In Phillipians 1:12 Paul said: “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,[a] that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.” NIV
In the 4 or 5 verses following this one, Paul says that because he is in chains, some have become emboldened, (inflamed we would now say,) and speak of Paul who teaches of Jesus, without the fear they once had. He says that some teach Christ of contention, hoping to make Paul’s situation worse. Another he says, preaches in love, knowing that Paul is set for the defense of the Gospel. Many gained the confidence to speak boldly, without fear. In other words, he felt that his being imprisoned opened the door for others to find a reason to go in his stead to preach the gospel, since he was unable. In Verse 18 he said, “what then? Not withstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice.”
“Whether in Pretense or in Truth????”
What Paul was saying was that even when people teach of Christ with errors, and out of emotion, he is never the less being talked about. People were becoming bold enough to discuss a man called Christ. And in spite of the inaccuracies, Paul was just glad they were talking about Jesus. If he was pulled back, they ceased to lean on Paul's knowlege, and found courage to seek their own. To someone like myself, who compares every scripture to the next trying to be accurate, it is hard to accept that anyway Christ is preached is OK. But the truth is, when the people who have sought God’s truths for years, get out of the way of younger learners, who are left learning by the Holy Spirit’s guidance, their lessons are more personal, and they stick. When I was a teen, I realized how important healthy discussion over the meaning of Scriptural passages was. My pastor called it: “Rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”
My son recently said he wanted to investigate the different religious beliefs to discover for himself which of the church doctrines he actually felt he believed. As a parent you want your child to not be led away by false doctrines, but as a Christian, I want him to know what and why he believes it, because he was bold enough to trudge into the depths of God’s Word, with the Spirit as his guide. That is the key, seeking that truth in the word, not in the various doctrines. I only wished to direct him to compare the beliefs of any religious group to the Word, not to find the beliefs that sounded as though they made sense and then find the Scriptures to uphold it. He went further to say, that he felt he should look to the oldest Hebrew and Greek texts to see if the accepted translations adhered to what he understood God was saying. I agreed and suggested he find a Vine’s Expository to see the present translations of the words in the oldest texts.
I looked into what every religion I could find believed, just so I could know why I believed what I believed, when I was very young. The end result was - I had to find a way to understand the Bible to know what I believed. Questioning the language, the concepts, the beliefs of people in my own religious title, strengthened my faith rather than diluted it. I was bold enough to say, even to teachers, or in response to pastors over my own faith, “I don’t believe that because this verse says that God taught something different.” As a result, I found a church where I believed they taught more of the truth, as the Spirit had revealed it to my heart.
Does my believing it, make something more true than what someone else believes. No. This is mainly true because God shares His promises and his gifts to different personalities and persons, in various degrees of spiritual growth, in different ways. Sometimes it seems he is telling us different things. Often, we are learning the same things, in different ways. When my son and I finished our discussion about the various faiths, he said that it seemed all the Christian faiths basically believed the concept of Christ’s birth, death, resurrection, and that you needed to accept that by faith, and everything beyond that was various details about how to live. A lot of it seemed the same basic thing to him. And I asked, “ You mean like they might all be a part of … one church… or something. And maybe they should call it “The Church?”
In God’s eyes, we are under one umbrella, His flock, by one name. We are members of the Church, no religion, just the beloved born again children of God.
In Christ’s final days, when he prayed he asked the Father to make us all one. When he spoke to Peter who was having great difficulty understanding what was happening, Jesus said, “feed my sheep.” Then he seemingly repeated himself and said, “feed my lambs.” What was the difference? Christ was saying that some would be fed having deeper knowledge of the old scriptures which told of a Christ. Some would be fed as lambs, from the basics, as knowing nothing of the promise of a savoir, a messiah, never hearing the scriptures of old - starting from scratch. He then said. Follow me. And when Peter said “Lord, and what shall this man do?” Jesus sort of said, “What’s that to you? Follow thou me.” (St. John 21)
Following Christ is an individual commitment. Regardless of how or under what circumstances we learn of our Savoir, it is up to us to follow him. Not the way someone else says to, but how the Spirit leads us. If we find our courage to share Christ, because we are compelled to believe the Word says something different than what our church is teaching us, then follow the Word. You shouldn’t have to quit your church.
Ephesians 2:18 For through him, we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.19 –Now therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God.
3:14 For this cause, I bow my knee unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 – of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.
16 – That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.
17-That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that being rooted and grounded in love,
18 – May be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length, and depth and height;
19 – And to know the Love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 – Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.
21 – Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus through out all ages, world without end. Amen
LORD, when you take my influence from my children and grandchildren, be their guide through the Word, by the Spirit. Help me rejoice when they seek You not me to find their way through the Christian walk. May I see as Paul did that they at some point just use us as crutches to lean on, not learning for their own spirit’s sake, what You would teach them if you were walking life’s path by their side. Stand so close that they will trip over you if they don’t follow you, please dear Lord. Help them not to look at what other’s say is truth, unless their words are soundly backed up by the whole Word of God, the Scarlet Thread of Redemption - The theme of life and liberty that winds from Genesis to Revelation, speaking of the Son of God, and the Blood He shed for THE CHURCH. And that for all of us. AMEN
