To semi-quote Arnold Horshack, “OOH! OOH! Mr Putterbaugh, I’ve got something to say!”  I just can’t say it NOW…I’m on the way out the door with the grandkids…but this is another GREAT discussion point, Jan..I’ll be back.

’till then…jim

I am reminded of a teaching tool used by marriage counselors. Couples in counseling are shown a graphic of an equilateral triangle: the apex labeled God or Jesus, and the base corners labeled as the wife and husband. The principle is obvious: as the individuals draw closer in their journey toward their (shared) primary goal of unity and closeness to Christ, they become closer to each other. This can certainly serve us well as individual members of the church. Our primary individual focus is not on each other, but on Christ, and growing and learning toward Him.

This is not to say that we should NOT focus on each other, different as we may be. If the church is not able to focus appropriately on the members thereof, it is without the engine for it’s primary directive: to show Christ to the world. Jesus did not say lightly,

   “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples; that you love one another as I have loved you.”

Does this mean that  everything is OK in acceptance of the beloved, or that “sin” is to be considered a passe concept? Far from it, if we are to follow the example of Jesus. He scathingly chastised Peter as a “satan”, or enemy, for even suggesting that Jesus take a less violent path  to his end. He, while forgiving the woman caught sleeping with another woman’s husband, admonished her to “…sin no more that no worse (consequences) may befall you.” He taught sternly against hypocrisy, cruelty, injustice, adultery, lust…in short, he was very INtolerant of sin, directing us to “be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

This is continued in the teachings of the apostles to the church. Ananias and Sapphira paid a fearsome price for deceit in the body of believers. Paul uses the word “condemn” in reference to a man in the church body living in open sexual immorality, and directs the local church to put him out. He indicates that sickness and death can be the consequence of sin in the lives of the members of the church.

I think a phrase key in ecumenism should be our watchword:
                                                                          In essentials, Unity
                                                                          In non-essentials, Liberty
                                                                          In all things, Charity

   So, what are these essentials? Surprisingly few, if we listen to Paul, the apostles, and the New Testament. They are to believe in Jesus of Nazareth as the unique Son of the only God; that He lived on earth in the flesh, died for the remission of sins, once, for all, and that He was resurrected from the dead. We are instructed not to defame Christ or His church by living dissoluteley, but rather to live exemplary, Godly, “holy” lives.

We cannot ignore the exclusivity of some of the clear statements of Jesus. To do so puts us in the untenable position of judging Him and his statements; choosing that which we deem worthy at our whim. Worse, we reduce Jesus to something far less than the sovereign, authoritative Son of God. 

So, in the church we have some uncompromisable claims…if not, the church of Christ has nothing unique to offer, and may as well be an open philosophical debating society.Further, I have seen christian groups torn apart, and their local mission destroyed when they were too open, without a stong pulse of the core truths being reinforced. It is not the loving parent who watches without intervening as a child continues in error after error; reaping larger and larger consequences with the passage of time.

Granted all the above; that there are immutable core truths and values to be held in the church, I believe we have a wide degree of latitude in our relationships with each other as we “grow together toward Christ”.

I believe we can listen to, and learn from, each other; with respect for each individual’s need to make the path to Christ their own. In 1 Timothy, 2 Peter, and even in Ezekiel 18 we hear that God does not delight in the death of those who turn away from Him, but rather that His desire is that all would turn, and come to Him….so we have a duty to facilitate that, loving as Christ loved (tender, fierce, uncompromising and gentle). We are instructed to do any such leading with respect and gentleness. Nowhere do I see admonition to call the point at which another is in their path of discovery before encountering Christ worthless or invalid. Paul actually, as noted in another comment above, quoted a pagan shrine in respecting where his audience was “at”, as a touchstone to  the truth of God as revealed by Jesus.

No one would think of Paul as wishy-washy, or wavering about the exclusivity of the gospel, yet it is this same Paul who said
                       

                       “I have become all things to all people so that by all means some might be saved”

We are given practical instruction in leading with respect; even when another may be in error:

“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” 1 Timothy 23-26

May we gently share with each other that which Christ has gone to such great pains to deliver to us, and gain from each other a wider view of the depth and richness of God

Jim

How sobering is the line, “WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE SOMEONE ELSE”S SERVANT?”

WOW!