9/11 and the Church

I asked the question yesterday during our morning service, "do you remember where you were 9/10/01?" A few raised their hands but most could not recall where they were the night before the tragic events that occurred the following day. I do remember where I was. I was at a bar in Florence, SC, where I was every Monday night, watching Monday Night Football, gambling, getting drunk or high, probably both, being the lost person that I was. I had such a "good" time that night that I took that momentous Tuesday off and slept in. I found out about the attacks when my dad called and woke me up to inform me of what was going on.

So why is this meaningful? Well, it's meaningful because I was one of the multitudes who was in church that following Sunday. For me it was the first time in many years. I was there because I had questions to which I had no answers. I was seeking understanding, comfort, a sense of safety. I was turning to where I knew I should, to God and His people, even though I had run from Him most of my life. Tragedy has a way of doing this to people. We turn where we know we should, and I believe instinctually, there is a desire for God in most human hearts.

Most churches saw huge spikes in attendance those first few weeks after 9/11. Our nation had been startled and scared, and we sought out our creator. However, after a few weeks, church attendance lagged and basically has never picked up again in most places. I was also one of those one's who fell away from church again. Why was that?

For me personally, I came seeking something I didn't find. I was not saved, but I was raised in church and had a basic understanding of what the bible says. I knew a person who claimed to be a Christian is supposed to be different. What I found were people who praised God on Sunday, yet lived just like me the rest of the week. Friends, a person who claims to be saved cannot live like a lost person. The world sees this and abhors this. They know blatant hypocrisy when the see it. And it repels them. I believe with all my heart many reacted the same way after a few weeks in church. Ultimately, it's an excuse, but it is a legitimate concern as we look at the nature of the church 10 years after 9/11. If another catastrophic event were to happen today, is the church any better prepared to receive those who are once again seeking answers?

As I survey the landscape of the church, sadly, the conclusion I come to, is no. No, we are not any better prepared than we were 10 years ago. Yesterday the talk was of how much our nation had changed since 9/11, yet I really do not see it where it matters most, in God's house. If any people should be motivated by the events of 9/11it should be the child of God. We know what the bible says of death, of judgment, of hell. We know that eternal souls are in the balance. We know what God expects of us in regards to those souls, we know, yet, even when something none of us could have ever imagines, happens, we remain the same. Content in our little sheltered cocoons, unresponsive to the needs of the world for the gospel. If we don't care of the world's fate now, how will they find us different when the next tragedy strikes?

I'm not claiming to be a prophet peering down the corridor to future events here, but I believe I am a realist. Knowing the hatred and determination of our enemy, they will strike again, and probably with a greater loss of life than occurred 9/11/01. When that happens, will we be ready for the influx of the world that will surely come? If we are not ready today, we won't be then. Friend, Christian! Are you ready? Do your words and life walk hand-in-hand? Is the church you attend actively engaging our culture and world? Do you feel a burden for the lost, hurting, needy? Do the words faithfulness, obedience, thankfulness, joyfulness have a place in your life. If they do not, you're not ready. Now is not the time to wait for the next disaster. Now is the time to get ready. The choice is yours.

Letting God do His Job

John 16:8, "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment;"

One of the things I have been truly blessed with in my life are Godly men that have been raised up to impart wisdom. God has seen fit at every stop in my ministry to surround me with mature Christians who have fought the battle, and made mistakes, who could impart Godly wisdom unto me. It is always good to seek Godly counsel, and if we can learn from another's mistakes, we can avoid a pitfall and advance the kingdom of God far better than when we make a mistake ourselves.

One of the lessons I am most thankful for seems apparent on the surface, but in reality, may be the one of the most difficult to learn. Whether in preaching, or witnessing, something we all must learn, is this: It is not our job to convict people of their sin, that is God's responsibility. And when we assume that responsibility, we stand in God's way.

Any person who has a passion for God will also have a passion to see lost or backslidden people repent and turn to God. It's very obvious to the Christian grounded in the word when someone is not living as the bible instructs, and thus, is living in sin. With the consequences of an unrepentant lifestyle resulting in an eternity in hell(1 Cor 6:9-11, Gal 5:19-21, Eph 5:1-7, Rev 21:8), it should burden us all when we see someone in this condition. We cannot however, through our efforts, make that person see the sin in their life and repent. That is a work solely of the Holy Spirit, and in spite of our passion and efforts, we can never convict someone of that sin. That is God's job.

In my own ministry I can look back and see times when I tried to do God's job for Him. It was not intentional, it was not because I lacked passion or zeal, but what I lacked was the wisdom of God. This is why I am so thankful for those people God raised up in my life. They imparted this wisdom, and thankfully, I received it.

In the first church I pastored I was confronted right off the bat with biblical issues that I knew needed to be addressed. My heart was pierced as I saw people serving in our church who were living in open, rebellious sin; sexual immorality. I did not pick and choose to preach scripture to these people, as I am an expositor. But when these issues were revealed I was preaching through books of the bible that dealt specifically with this sort of sin, in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 and Ephesians chapters 4 and 5. In hindsight, I know I was correct to stick to my guns and preach the texts, as I know that is what God would have me do. But I also realized after the fact, that in how I preached some of those messages, I took upon myself to try and convict these people of their sin, and got in God's way.

Now even in my failure here God did produce fruit, as after time one of the couples repented and got right with God. But the other bowed their necks and basically with excusing from many close to them and an unwillingness to hear what the word says, continue in this sin to this day. It still breaks my heart. But I know now that it's not up to me to convict these folks, that is God's job. I can honestly say their is a freedom in this knowledge that allows you to communicate God's word with more love and compassion than if you take upon yourself God's responsibilities.

In the church I currently serve I was once again faced with one of these challenging texts a few weeks ago in 1 Thessalonians 4. On this day it just so happened we had many in our church who also were engaged in sinful behavior the bible clearly identifies. This time however, I came to the text with more wisdom than before. I preached the same message, yet with more compassion and love, and the fruit of allowing God to do His job for Himself was immediate. 1 couple came to me the next week seeking to be married and repent of their sin. Others are still attending, and are opening their hearts to what God has to say. I know full well this has nothing to do with me, but rather, the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. But I rejoice that through me God can bring forth fruit quickly if I just stay out of His way.

This is a difficult thing sometimes. When we see someone we care for, especially a loved one; son, daughter, mother, father, sister, brother, who is in open rebellion against God, it should and does pierce our heart with the desire to see them repent. Friends, even when it's a complete stranger we should feel this burden for conviction of sin and repentance. However, we must let God do His job in their hearts. Whether it's preaching to the masses or engaging someone one-on-one, let us be open to the wisdom of God. He will convict the world of it's sin. When we try to do His job for Him, we hinder His work, we do not help it.

Balancing Holiness and Being Human

My wife caused quite a stir on Facebook last night. Now understand, my wife, loves the Lord. She is a witness to hundreds of lost friends on a forum such as Facebook through persistent spiritual postings and has seen much fruit when lost friends of hers seek Godly counsel in times of crisis. My wife is also a fun loving person, who relates to people on a level they can relate to, especially lost people. This is why so many feel comfortable speaking with her regarding spiritual matters. This fun loving side is what led to the stir she caused last night. You see, my wife; the preachers wife; told a fart joke on Facebook.

How this caused a stir is she was rebuked by a pastor we really do not know. He called her language "guttural." Know also, this pastor has also rebuked her in the past for using words like gosh, golly and gee wiz on Facebook. My wife, a fiery one, did not respond to his rebuke as well as she should have. She reacted emotionally, and although not by name, revealed the private rebuke of the pastor and expressed her opinion of it as only she can. But what I want to focus on is the overflow of this event. How exactly is the Christian to practice a holy life, yet remain relevant to lost people in the world? How can we balance being holy, and being human?

First, let's define some words and concepts here. The bible commands us, "Be holy, for I am holy." So, just what does holy, and practicing holiness mean. Holiness is defined as living a life of purity and integrity in regards to moral character. Moral character is established by the lives we live, as compared to God's word. Are we obedient to the clear commands and expectations of the word of God? Are we living in sin, thus practicing an unholy lifestyle? Many Christians view this command as impossible to fulfil. In a way, it is, because none of us are perfect. But we are called to practice holiness, so what we judge ourselves on is: is the pattern of our lives one that reflects God and His expectations of us, or is it not. When the world looks at us; observes us, hears us, is it evident we are a Christian?

Spouting scripture does not make us a Christian, nor does attending church, or even professing Jesus Christ in word with no works to back it up. The Christian's life will stand in direct contrast to the lost person of the world. We will be seen as honest, truthful, gentle, kind, patient, loving. We will not cast judgment upon the world, as the bible tells us God will do that(1 Cor 5.) We do however judge each other by the standards of the bible so as to hold each other accountable for conducting ourselves in holiness. But if we are to engage the world, yet we are by definition distinctly different from the world. How can we do so without compromising our holiness.

The old adage is we are to be "in the world but not of the world." This means we are to live as everyday people among everyday people yet not be corrupted by the sin that is prevalent in our world. But where do we draw the line on where holiness ends and worldliness begins? May I submit, we allow people to be themselves so long as no clearly defined sin is being committed or overtaking them. You know, the bible is very clear on sin. It has lists of sins throughout, things God identifies as sin. He is the only one who can define what sin is and what it is not. Problem is, sometimes we as Christians, want to place our own ideals and opinions of what is sin where God has not spoken clearly. When this happens, it's called legalism, loosely defined as placing our own beliefs in place of or over God's clearly spelled out word.

Legalism was the problem in Jesus's day, as it is a huge problem today. As big, if not bigger, than the liberalism that compromises God's word. The Pharisees placed their traditions over God's word(Mk 7). and in doing so placed restrictions on people that God did not. We still do this today. Ever seen a church with a dress code, or one that would not allow a woman to wear makeup? Us as individual Christians do this even more so. If you smoke cigarettes, you sin. Where is that in the bible? If you drink a beer, you sin. Once again, where in the bible does this doctrine exist that directly prohibits this? If you are overweight you're a glutton. If you bought a lottery ticket? Allow your children to believe in Santa Claus? I'm not condoning these things, but neither do I have the biblical authority to say flat out, you can't do them. Believe me, we Christians can make up more rules that God never spoke clearly on than apparently any people group on the planet. And we do so under the mantra, "Be holy, for I am holy." Just like the Pharisees did.

Friends, we must realize, we do have liberty in Christ. That liberty is not a free ticket to sin. The bible says, "Is grace license to sin? God forbid!" But let's let God define what sin is, and keep our noses out of His business when it comes to our personal opinions. Romans 14 tells us that if it is sin to us, it is sin. If your spirit is convicting you regarding a vice, or something in your life that maybe the bible doesn't speak directly too, then it is sin to you. But this disputable matter may not be considered sin to another believerwho is not under the same conviction.

When we start expecting others to live to our standards, we've crossed a line. The standard we are to strive for is God's, not any human beings. When we somehow expect the world to relate to us without human foibles that we have liberty in Christ to practice, that make us who we are, we've become irrelevant and obvious hypocrites in the eyes of the world. With all do respect to the pastor who rebuked Ashley, your objection falls into that category. When we are rebuking another believer for a sophomoric joke, or using harmless, non offensive words such as gosh and gee wiz, we've ventured in to an absurdity that the world laughs at, and turns from quicker than we can comprehend.

The bible says we are not to be a stumbling block, defined as a sin or action that causes another to fall into sin and away from God. Using the instance of my wife as an example. Is a juvenile joke really going to cause someone to do this? Or a harmless slang word? Friends we do need to take great care that our actions do not lead others into sin and away from Christ. Actions that could do this are normally sin, which is defined by God. Can a tradition we have do so? Yes, just as Paul says eating meat or having a drink of wine may do so? But in these areas not clearly defined by God, we are responsible for our own actions, but not to be judged by another believer as we do have that liberty. It's a fine line, but one that is essential if we are to relate to the world without appearing to be self righteous, rigid, prudish zealots.

The Christian life is not easy, but it is rewarding. God's commands are not burdensome, but our expectations of each other when they are not grounded solidly in God's word are. We must live in holiness, as God commands it. But let's let Him set the standard for what holiness is.