As I have watched my fellow pastors blog on the internet I never really thought I would. But as I have reflected on what is written, I have noticed that this is a great tool to reflect on what I am reading as well as a good place to share my sermons.
With that being said:
Why is it that so many people have no desire to grow in the faith worked in them? Why do we not want to stick up for the truth or allow ourselves to get seduced by false teaching? A couple weeks ago we heard the parable of the Sower. It amazes me how this parable continues to apply to us today. The Words of Christ in his parables tell us who we are and what we have done, and most importantly what we need. And this parable is no different.
Recently I had a conversation in which I was basically asked am I Christian if I avoid sinful people who have no desire to repent. This is the basis of church discipline. We want to lead the unrepentant to see that what they have done is sin. Now on occasion we will end up like the parable of the wheat and the tares. Where we simply will endure along unbelievers when we don't realize it. But back to the parable of the sower: why would I want to be a grain of wheat planted amongst weeds? If we can avoid it we should because those weeds will choke the life out of us, they will choke us away from Christ.
Life as a Christian is tough, and it is not always so clean and clear cut as to what to do. Don't get me wrong, our doctrine is very black and white, it's how you get that point across which becomes a challenge. Too often we want to be seduced by Christianity and we want it to be shown to us as all glamerous, but the reality is that when compared to the world we live in, being a Christian sucks, it's not easy, it certainly most often isn't fun, it's tough, it's dirty, and you will be hated for standing up for the truth.
So what do you do in a time like this? Well you can stick it out, stay in the church that you are part of and hope it will actually change as you fight along side your pastor for the truth. Don't let your pastor do all the work and say nothing. Stand up to those who oppose the truth, even when it will make you unpopular in the community and in your local church.
What else can you do if that seems hopeless or pointless? You can wipe your feet off against them and move on. This is a very difficult and yet sometimes very necessary thing to do. Jesus told the apostles in Matthew 10, to do that very thing when no one would hear the Word. We see Paul have to do this at a couple places where he did missionary work.
Wiping your feet off against a church that has embraced false teaching does not mean you reject Christ though. No, now comes the equally hard part. You either make the trek to a faithful congregation or you gather the faithful and begin a new one. Neither is easy. You may have to put on many more miles to go to a place where the Word is proclaimed rightly. It becomes tougher to attend those necessary Bible studies to help you learn the Word of God.
But starting a new congregation is never easy either. You may have to deal with a community that is belligerent to you and the others because you profess to have the truth. It is going to force you to embrace your vocation as family member, worker, and neighbor and take you out of your comfort zone and confess the faith, inviting your unChurched and therefore non-Christian friends, relatives, and neighbors to church. It will force you to know what Church actually teaches so that you can start to articulate it better.
In my opinion this last route is probably the best because it keeps the true Christian and therefore Lutheran church in your community. But it will become a challenge as well because now you must realize that the Pastor is not the one who is going to "grow" the church, nor are you but it will be the work of the Holy Spirit as he works through the Word you proclaim. Because the reality is that the common everyday lay person is the grunt in the trenches. He or she is taking the daily beating, the rejection, the humbling work of sticking your neck out on the line so that others may know they are living falsely.
Strive for the truth. Yes, I'm sure the truth will be challenging. But thanks be to God that we have been given some great teachers of the Christian faith. Pick up your copy of Luther's small catechism, get ahold of a Book of Concord, and use it, allow it to help answer your questions, familiarize yourself with the tools of the faith, and use your pastor, he is there to answer questions and to help guide you into the way of peace. In the end though, take comfort in what Christ has done for you. Trust in him who went to the cross for you, who died for you, who rose for you, who has redeemed you from the grave and on the last day will bring you to heaven. Thanks be to God that he scatters the seed of faith so that it may grow up in you and me.
There are certainly many valid way one can deal with false teaching and strife in the church but the one way that is not is turning into a complacent faith. What has this lukewarm faith done to our churches today? I think that what I want to write about next. Why are we at where we are at? What are your thoughts? What are your questions? Feel free to ask me at pastor.heinecke@gmail.com.
Peace be with you,
No comments:
Post a Comment