Resolve This

Recently our family went through a situation that shook us, let us down, hurt us and caused us to stumble and lose our footing on what we thought was a solid path.  We were judged unrighteously and without compassion, and left found wanting.  In man’s opinion.  Not in our Lord’s.  This is something we have battled with, prayed about, sought counsel over, and thankfully we are now coming out the other side of, albeit weary and battle-scarred.  If I were to ask you what makes you trip up and stumble, you’d no doubt answer it was because some obstacle was put in your way which knocked you off your stride and compromised your balance.  If that thing wasn’t there, you wouldn’t trip.  Something was put in your way and when you reached that point, it was inevitable you’d fall over it, perhaps headlong into the ditch,  or if you were fortunate, before you hit the ground face-first, the Lord intervened and lifted you, set your foot on a rock again and rejoiced over you with singing.  Whatever is causing our brothers and sisters to stumble are things that do not belong in your life, your church, your doctrine, or your hearts.  The only way to stop people suffering at the hands of these stumbling blocks is to remove them.  We wouldn’t trip if they weren’t there.  They have no place in the family of God.  Then again if your idea of the family of God is one that excludes and shuns those who don’t fit your unique criteria, then you need to remember who you are in the light of the perfection of Christ.  A sinner, saved by grace, just like me. 

NOT BY THE HAIR OF MY CHINNY CHIN CHIN!

One of the drawbacks of getting interested in discernment ministries and learning what is truth and what is “almost truth”, is that it’s hard to switch off and sometimes that is a curse rather than a blessing.

Simply put, I’d be a hypocrite if I called out falsehood and biblical error everywhere else except for in my own life and place of worship.  If I could skate over this, I would.

Our history of church attendance over the past few years has been tainted for various reasons, making it difficult to want to keep searching for somewhere to settle. Church-hopping is not to be recommended as a rule, however if you find you have to flit from one to another due to improper teaching then that’s what you must do. It takes its toll, believe me. We have dealt with a number of situations which have left us jaded and worn us down. We have been interrupted by a stranger sitting behind us in a Sunday morning service who felt led to prophesy over us (“pinch of salt” and “aye, right” immediately sprang to mind). We heard completely inappropriate sexual illustrations from the pulpit. We witnessed a horrifying amount of alcohol-glorifying posts on social media from not just young people, but leaders also. And any pastor who brings the Sun newspaper into the pulpit of the house of the Lord should be defrocked. We have heard how tongues is a private prayer language, how people can go to heaven and come back, and attended meetings where scripture has been twisted beyond recognition, universalism has been upheld, and emotion has usurped common sense. So we have left these churches, trying to find a place to call home, to feel welcome, to hear solid teaching and find Christians to encourage and challenge us in our walk. To inspire us to be holy as He is holy. To be markedly different from the world, as we are called to be. These are the people we want to be with - as iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another. We need this as a family. Then there’s the church that there’s nothing really wrong with but you struggle to find much to get excited about either. The one which you really hope God isn’t calling you to, cos you would rather do a Jonah than obey that particular call. The one where no one really bothers with you. If you’re not there for weeks on end, no one checks up on you. You can slip in and slip out without the Pastor seeming to care. That is detrimental. To lose prospective attendees because of apathy. There is no excuse for that at all. “He’s not good with people” or “that’s just the way he is” simply does not cut it.

So we now find ourselves in a church a little further away than we’d initially thought we’d travel, and in the space of a month have felt drawn to the people, the teaching and the fellowship. To have come from one failed attempt at settling after another, we have found a sanctuary here. The bible teaching is the best we have ever heard, the youth are committed, the people are friendly and welcome us into their homes, and people actually talk about JESUS and the HOLY SPIRIT in the back hall after the service instead of discussing how they “had a little too much wine last night” which may explain the cocktail-sipping images on social media available for all to see. So you can see why we are drawn to this place … these people. BUT. I am saddened and confused as to why we have been refused communion as believers. The bible clearly states in 1st Corinthians 11v29 “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself …” This is between me and Christ. Not between me and another Christian who gets to determine whether I am worthy of breaking bread with them. Communion is a command direct from our Lord. We are commanded to do it in remembrance of Him. There’s not a condition attached to this. Only that I examine my heart and see if I am right with the Lord so as not to bring judgment on my own head. Let’s be honest. Not one of us is worthy. We are all sinners saved by grace, and there is now no condemnation for those in Christ. Why then do I stand condemned and separated as if I am not part of the family of God? Where is the biblical grounds for this? I would very much like to see them. 1st Corinthians 11v27-28 says “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup”. Isn’t this all we need to abide by? Isn’t anything else extra-biblical? Can’t you see how this might cause division and disharmony in the body of Christ? I know how wrong extra biblical teaching is, and just because I love this church and these people, it doesn’t make it OK. It is troubling and divisive and I have to say, when you are sitting with other believers in an attitude of prayer and the person next to you gets up and sidesteps you with the bread and wine so that there’s no chance you’ll assume you can take the plate and cup, it makes you feel invisible and less of a believer. This is not what the new covenant is about. To me it seems, dare I say it, controlling behaviour.ems me fit to take communion. I already know my worth. It is found in Him. Not in some manmade rule and legalism.

I am not my own. I was bought with a price. The same price as you. By the same blood represented by that cup you won’t let me touch.