Dilute to Taste

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8 NIV

One of my favourite drinks is a concentrated fruit squash, and stated clearly on the label are the words: “Dilute to Taste”. It’s not a caution, or a health warning, but advice that the consumer gets the best out of the product. Depending on your personal preference, you can add water to get the taste you enjoy best. And like millions of others, I dilute to enjoy.

Religion is a bit like that. Especially the way society sees it. The true flavour is often happily diluted to the taste of the user. Where this is a good thing in the example of my Orange Juice, it most certainly is not a good idea to water down, or dilute, the gospel of salvation in and through Jesus Christ.

Enter as many religious opinions as the world can dilute to taste. That way there is no conviction of our sin or need of a Saviour. No requirement to change our way of life or rethink some of the lifestyles being accepted as ‘christian’ when they are clearly not. The Word of God can be diluted and watered down to such a degree that we lose the ‘taste’ of the original. It is good for me, so it must be ok. Have you heard these words when talking about Christianity? You will then know that any sin or lifestyle can be excused when the original has been diluted to their particular taste.

Unfortunately, you may also find that the gospel of Jesus Christ can be diluted to taste both inside and outside the church.

Church?

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, ‘Is it not written: “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations”? But you have made it “a den of robbers”. Mark 11:15-17 NIV

What is church to you? What makes it church? You will have to answer those for yourself, but I have found myself asking these very same questions, and I’m not sure I like what I think. Theologians may differ in the fine thoughts of these verses, but everyone will agree that Jesus took the workings of His Temple seriously, both in the courtyard and the sanctuary.

Since Jesus, our example and Saviour, took His church so seriously, how should that make us think and act about our church? Or do we care? Do I care? Does it really matter as long as we make our building a welcoming space for visitors? Or sell tickets to promote special secular attractions in the belief that we are doing it for the Lord? Or hold special nights to bring in the unchurched to make them feel comfortable so that they might come back to the ‘real church’? And there lies the crux of the matter.

Jesus described His temple as ‘a house of prayer for all nations”. Shouldn’t we do the same, or is that considered outdated? I wonder what reasons and excuses the merchants made to salve their consciences to allow them not to feel guilty? After all, they were providing a much needed service. They made the courtyard look busy and some traders might do a special offer to entice customers back? Onlookers might even think the synagogue itself would be every bit as inviting and busy. Is it possible we do the same things today, after all human nature hasn’t changed since the days of Adam. We know that Jesus wasn’t impressed, and He hasn’t changed either, because “He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

Church attendance in general is falling across every denomination. Some do better than others, so what’s the secret? Is it possible that the ones truest to the Gospel message are trusted to be the ones more Spiritually sound? The heart of any church is Jesus, and if the heart is lost, replaced or overtaken, the church loses out. Sure there are mega churches who play fast and loose with the Gospel, but we can’t seriously compare our growth with those who will preach a prosperity message which is not the true Gospel. My worry is that the church could become a sideshow instead of the main message. Paul warns Timothy very clearly that the Church can be changed from within, by trusted Godly preachers and teachers. I can’t ignore these verses and I admit they catch my attention:

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather round them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:1-3 NIV

Faith or Works?

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 ESV

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. James 2:18 ESV

Slowly but surely some once thriving churches are moving the faith goalposts, perhaps in an effort to reverse the slow haemorrhage of members and adherents. The outcome, at least in appearance, is that the once dearly held foundation of salvation by faith alone, is being replaced, at least in part, by a gospel of works. It is therefore quite easy to convince folks that they are not doing enough for the Kingdom, and put them on an unnecessary guilt trip to do more.

This comes across in many ways, and always sounds good. But listen for the buzzwords. Words like ‘community’ (that’s a favourite), and ‘social’ which come into almost every sermon and message from the pulpit. I am the first to accept that works are important, and a necessary part of our Christian character, but… should works not be secondary to our salvation based on faith, first and foremost?

The natural end result of a works based church is a ‘social community’ of good people who have not necessarily fully accepted or seen the light of the gospel, and therefore are no different or better than the outsiders who would never darken the church doors. There are a multitude of non believers and atheists who do a lot of good works. Do we aspire to that model? The apostle Paul sums it all up nicely in these words:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.                      Ephesians 2:8,9 ESV

Contend

Dear friends, I wanted very much to write to you about the salvation we all share together. But I felt the need to write to you about something else: I want to encourage you to fight hard (contend KJV) for the faith that God gave his holy people. God gave this faith once, and it is good for all time. Jude v3 ERV

Something made Jesus’ brother, the writer Jude, change his mind about what he wanted to emphasise to the churches of his day. He started out with the intention of talking about the salvation we share, but instead we read a warning about things that we need to fight for, because the Gospel in the early Church was being changed by some.

Jesus died for us, and as His church, we are entrusted to keep it as He left it when the ascension took place, leaving His followers behind. Jesus took a chance leaving such a precious gift in human hands, and we will be held accountable for the purity of this same Gospel. It’s all down to us, and what a sobering thought that is.

The verse says this faith was given once, and it is good for all time. That means we are not entitled to play around with it, to make it any ‘better’, or more ‘acceptable’ to the world than it already is. Jesus died and gave His life to provide this salvation, and we will be tried by the great Judge if we abuse, alter or misuse it. When the preacher gets too close for our comfort, we say he has stopped preaching and started meddling. We like a nice neat gospel that suits us, and not always the Gospel Jesus left in our care.

This small letter of Jude, containing only one chapter, holds a powerful lesson. We must have nothing to do with any program in the church that doesn’t help spread the one true Gospel. It’s not enough to educate, entertain, or suggest something that will get folks in to make them ‘familiar’ with being in the church building. If we are not teaching and preaching the full Gospel of Jesus Christ, we have fallen short of our calling. None of us would want to be guilty of that eternal crime. So, let’s be true to the Gospel and contend for the Faith that God gave His Holy people.

The Coin

Every coin has two sides, and Jesus recognised this when he taught his disciples the full message of His Father’s love and judgement. Each is a side of the same coin, and just as no coin has only one side, love and judgement go together and are needed to complete the whole truth.

In the past, some evangelical preachers were seen solely as ‘hell fire’ messengers as if that was the only message of the gospel. I think we have moved on from that, but perhaps we have replaced it with something just as incomplete. The message that Jesus loves everyone, irrespective of their actions, and if we just love the sinner fully and completely, that will be enough to see them enter the gates of heaven. I think we need to be careful that we don’t preach or teach a ‘one sided’ Gospel.

Scripture is full of warnings to sinners of remaining in their sins, and not turning from their sinful ways. The words are old fashioned, but they remain necessary. Words and phrases like, ‘confession of sin’, ‘repentance’, ‘born again’, and ‘saved’. Again, we need to be careful to preach and speak the whole counsel of God.

Teaching the message of love, without pointing out the consequences and dangers of remaining in sin, is incomplete, and only part of the full Gospel of Jesus Christ. God accepts us in His love just as we are, warts and all, but that same love doesn’t allow Him to leave us the way he found us! Now that is amazing grace. Paul puts it this way:

Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Romans 6:14-16 NLT

The Untarnished Gospel

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13

Possibly like you, I have sat under many sermons and from many differing churches and pastors. Sometimes I did not recognise the gospel that brought me to Christ. I believe we can be guilty of making the gospel something it is not. At the risk of offending or saying something out of turn, let me share with you some of the things that the gospel is NOT.

The gospel is NOT:

A talk on history. Not even middle east history.

A lecture on Sociology.

A discourse on Psychology

A comparison of religion to science

… If I needed any of these improvements to my education, I would go back to University or Night Classes. My own thought is that these things can be used to show how clever or knowledgeable the preacher is. They do not have anything to do with the gospel, the grace of God or our salvation.

When will we get back to basics and preach the whole gospel in our various churches? Our wise God gave us all that we need to know, through His Word, and the advice to young pastor Timothy when he encouraged him, and us, to:

Preach the Word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favourable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. 2 Timothy 4:2

The Gospel of Information

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. Romans 1:16

Have you been keeping an eye on the major UK church headlines recently? From the sexuality of the CofE bishops, the ‘flexibility’ of the CofS ministers to homosexuality, down to the effect on the ordinary parishioner, we are seeing a seismic shift in what is expected and presented by those who are our nation’s hierarchy of theology, and it stinks (in my humble opinion)!

However, there are other changes happening right under our noses, and it’s not all good news. Churches and Ministers of the Gospel (there’s a clue) are charged with preaching the Word of God. Why? Because the verse says it all. The Gospel of Christ is the power of God to Salvation, and that beats all knowledge and information (no matter how significant) hands down every time. The Gospel, in some churches, has been relegated to second place behind a well informed and educated sermon. Is it possible, even just a tiny bit, that we are becoming a little ashamed of this life changing Gospel?

To be honest, I am more concerned with the sure but certain lack of clear Gospel preaching and teaching, than I am about any Bishop’s sexual leanings. After all, if the Gospel was preached clearly and with conviction, there would be far fewer half baked christians (small ‘c’) in all of our churches. My thoughts are; preach the Word without shame, whether your parishioners like it or not. Don’t apologise for speaking truth, because Jesus Christ IS TRUTH! Preaching the Gospel of Salvation requires a response. Does your preacher, minister, or pastor ask for a personal response to the presentation of the Gospel?

Jesus said .. “I am the .. truth, no one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

It's War

I don’t know what else to call it, except an all out war a bit like the American Civil War of 1861-65 but this has already lasted longer. Is this happening in the Middle East, Africa or Asia? No it’s much closer to home, it’s in our evangelical, progressive churches and it’s all about two major differences. Age and music, but they seem to go hand in hand in this case.

For some background (in case you have been away or sleeping for the past couple of decades) we need to recognise that there has been a seismic shift in the way church music has evolved in the recent past. The shift in some people’s style of worship has meant the rise of the ‘Worship Group’ in the musically capable hands of mainly younger folks. In many cases, copying the work of major Christian artists who attract a huge following.

Prior to this was the Gaither music style followers who are now in their later years, but who look back in nostalgia when music had a tune, but not necessarily a heavy metal beat. What’s the difference You may ask? Well, ‘Gaither or Southern Gospel’ was a style of music sung as specials and not as part of mainstream worship, so hymns and traditional Gospel Songs were never in jeopardy. Not so with the newer style of progressive Gospel beat music. Now this has become the main musical diet of the progressive churches who want to reach out to the younger generation. In the process, some older folks are accepted as the collateral damage and part of the change. We are losing good people.

Instead of finding a middle path, we go to war. Older against younger. Traditional Hymns set against Newer Gospel Songs and the two factions are intertwined. There is no doubt that the church preaches and teaches love, forgiveness, patience, and longsuffering, but we are not good at acting this out at any age. That is true for both sides of this trench warfare who only seem able to bad mouth, and pop their heads up to fire a well aimed insult at the other side, who are so obviously in the wrong, and why can’t they see it after all?

We need a few words from the author of our common faith, Jesus Christ, who said "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John13:34,35

Preaching the Word

Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.

2 Timothy 4:2,3

As Christians we are all charged with spreading the Word of God, in many ways, whether by example or word, but some have a greater degree of responsibility. Timothy was a young leader in the early church, and the Apostle Paul was his mentor and example. Paul wanted to make sure Timothy was in no doubt about his responsibility as a pastor and leader. His first and prime goal was to ‘Preach the Word’. Everything else took a lesser place, and he was to do this whether he felt like doing it or not. He was called by God, as is the case today. Pastors and ministers do not follow a job or a career, but are called to a mission. That mission is to preach, so that others will hear, and be converted to Christ.

Church attendances are falling across the country, and across all denominations. I accept that belief in God is falling, and we are becoming a nation of atheists and agnostics, but is there another reason for God believing people deserting our places of worship? Over recent years some churches and leaders have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Abuses of position involving parishioners do nothing to foster trust in God, church, or ministers and priests. I think the root may go deeper, and be closer to home.

What do we do when numbers fall? What or who suffers? If numbers decline, there is less money to do important things like keep the grounds neat, maintain the interior and all the various rooms, and perhaps most importantly, pay the minister or pastor. There is one reaction. We could become like the people we want to attract. That way, we can hopefully  improve income and at the same time minister to more people. There is one major problem with that approach. It doesn’t work, and it never has. Don’t you think Paul and Timothy came across this problem in their ministries? I’m sure they did, but look again at Paul’s advice to his young charge.

A heavy responsibility rests on our various church ministers and pastors. A responsibility like no other. So when numbers fall, it is a sure sign that the Gospel is no longer in first place and being preached faithfully from the lectern and pulpit. The aim of the church after all is to preach the Gospel, and by doing so, producing a change in the hearts and minds of men and women. Then and only then are homes changed, society improved, and communities made safer. All achieved by the faithful preaching of the Word, undiluted and true. While we dither around making our churches more like the world, we haemorrhage people. It has never been more important that we preach the full Gospel of the Word of God from the pulpit, and see growth.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? Romans 10:14

(NB.. This post was written on 22 July 2016, awaiting publication)

The Main Thing?

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

It’s good to know context and background when a preacher explains a passage of Scripture, but these should not take over from the Gospel message. A bit of sociology, or psychology can be good in their place, but these should not overshadow the reason for the good news of the Gospel. In fact if pushed to make a choice, I would side every time with the Gospel message over any other background information or ‘-ology’ used.

Let’s keep the main thing the main thing. No second place, no doubts and nothing to please or ease the mind of any who may need, and be looking for truth and salvation. It is the Word of God that saves. Nothing else, and certainly no other philosophy of life.

The church in general is slowly becoming less relevant to society with declining attendance, and this could be because we have diluted the message to make it palatable and not so likely to offend or cause embarrassment. After all, we have redefined sin to the point that it is not the same thing we are warned to shun in the Bible. The in word is ‘unity’ and if we are not seen as uniform with other views we show ourselves as being out of step. The preaching of the cross is, and always has been, madness to the unchurched, disinterested, or unsaved, but to those of us who are constantly being saved, and enjoy our salvation, it is the power of God. That is power to change a life from the inside out. Power to make others see God at work. Power to heal physically, emotionally and spirituality. With all that power at our disposal, why should it matter that the rest of the world sees the cross as outdated? The Gospel of Jesus Christ is needed now, more than ever before, and it shouldn’t be diluted to taste!

A New Commandment

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34,35

A new commandment? What’s new about it? For a start it isn’t listed in the 10 commandments, and Jesus seemed to think we needed a reminder that love is important, and to get our priorities right. These verses are packed with good things we need to take to heart.

Jesus said said it, so we need to take notice of His authority.

Jesus loves us, always has, and always will, with an unconditional, pure love.

We are to love one another, because that is the best way. It’s Jesus’ way.

People will know we are His followers without any doubt or guessing. Do you want to show others you are serious about their salvation? Love them. Do you want to witness in the greatest way possible? Love them. Do you want to be like Jesus? Love your friends and your enemies.

People will then see Jesus in you, and what better way than love to be a witness, and to draw people to the gospel of salvation?