Nothing is Neutral

Christians are NOT allowed the luxury of neutrality.

“He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” Matt. 12:30... “For he that is not against us is on our part.” MK. 9:40... “And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.” LK. 9:50... “He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.” LK. 11:23

NARRATION: It was 6:45am. She hates unloading the dishwasher anytime of day but she was doing it. Loudly. After a particularly rowdy session of removing bowls I said something to her about the noise. Her point was she wasn't being loud on purpose...my point was that she wasn't trying to be quiet either. We take virtuous refuge in the things that we didn't intend as if to say, “Since I didn‘t intend that to happen, it must have been God‘s will.” We think we are not accountable for those consequences which we did not intend to happen. But here's the thing...
"Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need."
Paul is saying that it isn't enough to just not steal anymore...now you must labor honestly...for the purpose of having something to share.

It isn't enough to not intend harm...for every action or thought that we don't intend we must be clear that we are seeking the opposite. We are NOT allowed to just do as we please and then say, “Well since “that” was not my intent, I’m not guilty of causing it to happen.” The whole world operates on this premise. You in all probability did not intend to cause the auto accident, but you may still be charged with causing it. As disciples of Jesus Christ, our “intent” is always on trial. Our motivation for doing something is just as important as our actions. Another good example of this principal is found in “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: (meaning that “we had no relationship, therefore, these works are not motivated by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, ie., John 16:8-10) depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matt. 7:22-23. He calls those works of iniquity, what we would call good works.

I didn't intend to be rude. But was I seeking kindness?
“Old brother so-in-so is just plain spoken like that“…No he’s not, he is self-centered and just unloads his mouth regardless of who it may hurt, he just don’t care enough to try to be kind by being careful how he speaks to people. To him, “If he didn’t mean to be rude, and someone has their feelings hurt, it’s their problem.” “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” Eph. 4:32. This is a call to be intentional about being kind.


I didn't intend to be disrespectful. But was I seeking to show respect?
This is always an easy fix; The rule of thumb is always, “Would you want to be treated, spoken to, or “respected” the same way you are treating, speaking to or showing respect for this person?” Whatever you are doing, would you want that done to you? Remember, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” I Pet. 2:13-17.

I didn't intend to tear down. But was I seeking to build up? I didn't intend to hurt you. But was I really seeking the best for you even at a cost to me?
People will say, “Well, what I said was the truth.” That may be, but the question is “Was it also necessary to say that out loud?” Is this what will truly be best for edifying this person at this time? “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.” Rom. 14:19... “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. I Thess. 5:9-11... “… Let all things be done unto edifying.” I Corin. 14:26.

I didn't intend to be hurt by you. But was I seeking to be longsuffering?
Again, this is making sure we not only KNOW the difference between “patience” and “long-suffering” but practice the difference. “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” II Pet. 1:4-9... “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” I Tim. 6:11... These all have to do with condition or circumstances. We are working to grow in our condition of “divine nature.” We are to add to our circumstances of “following after these things.”
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Gal. 5:19-25... “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Eph. 4:1-6. These scriptures deal with people.

It isn't enough to NOT intend the wrong thing. We have to purposely pursue to do the right thing. We must be so aware of what we don't want to happen as a consequence of something we do, that we become very intentional in what we do want to happen.
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Eph. 5:1.


We are to be an intentional body of believers, because He was intentional.

“CONQUERING THE CONTINUING CRISES”

Here is a seldom considered truth. Human life is a constant confrontation—and (hopefully) resolution—of crises. If a person does not maintain a conquest of these crises, he will die. Every human being faced a major crisis at birth (and this is more true today than ever!), and this crisis is only the first among many. In his book, Where Is God When It Hurts?, author Philip Yancey has a long paragraph that is worth examining many times. “Imagine what it would be like if you had had full consciousness as a fetus at the time of birth and could now remember all the sensations:

"Your world is dark, safe, and secure. You are bathed in warm liquid, cushioned from shock. You do nothing for yourself; you are fed automatically, and a murmuring heartbeat assures you that someone larger than you fills all your needs. Your life consists of simple waiting—you’re not sure what to wait for, but any change seems far away and scary. You meet no sharp objects, no pain, no threatening adventures. A fine existence. One day you feel a tug. The walls are falling in on you. Those soft cushions are now pulsing and beating against you, crushing you downwards. Your body is bent double, your limbs twisted and wrenched. You’re falling, upside down. For the first time in your life, you feel pain. You’re in a sea of rolling matter. There is more pressure, almost too intense to bear. Your head is squeezed flat, and you are pushed harder, harder into a dark tunnel. Oh, the pain. Noise. More pressure. You hurt all over. You hear a groaning sound and an awful, sudden fear rushes in on you. It is happening—your world is collapsing. You’re sure it’s the end. You see a piercing, blinding light. Cold, rough hands pull at you. A painful slap. Waaaahhhhh! Congratulations, you have just been born.” Fortunately, you have no memory of that trip down the birth canal.

Now, think of a parallel crucial reality in the Christian life, the moment of your New Birth. In a study of the New Birth, I have elsewhere explored the “painful” nature of the experience, both on God’s side (Calvary) and ours (conviction). The New Birth is a crisis experience, and it is only one of many in the Christian life. One crisis after another faces the newborn person, and many of the crises will typically last a lifetime. The human being is like a person with an upper respiratory ailment, who must always carry his oxygen tank with him, or die. The human being has this advantage: the world is a vast oxygen tank; but let him stop inhaling its vital ingredients and he will die. The human being is like a man walking across a minefield; he must negotiate the situation very carefully, or he will never walk that way again.

I want to mention some of the evident crises, suggesting that only disciple-making will enable the believer to fully face and resolve these crises in his life. Many believers carry the ravages of one or more of these crises, unresolved, into church every Sunday (and more) and do not (probably cannot) resolve them there. The very mechanics of church services preclude the likelihood of resolution in church. Like Adam hidden among the trees of the Garden, church members are hidden in the crowd in church pews. There is no “personal therapy” to address the crises they face continually in their daily lives. Let me attempt to identify some eight of these continuing crises. Please note that this list is only suggestive, not exhaustive.

First, there is the information crisis. The new believer does not know anything yet as he ought to know. In fact, he doesn’t even know his ignorance. He must learn many things to even be able to know how much he doesn’t know! Just yesterday, I read this sentence: “Theological minimalism (translate, ignorance of the Bible) is not permissible in the Biblical portrait of a disciple of Jesus Christ.” Every Christian should accept I Peter 3:15 as a major goal of his life: “Give the Lord God His proper place in your heart, and always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have in Christ.” Note the words, “prepared”, “answer” and “reason.” A Christian is “a-person-in-preparation” on a continual basis. The word translated “answer” is the Greek word “apologia,” from which we derive our word “apologetics,” the science of intelligent defense of the Christian message. And “reason” involves intelligent thought. So the information crisis must be resolved by each Christian.

Then, there is the identity crisis. Just as a newborn human infant doesn’t even know what a “human” is, or that he is one, so the newborn believer doesn’t know who or what he is. He has just been born; he has had no opportunity to study “spiritual embryology” and learn the truth about himself or his new life. In a day of wide-spread “identity theft,” the Christian must remember that he has a crafty Enemy who has logged a long history of identity theft—and he would love to victimize you today. Do you know the truth about who you are in Christ?

Then, there is the inventory crisis. Though he became an instant “spiritual millionaire” the moment he was saved, he doesn’t have the slightest idea of that truth or of what it means. He is like a baby into whose bank account an inheritance of $100 million was deposited at birth, but he knows nothing about money, value, wealth, stewardship, expenditure, etc. Do you see how important disciple-making is in “walking him through” these things (and many, many more) item by item? Christian, do you know how much you are personally worth to Christ, and what vast resources you have to function and to serve on His terms as a Christian?

Then, there is the immaturity crisis. Babies are not born mature, and the mere fact of birth does not guarantee maturity. This is especially true spiritually. In fact, without good “parental care,” the newborn will likely never adequately mature. The New Testament has much to say about this crisis and its cure, but it cannot be simply taken for granted. The Christian community needs an army of “spiritual pediatricians” who can assist babies in matters of hygiene and growth. Again, disciple-making builds these skills into the disciple.

Then, there is an idealism crisis. To see this crisis, all you must do is observe or interview Christians with regard to moral and ethical issues in today’s culture. The veteran Christian is often completely shocked to see that there is little ideological difference morally and ethically between a Christian and a non-Christian. The Christian has often absorbed his moral views from his culture instead of forming them from Scripture. Furthermore, many of these ethical infants are in church on a regular basis, but somehow, the morality of the Master never reaches their conduct and practice. In fact, the standards of Jesus and the Bible get absorbed in social and selfish interests, and the Christian becomes a kind of moral chameleon. This would be dealt with face to face and item by item and as often as necessary in disciple-making.

Then, there is an interpersonal crisis. A baby must be taught social skills regularly in his growing years if he is to emerge as a relational human being. If he is allowed to drift, his relationships with others will be influenced, damaged and then controlled by his own selfishness. He may try to monopolize and manipulate people subtly (or aggressively) for his own advantage. This is often a major crisis in a believer’s life, and may never be resolved. He has “spiritual surges” in special church meetings and on other occasions when he becomes convicted and tries to correct this problem, but he often slowly drifts back into inadequate relationship patterns. Again, disciple-making addresses this problem and offers and applies the Biblical answer as necessary.

Then, there is an insight crisis. Or it might be called the illumination crisis. According to the Bible, no person (including a saved person) can truly understand revealed truth without a miracle of the Holy Spirit. An unsaved person receives his first miracle in this area the moment he is saved. “Except a man be born again, he cannot see.” When he is born again, it is as if God issues him a new set of eyes. In the hush of his heart, he might say, “Where in the world have I been? I see!” But just as a newborn baby’s eyes must grow and develop and be trained for proper use (and as he grows, discrimination must be taught in what he is to look at), so it is with a newborn Christian. Again, the New Testament has a great deal to say about the resolution of this crisis, and every Christian should master the related Scriptures and be able to use them to help other believers. This is reasonably guaranteed in disciple-making.

Then, there is an implementation crisis. Or it might be called the incarnation crisis. The issue is, How does a believer incarnate or implement all the demands, dimensions, delights, etc., of the Christian life? One Christian said with a groan, “It’s easy to ‘love your enemies’—until you get one!” Most Christians never realize how impossible it is for the flesh, the performance of the self-life, to “live the Christian life.” “The Christian life isn’t merely difficult—it’s impossible!” one struggling believer exclaimed. The reason many Christians never realize this crisis is that they “tame down” the Christian life to casual dimensions, totally removing the miracle element. Their entire Christian life is a casual, tame go-to-church-and-see-my-friends, enduring all the pontifications and hoping I can get an occasional blessing from one. Frankly, any resemblance between the Christian life as it is revealed in the New Testament and the daily life of the typical Sunday morning church-goer is purely coincidental. Alexander Whyte, the great Scottish pastor, said, “The true Christian life requires moment-by-moment miracles.” I agree. Thus, if you are not living a life that requires moment-by-moment miracles, you are not living the Christian life of the New Testament. A “pew potato” Christian will never know the need for such miracles, but a Spirit-walking disciple/disciple-maker lives with this necessity every day. Furthermore, the powerful Presence of Jesus Christ is specifically promised to the person who lives to fulfill the Great Commission (in which the only command is to “turn people into disciples”).

No wonder Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him (adjust to Him in faith and make Him known), and He will direct your path.”

Note the three mandates we are to fulfill, (Trust - Depend on the Lord - & give all recognition & thanks to the LORD! Then, enjoy the promise of His guidance. These are good “first steps” in facing the crises that every Christian encounters.