The church has lost its way
By Jim Richards*
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Ephesians 4:1-6
This entreaty from the postle Paul is the glue that keeps the Church together as we “bear with one another in love.” But in bearing with one another, what do we do and how do we react when we have serious doctrinal disagreements?
This is where it gets difficult, especially where emotionally charged issues are involved. There is much pain in people’s lives and, believe me, I hear it every Sunday as we gather for worship and lift up our prayers.
People are looking for healing and hope and no matter who they are, they need to find that in the Church. The Gospel is powerful and transformational and when we enter into a relationship with God, through faith in Jesus Christ, we are changed. We don’t look at the world the way others do, because we have been given new spiritual eyes with which to see.
But there is a cost for this grace and mercy that we have been given so abundantly. The cost is repentance for the sin-filled lives we have lived and a directive to put aside our old self and seek to live lives of righteousness and holiness.
The United Methodist Church, in its Book of Discipline, states that “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.” I believe that Scripture, our ultimate authority in these matters, clearly bears this out.
Some people within the Church, not content with what has been decided upon at General Conference, have now taken to defying church law. Pastors are performing same-sex marriages and recommending defiance of the stated beliefs of the denomination.
When “equippers of the saints” that Paul describes in Ephesians (i.e. apostles; prophets; evangelists; pastors; and teachers) espouse a doctrine that not only defies Scripture, but also defies the rules that the Church has established for itself to maintain unity and order, we are in trouble.
Unfortunately, this is where we are today.
In case you haven’t noticed, The United Methodist Church is in decline in the United States, but is growing in Africa and elsewhere in the world. Why is this? I submit that it is because we have lost our way in this country, both in terms of theology and in terms of evangelism. As we seek to be “politically correct,” we lose our footing because we choose to stand on ground other than Christ and his Word.
When pastors, bishops and other church leaders defy the authority of the church, they set a terrible precedent that will only make matters worse and lead ultimately to further church defections and perhaps, sadly, a complete split within the denomination.
I know there will be those that will call me sanctimonious. However, I know full well that I am a sinner in need of a savior. The Holy Spirit convicts me all the time of my sin, and I thank God for him because he keeps me on track. “I fall down, and then get up…”
When I witness to people, whether to an unbeliever, or to a believer with sincere differences in opinion, I always say this – “I can only reason with you from the Scriptures, because this is my play-book for life.”
If we are sincerely seeking the truth, as Christians, this must be our source – not a political party, not what’s approved of by society, not what’s condoned by the culture, but God’s Word alone.
*Jim Richards is the lay leader of Thurmont UMC in Thurmont.
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