MISSING IN ACTION:THE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN SOLDIER (PART 1)

PREFACE: This wasn’t the direction I intended to go with my first blog entry. I had something written months ago that I planned to use to start the ball rolling. Then I prayed about it. Note to self: next time, pray first. For now, I’ll go where He leads.


“With the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard what has been entrusted to you. As you know, all the Christians who came here from the province of Asia have deserted me; even Phygelus and Hermogenes are gone.” (2 Timothy 1:14-15, emphasis mine)

Nobody likes a deserter. I’ll take the red badge of courage, please. No white flags here. Do you know any Christians who have deserted the faith? What does it mean to desert the faith in America, anyways? Seriously, what does that look like in our country? It’s not like anyone is going to shoot you on the retreat. Or will they? Perhaps. Or perhaps you’ll get a medal.

Paul certainly found some people running the wrong way on the battlefield in his day. And he wasn’t shy about it either. He named names. I have no idea who Phygelus and Hermogenes were, but they are forever branded with the name of “traitor.” It’s a good thing that we don’t have any Testament turncoats in modern day America. Whew.

Don’t worry. I’m not about to start naming names. I will recommend a few for commendations, though. Why don’t we start there. What does it take for a soldier to become distinguished in battle?

A few years ago I read a book that blew my mind. It was called “The Heavenly Man,” the biography of Brother Yun and the underground church in China. The book details the many torturous years Brother Yun spent in prison. He could have gotten out of his cell and avoided the near fatal beatings, the starvation, the living quarters soaked in the urine and feces of angry fellow prisoners, and much, much more if he had done one simple thing: deny Christ. But he would not turn tail and run. He was not a deserter. He was the real deal. And he has the battle scars to prove it.

Brother Yun told another tale that made me lay awake at night. It was the true story of a dear Chinese saint who also would not denounce her Faith. She was a single mother of two small children. The Chinese government marched her little ones out in front of her and told her to choose. They told her to reject Christ or go to prison and let the communist government raise her children. She chose her Savior. And she lost what was most precious to her in the (physical) world. She served a 20 year sentence. Her children were told repeatedly that she chose Jesus over them. When she was released, her older son wanted nothing to do with her. She suffered a loss that we can barely begin to imagine on this side of the globe. But she stood firm. She was not a deserter. Her faith proved genuine. What distinguished medals of honor must await her in the heavenlies!

I’d say that these two individuals deserve a red badge. They will have great crowns to lay at the Almighty’s feet one day. That is life for a true Believer in communist China.

But what about America? I’d say that life is pretty easy for a Believer in the States. Some might be asking themselves, “Where exactly is the battle, anyways?” The answer is clear in China. It may be a little muddy here. In this land of untold freedom, would anybody notice if a Christian soldier left the battlefield? Would anybody notice if a battalion, or even an entire division did?

I have heard some people sounding the alarm in our nation. You may have heard their cries. They are saying, “That guy is heading the wrong way! This church is retreating! So is that denomination!” Are they just some fundamentalist whacos who boo-hoo every time somebody disagrees with their particular brand of Christianity? Or are they the soldiers occupying the watchtowers and front lines of battle, with a better view of the impending threat? It is important to know. Are they piping propaganda or prophecy?

The claims are serious. Apostasy. Blasphemy. Heresy. Those things aren’t happening in America, are they? Do we have the spiritual discernment to see them if they are? And if they are, do we have the courage to address them? I ran across this section of Scripture the other day and I was dumbfounded. This is Paul talking to the church at Corinth:

"(2) I am told that you have a man in your church who is living in sin with his father’s wife. And you are so proud of yourselves! Why aren’t you mourning in sorrow and shame? And why haven’t you removed this man from your fellowship? (3) Even though I am not there with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. Concerning the one who has done this, I have already passed judgment in the name of the Lord Jesus. You are to call a meeting of the church, and I will be there in spirit, and the power of the Lord Jesus will be there as you meet. (5) Then you must cast this man out of the church and into Satan’s hands, so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved when the Lord returns… (7) Don’t you realize that if even one person is allowed to go on sinning, soon all will be affected. Remove this wicked person from among you so that you can stay pure." (1 Corinthians 5, NLT)

When is the last time you saw that happen at a church gathering? When is the last time you should have? I remember one instance, in over 30 years of church going, where the sin of a church elder was addressed publicly from the pulpit. The guilty man came before the congregation, surrounded by the pastor, elders and deacons, and repented for having an affair with a woman at his workplace. That was one rough morning in church. It was painful. He cried. His wife cried. The congregation cried. He stepped down from church leadership. We prayed for him and were told of the extensive steps that the church would take to counsel and restore him. Leaving the Lord’s house that day, I remember thinking that I trusted my church leadership a little more than when I had arrived. In a painfully public way, the church drew a line and told the elder to pick a side. He chose wisely. You might say that he had retreated, but then he chose to re-enlist.

I recall being told by a dear friend of a very different experience in her town. She knew a woman who was involved in the most incredible soap opera at her church. She had been the pastor’s wife. They had several beautiful children. Her husband fell in love with the choir director. So he divorced her and married the lead chorister. Somehow, the church remained in tact with the pastor at the helm and the choir director as his new second. And the scorned first wife continued to attend the church… with the kids! I was incredulous. Where was the shame? Where was the outrage? Where were the fireworks from the big 1 Corinthians 5 confrontation? They were strangely absent. No one drew a line. As a result, the pastor and a lot of other people chose unwisely. You might say that that this pastor retreated, and the congregation just did an about face and fell in line.

Exodus is one of my very favorite books of the Bible. It contains some of God’s mightiest displays of power. I particularly love that whole section where God meets Moses on the mountain. The heaven’s roar with thunder and lighting. The earth trembles. Smoke billows from the sky. And God Himself comes down to the mountain in a huge cloud of smoke. Intense. After Moses returns from His 40 day One on one with the Man with the Plan, he discovers that the Israelites have been having an orgy while worshipping a golden calf. Pretty incredible. Moses stands at the entrance to the camp and shouts, “All of you who are on the Lord’s side, come over here and join me.” (Exodus 32:26) So he drew a line in the sand and told the people to take sides. (It seems that Moses, like Paul, didn’t have trouble singling people out.) Some chose wisely. Others didn’t. God used the Levites to exact judgment on those who sided with the calf. It wasn’t pretty.

Fast forward just a bit, and members of the very tribe who chose wisely in Exodus 32, incite a rebellion against God. They are jealous that Moses and Aaron get to do all the cool stuff. “They went to Moses and Aaron and said, ‘You have gone too far! EVERYONE in Israel has been set apart by the Lord, and He is with ALL OF US. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than anyone else among all these people of the Lord?” (Numbers 16:3, emphasis mine) In other words, “We’re ALL right. You don’t have a monopoly on the Truth.” Can I just ask if any of this sounding familiar? Ok, so part of what they said was true. Moses didn’t have a monopoly on the Truth. But God did. And Moses knew God. So what happens this time? Again, Moses draws a line in the sand. He tells the Israelites, “Quick… Get away from these wicked men, and don’t touch anything that belongs to them. If you do you will be destroyed for their sins.” (verse 26) Then in one of the most dramatic judgments of the entire Old Testament, the ground splits open and swallows the infidels. Wow. Also not pretty.

So where am I going with this? Clearly Christians deserted the battlefield during Biblical times, and they continue to do so today. This blog will seek to raise awareness in the body of Christ. We need to know where we are vulnerable, where we may be in jeopardy of crossing a critical boundary that God has set in His Word. Are there some places where, like Moses, we may need to draw a line and say, “If you want to be in tune with the Biblical standard set by God in Scripture, you need to be standing over here. Otherwise you may be deserting the battlefield at a vital juncture. You may be a Christian soldier who is 'Missing in Action'.” I think that we will find a few places like that.

Now please DO NOT misunderstand me. I’m not suggesting that we go looking for petty little places to make divisions in the body of Christ. I’m not talking about heightening whatever trivial, or even significant, differences we have to critical mass. But nearly every generation depicted in Scripture encountered some pivotal issues where crucial decisions had to be made. And occasionally, lines had to be drawn. Some rose to the occasion and fought on, others deserted. So let’s ask ourselves: Are there any issues that rise to that level of importance in the body of Christ today? If there are and we are ignoring them, we do so at our own peril.

We will also talk about a lot of less critical issues, those significant topics that are clearly important, but should never rise to the level of drawing a line. Some may be areas of grave danger, where Christians should know to exert great caution. Some may be matters of mere spiritual curiosity. In these places Believers should say, “You know, here’s where I stand on this issue and this is why, but there’s room for other perspectives at the table.” You say tom—aye—toe. I say tom—mah—toe. Doesn’t mean we have to call the whole thing off.

You might be asking yourself, is this even possible? Can we discuss issues where lines may be drawn, or deeply felt convictions lie on opposite sides of the pendulum, all the while maintaining our loving witness? I don’t believe that it is easy. But I do believe that it is necessary. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing this. If we simply ignore all issues that are controversial for the sake of community, then we will have a community strong in number, but weak in knowledge, conviction and practice. I fear that the American church may be weak in these and many other areas. We have a lot to learn from our Christian brethren around the world, where suffering has killed the flesh and fortified the spirit. They know the Lord. They are intimately acquainted with the Sword of the Spirit, the weapons of warfare. In the States, we are more intimately acquainted with the remote than the Rhema. But that… is a topic for another blog. For now, I hope to find some other Believers interested in a good spiritual work out.

So one last question: Anybody with me?

FORWARD

I sometimes think that I have the sweetest daughter in the whole world. At the tender age of 4, she must tell me at least a dozen times a day that she loves me. She often adds a little addendum that I find particularly endearing. “You’re pretty mommy,” she’ll say. That always brings a smile to my heart. This morning, I was in a “pretty” rough state. I’ve been sick for a while. I was still in my pajamas and robe, my hair was disheveled and greasy. I hadn’t brushed my teeth. This was no Kodak moment. I was reading my Bible on my bed and my daughter came in for a little visit. After a few minutes, she decided to leave. As she closed the door she said, “I love you, Mommy.” Then, without even thinking, she added her trademark addendum, “You’re pretty.” After shutting the door, the reality of what she said must have struck her precious, tender, truthful little heart. She quickly peeped back in to say, in a whisper, “After you shower, you’ll be pretty.” Then she closed the door. I could not help but laugh. Her words stung a little, but they were true. I could not deny them. I was not looking “pretty” and my sweet, honest little girl could not tell a lie. I love her for that. But still she insisted on seeing the positive, the potential. How like our Lord! I love her even more for that. I got up. I showered. And I did look much better. I don’t know if I quite achieved “pretty” status, but I can tell you that I was far closer to the mark after my shower than I was before.

Sometimes the truth stings a little, or even a lot. That has been my experience. If we’re going to talk about tough topics, we risk the possibility of getting stung, or stinging. That must not be the goal. Truth must always be spoken in great humility and love. The addendum to the verse I mentioned in the introduction from 1 Peter 3 says that we must defend the Faith “in a gentle and respectful way” (verse 16). But even in it’s gentlest and most respectful form, truth may offend any part in us that does not want to hear it, any part of us that wishes to stay comfortable as it is. I pray that on this journey we will learn to hear opposing points of view. And I pray that somehow, as God begins to connect the dots, we will find that His truth showers down a cleansing rain that transforms us in the beautiful likeness of His Son. I hope we’re all a good bit prettier when we’re done.

INTRO

I am creating this blog to discuss critical issues of our faith. Apologetics is a vindication, a formal defense of the Faith in speech or writing. Apologetics seeks to defend the faith against internal threats (false theology, unscriptural worldviews, heresy) as well as external threats (false religions, governmental opposition, secularism, materialism.) I've always thought that the threat from within is the most dangerous. That potential is never more frightening than when an external threat becomes internal, when the world and the church become indistinguishable. It happened in ancient Israel. It happens today. A very wise pastor once said that the point of the Old Testament is not that it happened, but that it happens. Scripture is not merely the history of our faith, it is the history of human nature, of our nature.

Throughout Scripture we see that Israel is impenetrable when they humbly follow the Lord. When they compromise, when they adopt the world’s standards as their own, their destruction soon follows. In particular, this blog will focus on some of those areas where the church and the world have failed to have the distinct separation that God requires. We will carefully consider those places where the church, or part of the church, may be crossing the line of being not only “in” the world, but “of” the world. Let us take care to insure that we are not being led away from our “pure and simple devotion to Christ, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent.” (2 Corinthians 11:3)

I am thrilled for anyone to participate in these discussions. But I must add that this blog is specifically designed for Christians to examine their beliefs and practices in light of Scripture. Let’s ask some serious questions. What is our worldview? Is it Biblical? And is it consistent with our actions?

I suppose that we could leave this branch of study to the experts. At the very least I hope to consult them. But Paul admonishes Believers in 1 Peter 3:15, “If you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.” (NLT) This exercise of Christian study has always burned inside my heart. I have a passion to know what I believe and why I believe it. It’s not enough to say, “I think that it’s in the Good Book somewhere.” I am not a theologian or a historian. My formal education contains some of these disciplines; primarily it is in other areas. But I am a life-long student of the Scriptures. I want to provide a solid Biblical framework in which to study the vitally important topics of our day. I am seeking to marry my worldview with my faith. Sometimes I will hit the mark. Sometimes I may miss it. But there is merit in the exercise. I hope to learn, to share and to be challenged by your wisdom.

This blog will be political. It will be controversial. And it will be respectful. You may be challenged. You may even be offended. A very perceptive friend once told me that the Gospel is the most offensive book ever written. I was taken aback by his statement. I cried, “No! It is the most loving book ever written!” But his words stuck with me. And upon much reflection, I realized that he was right. And I was right. We were both right.

The Gospel is the greatest love story ever told. It’s the story of God, the mighty Creator of the universe and all that it contains. This God of infinite wisdom and imagination found at the end of His magnum opus, that He was… lonely. So He created mankind for friendship, for fellowship, for love. But imperfect man could not meet His impossibly high standards. So God lowered Himself. He left His home in the celestial sphere and became as one of His created beings. He became the poorest of men and suffered the cruelest of fates in order to reestablish that relationship. Such a story of love was never told!

But… the story also offends. It offends every part of our flesh. It says we aren’t good enough on our own to please this God who created us. It says that we need the strength of Someone stronger, purer, better. It lays bare our sin, and our shame. But at the very moment of our epiphany, at the instant we finally recognize the depths of our depravity, of our disgrace—His grace swoops in on ethereal plumes and covers us with a Love so great that is mends the very wounds that it unveils. What a Book! How I love it. Offense may come as God’s Word uncovers what we thought was hidden, but then it heals all that it reveals.

So thank you for stopping by. I hope you will stick around. I want to make this an interactive blog (as much as possible). Your response may change my perspective. My thoughts may change yours. At times our collective effort will help us to both arrive closer to His Truth. At times we will have to agree to disagree. But there is always merit in the exercise, in the challenge of deeply held convictions to alter, deepen and solidify the “defense of our Faith.” “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). So, “Come now, and let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18). I hope to find a community of Believers committed to finding God’s Truth for the salient issues of our day. If what I write about doesn’t help you, then I pray that you find His Truth elsewhere on your journey. God bless.