Recently I read through 2 Corinthians 1-4. While all of it is good stuff from Paul about experiencing our pains and sorrows together as believers, the glory of Christ above all other things, and our weakness apart from Christ, the verses that made me think the most were 2 Corinthians 4:1-2 (ESV)…
Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or TAMPER WITH GOD’S WORD, but by the open statement of truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
I’m just going to go ahead and warn you that I’m going into soapbox mode because these verses speak about something I’ve thought about a lot lately and really gets my goat. It’s the idea of tampering with God’s word (KJV says handling the word of God deceitfully; also saw a translation that called it perversion of God’s word). I think it’s accurate to say that the ideals of today’s society largely clash with the biblical commandments that we as believers have been called to live by. Society tells us that there is no absolute truth, that whatever makes you feel good is okay. The Bible very clearly tells us that this is completely wrong, that there is only one God and that the only way to bridge the gap to him created by our sinful nature is through belief in Jesus Christ as the Savior of this world. While sad and often frustrating, I don’t think the friction between the beliefs of society and the commandments of God should be of any surprise to us. We are a fallen people – defiance of God is our default setting. Even though something like 85% of Americans claim to be Christian, I’m pretty sure that a significantly smaller portion of that percentage have truly given up their lives to follow Christ. While only God will be the judge in the end, I think the unfortunate truth is that a large portion, maybe even the majority, of those claiming to be Christian fall into the lukewarm category, which Christ states very clearly will be spat out when the final judgment comes (Revelation 3:16). And finally getting to the part that really irks me about the whole thing is that the Church (at least the American one…I have very little experience with Christianity in other nations) is chiefly responsible for this prevalence of the lukewarm. Many churches and individuals are so afraid of making waves, of losing members, of the fear that revealing the true nature of God to someone will offend them, that they twist the words of the Bible until they have removed their truth and made them say what is more in line with the ideals of society. There are even “Christian” denominations that denounce the doctrine of biblical inerrancy and the idea that Christ is the only source of salvation. Instead of conforming our lives to Christ, we attempt to conform Christ to us. By doing so, we have given many individuals a false sense of security in a salvation that they may not truly have. I’m going to single out homosexuality as an example here because of something significant that has recently occurred, but this is not to pronounce homosexuality any different from any of the other ways by which we have twisted God’s word. Within the past month or so, the governing body of one of the divisions of the denomination that I grew up a member of passed a measure that will allow practicing homosexuals to be ordained as ministers and officers of the church. First off, I am not at all against homosexuals being in the church. I believe that homosexuality is a legitimate struggle for an individual, just as anger or an addiction to pornography is a legitimate struggle. However, it is a struggle/temptation, which God has assured us can be overcome if we give it up to him and repent. The issue with homosexuality is that I would suspect most of the individuals who practice it do not see it as a struggle. It is viewed as simply the way they have been wired and because of that it must be okay with God. I do not refute that a tendency towards homosexuality probably has a biological component. I come from a family whose males are known for having some fiery tempers. Until very recently, I regularly lost my cool and lashed out in anger at those around me. It doesn’t take a tremendous amount of reading in the Bible to see that anger is a sin and dishonors our profession of Christ as our Savior. I finally handed it over to God and literally pleaded with him to take it away from me. While I believe he is being faithful to my plea, my tendency towards anger is a piece of who I am and a struggle that I will always deal with. When a believer has the mindset that homosexuality is their lifestyle and is okay with God, rather than something that they struggle with, it becomes an unrepentant sin. I would say that the reason for the prevalence of this mindset within the Church, in both those who are homosexual and those who are heterosexual, gets back to the idea of distoring God’s word. If you look up homosexuality in the New Testament on Google, you’ll find many Christian individuals that state that homosexuality is not denounced in the New Testament, when in fact it is in at least three passages that I know of (Romans 1, 2 Corinthians 8, 1 Timothy 1). I once read an article written by a minister that said that homosexuality was not truly dishonorable to God because it is only condemned once in the New Testament (again…not true). I don’t know about you, but when God asks me to give an account for my sin, I’m not going to ask him to excuse one because he only said not to do it once. Personally, once is more than enough for the Creator of the Universe to tell me something is sinful for me to accept it. My own parents don’t even buy that excuse. I’m off track a little though. So this division of the denomination is now allowing individuals who practice something that God has clearly condemned without feeling any need for repentance and changing of their ways in order to become a clearer reflection of Christ to be the leaders of the church and the examples to which its members look to. In light of eternity, this is about as dangerous of a message to be sending a congregation as any. And here’s the thing – it is my belief that this particular division of the denomination as a whole will increase its membership due to this measure. Sure they will lose some of the “conservatives” who place the commandments of God above all else, but they have just made the church more in line with the values of society. Church growth is a good thing – but at the cost of ignoring God’s truth? The Bible says that there is one way and one truth. The message of the Bible is always going to be offensive to those still rooted in the ways of this world. The Bible does not say that we can ignore parts of it, sugarcoat, or flat out change its meaning in order to be less offensive to the world. If we do so we are not presenting the true character of God. We essentially present a false god to someone. They come to believe in a false salvation. And while we can never be the ones to ultimately condemn someone (only God will judge us and decide our ultimate fate), we are doing our part to push the scale in that direction. To me there is no greater sin. This is something I struggle with everyday. I’m scared to face the rejection or ridicule that I may receive from my co-workers/friends if I were to share the Gospel with them. I know there are times when I have found myself bending the truths of God so that I do not get harassed by others for my seeming foolishness for believing them. So the application I get out of this verse is to not be ashamed of the Gospel, just as Paul tells us in Romans 1. We are called to present God’s truth, and that’s it. If someone rejects that truth after you have presented it to them in a loving and accurate manner, then your hands are clean of the fate of eternal separation from God that may be in their future. If you twist God’s character in order to satisfy the idea of God that they are looking for, then I’m not so sure your hands are clean. God wants true believers that accept him as the dictator of what is right and wrong, not massive numbers of lukewarm Christians believing in whatever idea of God that pleases them. One of my favorite songs is called “What This World Needs” by Casting Crowns. If you’ve never heard it, definitely listen to it. The whole album is good actually. Here are the lyrics…
What this world needs is not another one hit wonder with an axe to grind
Another two bit politician peddling lies
Another three ring circus society
What this world needs is not another sign waving super saint that’s better than you
Another ear pleasing candy man afraid of the truth
Another prophet in an Armani suit
What this world needs is a Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love them in their time of need
A Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love
That’s what this world needs
What this world needs is for us to care more about the inside than the outside
Have we become so blind that we can’t see
God’s gotta change her heart before he changes her shirt
What this world needs is for us to stop hiding behind our relevance
Blending in so well that people can’t see the difference
And it’s the difference that sets the world free
Jesus is our Savior, that’s what this world needs
Father’s arms around you, that’s what this world needs
That’s what this world needs
Don’t be the “ear pleasing candy man afraid of the truth”. Don’t hide behind the relevance that society pushes so much. To do so is only to hinder the advance of the Gospel. It is only by complete submission to Christ that we are saved, and that’s what the world needs to hear. Like I said, I’m not excusing myself. I’ve contributed to it in the past for sure, and probably still do…if only by my usual silence about my beliefs when I’m surrounded by unbelievers. As believers we should be questioning and challenging each other’s boldness to share the greatest story ever told, no matter the ridicule we may face.
And on a bit of a footnote, 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (ESV) says…
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of a Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance of life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
Every time I read that I am the “aroma of Christ” to the world around me, I wonder what I smell like. Am I truly a pleasant fragrance as an imitator of Christ or do I smell more like the sewage plant I always drove by growing up because of my sin. Just a thought.