Look for the Christian Label

Recently a few different articles have come my way. One was from the blog of a person who had experienced physical or emotional abuse by her "evangelical" parents. Another was an article from a friend saying that "dispensational theology" may be a "wolf in sheep's clothing." I encountered a person with an opposing point of view, taking "dispensationalism" as a badge of pride, then expounding on how bits & pieces of the King James Version (the "only true version," of course) proved it.

In this article I'm not going to expand on my issues with all of the above. I just have one thing to say:

Stop the labeling, already!

In the interest, or lack thereof, of full disclosure, I am not a Dispensationalist. I am not a Calvinist. I am not an Arminian. I am not a Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Lutheran (either type), Wesleyan, a Smith-follower (neither Chuck nor Joseph), an Evangelical, a Fundamentalist, or any other label you wish to try to stick on me.

"But how can that be?" you may ask. "Don't you believe in...?" I happen to believe in several dispensational beliefs. I happen to agree with some of what Calvin said. I also happen to agree with some of what Jacobus Arminius ("the other guy") taught. John Wesley had some agreeable things to say, and I do like what Chuck Smith, Charles Stanley, Jerry Falwell, and numerous others have taught.

But I don't follow them.

Paul knew that the church at Corinth was dealing with something similar. In 1 Corinthians 1:11-3:15 (yes, I know, a long passage, but it's all important) Paul hits them head-on with that fact. The Corinthians weren't a united group of Christians. There were followers of Paul. There were Apollosians. Some even downgraded Jesus to "good teacher" status and added Him to the mix.

Paul had enough of it. He treated them like little children, because that's how they were acting. He told them to break down the walls and remember that it was Christ who gave His life for them (1 Corinthians 2:2). It's a simple message, simpler than what these people who prided themselves as great philosophers and possessors of expansive wisdom wanted to hear.

Consider †his: the grace offered on the cross is that simple!

Christianity isn't complicated. There's no good reason to make it complicated. It only causes division, which makes a world literally dying in its sin wonder what we have that they need. They don't need division. They don't need high-sounding labels! THEY NEED GOD!

Plenty of people have plenty of good things to say. Many people need what God reveals through the Bible. Nobody needs to have a theology degree to come to Him. Theology can enrich one's life, and that can be used for God's glory, but not when it divides and allows the devil to conquer our delivery of the Good News.

I refuse to be labeled by theology, politics, or anything except my name. Even then, if my name doesn't make somebody think of Christ, then I need to change that label, too.

What labels do you need to throw away today?

More Than Who Can Handle?

One verse that Christians like to use to comfort themselves and each other is 1 Corinthians 10:13. We find comfort in the thought that God “won’t give us more than we can bear.”

Recently I’ve been reading a couple of Charles Stanley’s books. One in particular is How to Handle Adversity. I found it curious that it wasn’t titled “How to Overcome Adversity.” Indeed, the book isn’t about how to battle adversity and come out the victor; rather, it’s about how to understand what God may be saying, or not saying, during difficult times.

The book led me to think back to the 1 Corinthians verse. I like to take things in context, so here it is with some of the surrounding material:

¹For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. ²They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³They all ate the same spiritual food ⁴and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the same spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. ⁵Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

⁶Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. ⁷Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” ⁸We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did – and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. ⁹We should not test Christ, as some of them did – and were killed by snakes. ¹⁰And do not grumble, as some of them did – and were killed by the destroying angel.

¹¹These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. ¹²So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! ¹³No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to us all. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

¹⁴Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. [1 Corinthians 1:1-14, Today’s NIV]

There are tons of things that could be brought forth from just that little smidgen of Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, but let’s stay focused here. The famous “beyond what you can bear” verse deals with temptation, not adversity. Surprised? Granted, much adversity can come from the consequences of our sin, as Paul wrote earlier. Adversity, though, can come for other reasons; consider Job as the most famous example of one who suffered extreme adversity that wasn’t caused by sin. The blind man mentioned in John 9 was born blind, but not due to sin, but so that God’s glory could shine forth (John 9:3).

So where is our hope in adversity? Consider This: God’s still there, and God still cares. When Joshua was ready to take Jericho in the name of the Lord, God told him numerous times to “be strong and courageous,” because God was with them. We might not be able to bear the suffering, but God can, if we cast all our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:6-11).

One pastor, in his “Faith Engineer” blog at http://www.faithengineer.com/2008/01/god-wont-give-you-more-than-you-can.html, cited another pastor dealing with this. Quoting that other pastor: “It does not imply that God won’t let you be stressed beyond what you can bear. Or challenged beyond your ability. Or pushed beyond your threshold. In reality, God gives you more than you can bear all the time. On purpose. It’s only when you can’t bear the load that the strength of Christ kicks in… and He becomes everything you need and more.”

REAL Love

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody.

Earlier this evening I confessed to a friend that I had forgotten that today was the day where too many guys will get tons of grief from their "significant other" because they, too, forgot the day. My friend, a young lady who recently got engaged, asked if if my wife and I even celebrate the day. I told her we did, after a fashion. I told her that I recently heard someone on the radio mention that today was when many girls and women receive stuff out of obligation. I asked, "what's the romance in that?"

Love should never be restricted to a single day of the year (or two, if you also include the mysterious "Sweetest Day" in the fall). True love is even more than a lifestyle. True love is something that's so much a part of you that it just won't let go.

What is this true love? 1 Corinthians 13 in the Bible describes it. The NIV renders it thusly:

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I know of nobody on this planet who lives up to that definition. I certainly don't. this past week showed me that I'm a far way off from that kind of love. That kind of unconditional perfect love comes from only one source: God!

This Valentine's Day, and every day, Consider This: God sets the example and empowers us to love. Instead of obligating or being obligated just because it's a particular calendar day, simply show and live love!