STOP SPOON FEEDING THE CHURCH

 WE MUST STOP SPOON FEEDING THE CHURCH

    I have visited several churches. Many have a very nice social atmosphere. There is coffee in the vestibule with a selection of cakes or other snacks to help set the tone of a pleasant welcoming congregation. I suppose there really is nothing wrong with this in and of itself. Except that it helps to mask an underlying problem which has plagued our churches since my youth. The Apostle Paul pointed it out in Hebrews 5:12 "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of mild, and not of strong meat." We have become a church of infants.

    There seems to be an innate fear within the leadership of the churches. A fear that says, "If we teach the Word of God with intensity, as we would in a college or seminary setting, the congregation would get up and walk out. They would be overwhelmed and leave our congregation." And so, in an attempt to cater to the immature and ensure the pews are filled we opt for socializing the Word of God, keeping it on an elementary level so as not to lose members. The result? We have many large congregations starving for spiritual nutrition. Most are remaining infants, "For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe" (Heb. 5:13).

    The Apostle Peter anticipated this problem as well. In II Peter chapter one he lays out a lengthy description of the believer's current position as well as his need to apply these truths and develop his character. In verses 3-4b we read, "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: (v.4b) whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises...." He says, look at what we have. God has already given us everything we need as believers. And in our modern churches we stop here. We sing wonderful songs exalting this idea but we stop there. What does this mean? How does it occur? How does it become mine? What does it mean to me in my life? It makes for beautiful lyrics. But they become vain repetitions until we study the Word of God and discover the origin and purpose of these gifts.

    And then in verses 4b-9 Peter makes a point of saying that by these gifts and their application in our individual lives we become the saints of God we were meant to be. We become temperate, virtuous, knowledgeable, kind, and loving… but only as we learn what the Word of God teaches. When we fail to study as we ought, when the preachers and teachers fail to feed the flock, Peter says in verse nine that we become blind and even forgetful of how our salvation was ever obtained. We simply must teach the Word and stop entertaining in fear of losing members.

    In II Peter the Apostle goes on to say something I find fascinating. It seems to go against the prevailing wisdom of our day. In verse twelve he says, "Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though you know them..." He says he is going to continue to teach what they already know over and over again. Do you think he was afraid of losing members? The remainder of verse 12 says that it is this which will establish them in the truth, or provide them with a firm foundation. But now look at verse 13, "Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance." As long as I am alive, as long as I have flesh and in fact (v.15) until the day I die I will continue teaching these same principles so that you will have them when I am gone. I will teach them over again with my last breath in order to shore up your faith.

    Why does the church feel a need today to provide flashy preaching, to find ways to entertain the congregation? Why are the preachers not preaching and teaching with an eye toward establishing the believer in the "faith once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3)? Is the gospel of Jesus Christ no longer valid? Is the Word of God no longer a comfort (I Thes 4:18) to the soul? Does the preaching of the cross need enhancing to become attractive to this new generation? NO! We are moving away from the Gospel of Christ with every new idea we introduce. Our ideas and efforts are taking time away from the actual teaching of the Word. If we were to take time, time that is needed, to actually dig deep into the Bible and teach it as it was intended to be taught, we would not have time for all the nonsense we see in the churches today.

    We need fire in the pulpit, fire produced by the preaching of the Word empowered by the Holy Spirit of God. The church in America has become anemic. With all of our activities and social emphasis we simply do not have time for anything more than a gentle spoon feeding.

Christian, open the Book and study it. Church, Pastors and teachers, stop spoon feeding the Church.

How can you tell

                                                                      How you can tell

Am I a biker? Well, I ride a motorcycle. I put a helmet on my head (because I don’t trust me). I get on it. I start it. And I can drive it down most roads with little to no difficulty. However, I don’t get into the curves too fast or ride it on dirt tracks or mountain passes. Why? Because even though I am able to ride a motorcycle when the road is smooth and straight, I am not necessarily an accomplished rider. I don’t take long trips on a bike. I do not spend much time caring for the machine other than putting gas and oil in it. I did wash it once this year. I ride a motorcycle but I am not a biker. There is a big difference between a biker and a rider.

Christianity has similar distinctives. There are a good many people today who would claim to be Christian. They attend church when they have time as long as it is not too inconvenient. They are often seen putting some small amount of money in the offering plate as it passes. In fact, many who claim to be Christian even try to do things in public that look religious. Is church attendance worship? Does giving a small amount “appease” God? Is doing good things the same as being holy?

I was at the post office this morning. A middle-aged woman driving a pickup truck pulled into the lot. After she entered the office she began to tell a story to the post master. In that story she made no attempt to refrain from the use of common vulgarities. What she did and said clearly caused me to wonder if she had ever been saved. I felt sorry for her as I wondered about her eternal state. As I passed by her truck I saw a large Bible on the dash in clear view. Was it her Bible? Did she actually claim to be born again? Later in the day I was on the computer and was directed to the page of a friend whom I am fairly certain would claim to be saved. As I read the entries posted by my friend I was actually shocked and at times appalled by what was there. Were these people Christians? Think this through carefully, were they Christians?

Believers today (those who claim to be saved) have no real sense of holiness. There is no revulsion toward sin, no actual hatred of sin. Christians today essentially sin and say, “oops” and go on with life. God calls us to a holy, sin free, life. Jesus told the woman taken in adultery (John 8:11) to “go and sin no more.” 1Peter 1:15 says, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.”  And we are warned by the Apostle Paul that if we do sin God will punish us for it if we are truly saved, Hebrews 12:5b-6, “…My son despise not the chastening of the Lord nor faint when though art rebuked of Him. (v.6) For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” These two passages are most enlightening. If we are not living holy lives we are living in open rebellion against God. And the evidence that we are God’s children is the chastisement (punishment) that God brings into our lives every day because of our sin. Here then is the dilemma. If we are sinning without God punishing us, are we saved? If we can live in un-holiness without guilt are we truly the children of God? It is almost like we want to be bikers without being dedicated to biking. We are trying to be Christians without allowing God into our daily lives, without allowing His Holy Spirit to reign supreme in our hearts.

We do not perform all the things that Christians are known to do in order to be saved. BUT, if we are saved and God’s Holy Spirit is living in our heart, if we have truly been born again we will naturally be living differently, II Cor. 5:17 “Therefore, if any man be in Christ he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.” 

When people see you, what do they see? Do they see someone who is living a holy life in compliance with the command of God? Are there noticeable differences between your life today and the life you lived before coming to Christ? What words come out of your mouth during a conversation? Or, what do your text messages and facebook postings reveal about the heart you said was changed by the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ?

Jesus left us here in this world to be ambassadors for Christ, to represent Him here. Everything we do reflects on the name of our Lord positively or negatively. We are His ambassadors. With everything we say, everything we post on these computers and every text we send we are telling a lost world something about our God.

What did you, by your actions or words, tell the world about Jesus today?