A Word to the Broken

This week a friend of mine and his wife, Cody and Sarah, suffered a heart breaking tragedy in their family.  They lost their baby boy, only seven weeks away from his due date.   I cannot fathom for one second the pain they are going through.  I won’t try to explain away this happening with trite phrases about God’s will.  While it is true the each of our appointed dates with death are by his sovereign design, understanding this fact does nothing, absolutely nothing to assuage the pain we endure in the moment.  Pain is a necessary burden in a fallen world.  If it were not for pain and suffering, many of us might have never met Jesus.  With that thought in mind, I want to make a meager attempt to offer some simple words about what we can do with our pain.

The first thing I would say is don’t ignore it.  The temptation to bear a stiff upper lip in the face of pain and tragedy isn’t brave, it’s foolhardy and will ultimately cause you to have contempt for people who allow their emotions to surface.  Your emotions are God-given, and when you experience them you are reacting the way God designed you to react.  As God’s image-bearer, you have been endowed with all the same emotions which he possesses.  He intends for you to experience them.  At the death of his close friend, Lazarus, Jesus, the creator of the universe, the creator of Lazarus, the man who was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, wept.  And it wasn’t one or two tears, he was deeply moved and wept very openly in front of everyone (John 11:35).  Many people want to spend time debating about why Jesus cried.  I say that’s not the point.  The point is that He is our creator, He is our model for living, and if He wept deeply, we can feel free to weep deeply as well.

Pain is to be shared.  It is right and good that when we are suffering we allow others to share the suffering with us.  I’ve seen people clam up and push others away when they are hurting.  This isn’t best and it’s contrary to how believers are to mourn.  The apostle Paul encourages his Roman readers to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep,” Romans 12:15.  If you are hurting, you bet there are people who love you who want to share in that suffering with you and walk through it with you.  Let them in.  You will be blessed, and you will bless them by allowing them to suffer along with you.

Finally, pain is a compass.  Pain helps us find true north.  Rather than burying pain, allow it to run its course.  Pain leads to the foot of the cross of Christ.  When all is lost, the only person who can offer comfort and purpose for continuing to move forward is Jesus.  The power of the cross has purchased for us a redeemed purpose that rises above the circumstances of life.  When you’ve dealt with your pain and allowed Jesus to redeem your pain, your pain will become your servant.  When Paul speaks to the Romans of being more than conquerers (Romans 8:37) this is what he means.  Not only do you overcome, but you come about and use the thing which once caused so much suffering, to bring glory to God by helping others endure their times of trial.  I didn’t coin this phrase, but I’ll use it anyways:  your pain is your ministry to others.  Don’t bury it, but endure it, overcome it, and make it your strength for helping others in their times of need.

My love and condolences to Cody and Sarah, and anyone else who reads this who has suffered such great loss.

A Word to the Wronged

As I was studying through Philemon this morning, I came to verses 15-16, which say:

“15 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever,?16 no longer as a slave?[3] but more than a slave, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.”

If you haven’t read Philemon, it is a letter to a man named Philemon, concerning his slave, Onesimus. Onesimus fled from his service to Philemon in Colossae and landed in prison with Paul in Rome. While with Paul, Onesimus was born again and served Paul during his incarceration. When Onesimus was released, Paul sent him back to Philemon with a letter charging Philemon to receive him back as a brother in Christ, and not as an escaped slave.

Paul suggests something scandalous in verses 15-16. Paul is suggesting that God ordained that Philemon be wronged by Onesimus in order that he would be led to Paul, and thereby led to Christ. How then should we take it when we are wronged? Could not God be orchestrating a miracle of redemption for the person who wronged you? Could the Lord be working out a plan that is larger than you or the person who wronged you? Who can say? It is only our responsibility to humbly accept both good and bad as from the hand of God. Job teaches us this very poignantly when he says to his wife:

“Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” Job 2:10

Too many of us, when we are wronged, coil up like snakes and defend our well being by biting any hand which draws near to us. In doing so, are we not biting the very hand of God who is not only the orchestrator of our circumstance, but also the one who is walking us through it? It is helpful to remember Proverbs 16:9:

“The heart of man plans his way,
but the?Lord?establishes his steps.”

This is a contrast. A believer may plan the way he or she wishes to go, but regardless, the Lord is establishing each step. As believers, if we are walking with him, then our plans and his direction are one. If we are planning our own ways, then we will be frustrated because we never end up where our plans intended to go. Every wrong, every blessing, therefore, is from his hand, each possessing a divine purpose that goes beyond our own tiny perspectives. Job understood this. Paul understood this. We too, are expected to understand this.

The Promise of Completion

Philippians 1:6 contains a precious truth, accompanied by a potentially difficult concept to grasp.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

The precious truth is that God will complete the good work he begins in us. It is the promise that once God saves us and begins the life-long process of making us like Jesus, he will finish the job. There are two implications we can draw from this truth:

1. Our salvation is secure because God has promised to complete the work he starts within us. In other words, once he saves us and gives us new birth, he will ensure that we remain in Christ so that he can complete his work in us.
2. If he starts the work of salvation and completes the work of salvation, then our remaining in Christ is resting entirely upon God’s power. It is not my efforts that keep me saved, it is God’s power that keeps me saved.

For many, number one is not difficult to embrace. Some Christians believe that a person who has been born again can fall away from the faith and lose their salvation, or become what some call carnal believers. I will put my cards on the table here and say I don’t believe in carnal Christians, nor do I believe the Bible supports their existence. Without going into a detailed explanation, let me just say that the Bible describes only two kinds of people: saved and lost; people who love the Lord and people who love the world; people who will inherit the Kingdom of God and people who will not. Read this for a brief, but succinct, explanation from the Scriptures of why there are no carnal Christians. And for those who believe you can lose your salvation, this verse presents an acute interpretive dilemma. How can one lose something that God has promised to complete? Either God is a liar, or it is impossible to fall away from the faith once you have been born again.

Now for the second implication; this one can make your head blow off. Philippians 1:6 describes in very brief terms the process of sanctification. Sanctification is the process which God puts us through so that we will become more like Jesus. The Bible contains several metaphors for sanctification. A particular favorite of mine is that of a refiner’s fire (Malachi 3:3). He burns out the impurities in our life. It is an intentional process where our life is tested by fire, and the things which are impure fall away, leaving a more Christ-like person. God has planned the end from the beginning. We will be more like Christ because he has given us his promise that he will completely transform us.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Where does our responsibility to obey come into play? How does God accomplish the transformation of our lives without violating our will? Let’s be honest. If God forced me to submit, the relationship wouldn’t be a love relationship. Somehow God accomplishes the transformation of our lives and yet at the same time, never forces us to love him and obey him. How? Through the cross, Jesus has purchased for us redeemed affections for God. In other words, when we are born again, the Holy Spirit takes residence within us and brings with him a new heart, new desires, and new affections toward God. Perhaps the most popular verse in all of Ezekiel describes for us what happens in salvation:

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

The Psalmist explains very clearly that God gives us new desires:

“Delight yourself in the?Lord,?and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

Without the new heart and the new desires we are given, we would never be transformed; thus, in order to transform us, God would have to violate our will. But because believers do receive these new desires and affections toward God in salvation, we genuinely desire to obey him all on our own, and pleasing him becomes our natural desire; thus God accomplishes our transformation with our willing participation. BUT, because God granted us the ability to willingly follow him when we were born again, any transformation we undergo still belongs to God and is from him, and through him and because of him. Believers can trust not only that God has forgave them saved them, but also that he will transform them and continually transform them until they stand before him, just like Christ, in Christ’s righteousness, glorified like Christ, and inaugurated into eternal rest with Christ. What a glorious promise it is!

Brother, sister, if you struggle with sin (and we all do), know that God will complete the good work he began in you. Don’t allow your setbacks and struggles to take your eyes off of the prize. Remember that he has made a promise to bring you to completion. Let this precious knowledge be what sets you free. Paul’s lament in Romans chapter 7 that he continues to sin even though he doesn’t want to (Romans 7:15-24) is immediately followed by these glorious truths in Romans 8:1-6, with which I will conclude:

“1?There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.?[1] 2?For the law of the Spirit of life has set you?[2] free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.?3?For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,?[3] he condemned sin in the flesh,?4?in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.?5?For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.?6?For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” – Romans 8:1-6

An Unpopular Opinion

I’m going to go out on a limb and express an unpopular opinion here. Invariably, ever since healthcare reform passed on Sunday, the comments have began flying. The vitriol and hatred is brimming over, the sarcasm has overflowed and conservatives everywhere are flushing red with anger. Conservative Christians are reeling right now, attempting to regroup and get their Tea Parties swinging in full force again. I’m sure that some believe the church has done far too little, in the wake of Sunday’s vote, to effect political change. Hmmm.

Let me be clear about two things before I say what I have to say. First, I am not in favor of the healthcare reform bill that has passed. Indeed, I believe that because of this, the next decade is going to see the United States undergo a fundamental transformation. Even if we vote in an entirely new Congress, the damage has been done. Once entitlements are disbursed, it is impossible to recall them. Second, I believe in participating in the political process. Voting, protesting, boycotting, they are all acceptable forms of political action which have their time and place for use. Christians, especially, should participate in the political process. It is a gift from God that we have the liberty to participate, so to not participate is equivalent to refusing that gift.

Now here comes the part where I’m going to go duck and hide after saying it. The Church is not a political force. If history has taught us anything, the Church cannot and should not be used to bring about political change. Look at the history of the Roman Catholic Church. When it became political, corruption ensued. From the moment Constantine crowned Christianity as the official state religion of Rome, everything began going downhill. The numerous stories in history of corrupt Popes, corrupt Bishops, inquisitions, forced conversions – all because the Church took the role of political force. This is the cornerstone reason that our founders wanted to keep the Church out of the political process. While not all of our founders were necessarily Christians, all of them agreed that the Church had no business in politics. No good has ever come about from the Church becoming political. Individual Christians should vote, and exercise their political liberties, but the Body of Christ, the Church should only be concerned about worshiping God and discipling the nations. If the Church goes beyond those two roles, she has exceeded her Biblical mandate and trodden outside of God’s purposes for her.

Romans 13:1 says, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” As believers, we are constantly at a crisis of belief when it comes to politics. If we believe that God has instituted our authorities – our Governors, Representatives, Senators, Justices, and Presidents – then logic follows that the laws they pass are also ordained by God to exist. Therefore we must ask, what is God’s purpose for allowing certain laws to be passed? What is God’s purpose for allowing healthcare reform to pass? Let’s ask a much more controversial question. What is God’s purpose in allowing protections for abortion to persist for the last 37 years? Even when there was a Republican majority, with a Republican President, abortion protections were not overturned. What shall we say to this? Is God unjust because he allows abortion to persist? I don’t understand everything about God’s wisdom in this. I just know that everything he does, everything that he allows has purpose that ultimately accomplishes his will. Here’s a huge for instance: God ordained that betrayal and murder be used to ensure that salvation was purchased for mankind. Jesus was betrayed by one of his close friends and was murdered on the cross by the authorities of the day. Yes, God has allowed bad things to happen in the past to accomplish his purposes. Why would today be any different?

You might ask, what is the difference between individual Christians being political and the Church being political? Isn’t the Church made up of individual Christians? Yes it is. However, there is a difference between me going to a voting booth or going to a protest on my own as an individual Christian and the Church consuming its time and resources on political action. I would rather spend a couple of hours on Sunday morning singing praises, studying the Scriptures and praying for salvation to come to the lost than praying against healthcare reform. What has more eternal value? What most clearly fulfills the purpose of the Church? It ain’t political action!!

It is important that individual Christians vote. It is important that individual Christians protest. We must vote for people who will usher in a righteous rule. We must vote for people who will strive to end abortion and unjust legislation that punishes hard work and rewards laziness. But the Church? Leave the Church out of it. We have enough to do with trying to save the world. There is no time to become political. You want righteous government? Let the Church work to bring salvation to the people instead of trying to effect political change. It’s a classic cart before the horse situation. If the people are righteous, then our government will follow as our elected officials will also be righteous, not vice versa.

Things That Need Resolution – Part Four

In this final installment of my Resolution series of articles I wanted to address something which is a problem for all Christians to varying degrees. I don’t know a Christian who will be exempt from this particular problem. It’s pervasiveness defies logic since the Bible is so very clear on what we should be doing. The problem is rules.

No denomination, no believer is completely free from the works and effects of man-made rules and regulations. I’ve been studying through Colossians for the past several weeks. Last week I arrived at Colossians chapter two. This chapter, in particular, deals with man-made religion, harsh self-discipline (asceticism) and its source. Here are a few key verses from chapter two.

“8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits [1] of the world, and not according to Christ.”

“15He disarmed the rulers and authorities [2] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. [3]“

“16Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.17These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”

“20If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations?€”21?€œDo not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch?€?22(referring to things that all perish as they are used)?€”according to human precepts and teachings?23These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”

These “elemental spirits” are the source of man-made rules and regulations. The elemental spirits are references to Satanic powers at work in the world. Man-made rules and regulations are demonic by nature. Therefore believers who are held captive by rules and regulations are demonized believers. Demonized does not mean possessed, but rather it means to be influenced, whether externally or internally. And by the way, we are all being demonized externally. All believers are suffering from the works and effects of Satan and his demons in this world. We are all bombarded with messages, on a daily basis, that have their origins from Satan’s schemes. So to be demonized isn’t necessarily an unusual thing. The thing that makes demonization unusual is whether or not we are willingly submitting ourselves to its works and effects.

What makes rules and regulations demonic (besides the fact that Paul clearly attributes them to demons)? If we succumb to rules and regulations, rather than focusing on Christ, we are now focusing on behavior. Satan wants us to stop thinking about Jesus. If he can sidetrack us with thinking about behavior, then he has accomplished his goal. Rules and regulations are put forth as ways to keep us from sinning. Don’t drink. Don’t chew. Don’t date people that do. Don’t buy lottery tickets. Don’t go to Las Vegas. Don’t go out dancing. Don’t watch movies. Don’t send your kids to public school. Don’t use contraception. Don’t date people. Don’t listen to secular music. Don’t read anything except your Bible. Don’t miss church. Don’t, don’t, DON’T!!!! Where is our freedom in Christ in all of that? I’m not saying that some of these things lack value. But when used as devices to keep ourselves from sinning, Paul clearly says they have no effect.

“23These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”

When our focus shifts to making sure we are observing rules, we have ceased to worship Jesus and have exchanged it for worshiping works. It is essentially the same sin they Jews committed as they slowly began to move away from worshiping God, and moved to worshiping the Temple instead. They mourned the loss of their Temple when it was sacked by foreign enemies, all the while forgetting that their father, Abraham, had no Temple and he worshiped God without any outward observances. It is faith which expresses true worship. If you are following rules and regulations, you are willingly enslaving yourself to a demonic deception.

I’m not advocating loose living here. I’m not saying we abandon the pursuit of holiness in our walks with Christ. What I’m saying is the pursuit of holiness, the process of sanctification does not find its fulfillment in man-made rules and regulations; it finds its fulfillment in a love relationship with Jesus Christ. Stop worrying about what people think, and start worrying about what Jesus thinks. Make Jesus the supreme object of your affections and all of this rules and regulations nonsense will begin to feel foreign. To obey is not an observance of rules. If you love Jesus, obeying is an act of love, not servitude. If you love Jesus you will know that his acceptance of you has nothing to do with works. This is freedom.

Things That Need Resolution – Part Three

The third installment of this series is related to Part One in a very direct way. My brother, John, alluded to it in his comment on Part One. There is a dire need within the church to define true Christian experience. Again, there are two camps in this debate. There is one side of the debate that leans heavily on experiences to define their Christian journey. The other side leans heavily in the other direction to allow only what is expressly written in the Scriptures to define their Christian journey. If you were raised in a more liturgical church this may have a very familiar feel to the debate over regulative worship or normative worship. Regulative worship, which is typically embraced by Reformed traditions, prescribes to a view that will only allow methods specifically mentioned in Scripture to be used in worship. In other words, we worship in ONLY the ways we see individuals worship in the Bible. Normative worship, which was embraced by individuals such as Martin Luther, views worship as inclusive of any activity that glorifies God so long as it does not violate Scripture. In other words, as long as Scripture doesn’t forbid an activity it can be redeemed for use in worship. Normative worship will be more accepting of experiences, regulative worship less accepting of experiences; but I digress.

Those who cling tight to their experiences would do well to remember that all Christian experience arises from a foundation of God’s word. If the experience you took part in does not have a sufficient root in God’s Word, then the experience was not sufficiently Christian. Too many people attend conferences, attend concerts, even attend church and have experiences which are emotional and powerful, but they are not from the Holy Spirit because the have no root in the Scriptures. Many experiences tend to center around music. This is dangerous because music, by design, is intended to manipulate the emotions. This isn’t bad, it has been its purpose since the first song was ever sung. The problem is that we can easily mistake the power of music itself for the power of the Holy Spirit. The same goes for dynamic speakers. Some men and women have a gift for communicating. We must take every word they utter and compare it to the Word, lest we be manipulated by the will of man, rather than the will of God. The sad thing, is that some people might be content with the manipulation because to take captive every experience and every word spoken to us is no small task. It requires study and it definitely requires time. But it is so worth it in the end to know that you are only being manipulated by the Holy Spirit in your experiences and not other forces.

On the other side of the coin, there are those who deny experience all together. This is an equal error. The New Testament clearly teaches that experiences is what authenticates the gospel. What do I mean? When Jesus told the disciples that the world would know that they followed him by their love for each other, he was giving the world the right to judge the authenticity of our message by the experiences they witness and partake of when they are among us. If we aren’t experiencing brotherly (and sisterly) love in our fellowship with each other as believers then our experience with each other is not Christian experience. It may have the external marks of Christian experience, but at its core, it is anything but Christian. And Jesus has made it clear that this is how the world will judge us; not by large attendance or the size of our buildings or by the busyness of our ministry efforts. It is by our love for one another that they will know us. This is the experience that authenticates the gospel.

The fruit of the Spirit may be a list of character traits, but what are character traits if there are no experiences in which they are clearly displayed (or not displayed)? Because the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to list these fruits, the common experience of all believers is that our behavior is marked by these characteristics. The display of these characteristics in experiences help us to authenticate the activity of the Holy Spirit in an individual. Why would we be given these fruit from which to draw comparison if we aren’t supposed make judgments? The obvious answer is that we are to make judgments about people’s behavior based upon these characteristics. Not judgments about salvation, but rather judgments about motive and whether or not a person is truly acting under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

Experience should neither be the sole guide for our spiritual walk, nor should they be completely cast aside. Experience is important in that our experiences with each other will provide a context for the world to see Jesus in action. If they can’t see him working, then the gospel is just another argument without any supporting evidence. Also, experiences provide the context for us to see the fruit of the Spirit at work in people. So it is through experience that we discern whether someone is being controlled by the Spirit or by something else. Experiences are a necessary part of the Christian journey.

Things That Need Resolution – Part Two

Next on my list of things that need resolution may not receive as much attention, as the first one, but it is currently doing plenty of damage, especially within Southern Baptist churches. A hard line is being drawn in the sand in many SBC churches against Reformed theology, otherwise known pejoratively as Calvinism (a label which I will not be using in this article). But I’m not here to pick on the SBC. My beef right now is primarily at those who would part fellowship over this matter.

Let me be clear on this up front. I adhere to a Reformed theological view of Scripture. My perspective on this is coming from someone on the receiving end of the anger towards Reformed beliefs. So I am welcoming someone to come into my life and shed some light on this matter for me.

The issue at hand is that within the Southern Baptists, within the Calvary Chapel denomination, and in my experience, generally speaking, there is a witch-hunt of sorts happening against people and ministers with Reformed beliefs. You basically have two or three lines of thought in the evangelical church today which believers and denominations fall into. There are Reformed churches, which tend to line up with the theological beliefs of the 16th century theologian, John Calvin. There are churches which line up more with a Wesleyan view of theology. Wesleyan churches branch off from the 18th century theologian John Wesley, who himself disagreed with John Calvin and adhered to the teachings of 16th century theologian Jacobus Arminius. Then there are churches which adhere to a mix of Reformed and Wesleyan theology.

Now that I’ve set up the main characters, let me describe the problem. I mentioned earlier that there is a witch-hunt of sorts happening among some evangelical churches to smoke out people and pastors with Reformed theology. Don’t believe me? Check out this blog entry: How to smoke out a Calvinist pastor in your church. Just go to Google and search the phrase “Calvary Chapel Calvinism” and take a look at what comes up. My question is “Why?”

Why does such hatred exist toward Reformed beliefs? As honestly as I can say this, I don’t know a person who believes in Reformed theology who is angry at Wesleyans or Arminians. But I know plenty of people who consider themselves Arminian or Wesleyan who get angry at Reformed theology and those who adhere to it. Please, please, please help me understand why this anger is so one-directional. Better than that, why does this anger exist at all?

The truth is that Reformed people and everyone else do ministry the same way. We preach the Gospel and ask the Lord to bring salvation. We share our faith the same way. We pray for people with the same urgency and passion. We do so many things the same way, yet this one theological question, which has so little to do with methodology has divided us. Our church, Emmanuel, is an SBC church. Our leadership is, for the most part, Reformed. We have elders and deacons. We believe in the sovereignty of God and the doctrines of grace. But our church’s doctrinal statement doesn’t require anyone to believe in Reformed theology. The Southern Baptist Faith and Message is not Reformed. We have been vocal about our insistence that you DO NOT have to believe in reformed theology to be a member or attend our church. We have not forced anyone or twisted anyone’s arm to become Reformed in their beliefs. But people still get angry, people still leave, people still mischaracterize our church’s beliefs even though we have been so careful to explain them.

This needs to stop. We must stop letting this doctrinal issue divide us. The vicious attacks against people and pastors of Reformed beliefs must come to an end. This is a dividing wall of hatred that is really built on misinformation and an unwillingness to walk humbly before the Lord. Reformed people have their issues too; see Thabiti Anyabwile’s blog entry about this. However, the larger issue on the scene is the witch-hunts against Reformed believers and pastors.

Things That Need Resolution – Part One

Of late, my mind has been drawn to a few dilemmas, which need resolution. Mind you, when I say ?€œresolution?€? I do not necessarily mean agreement. Agreement is a luxury that isn’t always readily available as an option. Since I have limited time to compose this post, I’ll get right to the point.

The first issue which needs resolution is the persistent divide that exists between fundamental evangelicals and charismatic/Pentecostal evangelicals. I don’t have any illusions about trying to bring agreement between these two branches of evangelicalism. However, there are some harmful assumptions, which each side makes about the other, which ensure that the wedge that exists between them continues to exist.

Charismatic/Pentecostal evangelicals make the first assumption I will address. The idea that the baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place as a secondary event to salvation creates a class of ?€œhaves?€? and ?€œhave-nots?€? within the church. The end-result can be that a form of spiritual elitism develops where the ones who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit have a greater understanding than those who have not. The assumption that those who have not been baptized in the Holy Spirit are some how lacking, creates a class system within the church ?€“ the ?€œSpirit-filled?€? Christians and everyone else.

I?€™m not going to address the validity of that doctrinal belief, but rather what I want to address is the fact that the sort of class system that develops is patently unbiblical. It is no wonder that there is such zealousness to have an experience within those congregations so that one can feel a part of the spiritual ?€œhaves.?€? I don?€™t make this accusation lightly since I have had people come out of those congregations and testify to their own ?€œfake?€? experiences. This sort of division breeds jealousy in the ?€œhave-nots?€? and therefore can illicit a contrived spiritual experience. In other words, they fake it. It also puts the entire fundamental evangelical wing of the church in the ?€œhave-not?€? category. This cannot be healthy.

On the other side of aisle, fundamental evangelicals, in their insistence upon the cessation of the gifts of tongues, prophecy and miracles, are forced to make a decision. There are three possible decisions.

The first decision is to believe that they are faking the gifts. True, there are those who have tried to fake miracles, who?€™ve falsely declared, ?€œThus says the Lord,?€? or who have faked the gift of tongues. But have all charismatic/Pentecostals done this? By accusing our brothers of faking the gifts, we have accused them of collectively lying.

The second decision is to believe that the tongues, miracles, and prophesying are indeed real, but demonically inspired. I haven heard, on multiple occasions, fundamental evangelical people smear charismatic/Pentecostals by saying this. It is no small charge to accuse our brothers and sisters of being demonized to the point that they are performing demonically inspired signs and miracles. To say this is to say that millions of born again Christians throughout the world are deeply and seriously, internally demonized. While I can accept that Christians can be demonized (this does not mean possessed) I cannot believe that the Lord would allow such a massive demonic deception to persist in his church for so long. We must look at the spiritual fruit. The fact is there are millions of godly men and women, who practice the ?€œPentecostal?€? gifts, that demonstrate good fruit in their lives. Fruit, which if they were demonized to such a deep degree, would surely not exist.

The third and final decision fundamental evangelicals can make is to simply dismiss the gifts as unnecessary and/or undesirable in worship. These people may accept the gifts as present in today?€™s church, but they have seen the abuses and have made a personal decision that these gifts are not worth the trouble that may come with them. The problem with this is that if you believe these gifts are present today and operating within the church, then you must also believe that God has continued their existence for a reason. To dismiss them is to dismiss God?€™s purpose for them.

What can we do? The wall that exists between charismatic/Pentecostals and fundamental evangelicals is more than a wall of doctrine. The fact is that this wall is full of a little doctrine and a lot of elitism, self-righteousness, and pride. The truth is that godly men on both sides of the aisle have come to their conclusions after carefully studying the Scriptures. Which camp is right? I don?€™t come to the end of this article with an answer. All I know is that both sides need to display some humility toward the other. I?€™m not going to reveal my hand on this. Rather, I would like to hear from you. What do you believe is the answer? I look forward to your input.