DEFENDING THE FAITH?

Numbers 33:40-35:34; Luke 5:12-28; Psalm 65:1-13; Proverbs 11:23

 “But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live. And I will do to you what I had planned to do to them.”

 “Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, ‘Young man, your sins are forgiven.’ But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, ‘Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!’  Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, ‘Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.’ Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!’ And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God.”

“Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all. 
What joy for those you choose to bring near, those who live in your holy courts. What festivities await us
inside your holy Temple.”

There is no persecution quite like “religious” folks’ persecution of other Christians. I lead an adult Sunday school class that just started a study based on a somewhat controversial book. The point is not to teach the book as gospel but to use it as the fiction it is simply to encourage closer examination of our beliefs regarding some pretty tough issues. The Church itself supports the study, but one zealot – who has never even read the manuscript or any of my class outlines – felt it necessary not just to vilify the book, but to loudly condemn its author, our class and even the pastors who support the series (of course, also all without hearing a word of what actually was taught). This is not an isolated instance in our Church, or others. Forgive the editorial comment, but Christians like that give Christianity a bad name.

There is a big difference between defending the faith against outside pagan influences and unjustly condemning our brothers and sisters in the faith for their differing perspectives. Not once does Scripture encourage anyone to leave their intellect at the church narthex. The Bible itself negates the claim that Scripture is the ultimate, complete and final revelation of God; otherwise, we would not need the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the deep mysteries of God or to show us the mind of Christ (see, e.g., 1 Cor. 2:9-16).  Perhaps it is answer enough to recognize, as Paul does, that, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” On the other hand, though, perhaps we need to examine more closely why we so willingly attack those within the Church and yet so timidly confront the fleshly influences in our own lives and so weakly defend the faith to those outside it!

The Israelites had their Canaanites. Jesus had His Pharisees. Peter and Paul had each other. (Even they disagreed - pretty violently, actually - about how the Gospel should be presented!) There is a pattern here. With each conflict, the proverbial bullets hit closer and closer to home. All of us must battle the things and ideas that would draw us personally away from God. But we must be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath. Discouraging any seeker who is genuinely trying to find his or her way to Christ is dangerous business. Rather, might I suggest we actually start to believe and trust in Romans 8:28 and Mark 9:40? The Holy Spirit is a much better guide and censor than any of us. We don’t need to be consumed with judgment, either; God can handle that just fine. We should be working to build the Body of Christ, not tear it down.