Some Key Words ()
- Text
1:9a He must be steadfast in upholding the word of faith, just as it has been taught him.
1:9a - Hold fast! The word is faithful. Stick with what you were taught.
Thematic Relevance:
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Order applies not only to the ritual of the church, but even more critically to the beliefs upon which the church is founded. |
Doctrinal Relevance:
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Another key qualification for appointed leaders is their concurrence with what has been taught all along. Doctrine is not a matter of current trends and issues. It is steadfast and unchanging, like the God who delivered it. |
Moral Relevance:
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There are plenty whose faith is disorderly, a loose matter of guesswork. Those who would lead cannot be so, but must be in full accord with the faith they were taught - firmly rooted in what they believe and impossible to shake with doctrinal controversies. |
Questions Raised:
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Is my own understanding in line with this requirement? |
Hold fast! Cleave to the faithful word! How, then, do we know the word to be faithful? It is proved faithful by its measure against the standard, and the standard is the foundational doctrine of the Church. Without established doctrine, all we have is opinions, a free-for-all of belief. Welcome to the new-age! This is nothing new, though, it's been the great danger to the church all along: sloppy belief. What's the point of getting saved, if we're not clear on what the danger was? What challenge is Christianity, if it's no more than a good feeling?
Faith, Paul tells us, comes by hearing, but not from hearing just anything. No! Hearing comes by the word of God (Ro 10:17). Things must be tested. Spirits must be tested (1Jn 4:1). We must be tested (2Co 13:5). The test requires a standard to measure against, and in the final analysis, that standard is the Word of God. What He has revealed in the full counsel of Scripture must form the basis from which we derive all that we do, all that we believe.
If we allow our focus to swing around to what is popular this year, if we are focused on making our churches relevant to society, can we truly say we're holding fast to what has come down to us? Are we truly aligning ourselves with what the apostles established? What of Paul's example? Clearly, he adjusted his phrasing to match the understanding of those he spoke to, but did he change the message? No! It was the same truth he taught, whether folks wanted to hear it or not. What does it mean to us, then, to be relevant to this time and place? Does it mean we can't even be distinguished from those we are trying to reach? God forbid! We must understand them. We must be able to speak in terms that have meaning to them. We must know the struggles and trials that face them daily. All this lies in the example Christ Himself laid before us. But, we certainly need not be just like them. Far from it! We must be different, notably different, else what are we offering?
What is our focus in the house of God? How have we determined that focus? Have we looked to Him so as to understand His ways, or have we simply done what seemed good in our eyes? Who are we aiming our worship at? Is it truly all about Jesus, or have we allowed it to become about ourselves? Are we excited about God, or are we simply seeking to excite those around us? Are we concerned more about the mechanics than we are the spirit and truth of what we are doing?
These questions need not plague us as they so often do. God has given us a standard against which we can measure our choices, our understanding, our service. Does it line up? Are we holding fast to the things we were taught? When we were being taught we had it as our duty to check and see that what we were taught was true. It sounded good, but was it? This question should be long settled in our minds, else what are we doing here? If we don't agree with the doctrine we have been taught, why are we continuing to sit under it? Either it's true, and our disagreement with it is stubbornness, or it's false, and our continued tolerance of it is deadly foolishness!
If we're settled on matters of doctrine, though, we have our standard. We have the measure with which we can check whatever else may come. When something new comes on the scene, we have but one question that needs answering: how does it measure up to the standard? If it fits, it is well. If not, it is to be rejected as the infiltration of the greatest disease of the Church: error. Error is but a lie that has been accepted as truth. How shall we, who have been entrusted with the Truth of God, who have the duty of giving out to our charges from that Truth, allow a lie the opportunity to hide itself within our walls?
Father, I confess that I am hurt, confused, offended, distressed. I find I really don't want to be part of service today. Why is this? Lord, You know how sweet have been the times of worship You have allowed me to participate in. You know, also, that these times have begun to hurt of late. You have taken away a leader who brought great growth. You have seemingly broken down a team that seemed to me to really know the meaning of worship, of abandoned worship of You alone. Why, Lord? Was our focus off? Now, it seems that what little remains is to be crushed, and I find I want to cry. Oh God! I thought the frustration dealt with, yet it comes back, and it's even stronger than it was.
What happened, God? Did we offend You? Did we allow it to become all about us? Oh, say it's not like that! How can I live, Lord, if what used to be such sweet communion has become just another irksome job? Lord, how can I come before You today when I'm offended by the whole thing? Father God, You alone know what is going on with this. I am too caught up to be able to see which is right and which is wrong. All I see is the hurt. God, You know the hearts. You know mine, and You know the hearts of everybody else involved. Keep me, Lord, from judging. Keep me from offense. Keep me from valuing one person's feelings over another, and to seek only the standard of Your teaching here.
I cannot continue to serve with this constant frustration, my God. It shouldn't be this way. I've said before that I'm sure You are preparing me for something. I feel, more and more, like You are taking away the work of worship from me. Perhaps I've allowed it to be more important to me than You? If that is so, forgive me, Father. I long to give You my best, and yet it seems that I spoil every offering. God! I'm just so distraught right now, so distracted by what's going on. I fear that what today will bring will be only pain, and pain that I cannot share with any but You. If that be so, be my strength and my comfort. But help me to remain open to the possibility that it's me that needs to change. Keep my eyes on You, Lord. Let me see what You are doing in all this and rejoice that You are near. Whatever comes, I know You are near. Hold me.
