Who's Right?

We in church circles have probably heard the following story and self-righteously snickered:  “A man went to heaven and Saint Peter was giving him the initial tour.  ‘Over there we have the Baptists and there the Methodists.  Across the way we have the Lutherans.  But now you must be quiet because coming up on the right are the ______ (you may fill in the blank) because they think they’re the only ones here!’”

This joke is both funny and sad because there are people in various Christian circles who really believe they’re the only ones going to heaven.  Perhaps you know some!

Let me ask you something.  Can you believe something that’s not entirely accurate and still go to heaven?  As a young Christ follower I would have said, “Absolutely not!”  Now, after following Jesus for almost 50 years, I realize that I have spent those years exchanging perceived truth for God’s truth.  I have in fact embraced partial truth for God’s truth.  And that’s what we call “growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

As a hospice chaplain I meet all kinds of people and I encounter all kinds of belief systems.  Some of what I hear greatly repels me and I adamantly try to line up perceived truth to God’s Word.  If the two conflict, I throw the falsehood away!  However, I’ve come to understand that none of us have all the answers and we all “see through a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Therefore, many (including me) will one day go to heaven perhaps believing some things that aren’t completely true or that do not entirely line up with God’s Word.  For example, many will go to heaven with a statue of Mary in their front yard.  Some will go to heaven with cigarette breath.  Some will go to heaven believing they had to speak in tongues to get there.  Others will arrive having exchanged Trinity teaching for “Oneness Theology.”  Still, others believe you have to be baptized in water to make heaven your eventual home. There remains no shortage of aberrant teaching and/or wrong thinking.

HOWEVER, no one will get there without Jesus Christ!  This understanding is non-negotiable.  I talk with many wonderful people who believe doctrines I disdain, but who underneath it all have fallen in love with Jesus, recognized Him to be the only begotten Son of God, who have placed their faith and trust in Him for the forgiveness of their sin and who trust Him for their salvation.

I know that many will disagree, but I think we all agree that Jesus is God’s spotless Lamb, whose shed blood enables us to experience personal salvation. According to Ephesians 1:7 we have “forgiveness through the blood.”  All of us, I suppose, believe things that probably aren’t “God’s truth,” but if we leave earth with Christ in our heart and His love in our soul, we will make heaven our home.

As a minister of the gospel, I have to leave the “non-essential stuff” up to the Lord.  Dogmatic and harsh approaches toward people who don’t believe like we do only tend to drive wedges and spawn judgmental attitudes. 

So, who’s right?  This remains a loaded question.  But let me tell you one thing:  Christ followers who lack wisdom, who glory in making their position known at the expense of church division and who exhibit little or no love – only mean-spirited approaches – and who become self-righteous in their approach to others ONLY HINDER THE FURTHERANCE OF THE GOSPEL.  Always be part of the solution, and let God handle the many idiosyncrasies we discover in day to day living.

Two Women

In Philippians 4:2-3 Paul very succinctly deals with an apparent squabble between two women in the church: 

“I plead with Euodia and I plead with Synteche to be of the same mind in the Lord.  Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help those women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are in this book of life.”

Evidently, the fallout between these two women was serious enough for Paul to address in the manner he did.  The apostle knew that such dissension could bring church division.  Unfortunately, as sick as it may sound, some thrive on drama.  Their lives are drama-driven!

Details are sketchy but we do know that both women were leaders in the church at Philippi.  He further recognized that both women needed a third party to help them move past their disagreement.  They needed an arbitrator.  Yes, saved people at times refuse to die to self when engaged in relationship battles.

I read this brief passage and I think back to times of church division in my pastoral ministry.  Unfortunately, some pastors believe the solution rests solely on prayer and that’s a good starting place.  Many times, however, such contentions need to be confronted firmly and with tough love.  When disagreements escalate beyond resolution, church leaders must take corrective action.  Such was the case with Euodia and Synteche.

At Hope Community Church I keep my ears to the ground when it comes to church conflict.  The enemy (Satan) wants nothing more than to divide the work of God.  He has a bag of tricks. One includes individuals becoming offended or at odds with one another.  Following are precautionary issues that I look for when two or more individuals experience relationship fallout.

Please note:  Men too, experience interpersonal conflicts.

1.  Obviously, whatever their bone of contention, Euodia and Synteche were causing church-wide unrest.  Two people in conflict may subsequently try to make their problem a church issue.  This I guard against tenaciously.  They talk to others in the church to build a case in their defense.  In Proverbs 6:19 the author relates one of seven things that God hates is “one who sows discord among the brothers.”  This is not about taking sides; it’s about two people owning up to their own sins, and relationship failures.

2.   Paul knew that Euodia and Synteche, because of their widespread influence, might look for others to join them in their “cause.”  Nothing good ever comes from taking up the offenses of others.  Did you know that all of us carry influence?  And did you know that we use our influence to either hurt or bless the cause of unity?  Don’t pick up offenses!  Instead, pray for restitution among the quarreling parties.  And whatever you do, please be careful not to add fuel to the fires of contention.  Be a peacemaker not a troublemaker!

3.  We say that Hope Community is a “No Drama Church.”  In other words, we ask people to not make their private issues public.  Of course, we want to pray for the needs of people, but we insist that personal issues be taken to the Lord in prayer on a confidential basis.  The church lobby, small group, or social media is not the place to perpetuate drama.  Some individuals talk too much and tell too much. Daily drama sucks the life out of people and gives the enemy constant access into their situations.  I personally despise it when believers use Facebook to air their dirty laundry. Such posting brings reproach on the gospel.  Don’t give the devil opportunity to implode your drama.  Are you a “Drama Queen or King?”  Then abdicate your throne today!

4.  Euodias and Synteche were leaders in the local church.  Paul knew that leaders often disqualify themselves from effective ministry when they engage in church division, on-going drama or taking up others’ offenses. That’s why he tells them to “be of the same mind in the Lord.”  Leaders and people in general often forget that negative perception can disqualify them from future ministry opportunities.  Are you a leader?  Ask yourself, “How am I perceived by others?”

5.  Something in human nature rallies us to immediately take sides when others experience fallout.  This is dangerous.  Always remember:  there’s one side, the other side and then the right side.  Individuals who determine to get involved in the offenses of others always seem to search for weak links in the church – immature, emotionally broken people – to perpetuate their offenses.  We at Hope Community keep our eyes peeled for such shenanigans. This is what we refer to as “dirty pool.”

6.   Finally, all of us are subject to relationship fallout.  Paul’s direct appeal to Euodias and Synteche suggests that we are never beyond correction when emotions and actions escalate.  We must at all costs protect the integrity of the gospel. Damage control always becomes necessary when believers refuse to righteously resolve their issues.  At Hope we watch and pray against such goings-on and are determined to confront anything that hurts the forward momentum God has given us.  

Grace is a Teacher

It goes without saying that the entire Bible is wonderful.  Not all 66 letters are easy to understand but it remains on the “best-selling list” and when faith is applied in the heart of the reader, it still transforms lives. Other books inform, but only God’s book, the Bible, transforms!

In recent years, I have been intrigued by one verse that God is using to rearrange my thinking. This pivotal verse has helped me glean a broader understanding of God’s grace.

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.  It teaches us to say, ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope –the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ…” (Titus 2:11-13).    

You have to understand, I spent many years of my Christian life trying to weave law-based information into grace teaching; and let me tell you, it doesn’t work.  It’s like mixing oil and water.  Both are important, but they have to be understood in the context of their unique chemistry. 

The Apostle John segregates the two by writing, “The Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 2:17).  The Apostle Paul adds to this truth by reminding us, ”Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed.  So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.  Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian” (Galatians 3:23-25). 

The King James Version uses the word “schoolmaster” in place of “guardian.” The Law served as the schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.   In other words, both law and grace carry significance and both were necessary to our full understanding of the gospel.  But we can’t walk under law in some areas of life and then under grace in others areas and expect to experience the “abundant life!”

We were taught in Bible school:  “The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed; and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed!”  In other words, to have a complete understanding of the Cross of Jesus, we have to understand unique teachings of the Old Testament, as they reveal types and shadows of what was to come in Christ.

Law-based lifestyles run contrary to healthy relationships.  Let me give you an example from personal experience.  I was taught as a boy to take my hat off in public buildings or when I walked into a room occupied by adults.  This, in essence, was a “law.”  To not take off one’s hat in a public building was considered disrespectful.

Many builders (those born between 1924-44) and baby boomers (those born between 1944-64) had this rule pounded in their heads.  Some years ago, when pastoring another church, I saw this “law” literally cause a newcomer to leave the building in anger.  The understood rule (not mine) was “no hats on men while in church.”  A teenage guy came into the church lobby and did not remove his hat. 

A crotchety older gentleman approached him and asked him to remove it.  When the young man refused, the older gentleman became irate, took the boy by the arm and escorted him out of the building.  I could not believe what I saw and heard.

“You will not disrespect this church,” the man yelled.  Naturally, the boy left, never to return.  I can only hope and pray that this law-based offense did not drive him away from the Lord. 

I angrily said to the old man, “I hope you understand the terrible offense you just caused, and I hope you’re ready to stand before the Lord with a ready answer for your stupid attitude.”  I have no patience for confessing Christians who use their personal preferences and opinions (skewed, law-based mindsets) to hurt others.

Do you understand what happened?  A man-made rule overrode grace.  Who cares if someone does not remove his hat in church (or wherever)?  That boy should have felt love, honor and respect, not retribution.  Instead, he was made to feel guilt and shame.  I’m still bothered by the events of that morning.  And this remains a perfect example of how the “law kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

May we never hurt others and subsequently justify our words and actions by using the Bible or our personal convictions to inflict pain and cause separation from the grace of God.  May we allow His grace to teach us how to live godly.  Legislated righteousness produces anger and offends people.  Grace is a teacher and takes us from where we are to where Jesus wants us to be.  It’s God’s grace that has appeared through Jesus Christ and brought us salvation.  Have you placed your faith in His saving grace!