Who Are We? An Open Letter

Who are We?

An Open Letter

To

Men

Read first: 2^nd Timothy 2:1-4

Men, my brothers, it is indeed my prayer that some of you will hear these words anew, that they might be fresh like that first crisp taste of fall after a long, dry summer. For others, it is also my prayer that these words would be safely familiar—like the sight of smoke from the home place chimney after a long journey away from home—it may be well known, but never before appreciated so greatly. For the rest, these words might sting and make you uncomfortable. In that case, comfortable is the last thing I would want you to be. I pray that you all will be enabled to grasp the severity of the words at hand, and that by them you will not be cowed, but rather convinced. As you read this, as soon as your mind starts to think to itself, “ah! That sure describes those people…” Stop. I am not writing to get “amens”. I am not writing to make a sensation. I am writing to bring about conviction. I might be writing about you, whoever, and wherever you may be. So keep that at the back of your mind as you read on. As soon as you think I have described the “others”, I have already described you.

I would begin with this question:

Who are we?

If we say, “we are men”, I must say there are evidences in many of us that would suggest otherwise. If we say, “we are Baptists”, we are a great deal short of giving a full answer. That is not an answer in and of itself, because being “Baptist” does not mean the same thing to some as it means to others; and being a Baptist, a Presbyterian, a Methodist, or whatever is not answering the question of who we are.

I will put it more plainly: we are not known in the courts of Heaven by these things, but rather, we are known by the blood of Christ who broke down the middle wall of separation and brought us who were afar off closer to Him. Since when did denominations have more to do with what programs they have, what church services look like, and whether or not each have pot-lucks than they do with being of sound and Biblical Doctrine? Since when did the rock solid, unshakable word of God become second fiddle to cooperative programs and Sunday school curriculum loyalties, and fickle church goers more attuned to their own habits and comforts than they are to even rudimentary knowledge and appreciation for God’s timeless gospel? I am more or less a Southern Baptist, yes, but on the basis wherein being such is in line with Scripture and the meritorious doctrine (that is, Truth) contained therein. Wherever being Southern Baptist may differ from Scripture, I am not one.

Who are we?

If we say, “we are members of the body of Christ”, we would be right in some cases, I am sure, but grossly exaggerated for the rest.

Now, I am not concerned whether or not some of you are offended today. My answer to any of that is quite simple: you probably need to be. I am more concerned with offending God with idle babbling. I did not come here to wrangle the tender sensitivities of men who would rather live out their days without making any commotion. Nor did I come here to coddle those who would take offense at the slightest hint of charity. And I did not come here to meddle in the affairs of the skeptical, post-modern, or non-creedal.

I am here to speak to men. I am weary of warm bodies too concerned with hurting feelings or simply too lazy to deal with matters far greater than their own discomfort.

I would like us to read this passage, and would encourage a good sound reading well fore and aft of it.

2^nd Timothy 2:1-4 says the following: “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”—2^nd Timothy 2:1-4

If we are asked who we are, can we honestly say that we are “soldiers” of this gallant breed? I now ask even more close to home: do we even comprehend the magnitude of what is happening around us? I do not speak of politics. I do not speak of whether we should or should not go to national war. I am not speaking of anything that may have first come to mind when I said: “the magnitude of what is happening around us”. No. I am not speaking of our entanglements “with the affairs of this life”. I am speaking of the dire need to preach the clear, tried and true significance of the Cross. If that bores or offends you, you wear the wrong uniform and I want nothing to do with you except to earnestly and gently seek your surrender to God.

Who are we?

If we say, “we are guardians”, we must know and appreciate what is at stake.

When Christ comes, do we think his Bride will be waiting in the tower, asleep in her happily retired bed, living out her days? No! She was there before. When Christ comes, in all His glory, it will be at that last possible moment, when her strength is spent and she waits desperately for His final rescue. She will be winded, and tried and tired, and beautiful beyond any of what our lustful hearts can conjure. Then, He will take her away, bearing her valiantly to His Heaven, to her safety, and to His Father’s long awaited Wedding Celebration.

Men, we have a responsibility to take care of the Body and Bride of Christ just as much as we have a responsibility to be a part of it. Are we honest when we call ourselves guardians? Is the enemy himself not bothered by us? Do we find him to be none too much of a threat? If so, then we are either neutral or hostile to the Bride and the Savior who loves her. Both of which are a dreadful thing to be and we will answer for our cowardice. We must be busy, watchful, and without fear or arrogance.

What that quotation from 2^nd Timothy tells us is that we must speak these precious words of the Gospel without regard to our safety or the Word’s severity until we are completely spent. When we go to church on Sundays and at other times, it is to be for this purpose: to sharpen our weapons; to wipe the markings clear again so that our enemy will know it is us, the beloved of God with whom he contends; to receive our marching orders, and most important, to publicly and corporately proclaim His message to each other and to Him in praise and gladness. This is not some zealous poet drumming up emotion. It is a young, and winded comrade calling for aid because there are terrible foes called Apostasy and Lies, and their allies Dissension and Gossip at the gates and we must go to meet them. We must leave our city of content and meet the world with the Truth of Grace.

Do we take seriously our commands? We are commanded here to “guard the faith”. How do we do that? Men, my fathers, do we not already know?

We Teach! Do we not have homes? Can two or more people not gather there to pray and study in worship during the week? Do we not have families? Do we not have the Word?

We Live! Do we live lives that exude the Salvation wrought in us? Does grace waft around us like a pleasant aroma?

We Pray! Do our knees ache because we humble ourselves before God continually? Do we converse with our King? Are our names known well in the courts of Heaven? I dare say gentlemen if we are not grass stained and carpet burned on our knees we have much for which to repent. And if the words of prayer and supplication are not as accustomed to rolling over our tongues as are useless talk of politics, and careers, and programs, and vain disputes and alliances then we have good reason for fear.

We Contend! Is the Helmet of our Salvation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified for our sins, nicked and scraped? Has the Shield of Faith given to us been scorched by countless arrows? Have the Words of our God been wielded with the skill, resolve and grace that He gave His soldiers to use? How long have our Swords, the words of God, been sheathed, collecting the dust of a life nearly ended, only brought out for ceremonial use on Sunday morning? How long have a few brave guards watched the gate alone? Gentlemen, we must pick up our weapons and armor and then get on our knees and fight like men.

“We wrestle not against flesh and blood”, but we do indeed wrestle. We must compare Spiritual things with Spiritual. We worship God yet do not see Him. We see His work and hear His words and He is God. We worship Him by faith practice; we work out our faith with each other for His sake. Our enemy is unseen as well—for the most part. We need to understand that we wrestle against that enemy and that we see him through his work as well, and often times it is visible in those around us. We must be fearless with Grace, for it is fearless. It endured the cross and more so, it endured the wrath of God being poured down the throat of the Son of God. It is not one to be cowed or dissuaded by the fear of offending a few for which it is still sufficient to save. It is a poor and weak thing to avoid stance in place of stubbornness in lack of confidence in the Gospel.

Who are we?

If we say “we are messengers”, I have two questions.

A) Do we actually deliver the message? When we have received the message that the Lord Himself has been killed and rose again for our own souls and is returning soon, do the doors break as we pass them on our way to sprint the message to the front? Or, do we say “that’s wonderful news! Now, where shall we go to lunch?” Some might say, even as they run the message, “This is too old. Perhaps I should re-word it so the men at the front understand it.” Running with the message is all well and good, but it must be recognizable when it arrives. We must not carry only part of it. We must not alter one iota. We must carry it in entirety with all haste and diligence for a two-fold reason: 1) for the sake of those receiving it; and more importantly, 2) for the sake of the One Who wrote it. It’s His message to them. He must not be interfered with for any reason. I wonder how many there will be who will say to Him “Lord, Lord! I was trying to help! The message You gave me was hard for them to understand. I had no choice! I, I, I thought I was helping!” My friends, we know what the Lord’s response is to those who meddle with the Truth. Do we fail to preach well? Yes. Do we even say things at one time that are flat-out wrong? Yes. But do we do them in ignorance and repent when we find the error of our ways, or do we continue with our passive assault on clearly defined Truth?

B) Do we support those who do carry the message? It is reasonable to conclude that not all can, or should, physically “go” with the message of the cross. Do we support those others when we cannot go ourselves? Let’s look at the combative analogy once more. In battle, when a runner between the battalions is felled, many of you know what happens; his enemy will not relent in pummeling his body because he knows that while the runner’s lungs still have breath they still carry the message. Do we understand that we carry our message until our last dying breath?

Now, the other soldiers of the runner’s platoon, they do not sit behind in the trench and wonder where he is trying go or debate on what the message meant. No! They hold back that Enemy, they give their lives so that the message may be relayed. Do we have that resolve? Do we protect the runners? Or do we leave them in the clearing full of merciless wounds? Even worse than that, do we shoot them ourselves, knowing that their message may be our orders to press on. Taking comfort in our fox-holes of retirement, or culture, or work, or unsighted denominational loyalty, or tolerance, do we silence our messengers and prolong the fight?

There are some who say that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, based on the Scriptures alone for God’s glory alone. To that I would say amen! Then, some of you same men will make a habit of shooting runners. I myself have wounds to show for this. Here is the truth, gentlemen: if you preach Grace, you ought to have some. A dear man of God said that once in front of me and I thank God for using him to convict me. Preach the Truth of the cross and its exclusivity to Christ alone. Preach the grace of God through His Son. Preach! Preach fearlessly and do not worry about offending sinners. Preach without fear of anything but God. Be fearless yet, do not be merciless. There is a difference. Call out error. Make it known in contrast to the Truth of Scripture. Be more and more bold every day. But do not come to me one day saying “grace, grace!”, then the next make a poor joke of God’s Grace by mocking my weakness. Of all my own countless mistakes, this is a grievous one and is worthy of all abhorrence. When I do this, when you do this, we mock God’s sacrifice and sovereignty. Never do it again.

The reader might be thinking by now of what I warned at the beginning. “This does sound like those other fellas”. Indeed, for anyone, we can find others to which the names “murderer”, “mocker”, and others apply. But let’s remember one other thing. There are men who shoot runners. There are, however, false runners. Not everyone who calls out error or false teaching is necessarily a murderer. No, the true runner’s message is too important to be outrun and usurped by an impostor. No matter how close that impostor may seem to be carrying the same message. Are some or even many good runners mistaken for impostors? Probably. But has the question ever been offered that there have been many good runners mistaken for murderers? Ponder on that.

There are some who are ashamed of the Gospel. They would deny this, but it is true. They may tell you it needs repainting. No my friend. The Holy Spirit spoke and continues to teach and speak to us through this Gospel, and any hint of saying it needs “repainting” or made “culturally relevant” is, to be blunt, blasphemous. Although I will grant that some are careless and make themselves irrelevant to God, even so, His Gospel and the proclamation of it is as “relevant” as one can get. I will not desire to be “relevant” to anyone. I want to be known by Christ, and I am by His grace alone through my faith which He gave me. I can stick to showing and telling people that. It is abundantly relevant. I will hear no more talk of cultural relevance. The Gospel is to cultural relevance what a needle is to a balloon. In other words, the Gospel is sharper, cleaner, and is completely capable of bursting through any culture as it desires. It pierces through that proud layer that says “this is just who I am”. The Gospel bursts the membrane to reveal that the air inside is no different than the rest in eternal terms and that its identity can be associated with something far grander than the stale environment by which it was once too happy to be embraced. Let’s not forget that through Christ and the Holy Spirit, the Word of the God of Heaven is alive! We are to be prophets, not posers.

Who are we?

If we say, “we are disciple makers”, this too is not an answer for this question.

Some say we need to focus more, or even almost entirely, on political and economic strife, saying that by that we will make the world a better place. No my friend. We were not told to make the world better. God said He would take care of that and I trust Him with it. We are, however, commanded to make disciples. Disciples of what though? Of peace? That will be a fine thing until war is brought by the enemy. We make peace, true peace that is in Christ and can endure conflict of physical arms. What kind of peace are you seeking?

Are we making disciples of charity? Again, this is a fine thing that should be pursued with diligence. But will a full stomach and a warm bed be of any use against eternal flame? We are called to feed the hungry. So feed them. But let the main course be Christ’s grace through faith in Him, the fruit of repentance. Are we making disciples of social change? In many places, this is a possibly good thing. But again, will it have repercussions past the last breath of that person immediately affected by it? Be honest before God.

Are we making disciples of tolerance? Tolerance of what? Is tolerance of sin, any sin, such a thing for which we are to make disciples? No my friends. We are to make disciples, and we are ourselves to be disciples of Christ. We shout of His work on the cross and why it was necessary. We shout of what He did specifically in, with, and for us. We shout His name to a world lost in malice. There are some who say it is better to talk and be agreeable. They deem it dangerous to take a stand and not be moved. It can be, but not in all cases. There are some ideas, some theologies, some people even, with which we must not, cannot, and should not associate with apart from telling them the absolute Truth of repentance through Faith in Jesus and the love of God that comes with it. Be at peace in conflict. Show grace and charity with those whom you disagree. Turn the other cheek to scoffers of the Gospel and your own brethren. But do not come to me one day saying “peace, peace!”, then the next make a poor joke of God’s true Peace by mocking my stances. Make your stand on the Gospel, coward. Let that be the chance to show your quality. I am a coward, and this is the only safe place to be.

God is not Unitarian, but He is One. God is not Tolerant, but He is Longsuffering. God is not Reactionary, but He is Constant.

Men, How much farther must I go? On one hand we see many who have forgotten their first Love. On the other we look and see some who have no Love for which to wait its return. Here is the moral, if you will, of this all. We have a great responsibility to preach, teach and live the Gospel of Christ. While some on both too conservative and too liberal sides would inject “we do!”, many of them lie.

If you read this, and after you quit thinking that it was speaking to the “others”, you realized that it is personally addressing you, I want you to do something you likely have never done before; surrender. I pray that you will. And I pray that God would bring me closer to full surrender myself.

So, I ask you now, who are you?