ABOVE IS SIMPLY A REMINDER THAT DESPITE THE COLLAPSE OF THE WORLD AROUND US, GOD IS AT WORK! HE IS GOING TO FINISH HIS WORK IN RIGHTEOUSNESS!
ABOVE IS A SIMPLE ILLUSTRATION TO SHOW HOW THROUGHOUT ALMOST 20 CENTURIES, WE HAVE FASHIONED MUCH OF THE CHURCH WITH OUR OWN HANDS. GOD HAS BEEN WITH US STILL, DESPITE OUR UNWILLINGNESS TO FOLLOW HIS WILL, HIS WAY. HE IS GOING TO PREPARE US AS A GLORIOUS BRIDE FOR HIS SOON RETURN!
Everyone who is truly called by God to communicate His Word to the many members of His body wants to do so with the gentleness and grace that promotes Spirit-filled fellowship.
Sad to say, that luxury has never materialized for anyone long-term. When God's Word is proclaimed as God really is and not as the masses suppose that He is, the enemy immediately interjects untruthful influences and arguments from every possible angle to create confusion, havoc, and unholy division.
God the Father wanted to be gentle with His people throughout the Old Covenant, and the Lord Jesus wanted to be under the New; but even they could not always be that way, and the Holy Spirit through the writers of the Bible were not always that way either.
Whether before or after the coming of Jesus Christ, God has had to rebuke, reprove, and discipline His own people when they did not want to walk in the gentleness with which He sought to lead them.
The Cross of Jesus Christ is the most perfect representation of this paradox that I can think of. It represents both the love and embrace of God toward man through Jesus Christ and yet it is the greatest offense the flesh can possibly face.
One might safely argue that there may be considerably more reproof, rebuke, and stern correction throughout the Bible than gentle edification - even to believers under the New Covenant.
Gentle teaching and sometimes rebuke are necessary for a healthy Body. It was not unusual for the Bible Prophets, including our Lord Himself, to display great frustration with emotion when proclaiming God's message. There is a time for righteous indignation when is altogether right. The Holy Spirit even says, "BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity." (Eph. 4:26-27)
No one could have possibly been more gentle than Jesus was at times, but at other times He was very stern - even angry! We could say the same for the Apostles Paul, Peter, and even Jude. Each one of them spoke with the gentleness of a shepherd, but also with stern correction.
The same Apostle Paul who, by the Spirit, teaches us to "Speak the truth in love," also said, "if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!" (Eph. 4:15; Gal. 1:9)
Notice how Paul responded to false teachers in the Body of Christ in Galatia:
"But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me." (Gal. 2:5-6)
Regarding those who distorted the Truth in Christ, Paul didn't allow them to even speak for long. He called them down, and quickly. And whatever their religious rank, was of no importance to him either. He called them down all the same. He was zealous for those truths that were most critical, and zealous for the members of Christ's body who were going to be hurt by liars within the Body.
Today, there is a need for stern correction and rebuke in the Body of Christ like never before; but sadly, when given, it is not usually received.
No one likes to be rebuked about anything, even when it is for good. Out of nearly seventy years in the Church, I have found some of the most rebellious people against Truth to be church attendees - some true believers, and some not. The Lord knows.
The true prophets who were martyred, were, in many cases, martyred by someone of their own religious affiliation; and many times they were killed by the very ones they were sent to deliver. Our Lord Jesus is only one case in point. It began with Able, and has not ceased.
That being said, while it is our desire to share Truth on this website and throughout our ministry with the gentleness of a shepherd only, that cannot always be - especially today. We certainly know what it is to receive correction, and while painful, we have been thankful for it ourselves.
Notice the last message the Apostle Paul gave to the elders of the Church at Ephesus - a church that was birthed through his ministry.
“And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears." Acts 20:25-31
The other Apostles voiced the same strong concerns. And it is not always through false teachers in the Body that is the greater problem. Anyone in the Body, who has a religious spirit, or who loves themselves more than they love God, can be equally as great a problem. That has always been a common problem, and is becoming even more common as the Church continues to attempt to run on bare ground, off the rails, taking countless "believers" for a ride in the desert of pleasant valley. It is a ride that is going to end abruptly for those who would not heed when God sent them a messenger of Truth.
Sad to say, that luxury has never materialized for anyone long-term. When God's Word is proclaimed as God really is and not as the masses suppose that He is, the enemy immediately interjects untruthful influences and arguments from every possible angle to create confusion, havoc, and unholy division.
God the Father wanted to be gentle with His people throughout the Old Covenant, and the Lord Jesus wanted to be under the New; but even they could not always be that way, and the Holy Spirit through the writers of the Bible were not always that way either.
Whether before or after the coming of Jesus Christ, God has had to rebuke, reprove, and discipline His own people when they did not want to walk in the gentleness with which He sought to lead them.
The Cross of Jesus Christ is the most perfect representation of this paradox that I can think of. It represents both the love and embrace of God toward man through Jesus Christ and yet it is the greatest offense the flesh can possibly face.
One might safely argue that there may be considerably more reproof, rebuke, and stern correction throughout the Bible than gentle edification - even to believers under the New Covenant.
Gentle teaching and sometimes rebuke are necessary for a healthy Body. It was not unusual for the Bible Prophets, including our Lord Himself, to display great frustration with emotion when proclaiming God's message. There is a time for righteous indignation when is altogether right. The Holy Spirit even says, "BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity." (Eph. 4:26-27)
No one could have possibly been more gentle than Jesus was at times, but at other times He was very stern - even angry! We could say the same for the Apostles Paul, Peter, and even Jude. Each one of them spoke with the gentleness of a shepherd, but also with stern correction.
The same Apostle Paul who, by the Spirit, teaches us to "Speak the truth in love," also said, "if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!" (Eph. 4:15; Gal. 1:9)
Notice how Paul responded to false teachers in the Body of Christ in Galatia:
"But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me." (Gal. 2:5-6)
Regarding those who distorted the Truth in Christ, Paul didn't allow them to even speak for long. He called them down, and quickly. And whatever their religious rank, was of no importance to him either. He called them down all the same. He was zealous for those truths that were most critical, and zealous for the members of Christ's body who were going to be hurt by liars within the Body.
Today, there is a need for stern correction and rebuke in the Body of Christ like never before; but sadly, when given, it is not usually received.
No one likes to be rebuked about anything, even when it is for good. Out of nearly seventy years in the Church, I have found some of the most rebellious people against Truth to be church attendees - some true believers, and some not. The Lord knows.
The true prophets who were martyred, were, in many cases, martyred by someone of their own religious affiliation; and many times they were killed by the very ones they were sent to deliver. Our Lord Jesus is only one case in point. It began with Able, and has not ceased.
That being said, while it is our desire to share Truth on this website and throughout our ministry with the gentleness of a shepherd only, that cannot always be - especially today. We certainly know what it is to receive correction, and while painful, we have been thankful for it ourselves.
Notice the last message the Apostle Paul gave to the elders of the Church at Ephesus - a church that was birthed through his ministry.
“And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears." Acts 20:25-31
The other Apostles voiced the same strong concerns. And it is not always through false teachers in the Body that is the greater problem. Anyone in the Body, who has a religious spirit, or who loves themselves more than they love God, can be equally as great a problem. That has always been a common problem, and is becoming even more common as the Church continues to attempt to run on bare ground, off the rails, taking countless "believers" for a ride in the desert of pleasant valley. It is a ride that is going to end abruptly for those who would not heed when God sent them a messenger of Truth.
Speaking the Truth Today is Difficult
Ever-increasing social demands to silence all on-line voices of truth and reason could force a revival of the printed page.