For the Record

Spiritual Lessons

For the record –

God's primary purpose in saving us in NOT to unfold His wonderful plan for our lives.

Jesus is not the way out of life's problems.

Christianity is not the answer to our unhappiness.

We do not need to accept Christ in our life to find peace and joy.

Depression is not of the devil.

Jesus does not save the righteous from less sorrows than the wicked.


I needed to get that off my chest. If you listen long enough you find that the popular Christian message seems to say otherwise. And it's despicably wrong.

It sounds nice to imply that sinners will find better lives if they trust Jesus as their savior, but it's simply not true. It doesn't matter how many times it's promised from the pulpit or guaranteed in a tract, or taught from a life coach. Reality shatters every delusion.

In my own very short life I have experienced grief. I've watched others face tragedies. I've heard nightmarish accounts. And I've wept with heartbroken people. Christians – all of them.

And yet “a life of happiness” and a “wonderful plan” is still what is offered to the unsaved. If only they will believe on Jesus.

We'd better hide the Foxe Book of Martyrs then. And it would be a good idea to ignore how the disciple's lives ended. Better stop our ears when the prayer requests are read at church. Smile when we are actually hurting inside. Disfellowship with the depressed Christian.

I'll never forget the homeless man in Portland that I talked to.
As soon as I brought up “Jesus” he stopped me and smiled wanly – “Don't tell me Jesus is the cure. Don't talk to ME of happiness and joy. Don't give me promises. I've seen it all. If Jesus is escape from suffering why does He allow suffering in “the saved”? Why does the Pastor have cancer? Why was that little child abused? Why are they homeless?”
He was bitter from all the hollow promises he had heard over and over from Christians.

And he's right. Why do Christians promise something they themselves don't have?

History proves Christianity to be a cost, not a self-help program. All you have to do is look at the suffering of the underground church today to know that Christianity isn't a bed of roses.

Instead, all have fallen short of the glory of God. All are guilty enemies of God in need of righteousness. Mankind is condemned to Hell. The wages of your sin is death. But God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die in your place. The only way to accept such forgiveness and payment is to repent and believe. You won't find an experience; a way out of your problems; or a life of happiness. But you will be given a new life restored to your Creator. You will still have heartache. Still have tragedies. Struggles and sorrow. Just like the rest of the world. But unlike the world, you will have His mercy, and He can work your heartache for good.

Give the true gospel and you won't have bitter unbelievers who spit at your hypocrisy.
Share the truth and you won't have disillusioned Christians falling on the wayside when persecution comes.

Stop making false promises and you won't have false conversions.
Get off the conventional Christian bandwagon. It will only lead you to misery and lead unbelievers to Hell.


Related Posts:

Spiritual Correctness


When Surrender is our Idol

A Broken Roof

A Broken Roof

“ In the second chapter of Mark we read the interesting and instructive story of four men who brought a paralytic to the Lord Jesus Christ by breaking the roof of a house. Jesus had been teaching in a home in Capernaum. A great crowd soon assembled until they filled the house, and were crowded around the outside, making it impossible for anyone to get near the door to see and hear Him. But in Capernaum there was a man who, because of a sinful life, was afflicted with a dreadful disease. He was humanly speaking, hopeless. He could not walk. He had no means of getting to the Lord Jesus, but he did have four friends who were interested in him. The other folk had all flocked to hear the Lord Jesus for themselves, and had forgotten about the poor man who had no way of enjoying the same blessing. I fear that in these days there are many similar situations. There are many people who are so busy learning theology and feeding upon the blessed truth of the Lord Jesus Christ that they forget their duty toward the poor sinners round about who have never gazed in faith upon His blessed face.

Can you not see them coming down the dusty road? They had made an improvised ambulance, probably similar to a stretcher, and on this the poor fellow lay. But, as they came to the house, they found so many folk crowded around the Lord Jesus that there was no room to bring the poor sinner to Him. What a tragedy! There were so many people who wanted to hear teaching that there was no room for a poor sinner to come to Christ! We are living in a day similar to that, I fear. Amid all the divisions and separations among believers, both in and out of the denominations, we are so busy defending the Book and discussing fine points of doctrine that we have forgotten the greatest desire and commission of the Lord Jesus. That this interpretation is not incorrect is clearly borne out by the fact that Jesus immediately stopped teaching the crowd and applied Himself to the more important business of saving and healing this poor paralytic. Again the story emphasizes the need of our bringing men to Christ if they are ever going to come. The Lord has so ordered the plan of salvation that men and women are saved only as we bring them to the Lord. Man by nature is not sick. He is dead! He is impotent and as unable to find Christ without help as a dead man is to come forth from the grave. 

Because four men were more interested in this poor man than they were in hearing Jesus, this fellow was saved. Humanly speaking, the poor man would have died in his sin and disease were it not for the interest these four men had in his condition. 

God can make a bumper crop of wheat grow on the pavement of Fifth Avenue in New York City without help from man, but He has never done it, and He never will. God’s way of raising a crop of wheat depends upon man. It is only as the farmer plows and drags and sows and cares for his acre that the Lord gives the increase, though He is omnipotent and needs no help from man. So, too, it is in the spiritual realm. God could save every human being without the help or aid of His children, without a tract, a dollar or a missionary. But God does not do things that way. It is God’s plan that man will be saved only through the instrumentality of others. His commission is ‘Go ye, go ye, and preach the Gospel.’ ‘Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ God has given us the commission and placed at our disposal the only two necessities for soul-winning: the Word and the Holy Spirit, and if men are not saved, it will not be His fault, but ours, and our alone.

A broken roof was the only means of getting this man to the Lord Jesus. These men were in earnest. The matter was not a side issue with them; they forgot everything else in their eagerness to help the man. They could not get through the door. Evidently a window was not available, either. What could they do? Necessity is the mother of invention, so these men made their way to the roof and the friend was lifted; then they began to break the roof. Can you imagine the effect on the crowd? Can you no hear a grumbler demand that someone make ‘that bunch of maniacs quit disturbing the meeting’? But not a word from the Lord. He must have been pleased. Notice the conduct of Jesus. Not a word of surprise. Not a rebuke for breaking up a Bible class to save a soul. Not a word because the decorum of the meeting had been disturbed. But Mark tells us: ‘When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.’ (Mark 2:5) Two words need special consideration here: ‘Their faith’. Not the sick man’s faith, but their faith. I know that men are saved by their own personal faith in Jesus Christ, and that you cannot be saved by my believing, and yet it is true as well that men and women are being lost because of our lack of faith. It is equally true that men do find Jesus through the faith of others. Men are perishing because we have not faith. 

Oh, God, make us dead in earnest! Set us on fire! Help us to break up our homes if need be to bring this paralyzed, dying word to Christ. Many of us have pleasant roofs over our heads. With much labor we have made a comfortable place for ourselves while the world is perishing for lack of Christ. Oh, for a zeal that will make us willing to ‘tear up the roof’ and forget all false propriety and selfish endeavor to bring the message to those who never heard it! Think of Christ. It was He who said, ‘This is my body, which is broken for you.’ He had a home in heaven, but He left it all and came and dwelt as a man despised and rejected, a friend of sinners, and went all the way to Calvary to die that you might live.
Here is what is wrong with the Church. We have lost our vision of the reality of the terribleness of the condition of lost man. Sin is real! Hell is real! The danger is real! Yet too often we are more concerned about the roof over our heads than the foundation under our feet.

Oh, God, help us to break the roof of materialism and worldly interest and open up the house to heaven until the answer comes down! We are not in earnest as we should be. Oh, God, break our hearts for Thee! Grant us visions of Thy compassion for the souls of men!
How richly these men were repaid. While some might have thought that Jesus would surely reprimand them for their clumsiness, He honored their faith and not only forgave the man’s sin but healed his body. When the Church of Jesus Christ gets so dead in earnest that it is willing to leave its beautiful self-made ritual and refinements of architecture and external worship and stop its quibbling about doctrine and let the ‘zeal of the house eat it up,’ we shall have the greatest revival the Church has ever seen.”

-M. R. DeHaan (“Broken Things” p. 61-66)

Keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing/Abortion

Political/ World Issues 

Recently a Maid Arise reader shared with me how she would like to see more on the Abortion issue.  She also lamented on the fact that there seems to be no Christian resources to glean from on this topic.  I wanted to share something that was written by guest writer Chris Hutto .  Also I would like to share some resources.  Plus if you are interested in other posts on the topic please see the Political/ World Issues  page of this blog!

Keep the Main thing, the Main thing

by Chris Hutto 

I would like to address the opposition we face from Christians for abortion abolition. Some don’t think it's the Christian's job while others just become offended anytime they hear a “thus saith the Lord.” There are many avenues from which other Christians attack the abolition standpoint but really I only want to focus on one of them.

Whenever you do something bold for God you will be criticized. Whenever you stand up for what is right you will be mocked. Whenever you choose which side of the fence to be on and stay on it someone is going to be offended. That's because people don’t like it when someone else rocks the boat. People find comfort in consistency and conformity. It's much safer to agree. It's much easier to passively stand by. But is this the Christian thing to do? 

Some Christians say that we shouldn’t judge people or that we all just need to get along. Some cry, “peace” when there is no peace. Christians were never meant to be silent in the face of evil. We are soldiers and ambassadors. The world craves ambiguity but as Christians we don’t need to fit in. We were never meant to keep our opinions to ourselves. We are taught in society to follow the masses and even those that have promoted individuality through things like media and clothing brands have become the newest fashions and trends. We have become robots in a society of illusions. Everyone claims that they want to be different but insist that no one challenge the world view that has been hand crafted for them by the god of this world.

"Whenever you stand up for what is right you will be mocked. Whenever you choose which side of the fence to be on and stay on it someone is going to be offended. That's because people don’t like it when someone else rocks the boat.”

As Christians we automatically don’t fit in. This isn’t a condemnation or something to be ashamed of. We willingly traded our conformity to the world for the transformation of Christ at the blood stained cross. We throw off the weighty expectations of the world everyday when we pick up our own cross that has also been stained with the blood, sweat and tears of our own ambitions, dreams and desires. We have been crucified with Him. He was crucified outside the camp, why do we deserve any different? We are salt and light. Salt is painful to the stinking wounds of sin. Light is blinding to the inky darkness of evil.

"As Christians we automatically don’t fit in. This isn’t a condemnation or something to be ashamed of. We willingly traded our conformity to the world for the transformation of Christ at the blood stained cross."

 

I said all that to say this --  No matter what you do for God in this world you will be reviled. It was God's plan. Always has been. And it's okay. Both sinner and saint will criticize and complain. Does it change the legitimacy of our cause? No. Should it hinder the work? No. If you stand up against sin the sinner will say you are too judgmental while the saint says you are self-righteous. If you boldly proclaim the truth the sinner will say you are hateful while the saint says you are full of pride. 

Since obeying the great commission and reaching the lost with the Gospel the most hurtful attacks I have experienced against the work have come from fellow Christians; fellow soldiers. It isn’t the homeless drunk that lashes out, he already knows he's a sinner, but the comfortable Christian sitting apathetically in the barracks. Its easy to lob grenades at your own guys while they are fighting the enemy because they have their backs to the comfort of the barracks. They are charging the gates of Hell.

"We have become professional takers.”

The work of abortion abolition is not for the weak. If you are looking for recruits to criticize the guys on the battlefield, you don’t have far to go. The churches are full of them. Not only does the Christian soldier have to deal with the frontal attack of the enemy but the back biting attack of his comrades. The pews have become the comfortable barracks of the Christian army. It has become the mess hall where you never have to leave, only to glut on the abundance of food. We aren’t fed week after week, month after month, year after year to grow fat and lazy. It is better to give than to receive. Our crosses are never for ourselves but for others. 

We have become professional takers. We have mastered the art of cross bearing just enough to hoard the benefits for ourselves. Sitting in church is what a ''good'' Christian is supposed to do. The bearing of our crosses and burdens look so spiritual. But what about giving? What about sharing the good news? What about boldly standing up for truth? Often all you get in return is a mocking stare, an unkind word, a whisper behind your back.

Those whispers become the very flames of discouragement and doubt that destroy the battle ready soldier of Jesus Christ. We are all guilty of this are we not? Gossip and backbiting have become one of those sins that Christians sweep under the rug by adding a bit of humor and a lot of quenching of the Holy Spirit. 

I'm writing this to address one of those sneaky darts that so often pierce the armor-less back of the fighting soldier. I’m writing this both to those that have been hurt by that dart and those that are throwing them, from the shadows of the barracks. There are many darts being thrown around carelessly, but I want to focus on just one of them. 

I call it the, “Keep the main thing the main thing” argument. Many Christians, once they get a preconceived idea about something, paint everything with the same brush. The best way to try and destroy someone’s viewpoint is to build a straw-man argument, paint it with their misinformed, preconceived notion about that argument and than knock it down with skewed logic. By misrepresenting someones position it makes it much easier to attack.

Many Christians, when confronted with the question whether or not they should be actively “delivering those being drawn to death” will say, “keep the main thing the main thing” or something similar. What they are saying is that we shouldn’t be focused on a side issue when we should be spreading the Gospel. It sounds good but it is a straw-man argument. 

In one sense they are right. No matter how many people we convince that abortion is wrong, if they aren’t saved, they will still go to Hell. But do we dismiss the subject in light of their salvation? I believe Christians with this mindset don’t really understand the very Gospel message they are championing as the “main thing.” I'm not saying they aren’t saved but that they missed a vital step in convincing men of sin and leading them to the cross. Does abortion abolition and salvation have to be separate? No. Actually they can't be apart. 

“Man must be convinced by the law that he is a sinner, that he is sick before he will willingly take the cure, Christ's blood atonement.” 

First of all, what is the Gospel message? The death, burial and resurrection of Christ. But how do we convince people that they need it? That is what often is missing. We shouldn’t go up to people and say, “Just turn to Jesus and He will save you.” They will say, “save me from what?” Man must be convinced by the law that he is a sinner, that he is sick before he will willingly take the cure, Christ's blood atonement. 

Was Paul not “keeping the main thing the main thing” when he boldly preached against superstition and idolatry on Mars Hill? If Paul were alive today his fellow comrades would have berated him for preaching against one thing. They would have said he had too narrow of a focus. Why wasn’t he preaching the Gospel and asking if they wanted Jesus to come into their hearts? Because he first had to destroy their false notion of innocence. First he had to convince them of their sin. He had to preach against the wickedness that was dear to their hearts. What is dear to the hearts of the American people? Might it be the idols of convenience and comfort? Maybe its the callousness toward life or the addiction to pleasure. How many babies have been murdered on the alters of these very things? Fifty-six million so far.

"The world doesn’t need anymore cute messages of universal peace and love.”

Humanity must be shaken to the core of its blind ignorance. The world doesn’t need anymore cute messages of universal peace and love. What the world needs is a broken heart. God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble. Did Jesus fail to “keep the main thing the main thing” when He cleansed the Temple? Maybe He was wisely striking at the heart of greed and irreverence. There's no hope until the sickness is revealed and taken seriously.

If attempting to save the lives of innocent babies isn't enough for the dart throwing Christians at the very least I would hope they could see that the abortion issue is often the very means to salvation for a wounded soul. The law must be used before grace is applied but sometimes the conviction of lying and stealing and adultery isn’t enough. I’ve had people proudly proclaim that they were lying, stealing, blasphemous, fornicators at heart. Sometimes we need the indictment of murder to get them to see the light. 

Abortion strikes hard at the soul of humanity. How couldn't it? It is the legal slaughter of children by their own parents. Christianity isn't a spectator sport. Something must be done but if the majority of Christians are content with apathy I would implore them to stay out of the way and sit in the comfort of the barracks and gorge themselves on the meat of the Word. The pews are comfortable. The camp is friendly and inviting. Maybe then in the slumber of inaction and disobedience they will stop throwing darts and hindering the work of the Lord.

Please visit Chris' blog dedicated to abortion: voicesofdissidence.wordpress.com