Christian Living

Small Groups—Big Lie

by J.W. Phillips
01/25/25
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It is in the Garden to Eden that we see both the Lover and the Liar on the scene during man’s first days on earth.

When man first saw the morning dew, there shone from the face of God that day expressions of pleasure and favor! Man! Bearer of the divine image! Partner with God in earthly government! And one-day friend with God in heavenly joy!

How God loved man!

Also on the scene was that one that Jesus called “the Father of lies.” C.S. Lewis said of this malevolent being: “The devil has from the beginning tried to mislead humanity with lies.”

The battle for men’s souls is fought in the greatest of all wars—the war between the truth and the lie. If we choose the truth, we will experience the freedom that is truth’s reward. But if we choose a lie, we will experience the constrictions of an ever-tightening death grip.

It has been said that one of the most deceiving lies a liar tells is that he doesn’t tell lies. The very nature of lying is not to be aware of how frequently we resort to it. Oliver Wendall Holmes said, “Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all.”

Adam and Eve believed Satan’s lie! And what happened immediately afterwards? They hid! They were ashamed. They didn’t want their sin known.

Any significance in that? Oh, yes, a lot of significance! Let's track it down.

Genesis tells the story of how God had to go looking for Adam and Eve, this now corrupted couple, repeatedly asking, “Where are you? Where are you?”

What if God hadn’t done that? What if he let each of them go their own way and said nothing? Would that have been love? It would not.

Hold on to that thought, because I want you to see how it relates to the church today.

Adam hid. Eve hid. Are you in hiding?

Before answering that question, ask yourself: Am I wanting to join a fellowship group where God's question—where are you? —is asked with an expectation that I will answer?

For many people, the answer is they don’t want to share their inner life. So they make the decision: Don’t join a group like this! Doesn’t the church have different types of groups?

Well, yes, they do! People-pleasing leaders have set up small groups that compete with biblical fellowship. Join one of those and there won’t be this focus on sharing the inner life.

Hey, hey, heh! I’ll just take my little ole religious self and join one of these other groups. Pickleball anyone?

Now if Satan’s stooge were on hand, his face would light up, thinking “We’ve got a work in progress here! And who knows, maybe after a few fun outings, he’ll be ready to give his ‘testimony’."

Priceless!

Chances are, you’ve heard one of these testimonies. It sounds like this.

“I just love my church group. I’ve met some real cool guys there! So, for some good fun and great laughs, consider joining one of our groups. We’ve got hiking groups and biking groups, craft groups, all sorts of groups! Listen, life doesn’t have to be boring. Join a group today!”

The big lie!

Read your Bibles and you will never find a verse saying, “Announcement everybody, announcement! If you want to play on Peter’s team, be sure to sign up right after service. And if you want to cheer the guys on, check with Andrew.”

People who like play better that pray, welcome these substitutes to fellowship in the church.

Talk about a lie! What about the lie of misrepresenting the nature of God’s church?

Churches that pay no attention to how God defines fellowship in Scripture’s “one another" statements are perpetuating a lie week after week. And those who prefer hiding to abiding are all too eager to sign up for one of these groups.

John, the apostle of love, dealt with this issue directly when he wrote, “If we say we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

The church has a long history of redefining itself so tradition wins and truth loses. Let me give one example.

Jonathon Edwards was the greatest theologian America ever produced. In Edward’s day, there were a number of churches that held what was called “the half-way covenant.”

These churches allowed people to join without accepting Jesus as their Lord. They also allowed unsaved people to participate in communion as long as they weren’t guilty of any scandalous sins recently. Some of these unsaved members were even permitted to become pastors!

Now, the man who led these New England churches was Samuel Stoddard, Jonathan Edwards’ grandfather.

Preaching his now-famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” in Samuel Stoddard’s old church, Edwards called for a wholehearted commitment to God, and to his true church. None of this halfway stuff!

That began the great revival. From Edenfield, Massachusetts it spread throughout the Northeast and lasted for almost two years!

We could wish this was the end of the story. It wasn’t.

Soon after the revival, the church fired Jonathan Edwards!

This man who had impeccable character and amazing giftings, this man who would later become president of what is now Princeton University was humiliated, dismissed, and turned out of his home, having nowhere else to go! Why?

The church let him go because they didn’t want to let go the halfway covenant. Sad to say, this same story has new chapters today.

What a horrible thought to think we have had our own part in redesigning God’s church, our own part in accommodating those who want to hide.

We are putting the welcome mat out for Satan and slamming the door against Christ if we model a church where God’s question, “Where are you?” is ignored, and our hiding is way too easy.