PART THREE OF MESSAGE
WOULD JESUS BE WELCOME IN YOUR CHURCH TODAY--- PART THREEJuly 1, 8:17 a.m.
If you are new to this post you will need to read parts one and two in order to be up to speed. I am attempting a five point (and perhaps many parts) message and am trying to expose a few "sacred cows" that are prevalent in modern churches today. When I begin today's excerpt it will be my second point in my message.
When I use the term modern church, please do not let your mind immediately jump to an apostate church: though that is possible, many of the sacred cows I am trying to expose can also be found in good fundamental, and soul-winning churches. I also want you to know that I am using a literal and verbatim definition of the term "sacred cow" as I am trying to bring to light many teachings and thoughts practiced in churches today which have nothing to do with sound Bible doctrine; in fact, some practices in churches today are more than merely extra-Biblical... some are anti-Biblical... and there is a difference between the two statements. Extra-Biblical doctrine does not necessarily mean that it is wrong, it might just be superfluous: however, anti-Biblical doctrine and tradition are always wrong!
A dictionary definition of "sacred cow" is: "A person or thing immune to criticism or questioning." An example of that is to simply read my first point that I have made about Dave Ramsey and the fact that at least one-point that he continually harps on is not merely extra-Biblical... but quite clearly anti-Biblical. Yet, try to convince a casual reader of the Bible that he is wrong in that area and you will have a difficult task.
My second point will be along those same lines. That is a casual reader of the Bible... and at first blush will believe I am clearly wrong on this point also. Again though, all that I ask is for a student of the Bible, or a neophyte to compare what is stated in churches today to what the Bible teaches on the subject and then determine who is correct.
I also want to say that I make no apologies for what the Bible has to say, nor for the fact that I believe what it has to say. By the grace of God, I will always, and forever- more, accept what the Bible teaches over what any man or institution believes, regardless of tradition, dogma, or anything else that is used today and has in its practice and approach a form of rebellion toward God.
I am not a person who would ever want anyone who hears or reads what I have to say to believe it simply because something might sound okay or true. I earnestly pray that if you hold a different view to something I say that (as a believer) you do the only honest thing any true believer could do; search the Scriptures and find verses (in context) that either supports or disavows the points I am making.
Then, after reading and praying there are really only two things you could do. If I am wrong in what I have said you could approach me with Bible in hand and show me whatever teaching you have found that proves I am wrong. And believe me, from the bottom of my heart I can say that would be much appreciated. "Iron sharpeneth iron" and I have no pride that keeps me from being corrected. I ceratinly do not want to teach error.
The other thing that you could also do, and it is along those same lines is if (in fact) after reading the Word of God you can find no basis for your present practices that you would have the courage to abandon them. In other words... I hope that you would be as ready to be corrected as I am if either of us are found to hold false beliefs.
I do need to make crystal-clear only one condition to my being instructed, and I hope you have the same condition as well. I am not at all interested in church tradition as a reason that something is being done. Just because your father before you has practiced something does not make it right.
Sometimes things are done in churches or even in family's and the only reason it is still being done is that the people alive today only has the memory that they have done it all of their lives. And if you were to ask them why it is practiced, or who began that particular practice... they could not tell you if there very lives depended upon it.
I am going to tell you a story that might help you to understand about passing on a "tradition" or practice that has no merit to it: yet, it is done simply because as far back as anyone can remember it has always been done that way.
A young woman was preparing a ham for baking and as was her usual practice she took out a long sharp knife and sliced several inches off of the ham before placing it in her baking dish. For the very first time she paused to consider her action. Why did she does do that? Then she realized it was because she had always seen her own mother do it. Laying aside her baking dish she picked up the phone and called her mother. "Mom, I am baking a ham for dinner and I wanted to ask you something. As a young girl I always saw you cutting the end of the ham off before you placed it in the dish. Why did you do that?"
Her mother thought for a minute before she said, "You know honey... I'm not really sure, it is just that I always saw my own mother do it." She hung up the phone with her daughter and called her own mother and repeated the conversation she had just had. Now the grandmother was intrigued: because like daughter and granddaughter she also never knew why the end was cut off of the ham before it was placed in a dish for baking. She only knew that her own mother had always done it. She hung up the phone and called her ninety-year-old mother. She related in detail the series of phone calls that led her to call and try to find the answer to the riddle of why all of the women in the family cut the end off of their hams before placing them in baking dishes for the oven.
The great-grandmother began to softly giggle, before erupting into laughter: finally, after the laughter subsided she explained this mystery to her own daughter. "Honey," she said. "Early on your father and I were very poor and I only had one baking dish and it was quite small. The hams were always larger than the dish and I had to cut the ends off. else they wouldn't fit into the dish."
The story I have just told you is both true and innocent. No harm was caused by three generations of people cutting off the ends of their hams for no good reason... other than they had seen someone before them doing the same thing. And to be honest, there are many practices being done in churches today and for the very same reason: they have seen someone before them do it and it seems like the right thing to do. However, some practices being done in churches today are not as innocent as the story I just related. In point of fact some actually injure and inhibit the furtherance of the Gospel. It is those types of practices that I am wanting to expose.
Before doing that though I need to tell you why it takes a long time for me attending a local body of believers before I ever submit to the church for acceptance as a member. It has to do with the title I gave to this message I am typing: WOULD JESUS BE WELCOME IN YOUR CHURCH TODAY? You see, I do my best to try and make sure that if Jesus or His disciples walked the Earth today and stopped in for a visit at a local "church" would He (or they) be permitted to walk to the dais and preach?
You might think that it would be a no-brainer and of course any of them would be welcome. Would they? Before I type today's point I want you to carefully consider a true picture of the Christ of the Bible and His followers. If need be, go to the Bible and read a description (for example) of John the Baptist. Read his words, see how he dressed, even what he ate. Now ask yourself this question. Even in a church which is named after a practice he instituted, by dogma, bylaws, or merely manmade tradition would John be prohibited from preaching in your church's pulpit?
Including our present church, my wife and I have been members of four local bodies of believers. Other than the first one (1981) where we were saved and baptized after conversion, it has taken me from months to years attending a local group before I ever joined. (And we have attended several churches in the interim where I would never have joined) In fact, the last two groups both thought because we had been attending for so long that we were already members, and both churches already had our pictures included in their church's directory before we had ever joined.
But I had to be ceratin in my heart that Christ and those who followed Him closest would be embraced by a local body of New Testament believers and they would be welcome to lead the service and speak from the Word of God.
My decison to join the church where we are now members came after more than two years of hearing sound doctrine preached and having good fellowship with the assembly... yet, one thing lacked. Then one evening a friend led the service from the platform. To be fair and accurate it was not exactly a preaching service. Yet, he sang songs he had written, played his musical instrument and quoted Bible verses he had incorporated to go along with his "message." After seeing that I felt confident that there would be no problem for Paul, Matthew, Peter or the rest of them being able to lead the service of New Testament believers from that house of prayer.
I can already confidently say that I will not be able to begin my next point today: I hope you are not disappointed. I have been typing for more than an hour already and I just thought of another example I want to use before continuing my message... and even that will have to wait until the next time. It has to do with a man I greatly loved and admired: Dr. Jack Hyles. I hopefully will write more soon.
posted by Robin Johnson @ 8:17 AM
<< Home