Contend for Your Faith or Defend Your Church

Sola Scriptura
2 Timothy 3:16

Sola Scriptura

Recently my wife had a heated dialog on Facebook with a few reformed believers in the faith. First, we are Christians (followers of Christ). Our church, which we attend, love and serve, is affiliated with the Assemblies of God churches yet it would appear to many as a non denominational church. We believe in the Word of God (Sola Scriptura  - "by Scripture alone"). We believe in the Holy Spirit and that He is alive, active and at work today. Yes, gifts are for today, in order, of course.

So when a question about Fog machines (haze) used during a worship service quickly took a crazy turn to worship styles and church affiliation, the dialog got interesting. What happened next was eye opening. The lines were drawn and you were either reformed or not. The moment I heard Michelle read me the response, I quickly realized this wasn't going anywhere productive. Why? Because once our identity in Christ is no longer to Christ but a denomination or the loosely thrown around term - theology - you create new battle lines that are outside the true map of reason. It becomes very fruitless in a majority of occasions (from personal experience).

It's simple: Christian in fighting is not our mission. The Great Commission is the mission of the Church:

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18-20

Contend for Your Faith
or Defend Your Church

While some consider taking sides and defending the faith as to what Jude shares (Jude 1:3-4) he talks about contending for our faith only when certain men creep in who turn grace of our God into lewdness & deny Jesus. This isn't the case for the Reformed, Baptist, Pentecostal, etc... because regardless of affiliation, you should and must contend for our faith with Jesus. Notice it DOESN'T say to DEFEND YOUR CHURCH AFFILIATION. Rather we must CONTEND FOR OUR FAITH in Jesus.

There may be professing Christians but they must confess Jesus to contend. The Greek word for contend comes from an athletic setting - as in a wrestling mat. Yet does this mean in church fighting? Look a little deeper and you will find it's wrestling with lewd and Christ deniers. Not followers. It's a big distinction.

It begins and ends with Jesus. Our church affiliation feeds into the old rhetoric Paul shared with us from the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 1:12) where it appeared divided by leaders in the church:

"I am of Paul"
"I am of Apollos"
"I am of Cephas"
"I am of Christ"

Let us get back to Christ and make our affiliation in Jesus Christ. Our common language should lie in the Word of God and not church fathers and their various writings. While some may be good and profitable or better than others, we always must rely on the Word of God. Read, Study and Walk out your faith. Paul states that we are not divided but united. Let's have an undivided faith!

I love this Spurgeon sermon given over 150 years ago (March 25, 1861) encapsulates a position we should all hold if you're of the Christian faith. Read his words below:

"I would propose that the subject of the ministry of this house, as long as this platform shall stand, and as long as this house shall be frequented by worshippers, shall be the person of Jesus Christ. I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist, although I claim to be rather a Calvinist according to Calvin, than after the modern debased fashion. I do not hesitate to take the name of Baptist. You have there (pointing to the baptistry) substantial evidence that I am not ashamed of that ordinance of our Lord Jesus Christ; but if I am asked to say what is my creed, I think I must reply: "It is Jesus Christ."

My venerable predecessor, Dr. Gill, has left a body of divinity admirable and excellent in its way; but the body of divinity to which I would pin and bind myself for ever, God helping me, is not his system of divinity or any other human treatise, but Christ Jesus, who is the sum and substance of the gospel; who is in himself all theology, the incarnation of every precious truth, the all-glorious personal embodiment of the way, the truth, and the life."

Charles Haddon Spurgeon - "The First Sermon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle". Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Preached Monday, March 25, 1861 (369).

In other words, we can quickly take words from a particular position from a Theology Book or just we can wrestle with His Word ourselves. We must contend for the faith and the only way to do such task is to take Him at His Word, trust His Word, apply His Word and walk in such manner worthy of the calling He placed over our lives.

My wife ended her comments after the discussion began to cool back down with the following:

"Let's not forget that we are on the same team! We all love Jesus and although we disagree about somethings, none of us is worthy- AT ALL- and certainly non more worthy than the other." - Michelle Geipel

I do hope and pray that we as believers can get past much of the arguments and move toward Christ and His mission at hand. If we are not growing in the grace and knowledge of our Savior, what are we doing? Just a question to depart with in hope you draw near to God... and not Calvin, Luther, Spurgeon, Bonhoeffer or other great writers and preachers. Draw near to Jesus.

My Time of Devotion

Life is busy.

One of our truly limited resources is our time. Yet we can easily forget to guard or protect it. If we mismanage time, it will escape and like sand through the hour glass, once it's gone, it's gone.

When I was recently having a quiet time with the Lord, I reflected on a few things about my time with Him. I find myself leading a bible study or two each week. I make it a goal to have my own bible studies throughout the week when I open and let it speak to me. I find that I spend time praying (never enough) and yet something is missing.

I sensed God speaking to me and reminding me of one important aspect of our time - and that's our time of devotion. In Christian circles, we called it Devotions or Devos. However, I find it easy for me to end up studying or praying and miss the middle time of worship & devotion.

The simple reason why I am prone to not spend time in devotion is due to the way that time is structured. I like checkboxes... check/done... next. The time I spend in prayer is monitored by minutes. Time in the Word is often to study a passage. Both can be very pragmatic for me. Yet it's the middle space, devotional space, I need to enter in to worship the Lord.

While it's likely not a true dichotomy, I find that for me, picking up my guitar gets me right into a devotional mode. The same can be said in how I read the Word by just reading a passage several times rather than opening another person's work (commentary or sermon). I can enter it as well when I change my posture during prayer - getting right on my knees.

When we study others in the Bible they too entered into a time of private devotion.

Isaac meditated in the evening (Gen 24:63)
Daniel prayed three times a day (Daniel 6:10)
David prayed three times a day while meditating on his bed at night (Psalm 55:17; Psalm 63:6)

Jesus also sought to be alone. He went out from the others. He went to a place where He wasn't distracted. And Jesus did it both in the early morning and late at night (Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12).

I was challenged in the past about how I worship. I will pass the same one on to you. Since I am a worship leader, I can often be found spending time to technically learn the song - worship leaders never want to miss a note or the words - but that's not worship. Worship takes place between you and God. It's congregational for the body of Christ when we come together to worship as one. While I can check that activity off each week by attending and participating in worship at church, that's not to replace my time of devotions.

Let us press in to the Lord.

Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
Hosea 6:3


~ Dave Geipel