Zeal For Truth

This is part of an eight part series on the importance of fellowship. Read the other parts here:

Part 8: Unconditional Love
Part 7: Honesty
Part 6: Fighting Superficiality
Part 5: Sanctification
Part 4: Why You Need It (Yes You)
Part 3: Dealing With A Dead or Dying Church
Part 2: Accountability
Part 1: Introduction

I’d like to qualify a term that I am going to throw around in this peice:

anti-fellowship: the building up of barriers and walls between believers that discourage biblical fellowship; often through - but not exclusively limited to - traits, traditions, attitudes and outright lies that that Christians tell themselves and one another to avoid and thwart fellowship and it’s fruit in their lives.

One of the most significant contributions to anti-fellowship is dishonesty. It is a major problem with the church, and I will qualify “in the church” as meaning - individual bible-believing, born again Christians. We lie. We lie to ourselves of course - convincing ourselves that we are good people, that we’re smart, that we’re popular (etc…). But I am specifically speaking about the lies we project - the deliberate misrepresentation of who we are and what were about to other Christians.

Lia, Liar - But Your Pants Aren’t On Fire (Because You’re Saved)
John talks about this dishonesty (John 1:8-10):

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

The language in John’s epistles always struck me as awkward, even harsh at times - is he really calling some Christians liars? Is really saying things like - “his word is not in us” and meaning actual Christians? I used to chalk John’s harsh words up to those “obviously” fake Christians and never even began to think that they could apply to me or people like me, who are saved, perhaps even in ministry, believe in the bible and go to decent churches.

But John is just articulating the obvious - we don’t want to admit we’re sinners, that we have needs or that we’re immature. John also is reminding us of the severity of our sin problems. But lastly, John is also telling us that we have indwelling sin and a propensity to hide, ignore and deny our sin nature.

This is a reason we avoid fellowship. The lies we have told to ourselves and to others will be exposed by fellowship. For example, even though someone may never say “I never gossip and am generally trustworthy” they might have this view of themself. They might go to great lengths both deliberately and out of habit to appear to be righteous and good. At some point in this process, they convince themself that they really have “conquered gossip” and are somehow without sin in the area.

A person who has become this deluded is going to have a crashing revelation when either they realise themself, or someone points out to them, that actually they are sinning and have not, in fact, conquered anything. Obviously this “crashing” can be made worse by judgemental friends and leadership, or by confrontational/angry rebukes. But these are separate sins, and while important, ultimately have no linked, causal or excusable relationship to the first sin(s). And this original sense of exposure and judgement is completely fabricated - John tells us so. The cure to sin is not our righteousness, but confessing our sins.

Examples of Lies
Some other examples of self deception and “saying we have no sin” are easy to identify in ourselves. Here are some common lies we tell ourselves:

I am righteous - Some like to pretend they are more moral and righteous than other people. These are usually the first ones to condemn others: homosexuals, adulterers, politicians and other easy targets. It is the same tactic governments use to propagandise a war - take the focus away from the crimes you are committing and focus on the otherness of someone else - effectively demonising them. It has been fashionable in the last decade or so to also include academics and theologians in this group of disconnected and “elitist” others. Someone with a PhD or a seminary education is classified into categories such as “liberal”, “postmodern” or “progressive” just because they have a formal education.

I am popular - Some like to pretend they are popular and well-liked. These are the first to gossip. Oh, not things like “John is such a jerk and I don’t like him” - but rather - “you know, we should really pray for John. He’s been having family trouble lately. And after being put on disciplinary probation at work, he’s sure to need our help.” The fact that someone compulsively gossips shows that they take a lot of stock in the opinions of others and could be a point of revelation about this lie. Confession is tremendously important here - specifically, confessing idolising men’s opinions above God’s. These people need to focus on their own sin, their own hearts and the grace that God has given them through the cross.

I am gifted - Some like to pretend their gifts are greater than others. These are the first to shirk those “lesser responsibilities” such as feeding the poor, comforting the weak and even prayer. Oftentimes an overzealousness for doing ministry is a way to distract ourselves from getting the ministry we need. It’s easy to subdivide Christianity into a) those who minister and b) those who need ministry. But there is no such division in the bible - we all have needs and we all have gifts. We should be simultaneously ministering and being ministered to. And we also need to stop idolising ministry as a “position” or a title - as though we can only minister in some official capacity in a church.

In the process of changing churches, I had an opportunity to take four months off of any worship leading. I felt overwhelmed with all of the ministry I was getting, and my relationship with God grew by leaps and bounds. I wonder if I had been so focussed on “giving ministry” that I was missing opportunities to be ministered to by others.  Moreover, I got to expand my ministry in ways I never thought possible - helping people with manual labour, praying for them, providing counsel and giving financially.

Dealing with dishonesty is not complicated - it simply requires confession: to “say the same thing” - as the Greek declares. But part of this is an understanding from all Christians that instead of trying to appear perfect, it is much more important we recognise and embrace our imperfections, focussing on the God who is perfecting us (Philippians 3:12), and not attempt to muster up the initiative and power to change ourselves.

Onto the final entry: Part 8: Unconditional Love.

This is part of an eight part series on the importance of fellowship. Read the other parts here:

Part 8: Unconditional Love
Part 7: Honesty
Part 6: Fighting Superficiality
Part 5: Sanctification
Part 4: Why You Need It (Yes You)
Part 3: Dealing With A Dead or Dying Church
Part 2: Accountability
Part 1: Introduction

On the opposite side of the spectrum from those who desperately want fellowship but are struggling to get it going, there are also those of us who, for one reason or another, aren’t interested in it whatsoever.

Some of this goes back to what I said in part I, namely that we think because God has a personal, individual relationship with us, that His use of other people to speak to us will be severely limited, or is perhaps some kind of “lesser” intervention than direct revelation of some kind. But I suspect that much of it also is a desire to avoid the consequences of fellowship - change, humility, challenge and accountability among other things.

Risks and Rewards?
For others, we simply don’t like the risk that is opened up with fellowship. Giving someone a challenge means that they might not take it well, and may not like you anymore. We can see the whole world exploding from one single, “I noticed that you tend to call other drivers idiots and make unkind gestures to them regularly.” In response to this observation, we see our friends standing over us, turning bright red and screaming at us - “HOW DARE YOU!” Soon, it gets out and everyone then thinks we’re a self-righteous jerk for saying this. By the time it gets around the church you swore at them, told them off for an hour and punched them in the face. You are excommunicated by the pope himself and when you all go to heaven no one likes you and you sit around your golden mansion all day, alone and miserable while everyone else glories God among the nations.

Maybe that’s not your nightmare, but I would be lying if I told you that I didn’t get tremendously worried and fearful when offering challenge to someone. I’ve botched up some challenges in my life and done everything from making close friends mad for a few days to infuriating leaders and half their family for months. Sometimes it happens because you say and do dumb things when you offer a challenge (by “dumb” I mean “sinful” - there is no nice way to say it), but often it happens because (big surprise) people are proud and don’t like to be challenged.

It is possibly the case that the larger your fear of challenging others, the more problem you yourself may have with the gentle correction of others. I know that I imagine people getting upset with me because I myself don’t really like to be challenged. And while I might not yell at them or threaten them, some part of me is often thinking - “How dare they say this to me! And by what right?”

Look to Your Own Heart
A church leader and friend of mine has an excellent saying that he repeats at times (it may not even be his point originally). He says that when we find ourselves offended or angry at the criticisms or rebukes of others, we need to ask ourselves what kind of idol within us is being challenged. It’s one thing to acknowledge that someone has brought an inaccurate criticism, or that they have brought an accurate criticism inappropriately or with sin themselves. But if you find yourself responding in bitterness or feeling “wounded” by a legitimate point, then you need to ask yourself what kind of idol is being attacked.

For myself, I know that if I am having trouble dealing with a gentle correction from a friend or mentor, its usually for any number of reasons:

• My sense of my own righteousness has been challenged: I think I am generally moral person and shouldn’t have to put up with someone correcting me.
• My vanity or image has been challenged: I want to appear moral or knowledgeable because I feel it gives me status or makes me worthy of respect.
•  My discomfort with rejection: I want others to like me and to think well of me.

I’m sure there are others, but these are some things that I have to watch out for. You might recognize these in yourself as well.

The point is that a negative reaction to critique - even if justified - probably still carries with it some sin on your part. Indwelling sin tells us this - that we are all sinners in need of a saviour. We have to look to our own sin first and look for truth in the rebukes of others.
Continue reading ‘The Importance of Fellowship: Why You Need it (Yes, You)’