faith for faith

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up (Rm. 15:1,2).

As God has ordained it, his church is comprised of many people of many varying strengths and degrees of faith (cf. Rm. 12:3). And in spite of these variances, God has ordained that his church be one Body, united for the sake of his glory. And as such, the attainment of unity in the church for the sake of God’s glory must come through love and longsuffering, for the church at present remains in a fallen world and will, because of the variance within it, contain those who fail.

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What is speaking the truth in love? It is a question that I seem to ask to myself incessantly, for there are many who take offense to many of the things that I write and speak, and there are many who claim that I do not write and speak in love. It is a question that judges me whenever I hear of the offenses and the hostilities that some of my writings raise, and it is one that causes to me to examine every topic that I address and every word that I use to address them. It is a question that haunts my soul and my very purpose for existence, and one that causes me to question the very path that I have walked thus far. And being such a reoccurring question, I have addressed it before in my soul and in my writings and will likely address it for the rest of my life.

What then is speaking the truth in love? If you were to take a random survey of people in our country, you would likely receive a host of different answers. If you were to ask the question of a person of a postmodern persuasion, you would likely get an answer similar to, “Speaking the truth in love is not speaking at all, for truth is relative to the individual, and to force one’s opinion of truth upon another is offensive and intolerant and therefore unloving.” If you were to ask it of another, you might get the answer, “Speaking the truth in love is sharing what is true in such a way that it presents one’s view of truth as an opinion thereby making compliance to it optional and thus making it inoffensive.” If you were to ask it of one who professes to be a Christian, you might get an answer like, “Speaking the truth in love is sharing the truth of God’s Word in a way that is not judgmental and that withholds matters that might offend a person and turn them away from a church or the Faith.”

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The Southern Baptist Convention, began, a most Baptist affiliations do, as a gathering together Baptist churches for the purpose of centralizing resources for the propagation of the Gospel around the world. Fast forward over a hundred years later, you will find a corporate conglomerate that dictates doctrine, that owns the largest publisher of Christian literature in world (viz. LifeWay Christian Resources), that operates its own Willow Tree figurine, VeggieTales, and The Shack distribution stores (viz. LifeWay Christian Stores), that possesses its own insurance agency (viz. Guidestone Financial Resources), that has created and owns its own translation of the Bible (viz. the Holman Christian Standard version), that owns and operates six American seminaries, and that does missions through the International and North American Mission Boards. This transformation is indicative of the shift in the SBC from its former role as the mere centralization of resources for the sake of the Gospel to its present role as a massive, bureaucratic entity that makes preaching the Gospel to the nations a great ordeal.

To understand the great difficulty that the SBC causes with regards to missions, one simply has to look at a decently sized Southern Baptist church. In those churches you might find missionaries who go through the International Mission Board into the nations, but you are likely to find a greater number being sent out directly by those churches thereby by-passing the IMB. The purpose is not that those churches desire to establish their own international identity apart from the IMB, but it is because the IMB has made the process of sending out missionaries so difficult that many who would desire to be missionaries have looked upon the IMB as a great barrier rather than as a great help. They look at the mandatory education requirements and the strict doctrinal conformities and then turn their backs on the IMB and its numerous hoops and look for other options.

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John Piper caused quite a stir among Baptists a few years ago when he declared his intentions to make it possible for non-Baptist persons (viz. those who come from other orthodox denominations that practice infant baptism rather than believer’s baptism) to join his church without being baptized as an adult by immersion. I, at that time along with the majority of Baptists, openly ridiculed Piper for what I said was his “pansy stance on Baptism” and his apparent capitulation of doctrine for the sake of church membership. I, however (never to be one to put my foot in my mouth) since that time have reversed my former position and have found myself, for the most part, agreeing with the stance that Piper has made in his church. Though I am sure that I will receive much flak for siding with Piper on this issue, I am convinced that it is the best stance that Baptists can take for the sake of the health of the Body and for its testimony of Christ to the world.

Though I find myself agreeing with Piper on his stance on baptism and church membership, it is not because I have wavered in what I believe is biblical concerning baptism (see Why I am a Baptist). I have, however, since concluded that the issue is not one on the validity of believer’s baptism over other teachings on baptism, but it is one concerning the doctrine of the Church and how the Church is to be gathered together and comprised. The question that must be raised is not, “Is believer’s baptism biblical?” but it is, “Should fellowship be severed because of one’s stance on baptism?” Should we as Baptists deny membership to one who is clearly in Christ and desires membership in a Baptist church but disagrees on the nature of the doctrine of baptism?

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In honor of James & Elizabeth Cooper and Paul & Meredith Bradley
who, by God’s grace, will be married tomorrow.

Marriage is indeed a gift from God. For marriage, from its consummation in the Garden, was created to be a shadow of the depths of the Messiah’s love toward his elect and of his headship over her. The depths of Christ’s love was demonstrated in that while his bride was yet comprised of sinners, Christ put forth his figurative heel to be bruised so that he might by that act crush the head of the Adversary for the sake of the church’s lawless deeds and for her righteousness (cf. Rm. 5:8; Gen. 3:15; Is. 53:12). Likewise, marriage was created to be a picture of the oneness that Christ shares with his bride the Church. Just as the church is one with Christ through her submission in love to him who is her Head, so too in marriage, when a wife willingly submits to her husband and to his God-ordained headship, a household that was once comprised of multiple wills becomes one. These realities, among many others, make marriage a holy bond that should never be entered into lightly nor abandoned for the sake of personal preferences or conveniences. For marriage is never merely about mere persons, nor is it about one man and one woman, but it is always about God and his faithfulness to his people whom he foreknew. Just a thought. Congratulations, y’all!

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me (John 17:20-23).

In being a part of a good ol’ Southern Baptist church and having outlasted several professors at Southeastern Baptist Seminary, I have heard a great deal said on the Great Commission and foreign missions. And before you hear me incorrectly, I believe that that is a good thing. The Southern Baptist Convention sends out more missionaries than any other denomination in the world (even though it is well below our means as Americans), and for that I praise God. However, as is often the case, emphasis on one front often leads to neglect on another, which is one reason why I believe the American Church is in such dire straits as it is.

Our problem is that we do not see the American Church’s state as dire, and even if we do, we do not see it as our fault. We are much more likely to place the blame on the wickedness in the country and on evil politicians than on ourselves. Yet it is not the world’s fault that Baptists are more likely to get divorced than atheists and agnostics (Source), and it is not their fault that we tolerate immorality in our congregations and say nothing against popular antichrists (e.g. Joel Osteen, T. D. Jakes). And it is not the world’s fault that ninety-nine percent of the American Church is in love with the world and money, and go to “church” on Sunday for a show rather than to worship the Almighty.

In spite of all this, we send out missionaries all the same. But what we do not realize is that our neglect of the American Church is stifling our global missions. Christ, in his prayer in John 17, prays twice for the unity of the Church, and each time that he prays for its unity it is so that the world will know that God sent Jesus Christ into the world. Earlier in John 13, Christ makes a similar statement: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Therefore, according to Christ, our effectiveness in evangelizing the world flows directly from our demonstration of love and like-mindedness within the Church.

I know what you are thinking: “How does the moral state of the American Church have anything to do with its unity?” Much indeed, for all of our problems in the American Church come from our disunity. As Christ demonstrated in his prayer to the Father that they were united by his perfect submission to the Father’s will, so we would be united if we submitted perfectly to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Head. Yet we do nothing of the sort. Our disobedience to the Word proves it; our denominations prove it; our divorce rate proves it; our total lack of Church discipline proves it; our new cars and big houses prove it; and our lack of love for the Church proves it.

Therefore, our greatest commission as Christians is the unity of Church, for the Great Commission is dependent upon it. If we as a Church do not submit to Jesus Christ in everything and do not love one another as we ought, why should we expect anyone in our country or in the world to submit to the Gospel that we ignore?

Thanksgiving Day in America could be more accurately renamed “National Gluttony Day.” The holiday to us is more a day to feed our mouths and to overfill our stomachs than it is one where we reflect on the goodness of the Lord revealed in the abundance that he has given to us and to thank him for it.

This Thanksgiving season, I challenge you (as I am challenging myself) to think of and to pray for the saints abroad who do not share in our abundance. I challenge you to think of them as they starve out of their poverty or imprisonment, and to remember their starvation while you gorge yourself. I challenge you to have a broken heart for those saints who for the Gospel’s sake do not get to eat turkey & dressing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, etc., and to have a broken heart for yourself knowing that those who starve have a better understanding of the Gospel than we who glut.

I would also challenge you not to forget the saints after you have remembered them this week. Remember them throughout the year, and aspire to help them with your abundance. Remember from the Scriptures the Macedonians who gave out of their extreme poverty with great joy to the relief of the saints in Jerusalem. Cannot we who know nothing of extreme poverty sacrifice a bit of what we have to aid our brothers and sisters who are starving, who have no place to live, and who have no clothes on their back?

Our Father in Heaven, you have been most gracious to us in this country. You have given us much more than our daily bread and have provided for us beautiful homes and closets full of clothes. I pray, dear Lord, that our abundance would not be a snare and a trap to us, but that we would look at our riches as gifts to be given to the saints on whom you have set your love abroad. Burden our hearts with their plight for the rest of our lives so that we might love you rightly by loving your saints and thereby store up for ourselves treasure in heaven. Amen.

Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the LORD,
For my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:12,13).

Dear Members of the Acts Forum,

You have joined this group because you have witnessed a great atrocity. You have read the Holy Scriptures breathed forth by the very Spirit of God, you have also observed the practices of the Church in America, and you cannot any longer with your imagination fill the chasm that divides the two. You witness on the one hand that the Spirit of God through Christ declares, “Fear not little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom; sell your possessions and give to the poor,” and on the other the American Church declares, “The tithe is God’s; the rest is yours.” You also witness on the one hand the Spirit of God through Christ commands, “Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven,” and on the other the American Church declares, “Live the American Dream; buy for yourself SUVs and large and beautiful houses in safe neighborhoods.” You have also witnessed on the one hand the Spirit of God through Christ declares, “Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on…Seek the kingdom of God, and these things will be added to you,” and on the other hand the American Church declares, “Build bigger barns and retirement funds so that your soul might rest easily.” You witness these things in the American Church, and you, with great lamentation, witness them in your own soul.

By the Spirit of God, you have come to realize that the God of the Bible and the God of the American Church are not the same God. You have come to realize that the God of the Bible is a holy and untamable God and that the God of the American Church is a corny and well-contained God. You have come to realize that the God of the Bible is a God that provides sufficiency in himself alone and that the God of the American Church provides sufficiency in possessions. You witness these things, and you, like the convicted at Pentecost, are cut to the heart by the very Spirit of God and cry out, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

My brothers and sisters, there is no easy remedy for our ill. It is a sophisticated cancer that has been silently progressing for decades, cunningly injecting into our veins the pleasures of the world all the while sucking out the joy that is in God. It has transformed the American Church not into a shrine for unadulterated Materialism but into a shrine for Materialism with cross and steeple upon it. She has the oracles of God within her walls, but has not its convictions. She has a Christ and a Savior, but he has no power to save. She has a God, but he is petty and mutable. And again your heart cries out, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Brothers and sisters, take heart, for we do have a divinely appointed course of action. First, we must pray. We must pray that the Spirit of God that dwells within us will convict us of the things of God. We must pray that our hearts and minds, through the power of the Spirit, will submit to all the declarations of Scripture. We must pray that our misconceived thoughts about the Almighty will be nullified and replaced with proper ones. Second, we must be diligent students of the oracles of God. We must test every nook and cranny of our hearts, minds, and lives against the clear commands of Scripture and destroy all of our inconsistencies. Third, having prayed and having come to a proper understanding of God and his commands, we must proclaim these to the Church. A medicine that remains in the cupboard is of no benefit to the dying soul, “For how are they to hear without a preacher?” Finally, the Church must be purged of those who resist the will of God. These steps might take a lifetime to accomplish, or, if the Lord so desires, might never be accomplished in our lifetimes in our churches. And yet we must try for his name’s sake.

The first step is a crucial one. We must pray. Therefore I propose that those of us who are willing meet weekly for prayer for the American Church. There is no power for change apart from the working of the Spirit of God, and we must seek his power and implore him for wisdom. I propose that Saturday mornings be designated for such a time of prayer, but other times can be proposed and considered. Your input is desired.

To God Alone Be the Glory,

Matt Brown

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Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23).

In a weekly worship service, a not so well known man quoted a fairly well known man as saying, “America left God when she disallowed praying in her public classrooms.” At another time in the service, a man prayed (in the context of Barack Obama’s winning the presidency) “Lord, America is walking away from you.” At another time, a man designated to pray prayed not his own prayer but recited Thomas Jefferson’s at his presidential inauguration. “What’s your point?” you ask.

The point is American Christianity in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries looks much more like the Christianity of Constantine than it does the Christianity of the Apostles. Just like the Christianity of Constantine and the Judaism of the Scribes and Pharisees, American Christianity is a political facade more than it is a life devoted to one’s own death; it is a cake of paganism topped with a vague semblance of Christian icing. We bicker and grumble over prayer leaving a public classroom, when it is the husband and father, not the public school system, who is designated by God to lead his family toward holiness. We distress over a democrat winning the presidency of this puny, temporal country when Christ has been, is, and will be reigning as Sovereign King over the universe forever and ever. We lament over the “loss” of America’s Christian foundation, when the persons who founded this country were no more followers of Christ than the plane hijackers of Nine-Eleven.

We bicker and stress over these things because we have been brought up to do so. We have been brought up to think that America is somehow different than every other country in the world. We have been brought up to think that America is God’s second shot at a chosen nation. We have been brought up to think that we, as God’s choice nation, have some exemption to the Apostles’ Christianity and to certain fundamental aspects of Christianity.

Disagree? Poll American Christians about the ethics of the American Revolution, and ninety-nine percent will justify the Revolution in spite of Jesus’ command to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and Paul’s discourse on a Christian’s duty to submit to authorities in the fourteenth chapter of Romans. Ask the typical American Christian about Jesus’ command to sell all for his name’s sake, and he will slither around the point and justify his prosperity as if he has been doing it his whole life. Ask the typical American Christian about his 401k’s and his IRA’s and retirements in light of the rich fool’s bigger barns in twelth chapter of Luke, and you will get the typical, “Christ was not speaking of everyone, just the rich fool.” Show the typical American Christian your plan for selling all that you have to give to the poor and thereby store up for yourself treasure in heaven and inherit eternal life, and you will get a snicker and an, “Are you serious?”

Why is American Christianity this way? It is because American Christians have found contentment in disobedience. They feel content and justified ignoring the laws of Christ because they have replaced them with a set of christian-esque laws that they have created for themselves. Just like the Pharisees and hypocrites of Jesus’ day, American Christians are too busy keeping their own agendas to worry about God’s agenda. They are too busy working to pay for their plush lives to worry about meditating on God’s law. They are too busy fighting to keep the Ten Commandments nailed on the wall of the courtroom to worry about actually keeping them with their lives. They are too busy studying up on the backgrounds of a hundred politicians who promise to fight for prayer in schools all the while their children, who are glued to the television, know nothing about God. They charge into battle, like Constantine, with crosses painted on their shields against the people of the world, all the while Christ is saying, “You are not fighting for me.”

Our dire plight as the American Church will only start to be remedied when we realize, as the disciples did after Jesus’ crucifixion, that Jesus is not a political Messiah. His desire then as it is now is not to create a Christian nation in America but it is to call a people to himself who will love him and keep his commandments. I suggest that we in the American church, who are more ingrates than Christians, stop whining that our tax dollars are going to support the undeserving and remember that Jesus’ blood was spilt for us who are thousand times more undeserving.

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—-and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you see that you excel in this act of grace also(2 Cor. 8:1-7).

A big problem with American Christianity is that it is all supposing and no practice. We suppose that if we were persecuted for the sake of Christ that we would keep the faith. We suppose that if Christ called us to forsake our family and friends and to follow him that we would drop our nets and follow him. We suppose that if Christ commanded us, like he did the rich young ruler, to sell all of our possessions and give them to the poor that we would. And we suppose that if we found ourselves impoverished, that we would be satisfied with Christ as our portion. At least so we suppose.

Our problem also is that we view these Scriptural “supposals” as the circumstances of a niche and not as demands for the whole. We cannot be persecuted, for example, because we live in a free country. We do not have to sell our possessions, because Jesus was simply making a moral point. And we do not have to worry about being happy in poverty, because, obviously, impoverishment isn’t our calling as Americans.

But then we encounter the impoverished Macedonians. These saints could have easily looked at their poverty and concluded that the Lord did not bless them with the gift of giving. They could have easily been content with praying for the needy saints and with tending to their own physical needs. But they were not content. They heard of the church’s plight and chose to give to the saints according to their impoverished means–that is, whatever little they had in excess. And yet they were not content with that. Scripture says that the Macedonians begged the Apostle to allow them to give beyond their means to the relief of the saints. What does this mean? It means that the Macedonians became creative. They looked at their present impoverished way of living and asked themselves what they could do as a church to consume less so that they might give more. Perhaps they decided that they could live okay on one meal a day instead of two. Perhaps they decided to squeeze multiple families into one home to cut their housing expenses. Perhaps they decided to make do with the clothes on their back though they were worn and torn. Whatever they did, they did it with joy-filled hearts, because they gave all of themselves to God and his purposes.

Now, let’s take a look at ourselves. Do we even give according to our means to the relief of the saints of God and to the spreading of his Gospel? I must confess that I do not, and I am sure that most of us, if we were honest, would admit that we do not. We certainly do not give beyond our means and are, for this reason, robbing ourselves of the same joy that the Macedonians had in Christ alone. Let’s for the sake of our joy challenge each other to be like the Macedonians and to think of creative ways that will minimize our consumption and maximize our giving.