Oct
12
Written by:
Bob Flynn
10/12/2009 7:00 AM
The headline read, “Parish Rift Forms Between Descendants of Prominent Evangelical Leaders.” The underlying text conveyed that the descendants of two well-known ministers were wrestling for control of “a mega—church that is a bedrock of the religious right.”
Rift in the Bedrock
A good person produces good deeds from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil deeds from an evil heart. Whatever is in your heart determines what you say. So why do you call me ‘Lord’ when you won’t obey me? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then obeys me. It is like a person who builds a house on a strong foundation laid upon the underlying rock. When the flood waters rise and break against the house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who listens and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will crumble into a heap of ruins. (Luke 6:45-49 NLT96)
Bob Flynn, President/CEO
The headline read, “Parish Rift Forms Between Descendants of Prominent Evangelical Leaders.” The underlying text conveyed that the descendants of two well-known ministers were wrestling for control of “a mega—church that is a bedrock of the religious right.”
How loud must be the moans of the Holy Spirit when He grieves over our sin! If this were a new phenomenon, then we could all be surprised! However, this is the result of thousands of years of undetected deception. It is pretty difficult to be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” if “unity” has never been part of your experience! (Ephesians 4:3 NASB) I suspect that is why unity has been described in terms of what it isn’t. I have heard it said by well-intentioned believers that unity is not uniformity nor is it unanimity (an undetected deceptive logical argument derived from another world religion).
If we look to the Scripture for insight, we will find the words of Christ as He prayed for us the night before He was crucified.
“My prayer for them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father—that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.” (John 17:21 NLT96)
If we put forth a couple of questions we will begin to see the danger of accepting logical arguments that are not substantiated in the Word. Did Jesus Christ think like the Father? Then there was uniformity! Did Jesus Christ agree with the Father? Then there was unanimity! The last question then should be, “Did the Father answer the Son’s prayer?”
The deception of which I speak is darkness masquerading as light. Of this we were forewarned by Christ Himself, “Make sure the light you think you have is not really darkness” (Luke 11:35 NLT96). I believe we should consider that this is an exact description of “counterfeit.” While it may seem rudimentary that we should be able to tell the difference between darkness and light, the reality is: a pinch of darkness that is mixed with light may not be distinguished. It is this concept that Jonathan Edwards warned us of at length.
It is by the mixture of counterfeit religion with true, not discerned and distinguished, that the devil has had his greatest advantage against the cause and kingdom of Christ. (Jonathan Edwards, The Religious Affections)
It was his assertion that until we could distinguish between the true and the counterfeit that the Gospel would not be furthered. However, we continue to fritter away the years pretending that a thousand rivets flying in close formation is the same as an aircraft. We are in proximity but not unity!
Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; (Philippians 1:27 NASB)
I suspect we misunderstand what it truly means to be “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” We incorrectly think that we must look, think and act like each other for unity to exist. This could not be further from the truth! Rather we all should look, think and act like Christ! That is why Paul goes on to say that the mind of Christ must be in us. If not, there is no hope of “being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (Philippians 2:2 NASB).
But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body grows in love. (Ephesians 4:15-16 NET)
The “one mind” is Christ’s and He is the head to whom we are to be subject. We are to be yielded to His will just as He yielded Himself to the will of the Father and “took the humble position of a slave” for our sake and “humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7b-8 NLT2ndEd).
Jesus said to the people, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12 NLT96)
Why is it that we fail to see His light? There are two lights in this world to be seen: Jesus, the light of the world; or Satan, pretending to be the Most High. Which one we see depends upon our eyes.
“No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, it is put on a lamp stand to give light to all who enter the room. Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. Make sure that the light you think you have is not really darkness. If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight is shining on you” (Luke 11:33-36 NLT96).
Here we have a passage that is paralleled in Matthew’s Gospel account (Matthew 6:22), though the context there is generosity and investing treasure in heaven. In each case there is the presence of a Hebrew idiom and an emphatic warning. The idiom speaks to the condition of our eyes. A single eye, pure eye, or generous eye lets sunshine into the soul. However, a crooked eye, evil eye, or stingy eye shuts out the light—not only so, but plunges us into darkness. The warning: “Make sure that the light you think you have is not really darkness” (Luke 11:35); “If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be!” (Matthew 6:23b NLT96).
Why is it that we cannot see the light of Christ? Because the church in America is full of “dark corners!” For the two hundred sixty-three years since the death of the great awakening, we have been seeing the fallen light and following a counterfeit gospel and worshipping an Anti-Christ and all the while telling ourselves that we are serving the Lord with great zeal!
However, there is a hope if we are willing to seek it.
“These are evil times, and this evil generation keeps asking me to show them a miraculous sign. But the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. What happened to him was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to me will be a sign that God has sent me, the Son of Man, to these people. The queen of Sheba will rise up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, because she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And now someone greater than Solomon is here—and you refuse to listen to him. The people of Nineveh, too, will rise up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And now someone greater than Jonah is here—and you refuse to repent (Luke 11:29b-32 NLT96).
“Yet it is evident, there will come a time of much greater purity in the church, than has been in ages past. And one great reason of it will be, that at that time, God will give much greater light to his people, to distinguish between true religion and counterfeits” (Jonathan Edwards, The Religious Affections).
Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. (Malachi 3:18)
Copyright ©2009 Robert Flynn