Christian Living

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September 26, 2011 – No Correction
Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose and action), So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17 AMP
Paul wrote the Book of Second Timothy near the end of his life. It’s quite fitting for the man who made this statement to have many of his letters actually included in Scripture just a few centuries later. Paul knew that all Scripture was God-inspired and that it was useful for both edification and correction. Too bad the correction part has been thrown by the wayside by many mainstream churches today.
We ran across an article online several weeks ago about a new documentary film being released this fall. In this film a group of ministers talk about how church youth ministry is a failure. It takes children away from their parents. It gives youth ministers authority in a child’s life that should belong exclusively to the parent. And it has all taken place with the parents’ blessings under a “spiritual” pretense. They also said that none of it was Biblical. Fathers are the spiritual head of their home and in the Bible families worship together. The documentary is right on. This group is offering correction to the church and I applaud their efforts.
The problem is that this group is being suppressed as they try to get their message out. This weekend we ran across another story about this group and how they were denied access to a conference because their message was not considered “inclusive.” What in the world is going on with Christians nowadays? I believe they are becoming more and more like the people of the world: they always want praise, but never want to be corrected. In a church setting I call this epidemic all fluff and no stuff.
Many churches today are filled with fluff. There are multiple ministries and maybe even small groups to “appeal” to people of all ages and walks of life. The pastor teaches a nice lesson every week that makes the congregation leave all smiles and feeling how blessed they are to be saved. Then Monday morning comes and the train wreck of a life that was forsaken on Sunday begins all over again. Why? Although they were told on Sunday how great a Christian they were, they received no instruction on how to live a godly life in an ungodly world. They didn’t get any stuff at church to carry with them during the week to help them really live for God.
Now don’t get me wrong, every message from the Bible shouldn’t be correction. If it were we’d probably all forsake our faith and seek professional help for our deep seated depression. What I am saying is that when correction comes from teaching or even from documentary films, we should be ready to open our ears and hearts to listen to anything, especially if there’s a Bible backing it up.
I think way too often we get caught up in a multitude of excuses for our behavior and we either forget the Bible or use the Bible to justify our wrongs. Some churches teach that homosexuality is not a sin, yet the Bible clearly teaches that it is. Wrong behavior of any sort is hardly ever confronted behind church walls because leaders justify passivity by saying things like “Love covers a multitude of sins, so let’s just love them.” And most churches have a youth ministry, and some even have separate ministries for women and men, yet the Bible does not support splitting children away from their parents, let alone separating husbands and wives. When will it end? It will not end until Christians individually do something about it.
I believe the whole problem in churches not offering correction is marketing. Churches have become so preoccupied with marketing themselves to the masses that they have lost sight of what this whole church thing is about. It’s not about groups or ministries or programs. It’s about knowing Jesus and having a relationship with Him. Through that relationship we realize that we’re not perfect and actually need to be set straight when we’re wrong. And sitting in church Sunday morning listening to the same fluff as last week will leave us in the same place: a Monday morning wondering why living in this world is getting more and more difficult.

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