Hi, Brother
I do intend to write up another entry as a continuing piece, called The Way Forward.
When thinking about Diplomacy and Negotiation, words typically heard in a political context, another word comes to mind, namely "ambassador", which has just as rich and important a meaning within a Christian context, especially as it relates to those God has chosen as emissaries of His will, which we typically call "apostles".
The road is long and hard, and many are the days where defeat and discouragement are all that are left to us, after we try and try and try again, to bring people together, to rally around Jesus. I know the despair and the fear, feeling like giving up is the wisest course of action.
But I am reminded what Paul wrote about apostles, that they are the off-scouring of the world, and have been appointed unto death. I've been running for a long time now, but I don't want to run anymore. My legs are hemorrhaging from all the pricks I've kicked.
I don't know where this is all going, application and real-life wise, but I've always felt that not trying is not an option. In the world, before Christ, I gave up and quit just about everything I ever did, at least as a teen and young man. But God did a work in me, and now, ever since He filled me with the Holy Spirit, the word "quit" just hasn't been in my vocabulary. I haven't been able to see the Way Forward, until now, and as are most things, the timing was crucial.
What should a brother do when he wants to join up with a local assembly, but finds he and they don't believe some or perhaps many of the same things?
There are a few courses of action. One is shut up and deal with it. Another is, walk away and not deal with it. Another is speaking up, and find out if you'll be allowed to stay or asked to leave. Another is speaking up, and perhaps finding a willingness to listen and hear what you have to say, but counting on that is probably not smart. Or, you could bide your time, build relationships and friendships over the course of several years, and hope to slowly work in your ideas, bit by bit, to see what sticks.
Personally, I've been there, done that, with all of the above, and it didn't work. None of it did.
But I am glad for the process, to find out what doesn't work. So here's what I think:
A very favorite verse of yours goes like this:
There is only one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
We have all, I think, for a long time, only looked at Christ's mediatorial role in terms of salvation and covenant. But what if we see that Christ is also the mediator between us as believers? What if we allowed Him to do the things only He can do, that we on our own, cannot do, when we find we are in some way not reconciled with other believers?
Reconciliation is not just about hurt feelings or offenses. It's also about lining up together, about being on the same page.
I know that I do not, for instance, agree with anyone here, on everything. I might just barely agree with anyone about anything, for all I really know. But I realized some time ago, that the goal of my Christianity is not to agree with other Christians. That is a rabbit trail that never ends well. The goal of my Christianity is to agree with Jesus.
I heard a story about an early Pentecostal pioneer that God was dealing with about reconciling with a brother (I'm paraphrasing):
The man got up, went over to the house, and said to the brother, "The Lord's been dealing with me about being reconciled with you, and that I need to forgive you". The brother said "Okay. If I did anything to offend you, I'm sorry."
The man went away, and a few minutes later, the Lord said to him "You didn't mean what you said. You didn't really forgive him. Go back and forgive him". So the man went back, a little more humble, and talked with the brother again.
He left, and a little while later, the Lord spoke again and said "You didn't mean what you said. You didn't forgive him like I told you to. Go back and forgive him". The man went back the third time, knocked on the door, and when the brother opened, the man started weeping and sobbing under the power of the Holy Spirit, and he finally forgave the brother. They finally, after all that time, reconciled, even with, or rather, through, the front the man was putting up the first two times.
That is the power and purpose of the mediatorial role Christ plays between us as brethren. Now, imagine instead of offense, the reconciliation that occurred above was doctrinal?
What if each of us were so sensitive to the Lord's voice that He could call us out on the spot and tell us "You and ______ don't believe the same things. Go over there and work it out". And if we were honest and had any wisdom, we wouldn't try to put up a front and act like we obeyed the Lord unless we found true agreement.
This is where an emissary of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ must come into play. Not to act as judge determining which side of the table is right or wrong about a belief, but about helping the two sides come together and admit that as long as there is disagreement, there is division, that can be exploited by the enemy. And if both parties recognize in the emissary the authority of apostleship to help negotiate, as long as the emissary remains impartial and keeps leading everyone back to Jesus, I believe it will work out.
Consider
Acts 15. The apostles and elders didn't throw their hands up about circumcision for Gentiles and go into schism just because there wasn't agreement about the matter.
But we do this all the time. They wrestled with the issue, and when the Holy Spirit made it plain to all present what the truth was, and how to proceed, reconciliation occurred. No one was ostracized, dis-fellowshipped, or disrespected.
Can we get back to that? Is there really anyone out there that is willing to seek the Lord that much, to be submissive to the will of the Holy Spirit, and not go into schism, no matter how big the issue is?
My flesh says "Not a chance".
But I've been singing that tune for a long time, and if nothing changes, nothing changes. I've been waiting around for something to break, move, change, or for someone else to get off their butt and do something about all this mess and division. I can't be like that anymore. I am going to do what I can to bring people together. The Lord knows they've divided themselves up pretty good already.
In conclusion, the only other thing I can say is, only the ones who see the problem are capable of bringing about the solution. You and me, and others have been on the hunt for apostles and prophets, the true foundation of the Church, while many just passively let the tide take them whichever way, ignorant and indifferent to what's at stake.
So, between the two groups, who do you suppose are the ones God's going to use to become the apostles and prophets of the 21st century New Testament Church?
Linear Mode
