Forgiveness isn’t about excusing or setting the offender free …
But fully acknowledging and giving the offense to God so we can be free.
Author: Plumbline Faith
Simple Truths from a Lifetime of Service to the King of Kings
Is it any surprise that those who deny God’s plenary authority of Scripture as His written Word …
Never seem able to demonstrate the power of His authority to a waiting World?
“Christian” narcissists reject the justice of God’s wrath …
While claiming the mercy of His grace.
Which also makes them delusional …
As they’re left with an imaginary pick-and-choose Jesus of their own creation.
The authentic God of Scripture, however, condemns the idolatry of those who seek to remake Him in their own image.
Is it any wonder, then, that they are persistently plagued – often despite a public persona to the contrary – with private insecurities, angst and doubt …
While concurrently unable to form, sustain or be part of a viable, functional local church?
But that never seems to stop them from spreading their false gospel, rooted in existential idolatry, with an outer confidence …
Which belies their true inner turmoil and history of church failures.
When it comes to their fraud, be discerning …
Not deceived.
New doctrine formed in reaction to bad doctrine …
Is almost always bad doctrine.
This includes the currently faddish, but reactionary, new doctrine …
That the best way to avoid bad doctrine is to have no doctrine.
A great hindrance to relational participatory church as commanded in the New Testament, with ministry by one another for the mutual building up of each other …
Is the lie that it’s all up to you.
Another is the lie is that it’s all up to someone else.
These feed the resulting impulse for one person to make it happen by then directing, motivating and coordinating everyone else …
Under their primary perspectives or “vision.”
This frequently results in a cookie cutter approach to how we gather – conforming to their own scripts, ministry, directions and methodologies.
In relational participatory church as the New Testament shows it, however, God’s people learn to lead forth – each and every one – as He directs …
According to the many diverse gifts, motivations and callings He distributes among us.
This happens as everyone learns to submit to one another as we all prefer each other over ourselves.
Biblical elders (plural), in turn, emerge among us to unassumingly serve beside us …
As they watch over, encourage and protect the ability of all to mutually build up each other.
This is authentic church.
This is authentic discipleship.
And this is how Christ authentically works through us – each and everyone – to build His assembly where we live.
In my experience with helping to start, sustain and be part of many relational participatory assemblies over the last fifty years, each one looked and functioned differently than each other.
That’s how it should be, because Christ expresses Himself differently in different groups of people based on their different needs, levels of maturity, abilities, relationships, personalities, circumstances, cultural backgrounds …
And so much more.
Yes, there are basic, general Biblical precepts for how we relate and gather together …
But God never intended for us to have cookie cutter meetings organized around anyone’s own primary vision, preconceived blue print or directed script.
Ultimately, those who presume to assume the unbiblical, controlling role of God’s man with the plan for everyone else eventually restrict God’s people – and themselves – to an edifice of their own limitations, motivations and agendas …
No matter how well intended.
Big difference!
All love, we burn up.
All truth, we dry up.
Have both, we grow up.
May our walk with the Lord and each other be ever rooted in both truth and love.
Apart from an immanent Creator of all who defines transcendent truth, reality and morality …
We are left with absurdity, because otherwise there is no basis to make any claims to the contrary.
The Great Commission says “go” …
Not “ego”.
Rebellion against God …
Presupposes His existence.
“Forgiving” by minimizing the underlying sin …
Trivializes its consequences and is seldom effective.
To fully forgive, first we must fully acknowledge the wrong and the harm …
Just like Jesus did with us.
There is no freedom in anything less.
Those peddling “radical” Christianity, “deeper life,” “eternal purpose,” a “red letter” pick-and-choose Jesus or other such stuff …
Seem more driven by their own insecurities and failings than by the simple, authentic faith of Scripture.
That’s hardly surprising, because they typically dismiss God’s plenary authority of Scripture as His written Word …
Thus leaving them stuck with themselves and a false Christ of their own creation.
My prayer for the next generation:
That you reject the tyranny of “tolerance” without sound morals …
Affirm true liberty, which is the freedom to pursue virtue …
And embrace authentic love, which never forgets that only God’s truth can set us free.
If I want a performance, I’ll go to a concert …
Or maybe watch a show on some big screen TV.
If I want church, however, I’ll gather with those who unpretentiously minister one to another …
As co-heirs of God’s grace and as joint participants in His Kingdom.
“Being the church” as the New Testament shows it …
Is far better than “going to church” as most have come to know it.
That’s because the many diverse gifts God gives us for ministry to one another as the multi-part Body of Christ …
Far exceed the mono-ministry most experience each week through scripted “services” by the one.
Unfortunately, when gathering together, few these days are even allowed to use the gifts God’s given them.
Instead, “church” is often more about building itself up, through ministry that revolves around one gifted man …
Than about Christ building us into a visible expression of Himself in our local communities as we learn to function together in our diverse gifts as He directs.
—————–
“He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” Eph. 4:16
Unless teaching comes from doing …
It seldom leads to doing.
Which explains why so many “church” leaders and teachings today …
Are so ineffective at making disciples.
Freedom in Christ is not about losing your identity in Him, but finding it through Him …
Including the wonderfully diverse gifts, motivations and callings He has for each of us.
Christian Maturity:
Learning to use God’s gifts, motivations and callings for you …
In ways that aren’t dismissive of – but affirm – His differing gifts, motivations and callings for others.
I have the privilege of ministering to the unpretentious …
Which is why my life and words routinely offend the pretentious.
Plus, I have no patience for those who claim to love Christ, while elevating their own ideologies, narratives and sensibilities …
Over God’s authoritative revelation of Himself – and so much more – in Scripture.
The thing is, I think God also has about reached His limits with them.
(Oops, I think I just might have offended them again. 😎)
Eating junk food …
Makes no more sense than consuming junk culture.
One corrupts our bodies …
The other our eternal souls.
Yet the answer to junk culture is not retreat and isolation.
Let’s learn to be immanent in a world God still loves …
While transcending its perils by openly embracing what is eternally true, good and beautiful.
Jesus said all Scripture points to Him.
But that doesn’t mean our perception of Him supersedes, or takes us “beyond” (as some now imply), the authority of Scripture.
Rather, it means that only when we submit our perception of Him to His self revelation of Scripture …
Will we understand Him and His written Word.
I don’t want just a “relationship” with Christ.
Instead, I want all of Christ …
Including all that He’s authoritatively revealed in Scripture so we can:
Know who He truly is;
Function together as His church;
Do as He commands;
Be full citizens of His Kingdom;
Redeem a world He still loves; and
So much more.
New believers often need potty training.
Older believers, however, often need reminding that this inevitably involves messy situations …
Because in real discipleship, “accidents” happen.
Those who reduce their “faith” to what they subjectively perceive God is telling them, filtered through their own sensibilities …
Often reject external Biblical morality, precepts and commands which stand independently true in Scripture.
God can speak however He choices.
But for them, it all comes down to what they individually feel and like …
As they elevate their own perceptions as the final standard over God’s own, objective revelations in Scripture.
The naïve theological relativism and narcissism we see among too many “Christians” lately …
Is rooted in past postmodern, “existential” philosophies of either individualistic or “group-think” autonomy.
Is it any wonder, then, that we see an emphasis on new “doctrines” which try to:
- Define Christ, and our relationship to Him, by our own subjective perceptions of Him?
- Redefine grace in ways that destroy all concepts of objective standards?
- And dismiss – if not in fact then at least in effect – God’s plenary authority of Scripture as His written Word?
Nonetheless, God is calling forth His own:
Those who truly want to know Him on His terms …
As they worship Him once again in spirit and IN TRUTH with lives of reverent obedience.
Anything less is fraudulent “faith.”
Plumbline Faith 