From the beginning, the Lord’s people have always talked a better game than we live.
So many biblical truths look good on paper and sound great when we’re spouting them. And yet, judging by the way we live, here are some biblical truths which it would appear many of the Lord’s people do not believe….
One. God sends the pastor to the church.
Churches survey their congregation to find the kind of pastor everyone wants in the next guy. People lobby for a candidate they like and rally against one they don’t. And they vote on the recommendation of their committee. And after he arrives, when some turn against him, they send him on his way.
Do we really believe God sends pastors to churches? They are God’s undershepherds (see I Peter 5:1-4) and appointed by the Holy Spirit as overseers of the church (Acts 20:28).
Some years back, as I was moving my family to a church in North Carolina, I found out later that some were already holding meetings to agree on ways to get me to leave. Why? Even though we had never met, they had decided I was too conservative for them. In the next church, some began meeting to oust me because they decided I was too liberal. Neither group believed God sends pastors.
Two. God hears our prayers, cares for our needs, and answers our prayers.
In the typical congregation, what percentage of the people are serious about their prayer life? Nothing tells the story on our faith like our prayer life.
If we truly believed that God hears, cares, and answers, we would be praying over every detail of our lives. “Pray without ceasing” (I Thessalonians 5:17) would define our very existence.
Three. It is more blessed to give than to receive.
God wants His people to be givers, generous in every area of life. As a member of the church, He wants us to be sacrificial givers. (See I Corinthians 8:1ff).
Think how hard it is to get many of God’s people to turn loose of the almighty dollar. I have known pastors who never preach on giving because they cannot take the criticism that follows. (See Acts 20:35, Luke 6:38, and Matthew 6:19-20)
Four. We will stand before the Lord and give account of all we have done.
If we truly believed that, imagine how differently we would live. Church leaders would deal with pastors a lot more carefully and respectfully. The tyrants who rule their churches without the slightest concern of whom they hurt or what minister they cripple clearly do not know, believe, or care that they will be brought into judgement for their actions. (See Matthew 12:36, Romans 14:12 and I Peter 4:5.)
Five. God’s people are to obey their leaders.
The very idea, I can hear some saying. Even if they know Hebrews 13:17, they conveniently ignore it. They do so to their own detriment.
Most of our members obey their leaders so long as they agree with them. But let the leader ask of them something they don’t want to do, and they bail out. Honestly, the typical church member has no more respect for his/her minister than they do for the coach of their team. Team not doing well? Then, fire the coach and find another.
Six. Pastors will give account to the Lord for their members.
That also is Hebrews 13:17. If pastors genuinely believed they would give account for every member, they would do a lot of things differently. They would pray for each one, work at knowing each person, monitor the spiritual development of each member, and plan ways to grow disciples and put them to work. They would develop accountability methodologies, mentoring programs, and such. And I guarantee you, most would be wishing they served smaller congregations.
Seven. Whoever would be great, let him be the servant.
Jesus said much about service, including “I am among you as One who serves.” He said the path to greatness is through service. And He said it’s the way of the unsaved world to want to dominate people and lord it over them. And yet, only a tiny fraction of His people seem to believe this. We want leadership positions without having to do the hard work of serving. And when we do choose people to serve, in many cases, they quickly grow bored serving and want to rule and start giving the pastors headaches. (See Luke 22:24ff.)
Eight. Turn the other cheek. Love your enemies. Go the second mile. And unrealistic stuff like that.
Jesus didn’t hesitate to lay down rules which (ahem) real-world people scoff at. Such as turning the other cheek when someone hits you, giving them your shirt when they steal your coat, loving the people who are doing hurtful things to you, blessing those who are cursing you. That’s found in Luke 6:27-35 and several other places.
That’s for the super spiritual, the typical church member insists. And since I could never be super spiritual, I’m going to retaliate when someone does me wrong. In so doing, our role model becomes more Clint Eastwood (“Go ahead; make my day!”) than the Man of Galilee (“Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.”).
You could wish people who have no intention of obeying the Lord Jesus would quit calling themselves Christians. When the disobedient claim to be believers in the Man of Galilee, the outside world scoffs and seekers turn away.
Nine. Rather than taking one another to court, God’s people should endure wrong.
It says it right there in I Corinthians 6:7. “But I have my rights,” insists the carnal church member. Clearly, the honor of Christ and the glory of God and our witness to the world matter far less than getting even with someone who has done us wrong.
Ten. Worship is about God, about bringing ourselves and our offerings to Him, and not about us.
We have heard people pray in church, “Lord, help us get something out of this service today.” Then, following the benediction, those headed to the parking lot often remark on whether they “got anything out of that.” A member of my congregation was heard to say, “A 20-minute sermon? For that, I got dressed up and drove 15 miles?”
Our people seem not to have a clue that worship is about the Lord and not them. They actually do believe that it’s to meet their needs, to give them warm feelings inside, and to prepare them for the week ahead. Yet, there is not a single word in Scripture to indicate this.
Want a text? Try the entire 150 Psalms for starters. But start with Psalm 96:8, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name; bring an offering and come into His court.”
The point being….
We have so far to go to become Christlike, spiritual, scriptural, and mature.
The person Christ is transforming us into is light years beyond the carnal, immature, self-centered persons we are at this moment.
The first step toward becoming what God wants us to be is acknowledging how far short we fall. I fear we are more like the Pharisee of Luke 18:9-14 whose prayer was thanking the Lord for all he had accomplished, telling God what a good boy he had been. Instead, we should pray like the publican who said, “God, be merciful to me the sinner.”
Start there. Lord, your ways are not mine, and I say that to my shame. As the heavens are higher than the earth, your ways are beyond mine. (Isaiah 55).
And then, “Help me, Lord. Show me. Search me and try me.” (Psalm 139).