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The Greater Cause

Posted by on August 24, 2012 in General | Leave a comment

Joel

Silence regarding these things that are harming the Church does not bring glory to God, and your inaction helps no one. – Joel Taylor

In 2011, according to one abortion statistic, there were approximately 1.2 million abortions.

It’s an important issue, and one which is discussed and hotly debated in the blogosphere often. So is politics, sports, food and religion.

All of them are important issues – to someone.

Of all the issues and topics we place our energy in and spend time promoting or defending, which of them is the most important? Or, how is our time best spent to the glory of God in obedience to His Word, especially when it comes to discussing causes or issues that we care deeply about?

In other words, as Christians, what should we be the most earnest about?

 

Yes, I see those hands. The glory of God. Good answer.

Of all the causes that absorb us and drive us to speak openly, publicly, on the blogosphere and socially, the greater cause is whatever God thinks is important and what He has to say on the matter.

The only way we can know the greater cause is from God’s Word. What’s important to God is important to us, right? We’ll speak unashamedly, promoting and defending His glory and His Word whenever it’s attacked or twisted to justify some wicked teaching that only puts people believing the lie in danger, right?

No, we won’t, and no, we don’t.

In the minds and hearts of far too many, there’s too much at stake if we speak out. Too much at stake if we go against the flow of popular opinion within our Calvinistic circles. To much to lose, too many friendships, book deals, coffee shop companionships and heaven forbid, too many ‘followers’ to lose on Twitter and Facebook.

I could have taken the popular approach and been vague, rhetorical and left a question unanswered, but that’s just not me.

When church leaders promise salvation, whether to an individual or a nation, in ways that God has not said, you need to speak. Is it not cowardly to not speak, and is it not because of selfish motives?

When those who claim Calvinism adopt worldly culture in order to ‘reach the masses’ by incorporating worldly music and other media –which the world loves – and you participate or say or write nothing against it, then you’ve compromised the Christian faith. You’ve compromised it because Christian doctrine dictates otherwise. You’re acting like a coward because you rely on something other than faith in the truth of God’s written word. Here’s a message for you.

Silence regarding these things that are harming the Church does not bring glory to God, and your inaction helps no one.

Convictions – An unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence. That’s how one dictionary defines it. Works for me.

I like convictions, in myself and others. I would rather hear or read a man of strong convictions on some biblical issue rather than a squeamish, wishy-washy, uncertain vagueness. In both cases, I’d rather see convictions even if that person is biblically in error.

I can understand someone being uncomfortable with a topic or doctrine if they lack enough knowledge to discuss it. There’s nothing wrong with that. None of us know everything, and we all, of course, will continue to learn throughout our lives.

More often than not, leaders of the Church remain silent or refuse to discuss glaring, wide-spread error in the church  either because they lack conviction or, to speak up contrary to the popular view of it would be detrimental to their ‘ministry’. That’s true and we all know it. In either case, such should not be found in the man of God who has been called to lead the local Church – especially if they have been approached regarding a salvific error. Souls are at stake, are they not? Is that not important to you?

Men being shown their error will build any number of straw men arguments in order to justify what they want to believe or do. Often-times, it is because they are in sin, or as Scripture puts it, such a one has been perverted and sins, being self-condemned. (Titus 3:11). Those are strong words – spoken with great conviction!

A preachers calling and duty is not to make you happy, but to proclaim the truth and leave the consequences up to God.

Brethren, consider it. Pray about it. Join me in the greater cause, and for the good of the Church.