I actually had several blog entries at one time, but they have all been deleted for some unknown reason. Consequently, I haven't blogged on this site for a long while. For no particular reason, I have decided to post another entry and see what happens to it.
The pastor who preached on Sunday morning at my church was not the senior pastor who usually preaches. He was a younger, up-and-coming pastor, whose responsibilities mainly revolve around the "young adults" in the church. His sermon was...sincere. I think his primary goal was to encourage, to give hope to those who struggle spiritually and who believe their struggles disqualify them from service to God. In his efforts to encourage, however, he said some things that I was surprised and disturbed to hear.
The sermon focused upon heroes and our inclination to admire and emulate them. In particular, the pastor mentioned Mother Teresa and Billy Graham as people all would regard as heroes of the Christian faith. I don't know much about Mother Teresa's theology and doctrine except that it is Roman Catholic in origin (which does not commend her to my idea of a Christian hero), but I do know that Billy Graham has stated publicly that he holds a "wider grace" view on the matter of salvation. This certainly disqualifies Mr. Graham as a "hero of the faith" as far as I'm concerned.
John MacArthur makes some excellent observations about this doctrine:
YouTube - Wider-mercy salvation - Billy Graham exposed
In any case, I'm sure the pastor was correct in thinking that these two are held up as heroes by many Christians. Personally, I would have used the heroes the Bible promotes, men like King David, or Moses, or Noah, or Abraham, but perhaps they didn't seem "relevant" enough. Actually, the pastor did mention these heroes of the faith - but only to point out their imperfectness, their flawed records in serving God. In an attempt to encourage the struggling Christian to aspire to heroic faith and godly service, to see such faith as within reach, the pastor used the failures of King David, Moses, Noah, etc, to "lower the bar," to make his audience more comfortable, more at ease, with their own moral and spiritual failures and to give them hope that, in spite of these failures, they, too, can be "heroes of the faith."
The problem with this kind of "encouragement" is pretty obvious, I think. Men like Abraham and Moses are praised in Scripture, not because they failed in "being holy as God is holy," but because of their great love of, and obedience to, God. Yes, these men sinned, but the larger portion of their lives as recounted in Scripture indicate that these heroes of the faith were not constantly plagued with sin, failing as often as succeeding in their obedience to God. No, they are heroes of the faith precisely because they were extraordinarily faithful and obedient to God. These men lived lives that set the bar for spiritual heroism very high indeed.
The pastor in his sermon worked carefully to broaden the meaning of the word "hero" so that it could be applied to virtually anyone who simply strongly desired to do better in their relationship with God. But Mother Teresa is a hero because she sacrificed her entire adult life in service to God. She didn't merely wish she could serve God more and make half-hearted attempts at doing so; she lived heroically by giving up all the typical desires people have for material gain, security, family, reputation, etc, to care for the sick, the poor, and the dying as an ambassador of Christ. Is her life to be equaled in heroism by lives that are lived with far less faith and sacrifice? Of course not! Yet, this was the unmistakable implication in the message from this young preacher.
The pastor had good intentions: He simply wanted his audience to believe they could succeed in being heroic Christians. But this encouragement must not come as it did by the diminishment of God's high standards for conduct for His children. God has said in His Word:
Matthew 5:48
48 Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
1 Peter 1:15-16
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."
The sermon also seemed to pander to people's desire to be seen as heroic in their own mind and in the minds of others. The goal was to be heroic rather than simply faithful to God out of love for Him. Heroism was the emphasis, not faithfulness. It's easier, I suppose, to provoke people's vanity with the prospect of hero status rather than their desire to live in holy submission to their Maker. But holy submission to God is what truly heroic faith is. Truly heroic Christians lay all the praise and glory at Jesus' feet, not their own; for he is the one who makes spiritual success, heroic faith, possible.
Philippians 2:13
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
God bless!
The pastor who preached on Sunday morning at my church was not the senior pastor who usually preaches. He was a younger, up-and-coming pastor, whose responsibilities mainly revolve around the "young adults" in the church. His sermon was...sincere. I think his primary goal was to encourage, to give hope to those who struggle spiritually and who believe their struggles disqualify them from service to God. In his efforts to encourage, however, he said some things that I was surprised and disturbed to hear.
The sermon focused upon heroes and our inclination to admire and emulate them. In particular, the pastor mentioned Mother Teresa and Billy Graham as people all would regard as heroes of the Christian faith. I don't know much about Mother Teresa's theology and doctrine except that it is Roman Catholic in origin (which does not commend her to my idea of a Christian hero), but I do know that Billy Graham has stated publicly that he holds a "wider grace" view on the matter of salvation. This certainly disqualifies Mr. Graham as a "hero of the faith" as far as I'm concerned.
John MacArthur makes some excellent observations about this doctrine:
YouTube - Wider-mercy salvation - Billy Graham exposed
In any case, I'm sure the pastor was correct in thinking that these two are held up as heroes by many Christians. Personally, I would have used the heroes the Bible promotes, men like King David, or Moses, or Noah, or Abraham, but perhaps they didn't seem "relevant" enough. Actually, the pastor did mention these heroes of the faith - but only to point out their imperfectness, their flawed records in serving God. In an attempt to encourage the struggling Christian to aspire to heroic faith and godly service, to see such faith as within reach, the pastor used the failures of King David, Moses, Noah, etc, to "lower the bar," to make his audience more comfortable, more at ease, with their own moral and spiritual failures and to give them hope that, in spite of these failures, they, too, can be "heroes of the faith."
The problem with this kind of "encouragement" is pretty obvious, I think. Men like Abraham and Moses are praised in Scripture, not because they failed in "being holy as God is holy," but because of their great love of, and obedience to, God. Yes, these men sinned, but the larger portion of their lives as recounted in Scripture indicate that these heroes of the faith were not constantly plagued with sin, failing as often as succeeding in their obedience to God. No, they are heroes of the faith precisely because they were extraordinarily faithful and obedient to God. These men lived lives that set the bar for spiritual heroism very high indeed.
The pastor in his sermon worked carefully to broaden the meaning of the word "hero" so that it could be applied to virtually anyone who simply strongly desired to do better in their relationship with God. But Mother Teresa is a hero because she sacrificed her entire adult life in service to God. She didn't merely wish she could serve God more and make half-hearted attempts at doing so; she lived heroically by giving up all the typical desires people have for material gain, security, family, reputation, etc, to care for the sick, the poor, and the dying as an ambassador of Christ. Is her life to be equaled in heroism by lives that are lived with far less faith and sacrifice? Of course not! Yet, this was the unmistakable implication in the message from this young preacher.
The pastor had good intentions: He simply wanted his audience to believe they could succeed in being heroic Christians. But this encouragement must not come as it did by the diminishment of God's high standards for conduct for His children. God has said in His Word:
Matthew 5:48
48 Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
1 Peter 1:15-16
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."
The sermon also seemed to pander to people's desire to be seen as heroic in their own mind and in the minds of others. The goal was to be heroic rather than simply faithful to God out of love for Him. Heroism was the emphasis, not faithfulness. It's easier, I suppose, to provoke people's vanity with the prospect of hero status rather than their desire to live in holy submission to their Maker. But holy submission to God is what truly heroic faith is. Truly heroic Christians lay all the praise and glory at Jesus' feet, not their own; for he is the one who makes spiritual success, heroic faith, possible.
Philippians 2:13
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
God bless!