Friday, February 1, 2013

Proof of Spirituality

Who's the best Christian? The guy with the biggest church? The one who wins the most souls to Christ? The one who reads the most Bible? The one who holds important leadership positions?

Jesus said "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another." Christians who constantly war against other saints are not Jesus' disciples. Christians who feel called to expose the sins of groups they disagree with are not disciples. Christians who slander their way to leadership positions are not disciples.

But don't we need to do certain things in order to please God? When you don't love the brethren, any blessing God gives you looks like an attack on your Christian enemies. Any failure you have is a comfort to your Christian enemies.

Also, it is hard to submit to the authority, or to help the ministry, of a Christian enemy. By fighting, you cut off many areas of service where God could use you. That's why God tells us "Above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves."

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

THE FIRST GREAT PRINCIPLE OF FAILURE

John 15:12  This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
1 Peter 4:8 commands us "Above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves."

More important than soul-winning, more important than numbers, more important than doctrine, more important than which translation we read, we are to have fervent charity among ourselves. Why is this so important? Christians do not grasp how and why their failures in serving God are related to not loving the brethren. They place themselves in situations in which any success God gives them is an attack on other saints, while any failures they have are an encouragement to the brethren they've attacked. It is a common Christian error that if they succeed, God is "on their side," when God is actually on the side of every Christian.

Here in Mexico, I have seen Christians, including missionaries, attack other saints with no provocation, and then they wonder why God doesn't bless them. They believe that they are right in their attacks, when God tells us that fervent charity among ourselves is more important than attacking others. I'll be spending some time on this important doctrine, that fervent charity among ourselves is the most important thing we are to practice.