by Sam Bridges (VociferousSam)
The modern church...the body of Christ...appears to be in a terrible state. That
should be news to no one, even those who have no affiliation with any component
of the church whatsoever. And perhaps I should clarify and qualify my initial
statement. The body of Christ is fine, even as it grows and matures. There are
some within its ranks, though, that are well-meaning and have good intentions
but are nonetheless misguided in their application of Scripture. This situation
is distressing and can be dangerous if not corrected. However, there are many
who masquerade as being part of the body of Christ while truly having no part
in Him. This is perilous. This is heresy. This is an instrument of the enemies
of the body of Christ against that body. This is one of the worst ways people
can take the Lords name in vain, claiming to be joined with Him and to
represent Him, all the while bringing dishonor to Him and His name and bringing
judgment on themselves.
A recent example of the former (i.e., those who are misguided) occurred last
week, when leaders of five mainline Protestant denominations (Episcopal Church
USA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA), United
Church of Christ, and United Methodist Church) issued a joint statement in
which they called President Bush’s new federal budget "unjust." Using the
Biblical story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31) as their basis, the
leaders stated that "in telling this story, Jesus makes clear that perpetrating
economic injustice is among the gravest of sins."
Its hard to argue against their point. They correctly interpreted the Lords
intent in telling this story in the first place. And there is certainly a
strong and consistent Scriptural basis for caring for the poor and those in
need. Its one of our key mandates related to social justice. However, this
mandate is directed to and given to individual followers of Christ and His
church...not the federal government. This is nothing less than a case of
blurring a clear Biblical concept and mandate with liberal, non-Constitutional
politics and partisanship.
Instead of insisting as these leaders have that President Bush has committed
the gravest of sins, I have a novel idea to propose. President Bush and
Congress should remove from the budget all federal programs that go beyond or
are contrary to the Constitution. Then churches and their congregants can have
vastly more resources to minister and serve as the Lord instructed them to do.
Sin handled. Obedience established. Federalism restored. Case closed.
A little later in the week, I was enjoying Ann Coulters column entitled, Come
Back, Liberals! in which she explains how she had been attacked on MSNBC and
CNN, in the Detroit Free-Press and on every known liberal blog and radio show
for a column she had written two weeks prior. Wanting to see if I could find
some of this chatter, I visited a blog that is quite popular and quite liberal.
Before I could even spend much time looking for references to Ms. Coulters
brilliance, I was struck by an advertisement on the blog for the United Church
of Christ (UCC). I was foolishly surprised to see it there, but my interest was
piqued. Clicking on the ad and visiting the UCC website, I was reminded how
foolish my initial surprise truly was. Here was a classic example of the latter
church situation mentioned earlier (i.e., those who are masquerading).
The UCC is a case of a church or denomination making a gross error in doctrine,
interpretation, and theology for the cause of political correctness of
inclusion and acceptance of anything and everything at all costs.
Ill break it down. God created. All people have sinned and continue to sin. God
loves all His creation. But sin separates all people from God with no hope of
reconciliation or restoration. God provided the only way by which people can be
saved and have a relationship with Him. God accepts those who repent and turn
from their sin, relying wholly on the sacrificial death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ and on that alone.
God does not accept our sin; He does not accept us in our sin. God wants to
include and accept us out of His love and concern for us as His creatures.
However, He will not include or accept us until we repent and turn away from
our sin. God will not and cannot act in a way that is contrary to His character
or His Word in Scripture.
God does not accept the adulterer; He accepts the repentant adulterer. God does
not accept the practicing homosexual; He accepts the repentant homosexual. God
does not accept the murderer; He accepts the repentant murderer. God does not
accept the proud; He accepts the repentant proud. God does not accept the
rapist; He accepts the repentant rapist.
Any church that claims to include and accept those who have not yet repented of
their sin shame the name of Christ and invite judgment for attempting to fuse
unrepentant, sinful flesh into the body of Christ.
The true church...the Biblical body of Christ...in all its denominational
components...will survive the completion of history. But the different
denominations and individuals comprising the modern church must continuously
and candidly assess themselves to determine if they are truly honoring and
serving God with every action and every statement, or if they have exchanged
the worship of the Lord and their possible relationship with Him for a shameful
facsimile created by mankind to please mankind.
-------------
bio:
Sam Bridges is the founder and chief editor of VociferousSam.com, a website
dedicated to providing insightful commentary on today’s world and culture from
a God-centered worldview and Biblical perspective. He is happily married to a
beautiful Christian woman and is the father of five magnificent children. He
is a deacon, Sunday School teacher, and webmaster at his church.
In addition to the VociferousSam.com website, Sam is a regular columnist for
RenewAmerica.us. His commentaries have also been published on BushCountry.org,
and OpinionEditorials.com. For more information and commentary, visit
http://www.VociferousSam.com.
