What Did The Phari....See?

The past two weeks I have been studying on religious tolerance and not just that but tolerance in and of itself. Now before all you "Campites" (followers of Steve Camp) and Pyromaniacs freak out let me explain myself. In studying this topic I studied the fact that as true believers we can not tolerate an abhorrent religion that claims to be Christian.

Sidebar: Now understand that I really and truly hate the word religion. Religion to me is a glorified and for some a sanctified club. Instead of focusing on being Christian we become Baptist, we become Presbyterian, we become Episcopalian or even Evangelical instead of being Christian. One of the things I appreciated about Grace Community Church was that it was non-denominational.

Back on topic: Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” We cannot and must not tolerate a Gospel that accepts sin or tries to minimize sin. In order for you to call yourself a Christian you must accept Christ as your LORD and SAVIOR. By saying He is your Lord you obey Him fully and completely. You submit your life in total to Him. By calling Him your Savior you say that you repent of your sin and require salvation.

Now also in my studying I looked at the fact that as believers we need to be tolerant of each other. 1 Peter 3:8-9 "To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing." Some believers, especially those in the blogosphere, feel that it is their personal duty to correct all of us that don't have the same system or orthodoxy as them. At times I find it funny that people will critique based solely on what they have read or heard from blogs and teacher/preachers. Do these people ever go check it out for themselves? As I stated in a past blog....where have all the faithful Bereans gone?

It's funny to me that Christians will call themselves reformed and tout the fact that they believe as the reformers do. Really? Do you really believe all that Luther believed? Be careful.....remember he wasn't out to start a new church but to reform the Catholic church. Do you as a reformer accept all that Calvin believed? How about Augustine? Baxter? Spurgeon? Well let's leave Spurgeon out of this after all he smoked cigars and defended his actions. Have you even studied these men enough to say that you accept there works and beliefs lock, stock and barrel? To many believers are to quick to say yes I believe as so and so believes, but then don't search out all their teachings to see if that is true. It's kinda like saying that you are a a-, pre-, post-millenniest but don't fully understand what any of those three are. A wide seminary Prof. at The Masters Seminary once told me that he had been studying the tribulation for 10+ years and didn't know where he fell yet and until he knew where he fell on the subject he would not give an opinion swaying a person one way or another. We as a body of believers need to be like that more in all things not just the rapture. I know of far to many people that believe on way or another because their favorite preacher or book writer or theologian believes that way....almost like "Well if they believe hat way than who am I to disagree?"

Tolerance within the church body has got to be at it's all time low and that saddens me. It is possible for us as a body of believers to not have the same beliefs on non-salvific things and still be Christian brothers. I will give you an example, I happen to appreciate the ministry of Mark Driscoll, CJ Mahaney,John Piper and RC Sproul, but that does not mean that I take their teachings and approve of everything. I think I disagree with all of the men above on one thing or another. An example would be that RC Sproul is an amillenniest and believes in infant baptism (not as a way to salvation), but at the same time he has educated me the best in the areas of church history and sanctification. Driscoll on some of things he says,boy I wish he would say things differently sometimes, but at the same time he has challenged my heart to be missional and to not be afraid of the culture but to engage it for Christ.

As an example of how Christian brothers should act towards each other, last Sunday as Mark Driscoll got up to preach on the Regulative Principal he shared with his congregation the council he had received from John Piper and CJ Mahaney. He apologized for his his failing to serve them. If you go to Tim Challies site you can listen to the audio of this and I would encourage you to. As a body of believers we need to take note of what Piper and Mahaney did. They loved their Christian brother Mark so much that they confronted him in love and are helping him to be a better preacher instead of slamming him on the internet.

I have to honestly tell you that in my 20 years of being a Christian the people who have been the least loving and hardest on believers are other believers. I have been a victim of this, my kids and wife have and I have seen friends of mine have believers criticize their ministry and it's sad. As believers we should be loving to one another, correcting yes, but loving in that correction. I have stopped reading a couple of blogs because of the caustic method they use to point out error in another person's ministry. I stopped reading a couple of blogs because they foster the same caustic behavior amongst their and do not correct them for that.

I would hope and pray that if a believer finds something in my blog, my ministry or my life to be in contradiction to a Christians life, as set out in the scriptures, that they would inform me. I desire to grow in my walk with the Lord, but not at the expense of someone else's orthodoxy or personal beliefs. My fear is that some believers have become the new Pharisees. I challenge you believer to check yourself, check your motives before you critique. Check the beliefs you trumpet and how you trumpet them. Do not come off as a noisy gong, but be constructive in your criticism. Do not become a Pharisee.

Besides the next thing you will be telling me is that Christian rap music isn't Christian music at all.