THE RESTORATION OF THE LOCAL CHURCH REFORM OR REVOLT? Offense is a very weak material for laying a foundation when attempting to build a spiritual house. Since the days of Martin Luther and the Great Reformation allot has happened in terms of how the local Church and faith communities function. Following this very necessary confrontation of spiritual abuses by the Roman Catholic Church many new sects of Christianity were born, and have continued to come to the surface over time. I wont go into the various movements at this time but I want to reflect on the how a reformation can turn into a revolution if we are not sensitive to the intent of Christ and the influence of the Holy Spirit. Martin Luther, led by the Holy Spirit, identified in his thesis the error in the churchs approach to idea penance, salvation through works and not on faith alone, but did not attempt to overthrow every aspect of the structure. In our day, there are many abuses that must be confronted in the local as well as Universal Church. We see the present Pope of the Roman Catholic Church addressing their clergy to make significant changes on behalf of the well being of their communities. Reform is always necessary for the continued refinement of the Churchs relevance to the culture and the time in which she exists. But healthy and sincere reform should not be a militant revolt, it must be grounded in humility, communication, and a sincere desire for unity through reconciliation. Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.” Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them. ” And they went to another village. (Luke 9:49-56 ERV) This scripture reveals how Jesus feels regarding sectarianism and using spiritual power to destroy others. Lets take a look at the attitude of the untrained disciples compared to the Divine Perception of Christ. The immature disciples response to those who did not follow them was to ask Christ to forbid or attack their use of His Name. The mature and Divine response of Christ was to see the positive and possible in the actions of those using His Name even if they had not yet come to the inner circle of the movement. The immature attitude of the disciples toward those who rejected Jesus was to call down fire on them and even use scripture to justify it. The mature response of Christ was to go beyond proving a point to living a principal of saving not destroying even those who rejected Him. If we win our argument but lose our purpose by destroying others in the process what glory does that bring to the Father? FINDING COMMON GROUND ON WHICH TO BUILD - We can also look at the attitude of St. Paul when summoned to Mars Hill. Paul stood up in the middle of the council on Mars Hill and said, “People of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every way. As I was walking through town and carefully observing your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: ‘To an unknown God.’ What you worship as unknown, I now proclaim to you. (Acts of the Apostles 17:22, 23 CEB) Paul did not belittle or demean the worship of those who were not yet enlightened to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In fact, he complimented their religious pursuits. He avoided calling them down or rebuking them, but moved into the role of a revealer of truth. Paul the Apostle also understood and recognized the value of respecting leadership and authority, even when they had different beliefs. On one occasion St. Paul rebuked a spiritual leader then discovered he needed to repent for doing so. Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?” And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?” Then Paul said, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ” (Acts 23:1-5 NKJV) Here we actually see Paul wrongly treated and his initial reaction was in self-defense, but being a true apostle he repented to his brethren for reviling a ruler of the people. Why was this important? Because disorder and disrespect is never tolerated by God. In order to see the restoration of the local Church in our day we must approach the issues we face with dignity, honor, and respect. The world is watching us all, they are listening to us also. It is possible to be passionate about our approach to spirituality without being contentious, reviling, rebuking, or calling down fire on others. You may have friends, family, neighbors, or co-workers who worship our Lord or gather in a different way or even different day than you. Ask yourself a question, Do they love The Lord Jesus Christ?, or Are they in pursuit of discovering the Kingdom of God? Do you really believe Jesus is building His Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. We should all do our part to love others into the truth, It is the kindness of God that calls men to repentance ( change their mind). Like any other effective changes we make in life, the best approach to change is initiated from the inside out. We cannot boycott or show hostility towards everyone we disagree with and still expect mutually beneficial change. I believe it is through the pursuit of unity, peace, and finding common ground that we will become most effective as the Body of Christ in establishing the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus gave us the secret, They will know my disciples by the love you have one to another. Do you see a need for change in the local Church? What will be your attitude and approach to see those changes happen? Hopefully it will not be to call down fire or attempt to destroy those who see things differently.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 10:24:30 +0000
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