Chapter five
I became Christ’s in february, 1972. (Paul: “You were bought at a price.”) In august of that year I discovered a ‘catholic charismatic’ group of born-again catholics. Being catholicized since the cradle, it was so good (and surprising) to find catholics who enthusiastically praised Jesus. Everything was going great until….
We were singing “I have decided” (to follow Jesus). Do you remember that song, Bill? While singing the words, “Though none go with me, still I will follow, no turning back, no turning back” the Holy Spirit dropped a foretelling message into that babe-in-Christ. Plunk!
I can only para-phase: “THERE WILL BE A DAY WHEN YOU WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVE THOSE WORDS YOU JUST SANG.”
What did I just sing? “Though none go with me, still I will follow, no turning back, no turning back.”
I was thoroughly disturbed. There will be a day everybody, at least everybody I knew, will stop following Jesus Christ? Including the dozens of people in that hall singing so fervently? Including my pentecostal acquaintances from a nearby pentecostal church? Could it be?
Back then I assumed if a person stopped following Jesus he/she would go to hell. I simply didn’t know what to do with that scary word. So I shelved it.
It took me about five years to get the understanding. (Yes, five years. I can be real slow.) I was attending my crowded evangelical, charismatic-like church on a sunday morning. Suddenly, a veil was lifted and I could see ‘into’ the people. By the Spirit I knew these people were not following Christ. They were following christians…. who were following christians…. who were following christians.
Nobody was following Jesus Christ! And they didn’t know they were not following Jesus Christ! They were not but assumed they were. Sure, they had a love for Jesus. They earnestly sang songs of praise to Jesus. They were on their way to heaven. But were they following Jesus?…. no way.
But what about me? Was I following Jesus after being forewarned five years previous? Did I cross that line from follower-of-Christ to follower-of-christians. Sometimes I think I did; other times I think I didn’t, though coming very close.
Regardless, I determined to go back to my 1972 enthusiasm for Christ, to recapture “first love”. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t quick. It had taken a long time to drift away and it took a long time to return, maybe a couple of years.
When I finally arrived I knew I had arrived, having recaptured the intimacy and fervour once held at my 1972 conversion. Now what? Where do I go from here? I felt the Holy Spirit say (paraphrasing): “Now you keep on going. There is always more of Jesus to be attained.”
So that’s what I did and that’s what I do. I pursue the One I had captured. I long to know the One I know. To dig deeper, always deeper.
Why did it take so long to recapture “first love”? Well….
I remained with that congregation, those followers-of-christians. They influenced me. The preacher-guy was accomplished and strong. So many can’t be wrong, just can’t. Who was I to question? And what about my family? How could I uproot my family? Would we be safe if I left all this behind?
I did leave, and it was hard, hard, hard. I told the Lord I would not attend another church until He specifically directed me to one. He didn’t. So I didn’t. Several years past before I attended another church.
Back then the only reason one stopped going to church was because he was backslidden. But I stopped going to church because I wanted more of Christ.
Suddenly I became fringe, an outsider, suspect. I never left church (the real church), church left me. Followers-of-christians have little in common with followers-of-Christ. That’s just the way it is.
A while back I wrote an article depicting institutionalized christianity as I see it, and I share it with you for your consideration….
A very large barn, this barn. On the side of this very large barn is a very large red dot, about three feet diameter. Fifty paces from this very large dot are a number of christian archers, varying in social status, men, women and children.
The first to shoot is Charismatic Charlie. Pulls back the string on his longbow, takes aim and…. misses. Hmmm. Next is Evangelical Ed. Looks confident enough, but surprisingly he misses too. Double Hmmm. Same with numbers 3 to 20…. all miss…. not even close.
But here comes Pastor Peter. He will show them how it’s done. Looks real cool with his fiberglass flatbow, colourful arm-guard and chest-guard. But looky here! Doesn’t come close to the target! Another pastor, another miss. What’s going on?!
But there’s still hope. Next guy is from elsewhere, keynote speaker at a big conference. This bowman appears super-capable, and even has a crossbow. Just can’t miss with a crossbow…. but he does!
Next up, a new convert to Lord Jesus with an old bow and crooked arrow. Bulls-eye! Wow! Last to shoot is a little kid with a bow much longer than he is. Wow, another bulls-eye!
Take a look at the barn. Lots of arrows above and below and all around the red mark. Only a few stick out of the target.
Incredible!
Paul to the Corinthians: I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds might somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
What does today’s church look like?
Looks like the barn with all those arrows stuck in it, only a few in the target. Looks like a membership of, mostly, deceived Eves no longer devoted. It’s in need of revival.
And heaven?
Heaven looks like that barn with every arrow stuck in the very large red dot. All, angels and saints, are devoted to Christ.
Don’t be disheartened. Through sincere repentance arrows can be pulled out and shot again.
That, my brother-in-Christ, is how I see evangelicalism and every christianized religion. Evidence of missing the ‘target’, Christ being the target, is plentiful, but it takes courage to look and listen.
I am sure you have read Andrew Murray. I discovered his “Abide in Christ” a few years back. What was the condition of the church in his day, from his perspective? I quote from the first page….
“And yet you [the reader…. most readers?] have had reason to complain of disappointment: as time went on, your expectations were not realized. The blessings you once enjoyed were lost; the love and joy of your first meeting with your Saviour, instead of deepening, have become faint and feeble.”
What our brother seen a hundred plus years ago I have seen for decades. But I don’t think you do.
So what is Andrew’s explanation regarding why christians lost “the love and joy of [their] first meeting with [their] Saviour”? Listen to our brother-in-Christ, my brother-in-Christ…. “YOU WANDERED FROM HIM.”
It is my observation that today 95%-plus christians, have “wandered from Him”. That’s the problem. It’s the problem of the born-again, the problem within Christ’s church, and yes, the problem of the world rushing into eternal anguish.
Pastor Whoevers cannot fix the problem they created; they themselves “wandered from Him”.
Pastors shouldn’t be surprised or slighted at this suggestion. They are the most religious person in the congregation. Religion passes from pulpit to pew, not pew to pulpit.
Most of that 95% assume Jesus Christ is “first love”. Yes, their love for Christ may run deep, but it is so obvious love for religion runs deeper.
Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep MY commandments.” Jesus said, “He who has MY commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.” Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep MY word.” Jesus said, “Follow ME.”
To determine “first love” pastors simply have to take inventory of what they do and teach. Surely it can’t be so difficult for those who know the bible more than most to differentiate between what is New Testament and what is not, between Christ’s commandments and “tradition[s] of men”.
Religion bears no good fruit. None whatsoever.
Every believer bears some good fruit, even the lukewarm. The good fruit that does come from religionists is the result of abiding in “the true vine”, not abiding in their religion.
WARNING: The branch (“you are the branches”) that completely stops bearing gets removed. (“He is cast out as a branch, and is withered.”)
NOTE: The above article can be found at www.larryjones.ca. Scroll down to 333 Words.