in the midst of His people. He wants a relationship with each and every one of us, but (this is the important part) He will not compromise His holiness in the name of fellowship.

We like to talk about our relationship with God, and our fellowship with Him, but so many times we act like He steps down into the gutters where we live to have that relationship. God does not take a step down to have fellowship with us. He restores us to the image in which man was created. "And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man (1 Cor. 15:49)."

We can indeed live in fellowship with God in this live, but we MUST REMEMBER that in order to do that we must grow and mature spiritually. We must allow God to make us something better than the fallen men that we once were. The Bible teaches that God draws men to Himself. Even when "He became flesh and dwelt among us" He was drawing us to Himself. It does not teach that He comes to us and changes His attitude toward our sin in the name of fellowship. He desires fellowship, but the change must occur within us. Why did God's fellowship with the Jews of the Old Testament cease at times? Not because He didn't want the relationship, but because THEY did not rise up to meet Him in holiness. They did not allow Him to make them something better than they were before.

The Season of Lent

I was in a restaurant the other day and heard one of the women sitting at the booth behind me ask the other what she is giving up for lent. Prior to that I had not been listening to their conversation, but that caught my attention. Every year at this time we see people with ashes on their foreheads struggling to decide what they can give up for a season to show their allegiance to God. What are you giving up this year?

Many web sites of congregations that observe lent say something like this: "No one knows for sure where lent started, or why it was originally observed." You can check for yourself if you don't believe me. Every year people are fired up about giving up something that will show God they are worthy. First of all, we are not worthy regardless of what we go without for a few short weeks. Second, I've searched the scriptures and have yet to find anything to support giving up your favorite tv show for a couple of weeks to show God you care.

Despite the lack of biblical support for lent, I can find the call in the New Testament to make a sacrifice, but it is not simply for a month. GIVE UP SIN FOREVER! Jesus told those that He healed, "Go and sin no more." Paul asked the question, "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" He emphatically answered the question, "God forbid!" The Bible tells us "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts (Gal. 5:24)." Throughout the New Testament the call rings out for us to stop living in sin. As we approach the season in which we commemorate the death and resurrection of Christ, I encourage you to forget about this idea of giving something for lent and give up one thing forever. Sin.

Rebellion

In 1787, Thomas Jefferson wrote, "I hold that a little rebellion from time to time is a good thing." I hereby resolve to rebel against the following:

-The idea that "we're all sinners" and that we "sin every day." ("Go and sin no more" teaches us that this is wrong)

-The belief that "holiness teaching is not practical." (The Bible says without holiness no one will see the Lord)

-The belief that holiness is not one of the "essentials" of Bible doctrine ("Be holy for I am holy" is pretty clear)

-The idea that preaching and teaching the Bible "should not be the top priority" for pastors. ("How shall they hear without a preacher?" Romans 10:14)

-The belief that "people don't really want to hear doctrine." (I no longer care what they want. I want ice cream for breakfast every day, but it's not what I need)

From this point on, I will no longer allow these statements to be made without questioning them. I will not ignore them and move on. I will not use the excuse "we'll never agree on everything." I find that most of the people who use that excuse really don't even try. On this day, I resolve to rebel against the emerging, unbiblical, unholy, ungodly, beast-riding harlot that is taking the place of the church in our day. I hope you will join me.

Biblical Standards

The Bible speaks 76 times in the King James Version of "abominations." These are things that profane the holiness of God and His people. Malachi 3:11 says, "Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, for Judah has profaned the Lord's holy institution which He loves: he has married the daughter of a foreign god (NKJV)." Jesus told the Pharisees, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God (Luke 16:15)."

Here we have Old and New Testament accounts of abominations in the sight of God, or things that defile His people who are supposed to be set apart. If the Bible speaks about things that defile God's people, why are we so quick to discount the fact that there are things in which God does not want us to take part? I agree that the Old Testament laws are shadows of New Testament truths. I'm not saying that we shouldn't eat pork, in fact, the New Testament says that we can. But it seems like every time a conversation about things that Christians should not do some simply says, "Don't be legalistic."

There was a day where holiness teaching was far too often legalistic, but I have some news for those who live in this day: that time has passed. I'm not promoting wearing your hair in a bun, or skirts that go to the floor. What I am promoting is that the Bible does certainly teach that there are things that Christians should not do. Why can't we have that conversation? As I read the web sites and blogs of the emergent church, I see over and over again criticism of any kind of standard that comes from Scripture. Christians have come to a point in our day where we don't want to tolerate anything that tells us how to act. I wonder if that has something to do with the state of the church today. Can we get on track without admitting that there are certainly something things that the Bible says Christians should not do?

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God(1 Corinthians 6:9, 10)."

It's funny, we have made a lot of gray area in these commands, but they seem pretty clear.