"He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else..." Luke 18:9 (HCSB)
I grow weary of the extreme analyzing, the prying scrutiny, the suspicious scoffing that has become the norm in our Christian culture. Let me explain: a video is released, or a book comes out, and suddenly the "Doctrine Police" come out in full force. Don't get me wrong: I believe in "testing the spirits" (1 John4:1) to determine what is true. But in our effort to appear theologically superior, ...we end up eating our own. And to a world cartwheeling head-over-heels to an eternity without God, we have to appear petty and trivial.
I dare say that if you take one sermon from any Bible-teaching, doctrinally grounded man of God, pick and pry at it, look at his words and mannerisms under a microscope, and you will find something to take issue with. Why? Because you can't gain insight into a person's doctrinal core fully through one sermon. It is by this same approach that cults are formed: by plucking a biblical passage out of context.
I grew up in the home of an uneducated, yet Spirit-called man of God. In the days before Internet and the deluge of resources at our disposal today, he managed to preach and teach God's Word without beating up everyone who believed a little different than he did. His approach was simple: eat the meat and spit out the bones. Thanks, Dad, for showing me how to "make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."
I pray this generation will some day see the value in this approach.
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