Much of the focus in churches is filling the pews. That's good;
one of the church's primary duties is to reach the lost. The church is
here to spread its message and to save souls. To evangelize.
The
next step, often neglected, is discipleship. After we get them in the
pews, we don't teach them what it means to be a Christian. Fortunately,
almost two centuries ago, Brownlow North, a bishop of the Anglican
Church from 1770-1821, wrote down six steps for new Christians to help
them grow in the faith. I think that every Christian, be he on milk or
meat, can benefit from applying the steps on this list.
1. Never
neglect daily private prayer; and when you pray, remember that God is
present, and that he hears your prayers (Heb 11:6).
Being
omnipresent in our reality, God is present during your prayers and he
hears your request. This doesn't obligate him to answer affirmatively,
but he is present and he does hear you. That's simple, yet very deep.
I've heard it said that it is impossible to stumble while on your knees.
2.
Never neglect daily private Bible reading; and when you read remember
that God is speaking to you, and that you are to believe and act upon
what he says. I believe all backsliding begins with the neglect of these
two rules (Jn 5:39).
Daily prayer and daily Bible reading are the
most important factors of becoming a Christian. The necessity of God
for the universe is an awesome, if abstract, idea to think of and
discuss. However, the necessity of God for one's own life is more
interesting, making the discussion less abstract and much more personal.
We're
called "friends of God." In biblical society, serfs probably never saw
the sovereign. But, through the power of prayer, we get to talk to the
sovereign, confess our deepest fears and desires, and God hears them!
In
Genesis 18:22-33, Abraham is able to strike a conditional bargain with
God -- if 10 righteous people can be found in the city of Sodom, then
God will spare it. God took into consideration what Abraham had said,
and did as was befitting a truly righteous judge.
Remember,
neglecting the first two rules will cause more backsliding in your life
than anything else. So get to praying and reading that Bible!
3.
Never let a day pass without trying to do something for Jesus. Every
night reflect on what Jesus has done for you, and then ask yourself,
"What am I going to do for him?" (Mt 5:13-16).
I once told an
atheist, "God created the universe, you, gives you life and sustains
your existence, and sent his Son to die for your sins."
He responded by asking what else has God done, really?
God
has done a lot for humanity, even though we don't deserve it. Most of
the time, we're just not grateful. We never pause to think that this
wondrous universe, beautiful planet, and the next breath we will take
all come from God. So, let's ask what we can do for God instead of
always the other way around. He's done plenty already.
4. If you
are in doubt as to a thing being right or wrong, go to your room and
kneel down and ask God's blessing on it (Col 3:17). If you cannot do
this, it is wrong.
This touches on the instinctual nature of moral
duties. Normal people know the difference between right and wrong. My
three-year-old, for example, knows that she has to listen to mommy and
daddy when we tell her to do things. When she doesn't, she admits that
she knows and understands that it was wrong.
But this instinct
alone (call it conscience) isn't enough. It's a great start, and this
"prayer test" is simple and awesome. It presupposes a generally good
nature, and since we are made in the image of God we have enough
goodness to know the difference between right and wrong.
5. Never
take your Christianity from Christians, or argue that because such and
such people do so and so, therefore, you may (2 Cor 10:12). You are to
ask yourself, "How would Christ act in my place?" and strive to follow
him (Jn 10:27).
Because other people do it, that doesn't make it
okay. As a manager for over a decade and a half in the fast food
industry, every single time I dealt with someone's tardiness the first
thing I always got to hear was an angry litany of names of other people
who are "always late."
That's what North is talking about. Using
another's behavior to justify your own is not acceptable. Take
responsibility for yourself.
We cannot justify our actions by
comparing them to what others do. The yardstick for comparison is the
instinctual moral standard (see rule #4). It doesn't matter what our
peers do.
North might be the first to ask, "What Would Jesus Do?"
If we follow rule #1 and rule #2, we're on our way to having a good
sense of the correct answer.
6. Never believe what you feel, if it
contradicts God's Word. Ask yourself, "Can what I feel be true if God's
Word is true?" And if both cannot be true, believe God's Word and make
your own heart the liar (Rom 3:4; 1 Jn 5:10-11).
Susan B. Anthony
once said, "I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them
to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires."
She's right, and we need an objective measure of truth -- not our
"feelings."
Knowing and doing are totally different. Everyone
knows it's wrong to steal, yet people are in jail for everything from
petty theft to the Enron scandal. Everyone knows its wrong to cheat on
your spouse, yet that is one of the main reason couples divorce.
While
the conscience is effective at blowing the whistle, we are equally as
effective at ignoring the noise. More troubling, we can often delude
ourselves into believing that God is on our side.
Look at liberal
theologians like Rob Bell. They are very good at redefining God,
rendering eternal judgment unnecessary or evil. Suddenly, our choices
lose eternal significance. Now, people can be comfortable as they are
instead of embracing the life-changing effects of the gospel. Instead of
"Go, and sin no more" we are being told "Sin boldly, all will be
forgiven." That's quite different than what Jesus would say, and the
total opposite of Paul's salvation by grace through faith.
No wonder Susan B. made the statement she did.
The
Bible states "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
sick; who can understand it?" (Jer 17:9). Though the conscience can be
an excellent guide, we can ignore it in favor of pursuing our own
passions. Let Scripture stand as the objective measure by which we know
what is right and wrong. Don't trust your gut.
Applying North's
six short rules to our walk with Christ, every day, will ensure that the
gospel message changes us. God, if he is really God, won't conform to
our expectations. He will, however, give us the strength and tools to
conform to his expectations -- the image of his Son, Jesus Christ.
