Is There A Division Between The Spiritual And Material Part Of Our Lives?

As a pastor I have been told that I am the “spiritual” leader of the church. I have wondered what that means. Can we qualify what part of church life is spiritual and non-spiritual? I have heard preaching that declares men to be the spiritual leaders in their families. What part of family life is spiritual and non-spiritual? I propose that the Christian sees no division between the material and spiritual aspect of their life. The spiritual influences and moves our material life in such a way that it should be pleasing to the Lord.

In my own study of the Bible, I have yet to discover a dichotomy between the spiritual and material aspects of our lives. Paul himself said to the church in Rome, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”(Romans 12:2) The will of God should be played out in every aspect of our lives. We renew our mind by prayer and the transforming effects of God’s Word. As we continue to surrender to the authority of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, we become conformed more into the image of His Son. In the same book (8:29), we are told that whom God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. Every aspect of Jesus’ life was conformed to His Father’s will as He was led by the Holy Spirit. Jesus understood what He was here for and everything He did was set according to His purpose.

The sole purpose of humanity is to worship God and find their joy in Him. Every aspect of our lives should be done in a way that is pleasing to God. In the controversy of eating meat sacrificed to idols, Paul gave a dictum that we should all remember, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31)

Once we understand that every aspect of our material life is so affected by the spiritual that in reality there is no division, we will seek to please the Lord rather than our own wants and desires. I will finish with the words of D. L. Moody as he spoke to a lady about whether she could be a Christian and still go to the theater: “When Jesus Christ has preeminence in your life you will understand it all. He didn’t come down here to tell us we couldn’t go here or couldn’t go there and lay down a lot of rules. He came to give us new life. Once you love Him you will take delight in pleasing Him.”

The Unsuspecting Effect of God in the Equation.

I was helping my son do his work in pre-algebra. I remember as a kid struggling with the math problems and processes. In college I had to continue with another round of algebra and business calculus. If there is a purgatory before entering Business College, it has to be business calculus. Let me confess that I had to drop the class the first time I took it only to get by with a low "C" the second time. When I got into the business world, I wondered what was all that algebra and calculus class time for. I figured it was so the schools could have a reason charge tuition. Even though I never used what I learned in a formulary nature, I discovered what I really learned in those classes after working with my son.

First there are certain rules and an order of things that if not done properly or circumvented will lead to a wrong answer. Similarly in our Christian life, if we do things contrary to God’s way or short cut it according to the world, we will end up outside the will of God or with a wrong answer. Being a disciple means tedious devotion to prayer, Bible study, and meditation. Sometimes when we pray, read, or meditate on God’s world, we don’t always experience those earth-moving moments in our lives. Unless if I am different, it is a rarity for me to have those life altering moments every day. Many people feel that if they don’t have some great epiphany during their quiet time, it is wasted time. They are sorely wrong. Instead, what I see is that over time I can see gradual changes happening in my spiritual walk with Christ. Like my high school algebra teacher used to teach me, “Write down each step of the equation process and don’t skip any steps or you will end up with a wrong answer.” If we skip any steps or try to short cut the life of a disciple, we will come to wrong conclusions pertaining to God’s will.

Second, through tedious repetition, those rules and procedures became second nature to me in problem solving. As I began to move on in my algebra education, I had to learn new rules and procedures that were built on the old ones. If those first rules were not second nature to me, I would have difficulty in learning the new rules. In our walk with Christ, we cannot move to the next level if we are still dealing with the elementary elements of the Gospel. Because of the divisions in Corinth, Paul declared them as carnal Christians still on milk for babes rather than solid foods. They had not grown from their first baby steps in Christ. The spiritual habits of prayer, meditation, study, and fellowship are the basics of the Christian walk. Until these habits become second nature to us, we will still struggle in our daily walk with Christ.

Third, even though I could not see the answer in the problem immediately, after applying the rules learned, I discovered the answer. Have you ever been in a situation where the problem was so enormous that you couldn’t see the solution to your predicament? Be assured that whatever the condition of things, God is in the problem. Hear what I am saying. He is not the problem, but He is in the problem trying to work in you to overcome the hardships and roadblocks you are experiencing. David, in the cave of Adullam when he escaped Saul, knew that God was his refuge and protection. Even when David had a chance to kill Saul in the wilderness of En Gedi, he did not yield to worldly temptation, but waited on the Lord to deal with Saul. It was not David’s job to exact vengeance. David believed in God’s sovereignty and trusted Him to take care of Saul in His time not David’s. He learned the truth of God and His sovereign control over the situation. David knew God was the factor to solving the problem.

So, today I am grateful for a demanding teacher that pushed me to do the work that I thought was unnecessary, because later I saw the blessing of learning how to systematically approach a problem and find the answer. I am ultimately grateful for an Almighty God who demands a daily growing relationship with me and reveals Himself in the small stuff so I can trust Him when the whopper situations come into my life.

Debating Without Tearing Apart

When I began writing this blog, I had planned on listing some preachers who I thought were leading their congregation and television viewers astray from sound biblical preaching. After I read over it to check for errors, I decided not to list the names of the preachers. Ultimately, from previous experience, I learned that it is not always the best policy to attack someone with out his ability to respond. So I decided to list the issues and give what I believed to be the biblical response to the views that were being expressed. I hope I continue in this spirit. My last blog expressed my discontent with another blog that took the IMB chairman of our body of trustees and literally ripped him apart. Again, let me state how saddened I was of this even though from my little corner of the world, I would disagree with the policies, at a national convention level, that the chairman was trying to pass.

We do need vigorous debate in order to grow and learn. We don’t need to degrade each other by applying inappropriate personal labels. I do try my best to keep from doing this in the pulpit, but when necessary, I will state the name of the person that teaches doctrine that does not adhere to biblical Christianity. I do believe as Jesus’ under-shepherd, I am to protect the flock from sources of incorrect doctrine and practice. Debate is good as long as we don’t attack the person, but discuss the issues.

Ultimately, debate should not take up so much of our time that we forget what our purpose is. Correct doctrine, leads to correct beliefs, which leads to correct actions, and ultimately produces converts who are disciple makers and growers. If we pursue witnessing with the fervency we spend at tearing our brothers down, I see God blessing us with revival that has not been seen since the second great awakening.

My Heart Aches

For six years I lived in Texas. Three years I was in Seminary and the other three I served a small church bi-vocationally in East Texas. During my tenure I saw politics at the state convention level reach all time lows. Many times the word exchange sought to vent hatred and ill feelings. I make no bones that I am a conservative Southern Baptist. The church I served in Texas was uniquely affiliated with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. I believe in the inerrancy and infallibility of the word of God in the original languages. That the only way for anybody to get to heaven is by grace through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. My eschatology is dispensational, pre-millennial, and pre-tribulation. Pertaining to soteriology I believe in the total depravity of man, that the saints are elected unconditionally, Jesus’ sacrifice only applies to His elect, that those who are elect will come to Christ, and the elect will persevere to the end.

So why do I divulge all of this? Because there are people whom I love and care for who do not agree with me on my eschatology, soteriology, and other matters. Yet, we are able to agree to disagree and do so on a level that treats each other with the love and respect a brother or sister in Christ should be treated. Yes, we do challenge each other, but on a level of endearment and passion.

Before I entered seminary, I had an antagonistic approach to arguing with people concerning doctrinal truths. I had spent three years in a fundamental, independent, KJV only church. I left it because I began to disagree with KJV only belief and other matters. They were good people and the pastor was a wonderful man, but I choose to leave to get back home to my Southern Baptist roots. There was also arrogance in that everyone else was wrong and they were right. When I entered seminary, I found professors who could run theological circles around people, but humbly chose to state their case, challenge the presumptions of others, and love those who disagreed with them. I saw within them a high spirit of debate and a higher spirit understanding, compassion, and unity.

What we have seen in recent months, concerning the IMB trustee and change of policy controversy, has not shown what is good among Southern Baptists. Again, I don’t believe we need to narrow the parameters of missionaries serving any further than what they were before November concerning private prayer language and baptism. But, my heart aches today after reading some blogs concerning this whole situation. I will not say the names of them, since I don’t want to advertise for what I consider their lack of brotherly respect and love for the chairman. These commenting bloggers were demeaning and antagonistic in their language. They went out of their way with a thesaurus to come up with colorful words to destroy and annihilate other brothers in Christ. Do I think Bro. Burleson should be removed? Absolutely not! He is a "big boy" and has done what I consider a good job of stating his position and taking care of himself. Demeaning discourse from other people concerning the chairman of the trustees does not unify during this time of debate, but further divides us.

It is time for the rhetoric to stop and begin with debate that edifies and helps us grow as a convention. Wrongs are abounding in this controversy, but the wrongs don’t need continuation with an unbelieving audience listening. Is Christ glorified when we call each other names or slap each other with quick one liner put-downs? Are we proving to be disciples of Christ?

John 13:34-35
34A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

We can still love one another, vigorously debate the issues, and not resort to name calling or setting up "straw men" to win our argument. It is a shame to lower us to the level of worldly tactics.

The Sufficiency of Scripture

For the majority of Southern Baptists and other conservative Christians, the truth of the inerrancy of scripture has been settled. The issue we are facing today is the reformation view of solo scriptura. Luther, who began the reformation with his posting of the Ninety-Five Thesis, believed that all aspects of Christian existence should be ruled by scripture. Everything was to be measured to scripture and if there existed a contradiction, scripture was to be given supreme authority.

James Montgomery Boice wrote an excellent book called, "What Ever Happened to the Gospel of Grace?" In it, he questions whether Christians are living as if they believe in the sufficiency of scripture. Do our actions reflect a life formed by the principles of scripture? Do our churches reflect a scripture formed body that acts under the truth of Grace? Is the Bible sufficient for our guidance as the body of Christ?

Churches across our country have turned to ways and means that do not measure up to biblical standards. Where in the New Testament does it state that we have "interpretive" dancing, big grandiose band concerts that appeal to our esoteric nature, or minimizing the preaching of God’s word by time or content? The preaching of God’s Word always took center stage to the worship community since its earliest beginnings.

If we want to see revival in our churches again, there are several things we must do as a body of believers saved by Grace. We must return to biblical preaching that focuses on preaching the text. We must put the words "sin," "repentance," "depravity," and "Grace," back in our vocabulary. Church discipline must be used to restore the fallen brother or sister. We need to each die to our wants and desire and live for the Great Commission. Ultimately, we must put scripture back in its place of authority that transforms us by the renewing of our minds.

I have had several young adults who tell me they don’t know much of the Bible. Their confession is actually great! Acknowledging our sin is the beginning step of growing in Christ. But when we look in our churches during Sunday school, Sunday discipleship hour, or Wednesday evening Bible studies, there is a lack of youthful participation. How can we live the Christian life that brings glory to God in our state of scriptural benightedness? Christians must commit to participating in the teaching ministry of the church.

When there is a generation of biblically inept Christians, soon to follow is a church that becomes more and more like the world and the distinction between believer and a non-believer slowly disintegrates. In closing let us heed the words of Jesus: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Matt. 16:24 NKJV)

MISSION - VISION - STRATEGY

With all great endeavors there is an understanding of how to get to where a people need to go. There is a universal law that God has applied to His creation. First, as a people, we must understand our mission. The age old question of why are we here? At Immanuel Baptist Church we have discovered that mission in Matthew 28:19-20. God’s mission for humanity was to know Him and to find our true existence in His love (Acts 17:27-28). The church’s mission is to help others find their way to God, so each individual can ask God to forgive them of their own sins by the shed blood of His Son Jesus, repent of their sins, and serve Him all the days of their lives by being disciples. This is our mission.

The vision gets more specific in understanding when seen on the local church level. It involves, “Where does God want us to be at some time in the future?” It is a God given picture of what we will look like if we are in His perfect will. In our specific church ministry, we must reach with love, teach with love, and eventually start with love new Southern Baptist churches locally and abroad. How this vision will look in numbers and design, God will unfold to His church. The Cooperative Program is already one avenue we are utilizing to start churches out of our reach.

Finally, strategy must encompass five points of sharing God’s true light: Discipleship, Outreach, Ministry, Fellowship, and Worship (Acts 2:42-47). Every ministry, committee, family, and person must commit their specific area of responsibility to impacting these five light points of strategy. These areas must be coordinated together as if we are building Nehemiah’s wall (Neh. 3) so that when we come together, the wall will fit jointly as one.

You might say that I am seeing this from an American perspective, but I would beg to differ. God had a mission, a vision, and a strategy for humanity before the foundation of the world. This is found in sending His Son, Jesus to die on the cross so that His sheep would follow His Shepherd (John 10:1-30, 1 Pet. 3:18).

Keep Checking

Dear Friends

Sorry I haven’t updated in a while. This week has been filled with revival meetings. I also got the flu late Monday night and have been unable to do all that I wanted. Just to let you know, the revival is going great. The Lord has blessed us with a great evangelist. Don’t give up hope, I will be back next week.

Sharing His Light

Bro. Robin