Return to Trends Study
(Friday, September 225, 2009 - Santa
Barbara – Lesson 7 in a series about Trends)
TRENDS (7)
So What? Why I Am Concerned!
a.
Let
it be understood, I do NOT
question the good intentions of these churches, movements nor their
leaders. They believe they
are doing a good work (and in reality they are) and sincerely believe
they are doing the right thing.
But is it the right thing?
Is it according to God’s pattern for the church?
Are good intentions enough in God’s eyes?
b.
Good intentions are not enough –
i.
Matthew 7:21-23 – it is
not enough to say, ‘Lord, Lord…” you must DO the will of the Father.
ii.
2
Samuel 6:1-8, Uzzah as he
stilled the ark was struck dead.
The Ark of the Covenant was carried on a new cart created at
David’s instructions. I am
convinced that David thought God would be pleased with his efforts.
BUT he did NOT inquire of the Lord.
Further, there is no question Uzzah had the best of intentions when he
kept the Ark from falling to the ground, but he still disobeyed God and
was punished as a result.
iii.
Paul had
good intentions –
Acts 23:1 where he said, “Men
and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this
day.”
iv.
Romans 10:1-4, Paul notes
that some of his Jewish brethren, who HATED the Christian faith and did
all they could to destroy it, had a zeal for God.
Could they have reasoned that the end justifies the means?
Were their good intentions to preserve the Law of Moses
acceptable reason to act as they did?
Paul called it their own righteousness.
Is that NOT what we find in the watered down gospel of the Community
Church movement?
v.
“There
is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
Prov. 14:12
c.
Quite
frequently, having good intentions is not good news. What it usually
means is that something was done wrong that needs to be corrected.
In this life, perhaps you have the chance to redo it and make it
right (like the mulligan in golf).
But when you stand before God in judgment, IF you are not right
you will have to answer and then it will be too late.
II.
The
Success of Such Movements
a.
A
desire to be like everyone else.
Because of the phenomenal success of the
community church/mega-church movement, members of various
denominations are asking, “How do they do it?”
We find that many denominational
congregations are rethinking the way they teach and what they do based
on the community church model.
Rick Warren’s approach based upon his book, The Purpose Driven Church,
has been adopted as a model by multitudes of churches as their website
describes, “those large and small,
denominational and non-denominational, charismatic and non-charismatic,
new plant and well-established, urban and rural.”
The website states that more than 400,000 leaders in 22 languages
have been directly trained to follow this model.
On another page of the website we find, “Purpose
driven dovetails easily into the polity of many denominations.”
http://www.purposedrivenchurch.com/en-US/AboutUs/WhatIsPD/What+is+PD.htm
http://www.purposedrivenchurch.com/en-US/AboutUs/WhatIsPD/7+Myths+of+PD.htm
My point is that this movement is having an influence among various
denominations.
b.
I wonder,
are some churches of Christ asking
these same questions? I am fearful they are!
Some congregations are seeking to incorporate whatever elements
they can justify in their own minds.
We are finding churches of Christ that are seeking to change
whatever they need to change to make them more acceptable to the
community. Some are changing
their name (removing ‘church of Christ’ from their identity for the same
reasons as Oak Hills in San Antonio, TX - because it is offensive),
making their worship services more contemporary and appealing (removing
those boring old songs), rethinking moral issues (always toward being
more permissive), reinventing standards of authority and changing
anything they can. The
problem with this is that many of these congregations are losing
their distinctiveness and blending in more and more with the
denominations around them.
And IT IS WHAT THEY WANT!
c.
Such is desiring “to be like the nations around us”.
Remember why Israel wanted a king?
1 Samuel 8:5 finds Israel approaching Samuel, after corruption
among his sons (8:2-3), the elders request, “Look you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a
king to judge us like all the nations.”
When Samuel warned them about what would happen if they made a
king for themselves, “nevertheless
the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, ‘No, but
we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations,
and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our
battles.’” (8:19-20)
These kings became the downfall of the nation – including division into
two nations and eventual removal from God’s sight and the people
followed after these men and their evil ways.
What was the proper solution to the corruption the people saw?
It was to go BACK to God’s law and restore what was lacking.
It was NOT to conform to the ways of the world AND their false
religions.
Are the trends we are seeing today any
different?
When we look at denominational or inter-denominational success
and wonder, “How do they do it?”
We better be careful!!!!
When we want to be like everyone else (or be more acceptable to
denominations and their errors) we are going to find ways to compromise,
or at the least, manipulate scriptures in our favor (see 2 Peter 3:16).
d.
God’s view of success is not the same as man’s view.
Don’t get caught up in the world view of success – how many people, how
fancy the building, how much money you have, how many ministries your
are managing, how well known you are in the community, etc.
Those are ALL superficial and MAN DRIVEN.
God looks at the heart and if you are obeying Him (Matt. 7:21-23).
Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “’For
My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways’ says the
Lord. ‘For as the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My
thoughts higher than your thoughts.’”
Hosea 14:9 says, “Who
is wise? Let him understand these things.
Who is prudent? Let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are RIGHT; the righteous walk in them,
But transgressors stumble in them.”
Remember again
Eph. 3:10-11, “to the
intent that the manifold wisdom
of God might be made known by the church…according to His eternal
purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The church demonstrates God’s all encompassing wisdom.
e.
I
am not opposed to reexamination of the way we do things.
NOR am I opposed to innovations.
I know of sound churches that now broadcast their services live
over the internet. They
record lessons and post them for anyone who wants to hear.
And that is just the internet.
If such is expedient I believe it ought to be considered.
In fact, I believe that
reexamination is both scriptural and necessary.
2 Corinthians 13:5 calls
for us to examine ourselves as to whether we are in the faith.
The question, “What are we going to do to win more people?” is a valid
question that we OUGHT to be asking ourselves.
Furthermore, I am
concerned with churches that DON’T take time to see if they are doing
things properly or if they can be done in better ways (i.e. are
there other scriptural hymns available, is the Lord’s Supper treated as
a mere ritual or is adequate thought put into its purpose, and are the
sermons and classes that are taught as effective as possible, etc.) and
I am equally concerned with churches that have placed themselves into a
rut where they will not consider anything beyond, “that’s the way we
have always done it.”
Isn’t that what true restoration is about?
HOWEVER, I am very concerned when
the reason we “rethink” our beliefs is to become more appealing to
larger numbers in the community, whether it be doctrinal
tolerance or our organizational structure.
If you have to compromise the truth OR cater to the whims of
those who are not really interested in the truth – what have you
accomplished?
You cannot be “user-friendly” and fearlessly proclaim “the whole counsel
of God” at the same time.
The gospel offends some people – PERIOD!
a.
“Thus
says the Lord: ‘Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths,
where the good way is, and walk in it; Then you will find rest for your
souls.’ But they said, ‘We
will not walk in it.’”
(Jer. 6:16)
2 Kings 22:8-9, “Then
Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, ‘I have found the
Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.’
And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
So Shaphan the scribe went to the king (Josiah - TT)…Now it happened, when
the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his
clothes”(11). The next
chapter (23) records Josiah restoring TRUE worship by applying what was
in the book.
Nehemiah 8:13-18 records the Israel returning after Babylonian captivity
that Ezra reads the book and the people discover that they had not
observed the Feast of Tabernacles.
So following the instructions of “The book of the Law of God”
(18) they reinstituted the feast.
We are told in vs. 17 that the feast had not been kept since the
days of Joshua (900-1000 years earlier) but with the Law of God they
restored TRUE WORSHIP!
b.
When the
restoration movement took hold a couple of hundred years ago, the desire
was to set aside all human creeds and return to the New Testament
pattern. It is a “most
wholesome doctrine” that can insure we are doing what God wants.
There has been and always will be much debate on some of the
finer points of restoring the New Testament pattern, but for the most
part scriptures are VERY clear on what we are to do, how we are saved,
what the purpose of the church is, etc.
Much of what they stood for caused them to be criticized by the
denominations for their doctrinal stands.
But they did not let that deter their goal to RESTORE the New
Testament church.
c.
For
many decades churches of Christ,
such as this one, have been willing to set themselves apart from the
denominational world even though it meant being ostracized and
criticized in various ways.
We have been called a cult, Campbelites, elitist, and uncooperative.
BUT that didn’t matter!
Why? Because we know the
truth will bring a sword that will separate those who sincerely love the
truth from those who prefer the teachings of men (cf. Matthew 10:34-39,
Heb. 4:12). You might say it
comes with the territory of standing for the truth of your convictions.
(Doesn’t such put you in the same class as Jeremiah and Elijah,
Joshua, Moses, and don’t forget Jesus and Paul?)
BUT in the past few decades we
have been seeing an erosion of that distinction as many
congregations reexamine their purpose and look for ways to be “less
offensive” or “more accommodating.”
d.
I am
fearful that we are seeing some congregations now that are more
concerned about distancing themselves from their brethren in
“traditional churches” than they are about distinguishing themselves
from the denominational world.
They want to get as CLOSE to “the line” (between truth and error) as
they can without crossing over it.
What is the problem with this?
A couple of weeks ago I was talking with someone about that line
between right and wrong and what the problem is when we start seeing how
close to the line we can get without crossing over it. It was observed
that what often happens is that
we have a tendency to move the
line! And it is
NEVER for the better!
As Jeremiah condemned Judah, the Lord said, “Because My people have forgotten Me, they have burned incense to
worthless idols. And they
have caused themselves to stumble in their ways, from
the ancient paths, to walk in
pathways and not on a highway…” (Jer. 18:15)
Proverbs 22:28 noted, “Do not
remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set.”
e.
Have we lost our distinction?
We began this study with
1 Cor. 14:7-8 says, “Even
things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound,
unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be know what
is piped or played? For if
the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?”
2 Corinthians 6:17, “Wherefore
come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.”
Our Lord purchased His church which His own blood!
It is HIS church, not ours!
Ephesians 5:25-27 notes
that “Christ also loved the church
and gave Himself for her, that He
might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the
word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having
spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that
she should be holy and without
blemish.”
Titus 2:14 says that
Christ “gave Himself for us, that
He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His
own special people, zealous
for good works.” 1 Peter
2:9 says, “But you are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His
own special people,…”
The KJV in both of these verses
uses the word,
peculiar which means we
are “God’s chosen people in whom
he has a special interest, one which exceeds His common concern for
mankind in general.” (WS Dictionary).
Does the world see that difference?
f.
BRETHREN, NEVER be ashamed of what sets you apart from the world!
NEVER be ashamed of our owner or His name!!!!
We ought to proudly call ourselves the church of Christ!
I do NOT understand why anyone would NOT want to be identified by
that name!!!
a.
Revelation 14:6 makes
reference to “the everlasting gospel” which was to be preached to those
dwelling upon the earth by an angel.
We KNOW that the gospel has been “once, for all, delivered to the
saints” (Jude
3).
1 Peter 1:24-25 tells us
that while grass and flowers die, “the word of the Lord endures
forever.” AGAIN
Galatians 1:6-9 warns us
to NOT preach a different gospel.
b.
Far too
many churches today are choosing to take a less “offensive” approach to
the Bible. As we have
noted they have watered down the gospel.
They are guilty of preaching only PART of the gospel of Christ.
Consider this in contrast to what Paul told the Ephesian elders, “For
I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” (Acts
20:27) In vs. 20 he
said, “How I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and
taught you publicly and from house to house.”
c.
To be
fair, many Community churches will have more in depth studies in smaller
and more specialized classes.
But they make a distinction between the “seeker service” and the
membership. In worship
services to God I do not find that distinction in the Bible.
What is wrong with preaching only
portions of the gospel in public meetings and saving the meat and
controversy for more private occasions
(Bible classes, etc.)? The
public worship may be the ONLY chance you have to teach someone.
In my observations, those who are weak in the faith are usually
the ones who miss Bible classes regularly.
Therefore, if there is a chance they will hear what they need to
change it HAS to happen in the most public of assemblies.
Think about that.
Again notice
2 Tim. 4:2. Note
that is does not say, “Preach the word. Be instant in season (publicly)
and out of season (in more intimate sessions).
Exhort them when they are assembled together but reprove and
rebuke them in more private settings.”
NO, exposure of sin needs to be as open as the sin itself!
1)
Are we
preaching enough on authority?
This subject is woefully lacking in many places and the result is
a generation that doesn’t know HOW to establish a Biblical pattern.
2)
Are we
as enthusiastic as we ought to be?
Rev. 3:15, 2:4 – left our first love.
There is something to be said when we treat the Lord’s Supper
with indifference as we serve it.
3)
Have we
become too casual in our attitudes?
Society
is becoming concerned with how casual we have become.
And the attitude is present in many assemblies of the Lord’s
church. Where is the
reverence that ought to accompany a worship service in the presence of
God?
4)
Are we
seeking the wisdom of man for solutions to our problems?