Alright, my last post was a little abrupt and out of the blue, perhaps. I was in a hurry. I found that article and was (not for the first time) disgusted with the words of Rick Warren. I like his 5 basic "purposes", though I don't agree with everything he says in that book. But some of his teachings just are not Biblical. This disturbs me because so many, both in the church and outside of it, see him as a spokesperson for Christianity and the church.
We cannot be wishy-washy. God is truth and His Word is Truth. We must stand up for that truth and not back down. Even if it offends. Yes, we are to speak the truth in love, but often people focus on the "in love" part and never get to the truth. If we do not stand for the truth, then the world and its secular culture will walk over us. They are quite willing to oblige. The world is all for materialism, self-satisfaction, and perversion of truth; even though it may disguise itself as helping and loving. As Christ-followers we are for truth, sacrifice, and holiness; and our wisdom is foolishness to the world.
"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the sill of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in a little while, 'He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved." Hebrews 10: 35-39
I'm glad I got that off my chest.
4 comments:
:) I thought it was clear enough. My mum had just been talking to us about the same thing. She hadn't seen the article you posted, but she saw the news story where he said all of those things.
We had long discussions about what the "politics" of publicity does to people who might have had the opportunity to be powerful witnesses for the truth.
rurlying ~ the art of telling an untruth in such a backward manner that no one can identify exactly why it's a lie.
alternate definition - deliberately misdirecting people who ask where your blog is located.
So, what do you think? Our church - do we err on the side of speaking the truth more than we love, or focusing on love to the point of neglecting truth?
Joe-
The answer would probably vary if you look at individuals. But I think our church as a whole does a fairly good job of balancing truth and love.
I'm not saying we are a perfect church (i have concluded that does not exist, sadly), but I think our faults are in other areas.
But we are not a church in the "limelight", so to speak. I am seeing a trend in churches and leaders (especially those with a lot of public attention) to put less emphasis on the message of salvation and more on social programs and social awareness and tolerance.
I could go on, but time limits me right now.
Scott Wilder, talk show host of KLTY, said he's not surprised at all by RW's recent comments, because he often tries to be non-commital about issues, and now we know his true beliefs..sad. In fact he (SW) said "if you still have any of his books, please throw them away." It does seem the religious "icons" are falling or failing to stand by Scripture when the pressure is on. Luther: "If I profess with the loudest voice & clearest exposition every..truth of God except precisely that little point where the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, & to be steady of all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point."
Post a Comment