Influencers Weekly Devotional

Love and Truth

by

Rocky Fleming

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! (Matthew 18:5-7 ESV)

I realize that most of you who read this devotional today are like me in asking how certain churches have strayed so far in following God’s precepts, by offering their support to those things that are clear in scripture that He opposes, so that they can appear to be “tolerant and accepting.” I totally understand that God is accepting of anyone who comes in repentance to be forgiven and washed of his or her sins, no matter what they are. He established this provision for all mankind through redemption by way of Jesus Christ, regardless of the sin we commit. My sin might be different from yours, and yours from mine. Our sins may be different from other people's sins. But, we are all in the same boat. We need God’s forgiveness. It is very clear that God has invited us to come and be washed from these sins. Look at what is said: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 ESV) This is a pretty clear invitation and procedure. We confess our sins. This means that we agree with God that what we have done is a sin against Him. We agree with God that it is a sin that we have committed. We are repentant, which means we turn away from this sin. This is an essential act on our part. As a result, God is faithful and just to forgive us … and cleanse of the penalty of this sin. Now here are my questions: What if we believe and practice that what we have done is not sin, even though God’s word points out that it is sin? Does our sin remain, if we are not willing to admit it? Sure it does, for we are arguing that we know better than God, and His opinion and His scripture counts for nothing. What if we do not know what we’ve done is sin, because we are ignorant of it? Does our sin remain? It sure does, and the Holy Spirit will disturb us until we turn from it by seeking His forgiveness. Hebrews 12 points out that this is the reason God disciplines His children, to recognize and give up this sin. It is to help us recognize that something is wrong in our fellowship with Him, and to turn from it. But, what if we are taught by a pastor of a church such as I have given as an example, that even though it is clear in scripture that we are embracing sin as a lifestyle, he teaches us that what we are doing is not sin. Does our sin remain then? You bet it does, and this pastor has just jumped in the boat with you. The fact is for him, it would be wise for him to stay clear of boats for a while until he sees his work of being a tempter as sin, and seeks his own repentance of his sin. Jesus said what he is doing would make it better for him to have a millstone fastened to his neck and be thrown into the sea. Now if anyone thinks this is a strong judgment by a man who is less “tolerant” than I should be, I would say that I have just quoted Jesus, and that they were not my words. Jesus has said it clearly. He sees what this teacher is doing as a greater sin, for this teacher is leading a child astray. A child is depicted as a learner, for he is ignorant, and undisciplined, no matter the age of the person. So it could be anyone, no matter the age, who comes to a church looking for a way to find peace with God, but is instead given a false doctrine that keeps him in his sin. When a person struggles with a lifestyle of sin, we do them no good to offer tolerance and acceptance of their sin in order to accept them as a person. We must understand that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to agitate, and make miserable, and disturb someone who lives in a lifestyle of sin. There is a great work going on in this wrestling match with God and the person. This needs to be clearly understood, for as God’s messenger of love to this person, a church and its pastor must speak the undiluted truth to help him make sense of what is going on in his life. But, if we soften it and buffer the truth to make it sound more tolerant and accepting, we take away the power of conviction and repentance, and the hope of salvation and change. Do you understand better why Jesus would look at these teachers as having committed a greater sin? It is a serious, serious condition, and these “tolerant” churches and pastors had better come to grips with what they are doing, if it even matters to them at all what God thinks of them. The last few years I have seen some old-line churches emerging that have gone so far as to say that Jesus Christ is only one of many ways to God. This is another example of a millstone message. Anyone who knows Christ, and the Gospel, will tell you that there is only one way to the Father, and that is through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said that He is the only way. He will not compete with the false witnesses, and false messiahs, and if any church teaches this message, this church ceases to be a member of the Body of Christ, His Church. I only wish they would remove Jesus Christ’s name from their self-identity, for they are no longer His church, and they are using His name only to add credibility to what they are doing. Why would these old-line, traditional churches stray so far from the true Gospel of Christ? How did it happen? It didn’t happen all at once, and there could be some godly founders of those churches who are turning over in their graves right now because of it. The erosion process would have started like we are seeing with the “tolerant churches” today that introduce a doctrine contrary to what scripture teaches. They would confuse the weak, and mislead the ignorant as the they are doing now, by pushing a social agenda over God’s agenda. The members would have ignorantly adopted the erosion process as they are now, for it has a hint of God in it, and it seems so “tolerant and high minded.” They think since it is a “broader religion” and much more accepting of all kinds of people, it is unlike the intolerant churches down the street that teach that repentance of sin leads to forgiveness and salvation. These high-minded, tolerant churches realize their buildings are empty already and they need to find a new marketplace niche, because their message is stale and lifeless. There are plenty of candidates out there who are struggling with the guilt of their sins, and they reason wouldn’t they be so much happier if a church told them that what they are feeling is not the conviction of sin, but rather the intolerance of some narrow-minded people making them feel guilty? Think of the audience that would buy into that kind of teaching, and would gladly follow this kind of message? The world is full of them. These church leaders think, “Jesus would have done a much better job of keeping the thousands that followed Him around if He wasn’t so hard with His message. That millstone thought is a great example of what Jesus should not have taught. Didn’t He lose a lot of people after that? I know the religious leaders checked out on Him. I would have too, and that is why His hard teachings need to be eliminated from my preaching.” I’ve got some sober news for the tolerant pastors who are more concerned about being accepted by a sinner than a Holy God they say they serve. You had better wise up. What you are doing is building a strong case against yourself. God has given His Son to provide forgiveness and redemption to the very ones you are confusing and leading astray. He sees your sin as much greater than theirs, for you are confusing the children He is concerned for. You will come to understand it very clearly one day just how He feels about what you are doing. You had better listen to Christ’s warning about the millstone that awaits you. And by the way, in case you think me intolerant, I say these things to you in love. After all, that’s the way Jesus would have you do it as well. You should speak the truth in love, and allow His truth to lead the people you are trying to help to Him. Then, you help both yourself and the other person, with His love and His truth. Download file