As we grow older and gain more wisdom our perspectives may change. Some folks don’t like change, others are intolerant, and all should be skeptical. We never want to accept falsehoods that undermine our spiritual foundation. So, when we learn something we’ve not previously comprehended, how do we present it to honest brethren in ways that will not shake them?
Although it’s comfortable to sit firmly on held beliefs, that feeling of security may become a painful cactus sticking us in the derriere. A fresh look may be more biblically sound than some old paths. After all, we must carefully heed the warning of Jesus, “Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition” (Matthew 15:6ff).
Our goal must be to lift up Christ, not echo clichés that have become traditional. For instance, our penchant for certain words can diminish Christ while lifting the Church higher than the cross. We seldom say someone believed on the Lord, or became a disciple of Jesus, or began to follow Christ. Instead, we parrot the cliches and say someone “became a member of the Church.” Preachers urge their congregations to “be faithful to the Church” and never “leave the Church,” or if they do, to “come back to the Church”. It’s as though the church died for Christ, not he for the church.
Can you see what I’m saying; do you understand? How many times have you heard someone say, “So and so fell away from the church?” Why didn’t they say “So and so fell away from the Lord”? Now you tell me ~ who did they fall away from, if not the Savior?
You may argue that it’s only a matter of semantics, but is it? Or, could it be a mindset that diminishes the headship of Christ, and elevates the church as an institution?
The church didn’t die for us, Jesus did. When we accepted Christ, we became part of HIS church. The church is made up of all the saved people on earth. Your congregation is a family of believers who have been saved by the blood of the Lamb.
The Apostle Paul puts this in proper perspective as it’s not a matter of word usage, it is a matter of spiritual understanding. “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (Ephesians 1:18-23).
When we recognize the church as a body of people called out of sin into salvation because of the sin offering of its Savior, our speech will then acknowledge us as having our first devotion to the Lord. Let’s be careful to acknowledge and lift up Jesus (Jn.12:32), so all people will be drawn to him!
Private virtue, integrity, is the inner compass that maintains our direction. Without direction, the circles in which we travel eventually lead to heartbreak. Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to sin no more. He wanted to alter her inner compass. Integrity helps us maintain a monogamous relationship, just as it keeps us walking forward in all of life’s endeavors. Our core competence is the result of Christ in us. (Gal. 2:20)