Unification, a Scandalous Effort

Paul's precision to throw a warning dart and hit it in the bullseye was masterful. When he warned that Christians should not be yoked, should not take company with unbelievers, he was forseeing an epidemic that was soon to come. The epidemic came, however, and we have seen the affects of this flesh eating disease, as it gorged itself on the body of Christ.

What disease? The disease of false unification, that is to say, the infection of unification with those who profess to be lovers of God, but are really lovers of the world. I have heard it preached, teached and fed to believers around the world (but mostly in the west), that the body of Christ needs to be unified, that they need to have likemindedness. The ministers of our day see division, they see disagreement, they witness disfunctional religiosity. And they assume that it is unification that is the key- Insteat of GOD! This philosophy has crept itself, like a drunken harlot, into the bed where the body of Christ sleeps. How have we been so blind to see the obvious? I have been accused of beating the sheep. I have been rejected for being critical on the church--But it is not the church that offends me! It is the world. . . The world that is filled with every manner of evil thing that is unglorifying to God. And it is those who have proclaimed the name of Christ, but have fornicated in every naked way with this "World" of sin. Those who call themselves followers of God, and yet in their evil hearts, they love their sin. They are consumed with it. And in this action they have rejected God, rejected his ways. Because it is not just by words we know God, but by our hearts.

So, the problem is, that we have accepted these worldly fornicators as true believers. We have assumed that if a man or woman says the sinners prayer, they are saved. That somehow God, in all of his sovereignty, must save them, because, after all, they did say the words. But there will be a day when God judges the hearts of man, and he will say to those who were not transformed unto his likeness, "Depart from me, you worker of iniquity, for I never knew you." And in that day, part of that guilt will fall on our shoulders, because we saw them sin, we saw their unrepentent hearts, and we did nothing! Because, who are we to judge another? And since we did not preach repentance to the unrepentant, and preach God's Glory to the blind, because we were too affraid of confrontation, we preached unification. But unification has already happened. It is already here, in the true hearts and minds of God's people. They know who they are, they see the living God as the only source of life, the only thing that is worthy to live for. They care nothing about their lives, and are even willing to go to hell in order to glorify God. This church, this body I speak of, is indeed unified, because they have been so broken by their wickedness that they no longer lean on their own understanding. And they are not willing to conform to the world in any way. For the world is full of sin, it is full of deceit, bitterness, wrath, lust, sexuallness and depravity. All one has to do is look around and see who has compromised with Babylon, to see who has bowed their faces to the Golden Statue of Nebechanezzar (for there were thousands of prophesing jews at that time, but only three did not worship the idol of gold; and they were thrown into a firey furnace for their lack of cultural understanding).

Is it really that complicated? Haven't we simply made a mockery of God, by taking his name and causing the "gentiles" to blaspheme it? It is simple! God's people know who they are, and will not be enslaved by the philosophies of the world, but will stand tall, proud in their God. But those who want the benefit of Heaven, but don't really want God, it is a scandalous effort to unify them with the true body of Christ, because they will have nothing to do with what is really right.

"For He (Jesus) must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet." 1 Corinthians 15:25
Is God reigning in your life? Has he put all the iniquity out of your hearts? God must reign! There is no other truth more important and more valuable to human life (although valuable is not the proper term, because that does have a sense of implying it's about us). When one truly understands that it is God through Jesus that reigns upon this world, controls all that is given to him, and fights for God's glory, then they realize that there is no greater duty, that there is no higher purpose than to do all and surrender all for the sake of His name.

"When you come to appear before me, who has required of you, this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations- I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen." Isaiah 1:12-15

This is a stern warning to Israel, but as God's character is unchanging, it is also to us. How have we come to the courts of the Lord? Have we appeared before him with un-repentant hearts? Have we come to him with selfish hopes in our hearts? The vision of God's words that Isaiah received point to a unmistakable fact with God, he does not care about offering, prayer, or sacrifice, but the heart and mind of his people. If we've come to him seeking a protector, He will not protect; if we come to Him seeking freedom from guilt, He will not forgive. If we come to Him to answer our prayers, he will not listen; for all these are but a response to sin. What sin you ask? The sin of self. I have come to understand that life is not about us, it is not about being protected, it is no about God answering our prayers, and it is not about being forgiven; rather, it is about giving God what is His to receive; mainly our adoration and praise, not for what he's done for us, but for who He is.