Kevin DeYoung recently posted on his blog about the important and perplexing issue of unity & truth, which inspired me to get some thoughts down that have been rattling around my head for some time.

I know a great many Christians who forsake truth in order to avoid being divisive.

“We mustn’t be divisive,” some say. “We don’t know the whole story.”

“It’s not very loving to say someone’s wrong,  is it?”

“Can’t we all just get along?”

Before I go too much farther, I want to clarify something important: In any situation, it’s critical to understand as much as we can about the ideas, opinions and theology espoused by others, and their context. This can avoid a lot of unnecessary fighting.

What I’m talking about is failing to confront serious, doctrinal error on major issues (such as original sin, the Trinity, salvation by grace through faith alone, the resurrection and the virgin birth). I’m talking about pastors failing to guard the gate and protect their people.

I think this problem exists for two reasons:

1. Many Christians don’t know their Bibles as well as they ought, and because of this have failed to cultivate the discipline of discernment (which is different than the spiritual gift). And because they neither have a strong understanding of Scripture, nor exercise discernment, they are easily confused. They simply don’t have the capacity to determine is something is correct or not.

 

2. Many pastors are cowards. This is a very harsh statement, but I truly do not know a better way to say it. If any man won’t stand up for the things he believes, nor protect his family, he is a coward.

I want to make something abundantly clear: I love pastors in general and my pastors in particular. They have a hard job and hard choices to make every day. But it kills me when I see people running around confused about issues that they need not be confused about, and reading books & listening to teachers that they would do well to not listen to.

All for the sake of “unity.”

There are some things we don’t need to go to war over: Eschatology, method of baptism, speaking in tongues… these are family debates at best. Some may not even need to be a conversation at all. But when it comes to the finished work of Jesus, the nature of human sin, the character and nature of God, the supremacy of Scripture… These are the things we must contend for.

All for the sake of unity.

I was talking to Adam about his recent comments on his Lent experience (read them here) and I started thinking about what sucks up valuable time in my life and steals my joy.

And as I thought about it, I realized there’s a lot of things. I mean, a lot a lot. Food, meaningless time in the interweb…

But I think there are two big things for me. They’re not really Lent-type things to give up so easily, more “putting sin to death” items. These being anger and an uncertainty about accepting compliments as compliments.

I get angry far more quickly than I’d prefer; not nearly as much as when I was a younger man, but it’s something I’m on the watch for constantly. And as Adam and John (my good friends and colleagues) can attest, some days are better than others. Ephesians 4:26-32 is a constant reminder to me that I must be vigilant in this. It’s okay, even a good thing sometimes, to be angry. My problem is when it turns into sinful anger and I get unnecessarily cutting and harsh with my words.

My other issue is compliments. I cannot easily accept a compliment, even if it is genuine. Perhaps it’s because so often compliments are used as political currency: I say something nice about you to butter you up, then spring my agenda. Perhaps it’s some bizarre form of pride. I’m sure someone would say it’s because I didn’t get enough hugs as a kid. All this to say, I don’t know how to react to compliments, much to my detriment.

Not surprisingly, both of these issues are related. Both point to a lack of grace, both to give and to see.

[Read more…] about Giving up for the greater good

This weekend, one of our pastors gave a sermon on calling, specifically within the context of being single. There was one key point that was really important that he made, that being: You must be passionate about your faith and the things that God has called us to do.

Do we see our faith as merely something we do on Sundays (at best a lame hobby, at worst an obligation)? Because there are cooler hobbies than Christianity.

Like stamp collecting.

Instead, what if we saw our faith as it truly is: a divine gift from God, who calls us according to his purpose (Romans 8:28 b); who “are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10)?

Would it change anything about our lives?

For those of us who work, what if we saw our jobs as the work God prepared for us?

For students, what if we saw school as our calling?

For parents, and mothers in particular, what if we saw raising our children as the good work that God has called us to?

Would our lives look any different than they do right now? Would our desires be any different?

I hope so. I don’t always appreciate that God has given me a great family, an excellent job, and a somewhat flourishing ministry. My wife and I are in the difficult position of being the only Christians in our families, and we’re trying to end the destructive patterns and behaviours that would otherwise have been our legacy. I have a job I never thought I’d have or even want, working at Compassion. I have a terrific small group that gives me the freedom to exercise many of my gifts and is very patient and encouraging in this. Most importantly, I am an ill-deserving sinner who has been mercifully saved by Jesus Christ.

I am a truly blessed man. I don’t always see it. I don’t always appreciate it.

But I want to.

What about you?