Addressing doubt and disappointment

Posted on August 16, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Doubt is not sin

Doubt An interaction with a man who claimed belief in the past but walked away from Christianity got me thinking about doubt and how to respond to it.

In a Sunday School class when I was young, a zealous Bible School student confidently told me that it is a sin to doubt. I cannot recall if he supported this claim with any Scripture.

I suppose you could find some support in James 1:6 where we are told that the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea. But I have not found any other support for calling doubt a sin.

An example from John the Baptist

All his adult life, John knew that he was the forerunner for the Messiah. He did not fail in this mission. John went out into the desert with his message of repentance and cleansing. He challenged the religious leaders of the day and pointed the hears of the people toward the coming Messiah.

But something went terribly wrong. John got on the wrong side of Herod and was thrown in prison as a result. In Matthew 11, we find John the Baptist in prison even though he faithfully proclaimed the message he was sent to preach. John did exactly what he was commissioned to do and it did not turn out so well.

It can be inferred that as a result of his imprisonment, John was working through some doubts about his calling and whether he has misunderstood who Jesus was. Matthew 11:3 records that John sends a delegation to Jesus to ask, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” In other words, did I misunderstand that you are the long-expected Messiah? Are you who I thought you to be? Also implied in this question is, if you are the Messiah, why am I in prison right now?

Responding like Jesus

I think that Jesus’ response is instructive.

Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.” As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?” (Matthew 11:4–7, NASB)

Notice that Jesus does not rebuke John for his doubt and questions. Instead he offers evidence that John was correct in his understanding. He addressed the doubt by offering affirmation and evidence.

Provide a forum for doubts to be addressed

In every church, in every service, there are people who are struggling with doubts. Some are big doubts and some are small, but those doubts need to be addressed. The church has often failed to provide a forum for these doubts to be expressed and discussed.

Here are a few ideas that church leaders could employ to address doubts:

Provide an email address so that people in your church can send in questions and receive answers
Post answers to the question on the church web site so that all who look there can benefit
Take a Sunday night or midweek service to do a Q & A instead of a teaching time
Provide a class on the foundational truths of Christianity and provide time at the end for Q & A.
Encourage small group leaders to draw out doubts and questions so that they can be addressed

If you are a church leader and none of these work for you, find something that does work. This is especially important for the teens in your church. A recent survey shows that 60% of our kids walk away from faith; we certainly cannot argue that we’ve done this well.

Remember the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. Let’s do something different and move toward sanity.

Question

What has been done in your church that has proven effective in addressing doubt?

A lesson on the culture war from “War Horse”

Posted on August 14, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Stuck in trench warfare

In the movie War Horse, there is a scene where the horse is trapped in barbed wire between the opposing trenches. A young British soldier calls a truce and walks to the horse to cut him loose from the wire. A young German comes out to assist him. Each finds humanity in the other and the viewer gets the sense that neither of them is eager to resume the bloodshed and would prefer to go home.

As I read the dialog regarding issues associated with the “culture war,” I cannot help thinking of that scene. We are like armies in our trenches and most of our respective arguments fall in futility on the ground between us. Those who support traditional marriage are labeled as “homophobic” or worse, regardless of whether they have expressed any hatred or fear of homosexuals. On the other side, homosexuals are accused of seeking the moral ruin of America, a charge that is neither accurate or fair.

Breaking out of the trench

I would remind followers of Jesus Christ that the one we follow told us that our defining characteristic is to be love. Jesus did not say we would be defined by our finely wrought theology. Nor did he indicate that we should be defined by our organizational prowess. It is love that is to distinguish us from the surrounding culture.

Yes, we can disagree with the culture around us, but we are to do it with love and grace. The lesson we should learn from the Moral Majority is that it is possible win the battle but loose the war. To get the upper hand in legislation does nothing to change the hearts of men and women. To win a battle in the legislature is of temporary help only.

We are called to make disciples. We do this by preaching the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. Part of sharing the Gospel is being honest about what God says about our sinful nature, no matter how we choose to express our sin. We are all in need of what Jesus Christ offers. Our preaching will only be received if it is given with love and grace.

Our only hope is to get out of our trenches like the two young soldiers and begin to get to know about the other side. We will never bring reconciliation by lobbing accusations and arguments toward the other trench. If we are to win the war, it will have to be with many meetings in the disputed area between the trenches.

Only God can change hearts and for him to use us we need to reject the safety of the trench (or church pew) and make contact with our perceived antagonists. I am sure that we will be changed for the better in the process and we just might find a way to bring relief to those who are seeking it in the wrong places.

Reaction to David A. Schwartz: Acceptable Discrimination?

Posted on August 11, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

The Premise of Discrimination

This post is a reaction to a Huffington Post article by David A Schwartz entitled “Acceptable Discrimination?“.

In this post, Mr. Schwartz makes the argument that those who support traditional marriage are of the same mindset as those who opposed interracial marriage. The assumption is that homosexuality, like skin color is determined at birth.

If this assumption is true, then discrimination on the basis of either skin color or sexual orientation is wrong. If one agrees with Mr. Schwartz’ premise that homosexuality is hard wired from birth, then it is understandable that one would think that support of traditional marriage is a form of discrimination.

The Reaction to the Premise

As Christians we have good reason to think that this assumption is false, but we need to understand that this is the underlying premise before we can have meaningful dialog with those who support homosexual marriage. Because of the volume of the declarations of those who insist that homosexuality is in the DNA, many have accepted this premise to be true without seeking to validate the claim or to examine its implications.

For those who do not accept the Bible as authoritative, or for those who are willing to explain away the clear teaching of Scripture on sexuality, it does little good to cite chapter and verse indicating that God condemns homosexuality.

This does not mean that we have to accept the premise or cease to speak the truth of Scripture, but it does mean that we need to be wise in doing so. Too often we use the Bible as a club to beat people into moral submission.

Perhaps rather than engaging the radical homosexual activists in dialog, with the vitriol that often goes both ways, a better way might be found. Those who actively pursue that lifestyle are unlikely to be persuaded that it is not part of God’s plan for humanity.

The Better Response

It seems to me that Jesus did not go around badgering people into accepting the fact that they needed a Savior. Instead, Jesus found those who already knew they were a mess and offered himself as the solution.

If we, the Church, turned down the volume on our condemnation and instead found a way to love those who have made what we understand to be poor choices, then we might be more effective in ministering to those caught up in same sex attraction.

We do not have to agree with Mr. Schwartz’ premise to acknowledge it and dialog with people who operate under that premise. If we believe that sin has both temporal and eternal consequences, perhaps the only thing we can do is to be available to help pick up the pieces when a life crashes.

Jesus gave us an example of this in the story of the loving father in Luke 15:11-32. The father loved the son enough to wait patiently for the son to make all his mistakes and come home. Rather than a lecture, the father gave the son a hug.

Perhaps we, as the church, need to dispense fewer lectures and more hugs.

Righteousness, Scribes and Pharisees

Posted on August 4, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 4 Comments

#16 in the Sermon on the Mount Series

Rule keeping as religious observance

There is something in man that gravitates toward rule keeping as the means of religious observance. We think those who live an austere life are more holy or more deserving of God’s favor.

We see this tendency displayed by the Pharisees in the Gospels. We would be foolish to think that this tendency ended there. Christendom has had 2,000 years of experience of struggling with this the drive to keep rules. Whether they be monks, priests or televangelists, we have always had Pharisees among us.

In addition to organizational Pharisees, each of us has to deal with his own inner Pharisee. I believe it is because our our own tendency to become spiritually proud that the Gospel writers spend so much time cataloging the errors of the Pharisees. The lesson to learn is that we should not be like them even though we have the innate capability of doing so.

Rule keeping isn’t enough

If you take righteous to mean external compliance with a set of rules, Jesus comment in Matthew 5:20 is hard to understand:

“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (NASB)

If rule keeping is the means of obtaining righteousness, few would surpass the Pharisees in righteousness. As a group the Pharisees were committed to keeping the law, most of them with real intention to serve and please God. If rule keeping is the means of getting into Heaven and if we have to do it better than the Pharisees, then we have a problem because few of us would meet this standard.

It is exactly this problem that caused Martin Luther the distress that lead to the Reformation. If rule keeping is the means of satisfying God, how would any of us get in? We are doomed if we are dependent upon our own righteousness.

The real source of righteousness

In Habakkuk 2:4 (and quoted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38) we are told that the righteous will live by faith. Faith is the means by which we can surpass the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9 that the source of salvation comes from outside ourselves and is obtained by faith. We cannot manufacture this salvation or provide it for ourselves.

This is good news. If we are honest, even the best of us has doubts (legitimate doubts) about his worthiness for Heaven. Without the provision of Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice, we would have no hope of gaining entrance to Heaven.

As the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 7:24 – 8:1:

“Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! . . . Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (NASB)

It is in Christ and only in Christ that we can surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees. We don’t have to work ourselves to death in service, study and self denial.

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