Our Shining Light: Real or Pretended?
by Tim Nichols

    We live in an age of pretending. Those with products to sell use advertisers who compete with one another to see who can convince the public that they really care. The goal is often to produce the appearance of quality and concern more than it is to produce the substance of the same. Wise and enduring businesses work on the substance and let the appearance take care of itself. They promise only what they can deliver and they often try to deliver more than they promise. But wise and enduring businesses are becoming increasingly rare. They seem to be the exception to the rule which says "appear to care and the world will beat a path to your door." When such businesses are tested by time, however, they seem to rise like a star and fall like a rock while the wise and enduring businesses slowly grow and quietly prosper.

    The same has been observed among churches of Christ. In the 1950s we were the fastest growing religious body in the U.S.A.. Without slick advertising, flashy slogans, "church growth" consultants, and other such things, the church grew when the gospel captured the sincere hearts of men and women who were willing to simply teach the truth to others with genuine simplicity. In those days, it seems, the substance of the gospel, the reality of the truths of the Bible, and the distinctive doctrines of the New Testament were absorbed into the sincere hearts of people who truly loved God and, therefore, loved His word. No attempt was made, generally, to seduce or trick people into "coming to church" or into being baptized. We openly told the world where we stood and invited them to actually repent and to really walk with us in the light of His word. Many who were truly converted in those days were first offended by what they heard. They only came around to the rigid demands of the Gospel when they discovered that the truth, and the church that proclaimed it, were not prepared to budge.

    But somewhere between that day and 2000 the emphasis began to change. Individual christians and, with them, churches began to look for ways to draw large numbers of people by almost deceptive means. I have actually attended "workshops" at which I have been instructed in the fine art of avoiding answering the honest questions of those we would teach. The idea seems to be that it would be better if people did not really know who we are until they are one of us. Proceeding from this premise, some brethren have attempted to appear to be what they perceive the world to want us to be. But after using this procedure to waltz people into the churches it is not possible to keep such faithless converts without continuing the dance. Consequently, the worst possible sins that can be committed in our pulpits (according to this approach to things) is to clearly preach the simple gospel of Jesus Christ, to name the sins that ought to be forsaken, to declare the whole counsel of God, and to tell our people what God requires. These things are considered "offensive" no matter how true they may be to the word of God. Our brethren seem more likely to encourage the preacher to repent of teaching the unvarnished truth than they are to lovingly encourage unfaithful brethren to repent of their sins and return to the Lord. This process causes the church to cease being the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). More accurately, since the church is the pillar and ground of the truth, the process causes the "church" to cease to be the church of Christ no matter what the sign may say.

    Christians often seem to become confused about what they need to do and be in order to please God and convert sinners. God is watching and people are watching. Some are paying much more attention to what flawed human eyes are seeing than to what God sees with flawless vision. These are more interested in appearing to be right and righteous than they are in being holy in the sight of God. Their actions are governed and directed by human approval rather than by divinely-revealed principles. They walk by sight in the purest sense rather than by faith. What the Bible teaches means less to them than what men think of them. Their religion is purely external. Their behavior is inconsistent with itself and incompatible with what they profess to believe. They behave and speak in one way when surrounded by one group of people, and in quite another way when surrounded by another.

    With pasted-on smiles and honey-coated words they outwardly suggest that they have genuine love for their brethren. But the smiles and the words are performed in the hopes of producing some effect to follow. They are not done because of some divine principle that came before them. When push comes to shove, however, they are ready to shed such "love" as a filthy garment and abandon their relationships with the family of God at the drop of a hat because there was no commitment to the family or to the Head of the family behind the facade of smiles and words. When the smiles and words fail to produce the desired effect, they disappear.

    Let's "get real" with ourselves, with our brethren, and with God. We need to return to the humility that acknowledges that we are not wiser than God; to the trust that concedes that God's way is always the right way; to the reticence that refrains from judging what is not ours to judge; and to the confidence that God is able to direct our steps (collectively and individually) to where we need to go. Life is short and eternity is long. God is watching and so are men. Make up your mind whose approval you seek.

This item originally appeared at My "Two Cents" Worth