Ever since I started this blog, I’ve included Sunday recaps under the heading of “Sunday Night Lights”. The idea was to settle back and think on the highlights of the day. I still want to do that. But I’ve decided to adopt a new imagery. We are a church that wants to reach and build men. Further, we fully believe in a team environment. So, after giving this some thought for a while, rather than an image of candles and thoughtful reflection, I want to suggest that you are invited into our locker room to hear what went on there. I know… it’s just semantics, but it resonates more with who we are.
Today was a particularly challenging day since we addressed the issue of miraculous gifts and whether or not they are still active in today’s church. This question is probably one of the most divisive and controversial subjects discussed among believers today. In considering this divisive issue, there are a few key considerations to bear in mind.
- The purpose of scripture is not to make Christians argue with Christians, but to point us toward the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ so that we might accept his grace.
- Spiritual gifts are intended to promote UNITY, not division
- Spiritual gifts are to benefit the TEAM.
The Apostle Paul was pretty serious about the fact that in any discussion of gifts, the most valuable commodity of all is love. The famous “Love Chapter” is 1 Corinthians 13, which is right in the middle of his discussion of the use and application of gifts. The point is to love one another through our disagreements. This is critically important. I have discovered in my research that there are absolutely committed, sincere Christ-followers that can be found at every point on the spectrum. Each can and will point to scripture as their basis for their belief. So how do we handle that? With love! There are some things that are non-negotiables. We cannot “agree to disagree” on these things. Such as:
- The Trinity
- The inerrancy of Scripture.
- That salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves.
- That we have all fallen short of God’s standard and need Jesus.
These are a few. But what about doctrines and teachings that do not involve our salvation? It is in these areas where the body of Christ has portrayed themselves in a poor light to an unbelieving world. In stead of fighting for the souls of men, we are more content to fight, argue, and disagree with each other over lesser issues. The NT portrays one overwhelming truth… that Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost. While we argue and divide, and argue and divide again over secondary issues, people we love and care about are passing into a Christ-less eternity. God forgive us.
So what did we say about these gifts this morning? We addressed four primary views which are as follows:
- Cessationists - The miraculous gifts are no longer applicable to the church today.
- “Open but Cautious” - Doubtful of the miraculous gifts, but willing to allow that God is free to work as he chooses, which may include miraculous displays.
- Third Wave - Believe that miraculous gifts are fully applicable to today’s church, but do not seek a “second” experience with the Holy Spirit.
- Pentecostals / Charismatic - Not exactly one and the same, but both would embrace a far more dynamic experience of the miraculous gifts than a Third Wave proponent.
Across the spectrum, you will find, and do find, strong men and women of faith who believe they have rightly divided the word of truth. Ultimately there is only one truth, but perhaps there are truths we were never meant to fully understand in this life. Perhaps we were meant to understand the essentials of the faith, the non-negotiables that cannot be compromised, and to extend love and grace in those areas that we cannot proscribe with absolute certainty. Whatever position one holds, all that is said and done must fall under the following criteria:
- Everything MUST be in agreement with the final, completed, authoritative Word of God.
- Judging prophecy:
- 1 Cor 14:29 - Let two or three people prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said.
- 1 Thess 5:19-21 - Do no stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said.
- Test the spirits… see if they be of God
- 1 John 4:1 - Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.
ORDER IN THE CHURCH – Within the context of our public worship service, we earnestly pray and greatly desire that God will bless us each week with those who still need to come to faith in Jesus Christ. As such, we believe these principles should guide not only our service, but any public worship service in which the lost are invited to be a part of.
- 1 Cor 14:33 - For God is not a God of disorder but of peace
- 2 Corinthians 4:5 - For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord…
I am still on a spiritual journey. It will continue until I draw my last breath here. I deeply desire to know more of God. I am no theologian, and will never be able to match any man of any of these positions in a battle of wits. But I do know that God calls us to love each other through our differences. I will never compromise on the essentials of faith. But I pray for more wisdom and more patience to love and learn from my brothers and sisters in Christ who share different, but biblically and passionately based positions. And I pray for our church to be known in the same way.
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