New Thoughts (4/28/02-4/29/02)
Our character should be such as will command the respect of all men. There is the summary of this whole exhortation on what it is to be a Christian. I wrote before of the presence of the absolute right, and of mankind's inability to deny that absolute right no matter how hard they have tried. It is because of this absolute right that the Christian life, if truly lived, will command respect. It is precisely because men still have some understanding of the absolute right, and that what most Christians are living out is not that, that so many hold Christianity in such low esteem. Here was the last, greatest hope for man, and in the sight of men, it has been found wanting.
We can argue that mankind is not in the seat of the judge, but rather in the place of judgment, but that skirts the issue. We, too, will stand in the place of judgment. Whether or not we will know the wrath of God in that place, I suspect we can be certain that we will know His disappointment in us as His representatives. Inasmuch as we fail to follow the course He has laid out for us, we fail Him.
Consider the instructions we are given here. First is the call to be united in opinions. What!? We can't even manage this within a single church, never mind a denomination, and when it comes to the Church universal, well, you can just forget it! Can you remember what this spoke to you about the truth of the Gospel before you were a believer? How can there be an absolute truth, when the self-proclaimed proponents of that truth can't agree on what it is? Do you begin to see the importance of holding to a united viewpoint?
I am quite as guilty as the next on this account. In point of fact, I consider this a rather timely reminder. I should qualify myself, however. This is not a call to blind acceptance. No, the word of Scripture remains clear on the fact that we ought to test what we are hearing against Scripture. This is part of our job as believers, and we dare not be sluggardly about it. But, there is a point where gainsaying is happening for the sheer pride of being right. It's no longer about what Scripture really says, it's about what we really think it should say.
We are told not to compromise with the world, seeking its approval as our protection. This, we may be managing fairly well. However, our compromise with the world has taken on another form, an older form. We don't compromise with the world directly anymore. We simply allow the compromise into the church itself. We have allowed ourselves to become like the world in our approach to God. Oh, may we awake and sense our peril! The issue of unity is but one sign of this compromise. We no longer look to God to define what is true. We no longer assume there is only one Truth. No, we come to Scripture having already decided what truth is, and seek out such texts as will support our position.
This really isn't anything new. Looking at some of the defenses in the commentaries has turned up an amazing ability to bend the meaning of things to fit what has already been decided. In our time, I suppose the greatest debate is probably that over the absence or continued presence of the charismatic gifts. From what I can see, both sides are willing to make rather extreme interpretations of the Scriptural record to defend their viewpoint. It's a sad thing. Where we really ought to be combining our efforts to promote the Truth of God, to bring light into the darkness, we're too busy slapping each other around, claiming that our truth is the Truth, and not yours.
This has been the church's answer to the issues dividing itself, to battle all the more, to get entrenched in our positions, and refuse to hear anything more about it, unless it agrees with us. But what does God say? Jesus Himself tells us that our peace with each other is that salt without which we become useless (Mk 9:50). Paul tells us in this very passage that we are never to repay evil with evil. In part, that is because our perception of evil is pretty poor. We see every offense against us as evil, when a fair portion of what offends us is merely corrective, and good. Refraining from this tit for tat mentality takes practice. Like any other fine art, it requires discipline and diligence, if we are to avoid making mistakes, and displaying our old flesh, rather than our renewed spirit.
Never repay evil for evil. Never sink to the low of giving as badly as you receive. Bless your enemies, and curse not. Seek their good. That is the way of Christ. That is the path we have been told to walk. When there is a disagreement in the body, what is the way to restore unity and peace? It will very rarely be found in confrontation. It will never be found in back-biting, gossiping, and complaining. No, and you will not find it in prayers of revenge. "Get 'im, God" won't work, because God has already told you not to play that game. Don't pray for revenge, pray for resolution, for answers. Pray that God would correct whichever party is in the wrong. Don't you dare assume that you must be right. Think not more highly of yourself than you ought!
We are called to be peaceable. We are called to work for peace, to do our utmost to promote and preserve peace not just with each other, not just in the body, but with all men. No matter how impossible the odds, no matter if peace is indeed an utter impossibility. We are still to work for peace with all that is within us. Yet there is a boundary set for us. We are never to seek peace at the cost of purity. Matthew Henry tells us that peace without purity is a devil's peace, and so it is. This is peace, as the world sees it, peace at any cost. Who cares about right, so long as we can stop the wars?
We may not compromise our sanctity in the name of peace. We may not sacrifice our God in the name of peace. This is precluded. Herein is the boundary for the unity of the body, as well. We are not called to remain united with those who would pollute the pure worship of God. We are not called to remain united with those who teach a different gospel. Indeed, we are told to flee them, and so we should. Such are no longer of the body, never were truly of the body, but are merely idol worshipers. We cannot be of one mind with them in whom there is no truth.
Notice that when James describes heavenly wisdom (Jas 3:17), he is careful to take note that the primary characteristic of that wisdom is its purity. Everything else is secondary. Yes, that wisdom is peaceable. Yes, it is merciful. Certainly, it is gentle, steadfast, and free of all hypocrisy. But all of this is secondary.
In preparing for home group this week, I was looking back at the notes I was making a few years ago regarding the Law, as part of this study. In those notes, I was commenting on how often it seems we find ourselves outshone by non-believers. Their good deeds stand out, where we seem to be failing entirely. In part, I think this issue remains very real for us, and ought to be a goad, urging us onward to do as we ought. But underlying the best efforts of the unbeliever, there remains a foundational blemish. There is no purity. And, just as all the charismatic gifts, all the spiritual gifts are as nothing without love as a foundation, all the works of man are less than nothing without purity as a foundation. That purity can only be found in the faith that God has graciously given to us through Christ. It cannot be worked into. It cannot be bought. It can only come as God chooses.
Purify us, oh God, that we may indeed walk in the ways of peace. Purify us, oh God, that our disunity will no longer disrupt our witness to Your truth. Purify us, oh God, that we may walk in Your ways, though we stumble; that we may seek Your good upon every man; that we might pray as we ought, live as we ought, speak as we ought. It is only by Your grace that we are who we are, and it is only by Your grace that we can become who we are supposed to be. Work in us, Holy Spirit, renew this old mind once more today.
