The sermon was on abortion and the group that followed was discussing the sermon. In the midst of the discussion, one fellow commented, "You're preaching to the choir. We're all on board with all you're saying." Nice. Except, as the discussion continued, we discovered that we were not all of the same mind. Some favored abortion for rape. Others thought, "We shouldn't try to tell anyone what to do." And so on.
I'm not writing this to go on about abortion. I'm writing this to address "We're all on board with all you're saying." Why is it that we hear preaching on the same topics over and over? Why is it that we see the same arguments online over and over? And I'm not just talking about abortion. I'm talking about abortion, homosexual behavior, transgender questions, politics, doctrine ... so much more than abortion. Why do we keep at these topics? Why do I harp so much on the meanings of words or on the importance of Scripture or ...? Clearly it is because we are not all on board. Obviously, unbelievers take a different opinion. If that surprises you, you're not reading your Bible. They are hostile to God (Rom 8:7), unable to understand the things of the Spirit (1 Cor 2:14), dead in sin (Eph 2:1-3), and all that. It should be no surprise that they don't agree with what God has to say. But, among believers, we have this problem. We ... slip. We listen too long to the wrong side -- "Did God really say ...?" We allow our perceptions of our experiences to override a clear understanding of God's Word. We fail to ask God (most obviously through His Word) what He thinks. We creep into conforming to this world rather than being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2). Face it; we just don't do the necessary work. We don't fight the current. And before long you have a room full of Bible-believing Christians who ... disagree with the Bible ... and don't even know it.
Scripture says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim 3:16-17). Key components: 1) breathed out by God, 2) profitable for teaching what is right, pointing out what is not, redirecting what is not to what is, and continually teaching the right way, and 3) completely sufficient. It's all we need to be complete and equipped. We call ourselves biblical Christians, but too often our actions and positions and attitudes don't reflect it. I know; we're all in process. I understand; no one arrives at perfection this side of heaven. I'm just suggesting that we all need to be careful about not getting complacent because we've heard it before and we're all pretty sure we're all on board with what God wants. We're not. Not one of us. Our job is to figure out where we're not and fix it. Repeatedly.
5 comments:
This is wise counsel--an important reminder to build our foundation for right thinking through knowledge of, familiarity with, and conformity to God’s Word, in order to form our principles and inform those “pet topics” about which we become passionate. Personally, I could not be comfortable being one of those “Bible-believing Christians who … disagree with the Bible”--due to the clear contradiction depicted. That discrepancy is understandable in a new believer (who might still possess much ignorance about biblical teaching) but certainly not in those older in the Lord or if it stems from an enduring disobedient spirit. The need to be “on board” with God, as you say, is so basic--but so crucial for each and every one of us.
Regarding the phrase “preaching to the choir”: I understand the meaning of that as “stating one’s opinions to those who already agree with you.” It strikes me that in a church setting, the choir members are those possessing singing aptitude and not necessarily spiritual maturity. So, yes, the “choir” does indeed need “preaching to”--just as everyone there does--so that those individuals too can worship in truth as well as in spirit (John 4:24). As you point out, we are all in various stages of spiritual maturity and have not “arrived” yet--so yes, keep the good Bible preaching coming!
I try to remain open to those who don't see things my way...open enough in the sense that I'm most always ready to listen. Indeed, I listen for that which hasn't been said before, as therein might be that which I've never considered. It's happened more than once between us, between myself and others with whom I generally am in agreement. But yeah...constant monitoring, course corrections...regardless of how large or small...is very important, particularly in our relationship with God. Good thing He's sent us Jesus, to cover for our failures as we strive to eliminate them.
Glad to see you were able to answer your own question about whether you should continue this blog because you felt too repetitive. No such thing. We all need constant reminders do that we don't slip, and you never know who's new coming in.
David, I am wondering: Did Stan ask that question on the blog? Because I don’t recall seeing that recently, or I would have most definitely commented on that.
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