Larry Shaw

 

9/22/2013

"More Dots To Connect"

           “Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

-Matthew 7:15

I really appreciate the readers that have stayed with me as I go back & forth between discussing the concept of conveying the truth in love as it relates to individual confrontation, & also talking about the truth in love as it pertains to conveying correct doctrine to one another. Last week I focused a bit more on individual confrontation, particularly as we need to make sure we have correct motives in approaching someone. This week, I will focus a bit more on the dangers of false doctrine. There are still two more verses from Matthew 18 that I have not yet discussed pertaining to what one should do if after going to someone, if he doesn’t respond with a repentant heart, but I am not going to include them in this series as I want to move on to more personal subjects in upcoming weeks.

So Matthew 7 starts by telling us to judge appropriately. By verse 15 we are being admonished to judge what is being taught in the name of “truth” to fellow followers of Jesus Christ. We are taught in v. 14 that the way to truth is actually narrow & that few find it. Then, Matt. 7:15 states, “Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” False prophets are religious teachers who don’t convey Biblical truth. They may sound like true believers (coming in sheep’s clothing). True believers in Christ are often referred to as “sheep” in the Bible. So those that teach false doctrine often sound like they are speaking truth but in actuality what they say is false. It is my considered opinion that we are seeing an increase of this problem today.

 
          Before the media became so widespread, things said, for instance, during a message from a pastor, remained within that congregation. Now, when a “trusted” public religious figure makes a statement, it affects more people than ever before as it spreads over television, radio, & the internet as well as in books and magazines. This is why I emphasized the importance of  studying biblical “truth”, relying on the Bible itself as the final authority, & being able to articulate what we believe & why we believe it. This also equips us to recognize false teachings & be able to expose them for what they are. Things can be said that sound true on the surface, but upon further investigation, prove false.

     Sometimes, as the scriptures remind us, even Christians can be fooled. Matt. 7: 22 & 23 teach us what the result of being convinced of false doctrine can be, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name & in your name, cast out demons & in your name done many wonderful works & then I will profess unto them, I [Jesus] never knew you, depart from me, you that work iniquity.” We are told that this problem will increase as we move closer to the return of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, I do see this trend increasing.  Religious leaders need to be researched carefully before we invest in their teachings or recommend them to others.
  

     The rest of this chapter, which again, are the words of Jesus, goes on to give us a vivid picture of what happens both  when we have built our lives on a firm foundation & when the foundation is built on sinking sand. That firm foundation is Jesus Christ & Him crucified . A correct understanding of who Jesus is & what He came to do is crucial in determining where we will spend our eternity. Understanding correct doctrine will make all the difference.

 

Larry Shaw. '98.6 Too Cold' Blogger

9/15/2013

“Connecting The Dots:

Truth In Love & Biblical Restoration”

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, Let me help you get rid of that speck in your own eye when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”

-Matthew 7:1-5

Since I began these blogs, I have been presenting different aspects of “the truth in love” which was the title of my first blog. It dealt with the importance of making sure our doctrines are correct. The focus verse was Matt. 4:15 which emphasizes this aspect of truth. Then last week, I began discussing Matt. 18: 15-17. My focus was on v.15 which deals with how to approach someone who may have sinned against us. Verses 16 & 17 deal with the rest of the process which when done correctly should lead to biblical restoration. As I continue to discuss these subjects, I may bring in aspects of both components, so that I can try to present a more complete picture of this crucial subject.
    

The next aspect I would like to bring out is from Matt. 7:1. Jesus Himself says, “Judge not, that ye be judged”. I believe that this verse, when taken out of context, is often misinterpreted to mean that we have no business judging anyone, or anything they do, or else we can expect to be judged similarly, perhaps unfairly.
    

Even v.2, the following verse, seems to reinforce this perspective as it says we can expect to be judged in the manner that we are judging. But as verses 3, 4 & 5  go on to point out, it isn’t that we shouldn’t judge at all, it’s that we are to be sure that we have allowed God to search our own hearts first.  Matt.7:3-5 states, “And why behold the splinter that is in your brother’s eye, when you don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or, how will you say to your brother, let me pull out the splinter in your eye, when you have a beam in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the beam out of your own eye, & then you can see clearly to take the splinter out of  your brother’s eye.” 

Another biblical principle may come into play here as the scriptures tell us that we can only judge that which can be seen or heard, such as harsh statements or inappropriate behaviors. It would be unbiblical to judge motives as only God knows the intent of the heart. For instance, if someone tells you that he gave $1000.00 dollars to a particular church, it would be wrong of you to judge the motive & conclude that the only reason he told you that is so that you would be impressed with how generous he is.
 

          We should keep in mind that this entire chapter from the book of Matthew is the words of Jesus Himself as spoken to His disciples which only enhances the importance God was placing on these principles in making sure they were conveyed at this point in the ministry of Jesus.
     
            Returning to the subject of personal confrontation, ONCE we have confessed & received forgiveness for our own sin, we can then consider approaching others. We must be certain that love is our motive for approaching a fellow believer about something in their lives. ‘Love’ would make sure that we have not come to false conclusions about what we perceive to be true. One can never depend on hearsay. Also, often, if we are given the opportunity, it can be appropriate to build a relationship with someone so that we understand them & the journey they have been on. This communicates to them that we really care about them and have their best interest at heart. When someone knows they are loved unconditionally, as God loves us, they are often far more able to hear us & respond appropriately to our admonition. This also helps us choose the right words so that “the truth in love” is communicated from a place of understanding and so that our words directly fit the specific situation that the person we are challenging is facing.
   

          Again, thank you all for bearing with me as I attempt to express the complexities of such a vital principle. My upcoming blog for next week will be a more personal topic.

 

Larry Shaw. '98.6 Too Cold' Blogger

  
9/8/2013

Biblical Restoration

“V15 If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. V16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. V17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector.”

-Matthew 18:15-17 (ESV)
      
          If I have a sense of the state of the church today, I think we could say that it is “lukewarm”. In other words, it’s devotion to Christ & His principles is half-hearted at best. A verse that describes God’s perspective on such a church would be Revelation chapter 3, verses 15 & 16 which says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, & neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”

          It might be helpful to look at the cultural context of these verses (I noted the importance of this tool in my last blog). The church that this was written to was the church at Laodicea who had their cold water piped in from a city a few miles north. By the time the water reached the city, it was lukewarm; therefore, not so great for drinking (Obviously, they didn’t have refrigerators back then). So God is saying that a half- hearted walk with Christ is not acceptable. If we are going to challenge people with truth, then our walk (deeds) must match our talk.

          This second blog, in some ways, is a follow up to my first blog, ‘the truth in love’, because it shows us how to present truth from a place of love (God’s love) to someone who may have offended us. This time the “truth” may not so much refer to a Biblical principle as in my first blog, but more when we have been offended by something a brother or sister in Christ has said or done. This principle works into ‘98.6 Too Cold’ as many believers take a “lukewarm” attitude towards this principle and either allow an offense to continue, or they go to the person who has offended them with a condemning attitude. Neither approach is Biblical. In many cases it has resulted in a “lukewarm” church that tolerates sinful behavior, or a legalistic church that is dominated by rules and regulations that are “extra biblical” (not addressed specifically in the Bible).
     
          BEFORE WE CAN APPROACH ANYONE, we must be sure that our own walk is authentic & that we have dealt with our own sin. The purity of our hearts must be examined thoroughly before we choose to confront a fellow brother or sister. A verse that clearly states this principle is Matthew 7:5 where Jesus says, “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the spec out of your brother’s eye.” So before any of us can share concerns about what others may be doing, we need to make sure that, we have allowed God to search our hearts & have confessed any sin, so that we are right with God. Then we are to go to others with our concerns.

Many Christians seem unwilling to do this. Too many issues go unaddressed or are handled from a place of condemnation. So the “truth” is often not delivered in “love” or even delivered at all! It is my hope that in sharing these truths, we can all become a part of a church that is no longer “lukewarm “, but instead be “on fire” for God as Hebrews 12:9 emphasizes (See the ‘About’ section on our homepage).
  

As we can see, the process that leads to ‘Biblical Restoration’, which is seeing a person forsake his sin & be restored to his brother and God, is a complex one, and can’t really be expressed in one blog. Please bear with me as I attempt to do justice to this deep truth in the weeks to come.

Larry Shaw. '98.6 Too Cold' Blogger

9/1/2013

The Truth in love

 

"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is Christ."

 -Ephesians 4:15

          I decided that I should do my first blog on “the truth in love” because it is the central part of the testimony that I shared here as an introduction to who I am, or at least who I aspire to be. I think that many times, when we contemplate that phrase, we think that it means that when we talk about issues with others that may be negatively impacting their lives, that we do so from a place of deep understanding of the journey they have been on, so that when we share with them what the scriptures have to say about the subject, we do so from a place of love & not condemnation. While this is true & is supported by other Biblical passages, it may not be the application that this verse is referring to. As we know, if we really want to understand what the author had in mind when a verse was written, we have to look at the context. We need to look at the verses that surround the verse we have chosen to focus on, so that we can see who wrote it, who it was written to, & what the intent of the passage was & how we should apply it to our lives.

As my friend Justin likes to point out, it can also be helpful to understand the cultural issues of the day as well.  The Apostle Paul wrote these verses to the church at Ephesus that he had founded. He was knowledgeable about where their struggles were & he wanted to help them in the areas where they were not reflecting God‘s truth appropriately. The first thing I notice from verse 13 is that Paul desired all who are believers in the finished work of Christ, to be in unity about all matters of faith. In other words, correct doctrinal understanding should produce a unity in the people of Christ, that leads to believers becoming more like Jesus.

            V. 14 goes on to further clarify the intent. Paul wanted to see the church unified in correct doctrine so that they would be able to resist false concepts of Christ that would come their way. The verse goes on to say that those that teach false doctrine, do so with the intent to deceive even those who are believers, so we need to know what the Word of God teaches & be able to communicate those truths to other believers in the finished work of Christ, as well as to those who may not yet believe. So in conveying the truth in love, we must do it in a way that is LOVING. One way I can do that is to never be too sure of myself; I must never misconstrue opinion for truth. I must make sure that whatever I say can be thoroughly backed up by scripture from a variety of passages, & above all, that I share in a way that reflects God’s love for all mankind as authentically as possible. This is more of a challenge than it may seem & I invite any & all comments, not just on what I say, but on the way I say it.

               In conclusion, it is our goal to encourage others to move past the “lukewarm” condition that seems to be true of much of today’s Christianity. It is important that believers “correctly divide the word of truth” so that their actions come out of convictions that reflect biblical truth & that they depend on the Holy Spirit to reveal these truths to them & that He will provide the power we need to live these truths out.

 Larry Shaw. '98.6 Too Cold' Blogger