Ideology Through Phrasing

There are dangerous Fundamental Philosophies and Quips that have been used from one generation to the next.  We preach certain things because they sound good, and often fall into line with the Fundamental way of thinking.  These things commonly used in hit in pulpits are not sound doctrine, and do not usually mean what we try to make them mean.

Some of these are used to allow us our own liberties in preaching on anything and anyone we want.  In fact today, much of our preaching we hear is just men talking about things that anger them, or some pet hobby horse.  

Very little edification.  We thrash the cults when they quote half verses or segments of verses for some supposed doctrinal truth, but we, like any other denomination have fallen into the same snare.  We do the same thing in the pulpits, and the streets!

You may have heard men say, “Good preaching is not always good doctrine, and good doctrine is not always good preaching.” I understand what this is meant to be, some doctrines are rough, and definitely not crowd pleasers, but our preaching should always reflect our doctrine!  You can’t truly preach truth unless you are being distinctive in your doctrine.

We have preached these things so much, that these things, sometime ideologies, are now our positions.  Then, we find the scripture to back it up after are position is already stated. The scriptures should be our position first, not phrases.  Here are just some examples;

Why I Don't Support Faith Promise Missions Giving

If I would title this anything it would be “Faith Promise Missions Giving”

Philosophy and traditions starving the Body of Christ at home to win the lost abroad

“Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord Deceitfully...!”

I can say with absolute surety, that giving in the word of God is intertwined with early and modern day Christianity in the NT. Let it be emphatically stated that giving is not in question whatsoever.  What I am examining is our methods and principles of giving.

Faith Promise has become so wrapped in Fundamentalism, and such a part of church traditions, if supporters of it were not making it a mandate or doctrine of the local church, the fuss would be minimal.  But this is not the case!  

I am straining at this gnat because people have made this “gnat” doctrine!  And they are nothing more then works and ideas of men. They say they are not forcing any one to give, but they say things like “we don’t require you to practice it but all our members do it”.  It is the join or die mentality.  And this is why I choose to deal with such a dividing topic!

It has been chronicled in A.B. Simpson and the Pentecostal Movement:, by Charles W. Nienkirchen that A.B. Simpson, the man with the original idea of “faith promise giving” was a full blown Pentecostal, which explains the hold they have on the Christian Missionary Alliance today. He also largely emphasized world wide evangelism in his preaching.  

Because of his influence and is fund raising prowess, many Nazarene churches, Church of God churches and Pentecostal churches today use “faith promise giving” largely in their missions giving techniques as equally and as long as Baptist churches have.  We all use the same phrasing, handouts, teachings, Faith Promise cards, etc. So how Independent are we really?

"What do have you against modern missions brother!?"

I was mission minded once.  I guess it is all up to definition of terms.  It all seems like a big machine now.  Good men are trapped in it.  They know it.  But who cares at this late hour in the game? It’s all about a having a good testimony now among the brethren.  Who cares if the games has changed? Right?

Missions in general has many flawed aspects to it from the modern perspective.  But one of the most flawed position in modern missionaries and fundamentalism is where men feel they have to have some similitude to men of other centuries.  Many do what they do today in missions because of “ol’ timers” like Hudson and Carey all though they aren’t actually doing anything like them.  It makes them feel justifiable in their own orthodoxy.   The world was largely different then it is today.  Many of these men did nothing like we do today.  I mean in some cases, not one single thing! And don’t give me your typical retort back saying “God is the same today yesterday and forever!”

The way God moved with men in the time of the 1700-1920’s was not so much a testament to the men, but to the movement of the Holy Spirt of God with the world! Those men were still men and we do not follow their examples or creeds.  We have our own authority. We have a book as they did, and many of those forefathers of flesh we love to revel in so much were off the on areas the same way we can be off on areas.

I am fully aware that Christian missions and missionaries for nearly 200 years have been the most redemptive force on the face of the earth.  But our overall attitude of going abroad, to far away lands often times has become a Westernized, over saturating, reforming, Kingdom building movement. Not a movement for the expressed purpose of winning souls to Christ and emphasizing growth for converts.  In this movement, our own American traditions travel with us to these far away lands, making real conversion much harder to convey to indigenous people.  

"Hyper-Deputationalism"

I coined a word!  I think? You know those bad words or terms in Baptist societies and churches that are thrown around to label people; such words like, "Hyper-dispensationlaist" or "Double Inspired" and many more.  What these terms and phrases mean are really a matter of perspective, due to so many people defining them differently. Let it be stated as well, that such words are used as divisive and incendiary comments! Therefore, I have created Hyper-Deputationalism.

But c'mon, joking aside, lets not beat around the bush, for every 10 decent, honest, true, laboring missionaries you know that are on the foreign field doing their "service" to the Lord, there is 50 that never made it to their intended fields.  For every 10 ten that answered "the call", there are 50 that also answered, but could never reach their place of burden, or calling.  There are many reasons for this.  The economy would be one. Lack of support from Christians. Family hardships would be another.  Financial strains of selling houses and quitting jobs, etc.  But what about the processes and turmoil of gaining ones support that many call "Deputation", why does it seem to work for some, but not for others?

Deputation defined is simply "the act of appointing a person or body of people to represent or act on behalf of others." Money, is not involved in the definition, nor the gaining of funds for the representation of anything.  What you find among a lot of Christians, is many of our divisions are because of our definition of terms and phrases.

Ambassadors of Christ or Fishers of Men?

In 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, the apostle Paul says;

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Who would disagree with this passage.  A ministry of reconciliation was given to us?  We pray for people to be saved.  We pray for people to be reconciled to God. All Christians can have a ministry of reconciliation.  Now then we are ambassadors! We represent Christ as ambassadors, teaching that men SHOULD repent, not MAKING them, or forcing their hand.  We are not to call a man’s bluff so to speak, and get them to show their cards, to give ourselves an occasion of the flesh to show our lofty knowledge of the scriptures.

Does it matter that the Lord’s disciples were told to be fishers of men, but Paul was given a ministry of reconciliation, and treated it like ambassadorship.  Commercial fishermen, and ambassadors for nations are 2 entirely different trade crafts.  We should be mindful of the distinctions. We can learn some things from them.

The Lord told the disciples these things  about being fishers of men in Matthew 4:19. Mark 1:17.  However, we within the body of Christ, far removed from any apostolic age,   completely dissolved of any miraculous gifts, commissions, calls, or powers, we are to be more like ambassadors, who represent a King in a foreign world that is not our home.