There is actually a doctrine that if you disobey God's commands to get right with a Christian you have wronged, God will eventually accept your sin. Which brings up the question: "How many years do you have to disobey God's commands to get things right, before God will accept your sin?"
My college vice-president was a former Green Beret (FGB) who was forced out of the college for supporting and protecting violent gangs among the student body. He had a strong policy of never gong back to someone he had wronged to make things right, explaining that his wrongs were "water under the bridge." He then built a successful church that included a successful school.
And then one day, Al Gore invented the internet. The FGB found himself the topic of a Christian hate site dedicated to his misdeeds. A couple dozen of his victims wrote in, and his church members began following the hate site, causing problems in his church. His defenders pointed out that he was winning more souls to Christ than his critics, and then a tech-savvy critic found out that all of his supporters were paid staff members of his church.
Believe it or not, I am actually on good terms with the FGB. I urged him to post an apology and admission of guilt, but he never answered me.
The best friend of a gang member who had been expelled began writing a series, claiming that the violent gang stories were false. After a few years, someone pointed out the solid track record of lying and church abuse that the defender had, using the abuser's real name.
Thirty-eight years later, the FGB's wrongs against the saints are still coming up.
Monday, February 4, 2013
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."
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
PRINCIPLES OF FAILURE Part 4
John 14:21, Jesus said
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.
Folks, I'm on part 4, and I still can't get out of the introduction. How does Jesus manifest Himself to an obedient Christian? He might do it by "speaking" to him directly, or He might speak to him through the Scriptures or through a person. I have noticed that the missionaries who fail here in Mexico do not go to successful Christians for advice. Instead, they listen to people who are themselves unsuccessful. The Bible tells us that evil communications corrupt good manners; one missionary family spent four years listening to an untruthful person, and now the Jehovah's Witnesses are making an issue out of the false reports of success that they were posting.
God can bless a person by steering him or her to good advisors, and He does that to obedient Christians.
John 14:21, Jesus said
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.
Folks, I'm on part 4, and I still can't get out of the introduction. How does Jesus manifest Himself to an obedient Christian? He might do it by "speaking" to him directly, or He might speak to him through the Scriptures or through a person. I have noticed that the missionaries who fail here in Mexico do not go to successful Christians for advice. Instead, they listen to people who are themselves unsuccessful. The Bible tells us that evil communications corrupt good manners; one missionary family spent four years listening to an untruthful person, and now the Jehovah's Witnesses are making an issue out of the false reports of success that they were posting.
God can bless a person by steering him or her to good advisors, and He does that to obedient Christians.
Friday, January 18, 2013
PRINCIPLES OF FAILURE Part 3
Folks, I'm trying to teach "Three Great Principles of Failure," but I can't get past the introduction. We have to obey Christ if we are going to serve Him. In John 14:21, Jesus said
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.
Sometimes disobedient Christians try to serve God and have no idea what to do. They try to seize successful ministries, take credit for the successes of others, and publish false reports of their successes. Without Jesus as their Guide, they listen to the wrong people and make their efforts more harmful than beneficial.
Jesus promised "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." If you want Jesus to teach you, train you, and guide you, you need to obey Him.
Folks, I'm trying to teach "Three Great Principles of Failure," but I can't get past the introduction. We have to obey Christ if we are going to serve Him. In John 14:21, Jesus said
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.
Sometimes disobedient Christians try to serve God and have no idea what to do. They try to seize successful ministries, take credit for the successes of others, and publish false reports of their successes. Without Jesus as their Guide, they listen to the wrong people and make their efforts more harmful than beneficial.
Jesus promised "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." If you want Jesus to teach you, train you, and guide you, you need to obey Him.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Principles of Failure Part 2
Luke 6: 46
46 "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?
Before I get into the three great principles of failure, I want to talk about obedience again. When a Christian determines to serve God his own way, he sets down certain paths and goes through certain doors that are not available to obedient Christians. As the years and decades roll by, both sets of Christians develop their own strengths and methods. Disobedient Christians excel in taking credit, seizing ministries that God did not give them, and destroying opponents. Obedient Christians get things done for God.
Here in Mexico, I have observed three key failures in the lives of Christians, many of them missionaries, who accomplished little or nothing for the Lord. I'll be spending a few days on each one of these principles of failure.
46 "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?
Before I get into the three great principles of failure, I want to talk about obedience again. When a Christian determines to serve God his own way, he sets down certain paths and goes through certain doors that are not available to obedient Christians. As the years and decades roll by, both sets of Christians develop their own strengths and methods. Disobedient Christians excel in taking credit, seizing ministries that God did not give them, and destroying opponents. Obedient Christians get things done for God.
Here in Mexico, I have observed three key failures in the lives of Christians, many of them missionaries, who accomplished little or nothing for the Lord. I'll be spending a few days on each one of these principles of failure.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
PRINCIPLES OF FAILURE
In Matthew 7:26-27, Jesus said " But everyone who hears these sayings of mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
Here in Mexico, I have been astonished at the missionaries who have arrived, failed, and left. Meanwhile, other Christians are being blessed with successful ministries. The envy and bitterness towards Christians who are being blessed by God is something that I saw in the US when I taught Christian school.
Jesus promised, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Success in Christian service is GUARANTEED to anyone who will follow Jesus. When a Christian fails, therefor, it is going to come down to disobeying Him. I'll be posting a couple of times a week on three Principles of Failure, all of them involving disobedience to Jesus' words, that will explain why so many Christians fail in their service.
Jesus promised, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Success in Christian service is GUARANTEED to anyone who will follow Jesus. When a Christian fails, therefor, it is going to come down to disobeying Him. I'll be posting a couple of times a week on three Principles of Failure, all of them involving disobedience to Jesus' words, that will explain why so many Christians fail in their service.
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