"The Bible is a sword, and the soldier who fails to understand grace will wield it to his own destruction and the death of their hearers, as is sadly done by so many false teachers and cult leaders. They are prone to either legalism or libertinism (also called antinomianism)." - Mark Driscoll from Religion Saves and 9 Other Misconceptions page 114.
I've been accused of being a libertine and it won't be the last time I'm certain. It is sad to see so many men & women led astray by their personal agendas and emotions into a life of legalism. All the way to a point where anyone who opposes them, they will call them liberals. It's as if THEY ARE THE TRUTH. It is so sad. And the TRUTH that they carry is lost in their anger and temper tantrums. They can argue about grace and the theological impact of it while treating you like trash. HMMM. I wonder why people hate the church?
I've asked myself for the longest time, "Why do these men/women get soooo bent out of shape over issues that aren't easily navigated like Math or Science?" They can be so ugly and unloving which has nothing to do with the gospel. Things just aren't as black and white as some would LOVE them to be. I've come to realize that at the end of the day, it's not really the Truth that they are angry about, its about them being rejected from their grade school sweetheart and made fun of in high school. It's about status, inclusion, and exclusion. It's about I'm right and you're wrong. It's about I'm going to heaven and you're going to hell. They begin to retreat into logical battles where they can control the outcome of who is in and who is out. They promote themselves as the gate keeper. This way they can secure THEIR own acceptance. Being Right has more at stake than what meets the eye. It's not because they hurt for those who are far off or those who are burdened by life. They're more interested in being Right and beating people down with Truth. Given the option, if they were given the opportunity to lend a hand to a drowning Nazi or throw a Bible at them, I think 9 times out of 10 they'd throw a Bible at them. And the other one wouldn't throw the Bible at him because it would ruin the Bible. And I say this because event the most obvious wrong doers aren't to be judged by us. We are not their judges and we all most hope for those who are far off that they might be able to receive the amazing Grace that we have also. I don't think these legalists ever could see themselves as the Nazi but in reality, we all, left to ourselves are in the same boat; sinners deserving death and eternal separation from a holy God.
It's perplexing why they are so upset when your opinions differ, but looking a little deeper; If they were to let their walls down of who is in and who is out then they would lose control. They would lose the position of gate keeper. AND THEY MIGHT FEEL THAT SAME FEELING OF BEING A LOSER or AN OUTCAST WHEN THEY WERE IN GRADE SCHOOL. And more importantly, they might have to depend on being nice and friendly to people in order for them to choose them in a relationship rather than congregating around BEING RIGHT. There is way more at stake than meets the eye for these Judaizers. My suggestion, avoid them at all costs and NEVER align yourself with them. It's not worth it. Because the moment you have a different opinion and you begin to think for yourself, they'll stab you in the back with the "sword of Truth" and put you on the "prayer chain of choking out all those sinners".
You may be hitting the nerve center here, as to why people behave this way at times. It reminds me of the scripture "they went out from us, but they were not of us..."
ReplyDeleteThe sad thing is, people from the outside often view them as the central force of the church, and as such, decide not ever to set foot in a church, because they would be immedieately deemed unworthy and judged.
Makes you wonder what the current religious proud of today think, when they read about the religous proud of ancient Palestine (the Pharisees)!
You know, as I was doing my Bible study today, I came across another scripture in 1 Timothy 6 that describes these people real well. " He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain."
ReplyDeleteThis is not something new yet when we read our bibles we act as if we've progressed from having these types of people in the church. I don't think very many leaders or lay persons want to think about such people because it's these individuals who will cause a stink AND they know their Bibles real well.
Also, the biblical precedent for handling such prideful sin is found in 1 Timothy 5:20 which says, "20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear."
Can you imagine this happening in today's church? I don't know if that is too seeker sensitive do you? I also don't see the religious proud sitting down too quickly in the face of public rebuke.
Switching gears a bit. I have just completed our next Chapter in "Religion Saves and 9 Other Misconceptions" on the topic of GRACE. And Pastor Mark is quoted as saying,
"Converting Grace lays an ax to religious pride. Religious pride causes us to boast in who we are, what we do, and how we have chosen God, and it is insidious to God and others. On the contrary, the Scriptures declare that even the faith to believe in Jesus is a gift and all of our salvation is all of grace, which means rather than boasting that we chose Jesus, we can boast in the grace of Jesus that chose to grant us the gifts of faith and repentance." Pg119
"On some religious teams you are holy if you drink alcohol whereas on others you are unholy if you drink alcohol. And this is only one of innumerable works that religious people squabble over. The problem with treadmill performance religion is that it leads to either pride or despair. If you keep the rules of your religious team, you become arrogant. Conversely, if you fail to keep the rules of your religious team, you despair. Justifying grace gives us full assurance that God will love us no more if we perform well and love us no less if we perform poorly. By justifying grace, our acceptance before God and the grounds for our righteousness are solely Jesus’ works of sinless living, substitutionary death, and bodily resurrection and therefore are not in any way contingent upon what we do or do not do." Pg120
Driscoll later says that most of the religious proud don't ever see themselves as prideful; just confidently right. They are blinded by their own inventions of wisdom as Proverbs 14:12 indicates is the case with most of humanity: "12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death"