As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“don’t resent that you serve God in a small arena. Don’t feel sorry for yourself that you write for a small audience or preach before a small congregation. Be honored that God lets you serve him at all and deploy what he’s given you for the good of others and the glory of God.” - Challies
“When someone senses we have goodwill and respect for them, it enables them to lower their defenses and hear what we’re saying. Sincere kindness can therefore help us make progress in a disagreement.” - TGC
“This month marks five years since my family and I survived a plane crash. When landing, the plane skidded off the runway and down a steep incline, breaking in two before it ran into a concrete barrier that stopped it.” - 9 Marks
So we’re fighting a three-front war—something no one’s likely to win without divine power. Let’s take a look at the first enemy, the world.
I wrote some on this just a few posts ago, focusing primarily on definitional matters. Here I’d like to focus on how to fight so as to win. I think a key biblical source on this question is John’s first epistle.
The Right Family
“Sometimes, our spiritual struggles come not because we have neglected God’s word but because we have neglected his world. …We may indeed have spiritual issues to address. But our first solution may simply be this: open your eyes and ears and wonder at the world God made.”- Desiring God
“The phenomenon can be called the ‘Sunday to Monday gap,’ the ‘sacred and secular divide’ or practical atheism. Call it what you will, but seeing all aspects of our lives through the lens of our faith in God can often be counterintuitive.” - IFWE
The Scripture often uses military language for the Christian life. Most famously, I suppose, Paul describes the “armor” (lit. “panoply”) of the Christian warrior, supplied by God for both defense and offense (Ep 6.13-17). Christians who take a more pacifist approach to life (e.g.
“Scripture also gives examples of conspiracy theories. Saul believed a conspiracy theory that David wanted to kill him (1 Sam. 22:8, 13), the Pharisees created a conspiracy theory to undermine and deceive others about the truth of Christ’s resurrection (Matt. 28:12-15), and Thomas chose to believe a conspiracy theory rather than the truth of Christ’s resurrection (Jn. 20:24-25).” - P&D
In another thread (Christ Anderson’s book), Romans 14 came up. That passage commands unity. It’s meaning is important in the schism-vs-fellowship question.
In the other thread, Larry said:
By Anthony Wood. Read Part 1.
For those of us who serve in a leadership capacity, the world demands that we show strength. Who among us, in the flesh, has not been lured by more power? A larger church building? An organizational structure without checks and balances?
Discussion