Whatever Takes Us Away

I had absolutely no idea the surface I was beginning to scratch with my last post.  I listen to many podcasts and radio programs that scan a wide variety of Christian thought, and recently they have been flooded with a central theme.

For just about two weeks now the main topic of conversation is about a single book.  I haven’t had the opportunity to read it yet, but the quotes I am hearing are a bit disturbing.  It seems one person, above the millions of believers throughout the centuries of orthodox thought, above the theologians, teachers and well-thinking laity, one person believes he has the answers about heaven and hell.  One person.  Now, when it comes to beliefs, and specifically those about Christianity, I would certainly put myself in with traditional, orthodox protestant thought; rather conservative and holding all things about faith and practice up to the light of the Bible.  Yes, I read some of the early church fathers and I also read through people like Luther, Calvin, Wesley and even more modern theologians.  I have a copy on my computer of Edward’s “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” and have read though it a few times.  Charles Spurgeon?  Yes, he’s on the book shelf too.  So I ask, “How is it that one man believes so many of these, and many others before and since, have been wrong for nearly 2,000 years?” 

I have heard at least two programs that have labeled this author, pastor and teacher as a heretic.  No calls for excommunication or anything of that nature, but a heretic label has been set forth. 

Why the uproar over this author and his new book?  Let’s just say, once again, that God has more than one attribute to His nature.  I will say it over and over, love is only ONE aspect of God.  For many within the Christian church today there is a huge failure in where they start with God, and where it logically leads them to end.  Typically the argument goes something like, “Why would a loving God have so much pain, suffering, and ultimately lead some to end in hell for eternity?”  Here’s the problem: God does not lead people into hell.  This argument assumes that people are inherently good natured and honestly seek to do good and get to God.  Human nature though, is corrupt, violent, and anything but seeking after God unless He reaches out and changes the heart first.  The typical argument starts and ends with MAN in the center, and God on the fringes.  It is an incorrect and unbiblical view.  But, if we start AND end with God at the center, the picture painted is much more in line with reality.

The man centered view, with all it’s assumptions, leads down a slippery slope.  The view from the book is that, ultimately, everyone will end up in heaven.  The love of God will prevail over all and eternal life, in the positive sense, will be provided to every person from the beginning of humanity to the end.  There is no biblical backing to this idea, and in the past, views like this were deemed heretical.  It’s called universalism.  This thought leads me to a few things: 1) the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is empty and meaningless, 2) salvation is empty and meaningless, 3) there is no such thing as sin in the human condition. 

First, Jesus.  If in fact all people of all times will eventually be saved and get into heaven then the life and teachings of Jesus are absolutely meaningless.  His message was of love, justice, peace, grace and mercy.  God condescended from His rightful place in heaven to become human so that humanity, in it’s wicked condition, could have a rightful savior; perfectly sinless.  He taught about the kingdom of God, of salvation, of sin, and even of hell more than heaven.  He was condemned and died as an atoning sacrifice on a cross, to save lost humanity.  But, he was raised back to life, ascended into heaven and sent the third person of the Holy Trinity (the Holy Spirit) to be an aide to believers, and to empower believers.  Through the life, death and resurrection of Christ people can find eternal life in the positive sense; life in the presence of God himself.  If the premise is correct that all will be saved (in a universal sense), then the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus was for nothing.  The claim by the author is that Jesus came to save humanity from God - but even Jesus taught that a kingdom divided cannot stand against itself (Matthew 12:25-28).  If the premise is false, the argument fails.

Secondly, Salvation.  If in fact all people of all times will eventually be saved and get into heaven, then salvation itself is meaningless.  Why would God send His own son to die as a sacrifice if He knew that eventually He would save all people?  Throw out missions right now!  There is no need to send people out to preach the gospel; salvation has no meaning!  However, the picture from the Bible is clear.  Humanity’s condition is such that they cannot bring themselves TO God, but require something outside themselves to provide a means of reconciliation.  God provided the means of salvation through Jesus and through the work of the Holy Spirit.  If one starts with man, he fails, but if one starts with God empowering people through the Holy Spirit towards salvation, the ends are justified.  God provides the means and the ends - the means are that believers, even in their fallen human condition, have been sent to preach the good news of Jesus (Matthew 28:16-20), and the ends are that salvation comes directly from God (Jonah 2:9, Acts 4:8-12).  If the premise is correct that all will be saved  (in a universal sense) then the idea of salvation is worthless.  The claim by the author is that eventually, every person will achieve salvation, either in life, or with an option to choose after death (even from Hell itself).  The Bible shows otherwise, and if the premise is false, the argument fails.

Third, Sin.  I think this is one that I have had the most trouble with wrapping my head around.  If in fact that all people of all times will eventually be saved and get into heaven, then the human condition is generally good and sin does not reign and is meaningless.  Contrary to the biblical account (beginning with the fall in Genesis), the author seems to believe that people are good, and even those who are not Christians will get into heaven (the image of Ghandi is used in videos and in the book).  If there is no such thing as sin, then why, in the first instance, would humanity require salvation?  This is why this portion is so troubling to me.  If the human condition is good and all people will achieve eternal life with God, why the need for salvation or a savior?  The lack of depth in thought by the author is staggering.  Yes, the love of God is amazing and powerful, I do not doubt that even an iota!  However, all one needs to do is look around and see how wretched humanity truly is; and we aren’t getting any better.  As a whole, humanity is pretty jacked up, wrought with sin, and in order for us to be reconciled to God we need a savior, we need something to provide our means of salvation.  If the premise is correct that all will be saved (in a universal sense), then the idea of humanity’s sinful nature is meaningless, void of any bearing on our thoughts and actions.  The claim by the author is that, even horribly wretched people who reject God because of their sinful nature in this life, will eventually be accepted into heaven.  The picture painted in the Bible by Jesus is far different (Luke 10:16, John 3:31-36), and if the premise is false, the argument fails.

Some of you may know of the book and author I’m writing about, others may not.  I have purposely left that out of this post so as to not muddy the waters any more than necessary.  If you have found these premises to be upsetting and contrary to the biblical narrative, then chances are, your beliefs and faith are on the solid foundation of the truth of the Bible.  However, if you think that the book has provided great insight, then chances are my thoughts here have offended you.  I do not apologize for what I have said, but stand with the Word of Truth in the Bible.  I also stand with nearly 2,000 years of thinkers, preachers, and theologians on the side of orthodox Christian belief.  Yes, I know that not all have said the same things, but in general, the Christian faith has been solid in its core teachings, based on the Bible itself. 

My hope and prayer is that this is NOT where the church is heading. 

I will be the first to admit that God is love.  However, as I have stated before, this is not the only aspect of God’s Holy and divine nature. 

Within the church today, in general, there is a distinct lack of looking at God for all that He truly is.  So many focus solely on the love of God that they forget that He is a complex being beyond our full comprehension.  God is love.  God is just.  God has wrath.  God is Holy.  God is sovereign over all.  God is faithful.  God is truth.  He is merciful, eternal, gracious, omnipotent, omnipresent, and immutable.  God has always and will always exist (eternal & infinite) and He alone is self-sufficient.  To take away any of these or the many others I did not mention would be to strip God of His ultimate powers.  Fallen humanity cannot fully understand the size, depth and wonder of His majesty, yet we tend to limit God to what our limited faculties can fathom.

I cannot say for sure when it began, but the western church has slacked in its’ understanding of the nature of God.  Regardless of denomination (or lack thereof), the church has forgotten to sit back and take in the awesomeness of God.  The Bible I read has both Old and New Testaments, and too often evangelicalism today forgets about the former and reads entirely from the latter.  Yes, God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Christian faith, but we cannot forget our heritage.  Within the texts of the Old Testament we are given numerous glimpses into of the nature of God, in all of its forms.  We see the wrath of God as He lays waste to horribly sin-filled cities like Sodom and Gomorrah.  We see His sovereign plan in the stories of Joseph and Moses.  We see His love and compassion in the stories of Ruth and Esther.  We understand God’s faithfulness in Abraham and Sarah.  And we even see justice take place when the Israelites fashion idols.  God is love, yes.  But that isn’t all that God is.

This lopsided evangelicalism lacks depth.  They want sinful humanity to sit atop all things known.  They want God to fit into their nice little box, and they expect everyone in attendance to accept this view of god. 

I am reminded all to often that I deserve nothing from the Lord.  I know and understand that my nature is a wreck and I need someone to help me.  Yes, I can look to the church and the believers to assist me when that is possible, but the church cannot ultimately save me.  Believers cannot pull me from the pit of sin into a life of eternity with the Father.  They can, however, cheer me along and help me when it is possible - and that is part of the mission of Christ followers.  I deserve God’s wrath and justice, but through his grace and mercy I receive something beyond comprehension!

Thinking this through the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 comes to mind.  There are some within the church that are too bothered with their own lives that they cannot stop for a minute to see if someone else is in need of assistance.  There are some leaders within the church that act the same.  Yet, there are those, a growing smaller number of believers, that will actually stop, see if assistance is needed, and then go above and beyond the call.  The church ought not be looking to add more things to the to-do list or the not-to-do list, but reaching out the helping hand; being the hands and feet of God who sends us.  Sharing all of the divine nature of God.

Yes, God is love, but He is so much more!  It is His grace extended to us, His mercy that keeps us from divine punishment, His goodness that provides for our needs, and His justice that judges all in the end.  I am thankful that I have been given His precious gift, one that I will both guard and share, in His son Jesus.  I am grateful to no end that He has chosen to provide me with the Holy Spirit as a guide.  It is by God’s love that I even exist to write this, but I will not forget or neglect the rest of what my puny little mind cannot fully understand about His amazing attributes.  He is love and He is so much more!

Romans 3:19-20
“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.  Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.”

I know that no matter what I do in this life I will be a sinner.  Nothing I can do will change that.  I was born this way, as are all people, and we remain in this state even after we have been “saved” by God.  So why “get saved” in the first place?  It’s only about the here and now, but about the then and later.  I know there is nothing I can do in my own power to make myself righteous or sinless, and there is nothing I can do to earn my salvation.  But, I know I am reconciled to God through faith in Jesus, in spite of my sinful human nature.

The Word of God in the Bible is the rule or standard by which Christians should and ought to learn about all things pertaining to faith and practice.  There are some great guidelines about life in general and life specific as well.  However, there are gray areas to be found as well, and this seems to be where so many churches fail and institute their own standards.  Sadly, these standards are typically set up or designed to manifest the will of a small group of people that aim to control the lives of those within the congregation.  Is it always bad?  Not at all, but it is by no means always good either. 

Of course I could go to the extremes like Jim Jones or David Koresh, but those have been done many times over.  What I’m talking about are less extreme, but equally condemning in their own rights.  “No Smokers”  “No Drinkers”  “No Unbelievers”  “No False Influences”  “No Dancing” “No Homosexuals”  and I could go on.  Are there biblical justifications for stances like these?  Usually whoever the group is they have a “go to” passage that is horrendously taken out of context.  Many of the so called “Christian Cults” are great at this, siting passages that clearly do not have the meaning they set out to prove.  There is no solid biblical foundation for claims like these.  But, as I said, these passages taken out of context are quite often the passages that, in their context of surrounding passages, condemn the actual practice they are trying to support.  In short, they are attempting to add laws to God’s already established Law.  And this, most thinking Christians would call, is legalism.

An attempt to try to establish authority over people by force, saying that if they do not conform to this or that, their favor with God will be swayed, or their salvation is at risk because of a neglect in a specific area is an attempt at legalism.  God’s law is there.  It’s established.  We, as fallen humanity need not try to add anything to this perfect law - when we do it is so often unjust, unrealistic and painfully legalistic.  God’s law, as the passage in Romans 3 tells us, makes us so aware of our sin.  Adding to that only puts blinders on what we are supposed to be looking at and looking towards; Christ and His ability to save fallen humanity.  When our focus shifts from Jesus to man-made laws about whatever suits our fancy, we loose sight of what it means to be a Christian.

Is it wrong of a church to have standards?  By no means am I getting at that, what I’m worried about are rules set up with little to no biblical foundation.  When someone doesn’t want a particular type of peoples in their church, or when people with differing lifestyles are all but banned from entering a sanctuary - that is where I have issues.  I can understand when, biblically speaking, a person or persons ought not be in positions of authority because of gross sin or behavior, but as Christ reached out even to lepers, so the church today ought to reach out and do all it can to keep it’s members, even when they stray.  All to often though, those who fall outside of the man-made rules get pushed out the front door and not given much of a chance at restoration.  They are ridiculed, mocked and nearly stripped of dignity within the body of Christ.  Truly un-Christian behavior.  Standards are there, but those standards must be kept in check by what God’s Word claims.  If our man-centered rules go beyond what God has given, those rules need to get thrown as far from the local church as possible.

I am not perfect and have never claimed to be such.  I am realistic about my life.  And, when I look at Scripture it shows me over and again that my life is in shambles.  I don’t think I need handfuls of people to point out to me what I already know.  Read further in the passage in Romans 3 - none of us are righteous - NONE OF US.  Basically, no person is perfect, and anyone who claims to be is claiming something untrue.  If I am expected to be a perfect person in order to serve God’s people, then the rule that is held up for me to walk is impossible and I WILL fall.

Just rambling, sorry for the interruption . . . you may resume your day.

Open a new window or tab in your internet browser.  Go to your favorite search engine and type in, “why I left the church” and see just how many returns you get.  For me, in Firefox through Google it returned 283 million results, and that in 0.09 seconds!  This to me is stunning.  The range of reasons is stunning as well.  Feelings of unwelcomeness, dissatisfaction with instruction, too liberal, too conservative, too much emphasis on manifesting the gifts of the Spirit, no emphasis on the Holy Spirit, and on and on it goes.  Some leave because they believe that science and the Bible are completely incompatible.  Some find that the young earth creation model cannot be true because of radio carbon dating.  Others still find the old earth creation model to be too much of a mixing of science and faith.  Church services are way too long, or too short, or there’s too much music or not enough music - I could list them all one at a time, but that could take me to the end of my own days - not the reason for this post or those that will follow.  My point here is simple: people leave the traditional church setting for a huge number of reasons.  Some reasons are more valid than others, but alas, each person has a reason and to them it is valid.

In this new found search for knowledge, understanding and Christ’s church I came upon one Frank Viola, and I would call him a kindred spirit.  His quest, while starting from a slightly different vantage point, has been quite similar to what I am now facing - and his quest began over twenty years ago.  Guess I’m just a little slow in this.

But Frank is not alone.  There are countless numbers of others who are seeking the truth in this as well.  Frank’s movement, called either by design or not, is the organic church or missional organic church.  It’s premise is simple: does one learn more from a large setting or a smaller, more intimate setting better?  Does fellowship happen with thousands of people or with tens of people better?  Oddly enough, looking back over at least the last decade of my own journey, the best learning and fellowship I have had has been in those smaller more intimate settings.  There are more open and honest dialogues happening there, more personal communication, deeper questions and fellowship at a meaningful level happens here at the minimal level.

Am I buying into one man’s views alone?  Not at all.  From before the inception of the church there were small groups.  Jesus had twelve immediate disciples.  His close personal friends knew Him and He knew them.  A pastor of a church of several thousand will be lucky to know all of his staff, let alone all of his flock!  How can effective ministry take place at such a large scale?  Sure, there will be smaller groups within the church that do things, but as a whole, a church of that magnitude will be challenged to strive in personal meaningful ways.  Having attended churches that had membership bases of over 30,000 people, I know what it means like to be lost in the crowd.  On the same token, having been a member of a church of less than 50 people is very different.  You get to know people, and they share their lives with you - the good, the bad, and the down right nasty.  John Wesley knew the power of small settings and used it to great advantage and great evangelism.

Does this mean I will be leaving my church in search of something more like this “organic” church movement?  I don’t know yet.  I’m still wrestling with recent events and how it will affect my family and I in the long and short term.  I am seriously considering this though.  I will be doing much research in the coming weeks and months - I need to know there is correct doctrine, theology, and a true Christian worldview involved before I set a foot in any direction.  My journey continues . . .

I know there is no such thing as a “perfect church” here on earth, and I stopped looking for it years ago.  However, one would think there would be glimpses of that church in amongst God’s people. 

What I want to know is, what happened to the church that Christ established for His followers?  Even in the earliest of times the church of Christ had it’s own problems and issues.  Read the book of Acts and you will see just how true this is.  Read through the writings of the apostle Paul and you will see how evident problems were.  Truth is, we are fallen creatures, prone to slip up and ruin just about anything and everything possible.  The church established by Jesus and carried forward by His disciples is not immune to this fallible human nature.  The church has been for nearly 2,000 years governed by human entities destined to make mistakes.

So where does that leave believers today?  So many get hurt and wounded by the church and its various denominations and sub-denominations, and many of those leave the church, and often their faith, never to return.  So many more non-believers see this and wonder, “what’s going on in that circle?  I want nothing to do with that.  If they can’t even find truth, happiness, joy and discipline amongst themselves, why on earth would I want to go there?”  In short, the church seems to be shooting itself in the foot by its very actions, words, and beliefs.

Why do I bring this out?  Because this is how I cope with things.  I think, read, ponder, write and vent through written words.  It is a learning journey that I hope and pray will never end as long as I live.  I seek the truth, hoping to glean some hidden nugget (at least hidden to me), and share that with whomever would care to read or listen to what I have to say.  I have been hurt, but I am not abandoning my faith.

As I mentioned, so many people who are hurt by the church leave the church never to return, and often times they turn their backs on anything and everything to do with the faith.  I understand that I cannot control every action, word, thought, or gesture that others have in relation to myself and my family - and I thank God that He knows the intentions and motives behind all of them.  But too often those whom we interact with do not spend enough time thinking and more time acting and reacting to things they have little to no knowledge about; and it usually ends at least semi-tragically.  There are a couple of things that could be happening here: 1) those who leave had incredibly shallow faith, little understanding of the truth of Christianity, or weak constitutions when it came to human interference with their faith, OR 2) they never truly had faith.  Again, I thank God all the more that I am in neither of those two categories (I am sure there are more, but I won’t go there right now).  I believe God has given me more than enough faith in the actual truth claims of the Bible, His abundant resources, His grace and mercy, His story of redemption, and faith in His power to rescue lost sinners regardless of how horrible they are as people - I will not abandon my faith.

While that may be true I am on the brink of abandoning churches.  Churches do good and are great for a vast majority of believers, but churches also do bad and strike fear, loathing, and anger in many too.  I do not harbor fear or anger in churches per se, but when I look at the damage done by the humans in charge, I do begin to loathe what has become of Christ’s church. 

One group focuses on reaching out to those in need, neglecting biblical foundations of doctrine and theology.  Another group has their doctrine and theology correct, but forgets to reach out into the world.  Some are very open to a wide array of peoples and lifestyles, others keep their doors closed to those who are not like minded completely.  Some churches or groups focus on one aspect of God’s awesome nature, like love, and they forget to understand that God is multifaceted and no single aspect of His existence can be separated from the rest of His nature (like justice or wrath).   So, is it wrong of me to think that there has to be an answer?  Is it wrong of me to hope that my faith can find a haven or sanctuary where it can both be fed and thrive in a physical way to others?  I pray I am not on a quest for nothing.

The church was established to help bring people back into the fold of God’s family.  Until Jesus there was only the Jewish community, and even in that group not all were guaranteed eternal life.  There were factions among the Jews just as there are among Christians today.  God could, through His abilities, save everyone, but what kind of love is forced upon people?  But He chose to use people as the means by which the gospel of Jesus would be spread.  God still provides the ends in that His salvation comes from and through Him alone; fallen humanity is what God has chosen to use to reach His own ends.  Jesus sent his disciples out to proclaim His message to all the world, but He knew that not all the world would receive Him or His teachings.  Jesus knew that not all would be saved.  He knew the will of the Father was that all would be saved, but there was no guarantee that ALL humanity would ultimately be saved for eternal life with God.  The church was designed to bring a good message to a world filled with sinners.

This is my quest.  This is my desire.  This is my hope.  For His own reasons and purposes, God chose me to do something in the world.  If my task is to bring to light how to live a Christian life, even amongst the roughest of churches, or how to live that life outside of the established, institutionalized church, then so be it.  I didn’t go looking for this, but it found me.  Who am I to say no to God?  After all, it was Him who gave me the measure of faith I have, and it is to Him alone that I owe this endeavor and gratitude with integrity.