Take The High Ground

TAKING THE HIGH GROUND

In the recent political campaign experts prepared attack ads to try to destroy the other guy. Accuse him of everything you can even imagine. Only 7% of voters really pay attention to these (so we are told). When the election is over, they shake hands (hold their nose while doing it) and work together for the common good. But they work together.

Someone has written: "I can remember a preacher who had done SO much good for the Lord in a tri-state area. I know that because everyone told me about what he used to be like. But when he got older, he couldn't turn the reins over to anyone else. He became hard to deal with and out of touch. In his later years — the years I knew him — he nearly undid all the good he had done and suffocated a couple churches in front of my eyes. I can remember my father getting on his knees in his office and praying that God would take him before he ever got to the point where he was doing more harm than good."

It is vitally important to take the "High Ground." Paul the Apostle wrote: "But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." Romans 14:10 (NKJV)

And: "Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Romans 14:16-17 (NKJV)

Righteousness and peace and joy come through taking the grace of God seriously. The Bible says: "when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high," Heb 1:3 (NKJV) This is God in action. He has done what we cannot do. Our good works are necessary, but they do not add to what He Has Done.

"Raccoon John" Smith was one of our pioneer preachers in the early 1800s. He said he once preached a sermon which was NOT TRUE and which he did NOT believe. But, he said, it helped to clear the air. He preached "Universal Damnation," that no one at all could ever be saved and that Jesus had failed. He reasoned: The righteous are scarcely saved (1 Peter 4:18). But there are no righteous (Romans 3). Therefore no one at all can be saved. This would mean that Jesus had failed in His mission to be the world's Savior. But, he said, this is NOT TRUE! "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself." And "when He had by Himself purged our sins." (2Cor5:19; Hebrews1:3) WE ARE SAVED BY GOD'S GRACE. And it is this fact that we are "sinners saved by grace" (Titus 3:3-7) that requires us to throw ourselves on God's mercy. We sing: "Trust and obey, for there's no other way." And: "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow."


A Parable. (This Parable is a made-up story to show us a truth.)

"Ben Trying died and came to the Pearly Gates. There he met Peter who was the gatekeeper. "Before I can let you in, said Peter, I must examine you. You must have 10,000 points. Tell me why I should let you in." "I was an elder in the church for many years before my death." "Good for you," said Peter, "that's one point." Ben looked startled and then continued. "I attended every service of the church for many years." "Wonderful," said Peter, "that's one point." Ben shifted his feet and had a wild look in his eyes. Ben said, "I was baptized into Christ as a teenager." "That's another point," said Peter. Ben threw up his hands. "Why at this rate it would only be by the grace of God that anyone could be saved." "Oh, the grace of God," said Peter. "That's worth far more than 10,000 points! Come right in."

A parable. "Joe Doaks 'obeyed the gospel.' As he was coming up out of the baptismal pool, he stumbled and fell dead." Was he saved? Certainly. If not, why not? He was saved by God's act in Christ by which He put the world right with Himself (2 Cor. 5:17-21; Phil. 3:9-11).


"It is the supreme discovery of life that we need not punish ourselves in a hopeless effort to earn God's forgiveness. It is freely offered to all. We must gladly accept his gift of love on the terms offered. A grateful heart will make the best effort to please Him. No longer do we as criminals seek by our own strength to escape our chains, rather as faithful children we do our best to please our loving Father." JHW


Since we have received God's grace, we must pass this grace along to others in our relationships. We - having been forgiven by God - must have a forgiving spirit. We must take the high road with fellow believers. John the Apostle wrote: "If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death." 1 John 5:16-17 (NKJV) The extreme Pharisee by his attitude considered Jesus to be a Sabbath-breaker and a glutton and wine-bibber. Yet Jesus was right in everything that He did - without sin - and they were wrong..


"If we should succeed in routing the enemy - if we refute their every error and see them gone - what will we have at the end? If we are left a narrow, bitter band of do-nothing-but-fight church folks, we will have a hollow victory. The survivors will soon bite and destroy one another (Gal. 5:15). Let's fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12), but let's remember to be "good soldiers of Christ Jesus (II Tim. 2:3) whose code is fidelity, honor, and service. JHW"


God created us to live in a world of Time. This world is incredibly complex and things are interconnected. God is presently judging us. Islam, which claims to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, may be a judgment on the church. It is at least a judgment on Western Civilization. Yet God's Answer is JESUS CHRIST - Crucified, Risen, Coming Again. And, GOD The Holy Spirit is continually at work in our world.


Jude, the brother of James, wrote: "Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God's marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ." Jude 1:3-4 (NLT)


There is a salvation shared in common by both Jew and Gentile believers. This salvation is preserved in the apostolic tradition once for all delivered to the saints, and it cannot be changed. (Some of the issues are recent inventions.) But as we defend the faith, we must avoid the devil's wiles and pitfalls. "Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." Matt 16:6 (NKJV)


Satan would push us into overreacting. As some would say: "Run out of Babylon so fast that you run on past Jerusalem." The church at Ephesus became so intense in identifying false apostles that they pushed Jesus aside and forgot to love Him. They "left their first love." They still attended church, but forgot Him who they came to worship.


Ignorance is NOT a virtue. And willful ignorance is disbelief and it is sin. Jesus accused the Pharisees. "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life." John 5:39-40 (NLT) The scriptures which they searched intently were filled with huge stomping clues about JESUS! But they made themselves willfully ignorant of Jesus. And Paul wrote: "But the people's minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ." 2 Cor 3:14 (NLT)


Christ bought the church with His own blood! But as someone has said: There is something indecent about the Church which turns all attention to herself and shoves Christ out of the focus. Having said that, anyone can win a war. But only the noble can win justly and bring about PEACE.


The great problem of the church today is to find the necessary bond between institution and liberty. We need not invent this bond. It is not of our making nor does it come from debating ourselves into agreement. This bond has a personal name - The Holy Spirit. HE is the One who gives life to the entire church from within (Eph. 2:19-22). Paul speaks: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen." 2 Cor 13:14 (NKJV) Note Romans 16:20; Jude 1:21; Phil. 2:1-2.


1. We must not be only against what we view as unauthorized additions and distortions. We must emphasize those positive facts of Christianity that are the heart and core of the Faith. Jesus spoke a parable about this (concerning the Pharisees). "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation." Matt 12:43-45 (NKJV)

Jesus put a high priority on justice, mercy, faith, holiness and all the fruit of the Spirit (Matt. 23:23). Those who know only how to oppose something will never succeed in building up the kingdom of God. Daniel Sommer (one of our Pioneer preachers) spoke of those who spent their time "baptizing aliens and capsizing sectarians," but who did nothing to edify the church. Paul said he planted (evangelized), Apollos watered (edified), but God gave the increase. God Himself made the church grow.


2. We must be guided by love (Eph. 5:2). Love for the cause of Christ; love for fellow Christians; love for our opponents in this struggle for the heart of the church. Paul warned: "Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." 2 Thess 3:15 (NKJV) "Our goal should be to snatch from the fire those who have turned away from the holy Word. "And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives." Jude 1:22-23 (NLT)


3. We must be kind (Eph. 4:32), considerate, and courteous (1 Peter 3:8-9 KJV) when dealing with those whom we feel we must confront. We must not allow our anger to lead us into sin.


4. We must be Christian soldiers of high honor, integrity, honesty, and truthfulness in dealing with those we view as not following "our old paths." Paul the Apostle said: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-- meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." Phil 4:8-9 (NKJV) We dare not say: "All is fair in love and war." Nor: "The end justifies the means." We must strive lawfully or we are throwing away the truth we wish to defend.


5. We ourselves must be strong in faith, prayer, holiness, and good works. Paul warns: "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." Eph 6:12 (NLT) We ourselves must first come boldly to God's throne of GRACE. Then we can reach out in spiritual power.


6. Do we in fact believe that the "gates of hell shall NOT prevail against His church?" God said: "So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the Lord of hosts." Zech 4:6 (NKJV) Again: "Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands." 1 Sam 17:47 (NKJV) And again: "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
Romans 8:31 (NKJV) "Victory will not be won because we are smarter, better educated, tougher soldiers, or because we can hit harder. Nor will shouting, bullying, or any other expressions of physical strength turn the tide. JHW"


7. We must not be devoured by opposing what we view as error. When preachers fall into this trap, their congregations wither and die, even as they make war on what they view as error. We must "lift up Christ for all to see!" We must reclaim the fallen and inactive, and we must edify and illuminate the church. But at the same time: "Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching." 2 Tim 4:2 (NLT)


8. We must be willing to hear and evaluate those criticisms raised against our practices. It is said that God sometimes speaks to us through an enemy. No honest soul would claim to have perfectly "restored" our vision of the ideal church of the First Century. And the church under the guidance of the Apostles had the same problems which we have today. Rather than react in anger, we must examine the ground upon which we stand and strive to "go on to perfection (maturity)."


9. We must take the offensive without being offensive. We must "contend for the faith" without being "contentious." No doubt the ugly, harsh, abrasive attitude of some have alienated members and driven them away. But notice Jesus reserved His harshest condemnation for those religious leaders who "strained at a gnat and swallowed a camel." "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."
Matt 23:15 (NKJV)


10. But in the end GOD will take us where He wants us - even though we are kicking and screaming all the way. We believe that the King James Translators were Christians. The borders of the Kingdom extend farther than some thought. But the Lord may turn the vineyard over to other tenants. The balance of power in Christian circles is shifting to China, India, Africa, South America, etc. HE is the Awesome God, the Loving Father (who loves us with a tough love), and Who is Himself everything that the Bible says HE is.