You asked: Why are so many high profile, publicly known and influential Christians living lives in direct conflict with, and in open defiance of the dictates of even the lowest acceptable standards of Christianity? Good question, and a puzzle to us all! Lets dig down into the grave a bit and reflect upon what lies hidden there and think out loud for a few minutes. Lets start with what we know: The high profile leaders of public Christianity are just that, high profile leaders of public Christianity, nothing more, and nothing less. The biggest is the Pope who is the head of the Roman Catholic Church and its dozens of otherwise diametrically opposed orders. Similarity there is the Archbishop of Canterbury of the Church of England, the Patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox and Coptic Orthodox churches, as well as their multitudes of splits and divisions, multiplied by countless layers of authorities, counsels, conclaves and entities supporting each. We must not forget the other, more recent sectarian innovations (that are merely hundreds of years old), led by such as the Bishop of the Church of Scotland, the Archbishops of the Presbyterians, Lutheran and Episcopal Churches as well as the very public leaders of various Baptist denominations (10,000 and counting), Wesleyan, (the teeming number of) Mennonite, Church of Christ, Nazarene and Congregational multitudes and look-alike knock offs. Of course there are the United this and that, Reformed this and that and those and they, that are far too numerous to account for. Last but not least are the umpteenth thousands of Pentecostals splits, sub-splits and re-splits that make up the usual warring factions within and without. They are identified by their all too public firing of Holy Anathemas at all that differ. This list just barely scratches the surface because only 10% of the mess is visible. It is the 90% that is hidden underneath that will tear our guts out. Beneath it all we see legions of major and minor present day, real and false prophets, pastors, missionaries, apostles (and super-apostles), leaders, evangelists, healers and (many self) appointed overseers from the aforementioned church trees, branches and leaves. They trace back to what is invariably proclaimed to have originated from, or have been restored to the authority of some apostle, saint, seer, or whatever, or whoever they can tie a line to, and thereby, hopefully, by the Grace of God, to Jesus Christ Himself. Down through the years, decades and centuries the succeeding generations of each have grown whichever way that they duly and thoughtfully considered convenient and self preserving, ricocheting left and right, up and down and over and yon. They mutated, adapted and changed colors and sworn allegiances as fast as survival dictated, thereby directing or redirecting the lives, the beliefs, thoughts and eternal destinations of millions of followers. I wish that were all, but we are not done yet. Stir into this toxic mix national and international interests and interference, policies, empires lost and found, conflicting political partisanships, persuasions, alliances, grudges, regional and economic disparities, social standings, command and control structures, public and private agendas, bias, shortcomings, errors and falsehoods. Taken altogether or separately they have preconditioned, predisposed, prejudiced and corrupted all too many of those that govern, lead, steer, direct and manage the poor victimized church. Now then, having caught a wee peek at the (not so) firm foundations propping up the religious structures handed down from previous generations, we might begin to get a small notion of the enormous difficulty that lies upon the shoulders of anyone that tries to make sense of all this nonsense. If we want to know the truth we must wade through this muck and mire to get our heads high enough to pinpoint where we are stuck right here, and right now. Whether we want to bury our heads or not, we are caught between the unwanted past and the future. Knowing any of this could lead us to despair and despondency if such were the final condition of the Church of Jesus Christ, but it isnt, not even close! Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it to make her Holy, cleansing her with the washing with water through the Word and to present her to Himself a glorious church, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be Holy and without blemish.” So, it seems that nearly all before us have deviated from the simplicity and all sufficiency of Jesus Christ and His Gospel. Truly all our forbearers are tainted here to some degree or another, regardless of self denials to the contrary. The grinding stones of time grind ever so fine. All are weighed and found wanting, one way or another. Like the Jews bragging to Jesus about descending from Abraham, we better think twice before we do the same. However, in spite of all this mess, through all the misadventures, failures, heresies and vice concocted, contrived and controlled by the master of delusion, God has maintained unto Himself a true healthy remnant of saved and sanctified Christians. By the Power of the Cross with the infilling of the Holy Spirit they have prospered and thrived in and through Him, despite being battered, weary and worn by storms of adversity, resistance, betrayal, and, perhaps worse of all, isolation and solitude. Praise God! Are you saved or not? Obviously if you are in any way leaning on your own understanding or those who you may think preside over you, the answer is unknown to anyone here but you. Many will counsel you otherwise, but they are mistaken, and do so at your, and their own peril. God is Emmanuel, meaning God with us. He is not some distant or abstract concept or principle that needs interrupting by mere mortals. He speaks for Himself and through His Word. One will not conflict with the other, ever. If you are one of these blessed ones that are saved, you will know it, in the same way you will also sense, through the Holy Spirit, others of like mind. Leave the others up to God. Some times we need to just mind our own business and turn our lights up. If there is enough wisdom and grace left over after putting our own house in order, perhaps He will command us to knock someone elses down, but probably not. When we keep our eyes on the prize waiting at the finish line, and run the race straight and true, there is little time and energy to gauge others. However, if you do not know where you sit with Him because you bear the condemnation and conviction of the Holy Spirit you also will equally know it. Do you want to be lifted out of your mess and washed clean, given a whole new life? Do you? Really? Are you ready to die to all you are, all you do, and all you love? Will you put everything and everyone on the line? If so, then turn to Him with all your might and beg Him for mercy and forgiveness. Turn away from sin and self, walking from wrong, abandoning the sinful works of your hands and heart. The result is between you and Him alone. Christians can, and will seek to lead you to the door, but you alone can knock, be answered to, and be bid to enter. In His Word God promised that if you do truly seek Him, you will find Him. Do it, or do it not, but dont pretend, just go through the motions, or take half measures either way. Be hot or be cold, but if you are lukewarm or tentative He will spit you out and you will be doomed. He said so. There are hundreds of millions of dead that would testify to you of that very thing, if they could. Warning: Accept no reassurances of forgiveness and salvation from other than God Himself. There has been far too much heretical nonsense of divinely sanctified sin instead of sinners being saved from their sin. That particular distortion is what got the church into trouble in the first place. How will you know if God forgives you and gives you a new birth? You will know it the same way everyone else knows who has ever heard Him. God Almighty speaks for Himself, by Himself through the awesome power of the Holy Spirit. Go ahead, trust God, for He is merciful, otherwise none of us would be saved! If you will, He will. So, Brothers and Sisters, lets crawl out of this miserable pit of history and enjoy our own freedom and liberty in Christ. Putting aside all that weighs us down, lets fall on our knees every morning, noon and night, praising God for the power to live conquering lives for Him. Because He lives, we can face tomorrow. Because He lives all fear is gone. Because we know He holds the future and life is worth the living, just because He lives. You asked: Why are so many high profile, publicly known and influential Christians living lives in direct conflict with, and in open defiance of the dictates of even the lowest acceptable standards of Christianity? Short answer: Let the dead bury the dead. Never mind them. You, Jesus said, Follow Me. In Him, Stephen Wilcox WE SEE THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 06:42:50 +0000
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