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WE MUST LEARN TO LET THEM GO - By Al Diestelkamp (from THINK page 1)
Even
if we were to have no such newcomers among us, the need is still there
to teach and emphasize the need for scriptural authority. I fear there
are many congregations, long identified as “non-institutional,” filled
with members who are unprepared to resist unscriptural innovation.
Battles fought in past generations will not suffice in preventing
digression among present and future generations.
Others We Can’t Hang On To While
we’re on the subject, there are others who will be
offended by the truth of God’s word. In a postmodern cultural setting,
what the Bible defines as immorality is considered normal. Sexual
relations outside of marriage has been renamed “living together,” and
we have been brainwashed into referring to homosexuals as “gays.” With
the stigma gone, most people of the world don’t even try to hide their
sexually immoral lifestyles. Our preaching and teaching on these
subjects has become increasingly outside the mainstream.
I guess
it was inevitable that we would begin to see so-called Christians,
living in sin, trying to be accepted “as is” by faithful
brethren. This, despite the fact that about fornication, we are told,
“let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints” (Gal.
5:3). In my own recent experience, we have had several cases in which
newcomers attending our assemblies, while claiming to be members of the
Lord’s church, openly admitted to ongoing sexual immorality. There have
been at least two cases wherein the couples have admitted that it was
sinful, but were unwilling to repent, and really didn’t think it was
necessary to do so. You would think they had been taught the “once
saved, always saved” doctrine. We must try to “restore such a one in a
spirit of gentleness” (Gal. 6:1), but if they will not heed God’s word,
“we must learn to let them go.”
Still Others One
of the hardest things to do is to “let go” in cases where Christians
“grow weary in doing good” (Gal. 6:9), and thereby “wander from the
truth” (Jas. 5:19). We are quite aware that “he who turns a sinner from
the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude
of sins” (Jas. 5:20), and so we must remind each one who has “forgotten
that he was purged from his old sins” (2 Pet. 1:9) of his need to make
his “calling and election sure” (2 Pet. 1:10). Having done that, what
more can we do? Having been “once enlightened...and have tasted of the
good word of God...” all we can do is remind them of what they already
know (see Heb. 6:4-6). We can’t renew them to repentance—they must do
it themselves applying the same word that saved them in the first place.
Sometimes
we don’t know when to let go. With some, who have become perennial
backsliders, we spend much time and energy pampering and cajoling them
to come back again and again, sometimes to the detriment of the
congregation. Many times those who chronically fall away have many
other problems in their lives. Sometimes we go out of our way in
providing economic assistance as an incentive to gain them back. I’m
afraid that when we constantly remove the consequences of their
actions, we become enablers in the very problems that take them away
from the Lord. There comes a time when “we must learn to let them go.”
What Would Jesus Do? I
realize that the foregoing may sound foreign to many. Even I had to ask
myself if this is what Jesus would do. When I look at the life and
ministry of Christ, I see one who, like His Father, is “full of
compassion” (Psa. 86:15). Many of His miracles were prompted by His
compassion for those in dire circumstances. Yet, when people rejected
His teaching, He did not continue to pursue them. Consider His
encounter with a young man who came running to Jesus, wanting to know
what to do in order to inherit eternal life (Mk. 10:17-22). We are told
that “Jesus, looking at him, loved him,” but when Jesus told him what
he needed to hear, the man went away and Jesus let him go. Even when
many of His own disciples were offended at Him, and “walked with Him no
more” (Jn. 6:66), we don’t see Jesus running after them.
When
brothers or sisters wander from the truth, love demands that we try to
bring them back, but if they reject such efforts, we must face the fact
that they have left the Lord, and “we must learn to let them go.” ____ AL DIESTELKAMP P.O. Box 891, Cortland, Illinois 60112 e-mail: al@thinkonthesethings.com
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THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS IN WORSHIP -
By Nathan Combs (from THINK page
1)
To
use marriage as an example, the emotion that I show to my wife stems
from my knowledge and deep appreciation of who she is. The more I find
out about my wife, the more I desire to show her affection. But both
emotion and knowledge must be present in our relationship in order to
make it a good one. Our marriage would undeniably be in jeopardy if we
showed little or no emotion to each other; conversely, if our
connection to each other was primarily founded on our emotions, it
would be a pretty flimsy relationship indeed!
Prayer in the
New Testament is also recognized as an emotional, yet respectful
experience based on knowledge. Peter admonished his recipients to
“humble” themselves “under the mighty hand of God” (1 Pet. 5:6-7). A
textual way to do that is by “casting all your anxieties on Him.” We
see from this scripture that it is perfectly valid for prayer to be
offered to God from an emotionally-burdened heart (indeed, God wants us
to do that), but it is also equally valid to note that prayer is to be
given with an attitude of humility, recognizing who God is and what He
is capable of doing. Such knowledge then compels us to give him our
troubles and concerns.
Singing In
James 5:17, the writer simply states that “if any man is cheerful, let
him sing praise.” In context, James is describing several natural human
conditions that should produce spiritual reactions. Suffering, and the
emotions felt as a result of it, should produce prayer. Sickness should
produce a desire to be healed with the help of brethren. Likewise,
feelings of cheerfulness should cause us to praise God. James didn’t
bother to explain the need for singing to be based upon a proper
knowledge of God’s will, perhaps because he’s writing to a
Christian audience who would have already understood
the principle that they needed to worship correctly. At least some
degree of knowledge is implied in the text; if we’re supposed to praise
God out of a cheerful heart, then that necessarily implies both the
recognition of our situation and some understanding of the Being who
has allowed us to prosper.
In Colossians 3:16-17 and its
parallel passage in Ephesians 5:19-20, two things are apparent. First,
thankfulness is an ingredient of musical worship. Thankfulness does not
merely involve intellectual acknowl-edgement of blessings or
circumstances; it is also the heartfelt emotion that springs from that
understanding. Secondly, knowledge of God is mentioned in connection
with our thankfulness. We are enabled to teach each other in song
because the word of Christ dwells in us. Both scriptures mention that
we’re to do this “in the name of Jesus,” or with His authority, which
we cannot know except by His word. Therefore, singing is a combination
of our knowledge and emotions working together to produce
encouragement, admonishment, and edification.
I Close My Eyes,
a hymn composed by Jay Conner, provides a concrete example for what
we’re discussing. The song’s chorus says “I close my eyes; I see His
majesty; I close my eyes, and feel His love for me.” This is obviously
an emotional section. Is it wrong to sing about “feeling” God’s love
for us? Carefully examine the rest of the song. The verses reveal that
these emotions are described as a natural reaction of a fervent desire
to seek God. “Teach me to do Thy will,” “Make me to know Thy way;
wherein my path should be” are taken straight from Psalm 143. When
examined as a whole, the song is an excellent example of how we feel
emotionally drawn to God because of our scripturally-grounded
relationship with Him. The person who sings this song, then, not only
has a way to express sincere, heart-felt emotion, but to proclaim to
all that their relationship to God is firmly anchored in their
(ever-growing) knowledge of how to please Him.
So let us not
divorce our worship from our natural emotional response in our desire
to be doctrinally sound! Paying homage to our Lord was never intended
to be practiced as a mechanical exercise, no more than it is to be an
uncontrolled gushing session. Let’s take careful note of the ways that
the Bible discusses worship and give Jehovah praise with our minds and
our hearts. ____ NATHAN COMBS 270 N. Tanzanite Trail, Apt. 2, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701 e-mail: njcombo@gmail.com
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