This week, I got to thinking
about some of the wise, gentle, and mature
Christians I’ve known in the past. You
know the ones: they offer to pray for you—and
then actually do it. They have a gentle
spirit that just makes you want to be in their
presence. They are the peacemakers in
almost every situation. They don’t
worry about what’s best for them, but
what’s best for the body of Christ. They
are the ones who taught me what it is to be
a follower of Jesus because I could see Jesus
in them.
On the other hand, there
are those who have been “Christians” for
a long, long time who have decided that they
are entitled to the “benefits” of
their longevity in their religion. Perhaps
you know of some of these.
- They are so mature
in the faith that they can easily point
out everybody else’s faults and sins—and
almost always do. They use the prophets
as their model for confronting sin, but
the prophets virtually never confronted
an individual’s sin, but rather corporate
sin (except in the case of national leaders
who were charged with eradicating national
and corporate sin). But Jesus is
supposed to be our model for our lives,
including how to confront sin. Note
that in the story of the woman at the well
in John 4, Jesus neither condemns nor condones
the woman’s sin. And that is
pretty much how He always confronted
sin. When did Jesus confront adulterers,
thieves, prostitutes, and the like? He
didn’t. He only confronted
the sins of the leaders. He does however,
teach us how to confront sin in Matthew
18:15-20. If someone sins against you… not
if someone is sinning and it irritates
you.
- They are so mature
in the faith that they can reinterpret
Scripture to suit their personal theology. I
recently read an article that quoted a
denominational official of the PCUSA who,
after being informed that the African Presbyterian
Church were considering disfellowshipping
their U.S. counterpart because of their
lax stance on Biblical authority, patronizingly
said that the African church was still
an immature church that didn’t understand
more mature and modern theology. Never
mind that the African church has been growing
steadily while the U.S. American church
has been declining for over a decade. It’s
not that everything’s black and white,
but in the words of Isaiah, “Woe
to those who call evil good” (Isaiah
5:20)—on the other hand, see #1 above.
- They are so mature
that they can discount evangelism as offensive
at best and bigoted at worst. They
have the attitude of “live and let
live” and conclude that everyone’s
religious belief is equally valid. While
it is good to be respectful of other beliefs,
Jesus really didn’t give us an option
about evangelism. He said “I
am the way, the truth, and the life” (John
14:6) and His final words to His disciples
were to take their witness of the Lord
to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
One of the greatest joys
of the House Church is the close camaraderie
of the participants. In the words of
Bill Easum, in a House Church “it’s
next to impossible to be fake about your
faith or lack of it.” And it’s
also next to impossible to put on the air
of false maturity and get away with it—their
brothers and sisters will gently call them
on it and encourage them to grow in their
Christ-likeness. Because everyone in
a House Church gets to know one another intimately,
the words of Paul to admonish one another
with wisdom (Colossians 3:16) becomes an
active part of the church’s life.
Let us, therefore, encourage
one another to grow more and more like Jesus—trusting
in His teachings and in Him alone that we
might fulfill His commission to love one
another and to make disciples of all nations. |