By this time you should be
teachers. But in fact, you need someone to teach you all over again. You need
even the simple truths of God's word. You need milk, not solid food. Anyone who
lives on milk is still a baby. That person does not want to learn about living
a godly life. Solid food is for those who are grown up. They have trained
themselves with a lot of practice. They can tell the difference between good
and evil. So let us leave the simple teachings about Christ. Let us grow up as
believers. Let us not start all over again with the basic teachings. They
taught us that we need to turn away from doing things that lead to death. They
taught us that we must have faith in God. They taught us about different kinds
of baptism. They taught us about placing hands on people. They taught us that
people will rise from the dead. They taught us that God will judge everyone.
And they taught us that what he decides will last forever. If God permits, we
will go beyond those teachings and grow up.[1]
Paul, or whoever wrote the letter to the Hebrews,
challenged believers who were coasting along in spiritual infancy to grow up. The
author advocated spiritual independence, a state of maturity in which the
believer understood the difference between good and evil. Compare that to what
Churches considered spiritual maturity today. The letter suggested the
recipients should be teachers, not children needing to be taught the same
things over and over again. Spiritually speaking, a first century infant was
more advanced than mature Church members today. The primary task of leaders in
a Church is to grow the congregation numerically. People are not encouraged to
become spiritually independent, they are indoctrinated with the dogma of
whatever Church they attend. Very few Churches, if any, see their role as that
of encouraging spiritual maturity, so that believers can move away from that
congregation as free emissaries of Christ. If we look at God’s plan for a
family we see that at some point the guy will leave home and establish his own
family related to, but independent of his parents. Churches don’t operate that
way, they want keep everyone returning to the same building, same pew, and same
old… whatever. Because, it’s a numbers game; look how many people come to our
Church! Week after week the minister is expected to humour and entertain the
congregation. It’s his job to mollycoddle and pamper the congregation so they
will all keep turning up on Sunday morning.
When I was a kid, my buddy and I thought that if
we were in the Church building when the end came, we’d be safe. –We were kids,
about the spiritual age of those to whom the biblical author addressed his
rebuke, but we were just kids. Come to think about it, we didn’t hatch that
idea out of the air, it must have been communicated to us somehow. Not
directly, but more likely assumed from the constant emphasis on attendance. Where
do these bogus concepts come from? Few of the very important regulations found
in Church teaching actually come from scripture. In the Hebrew system most of
the regulations governed time not spent in meetings, or ceremonies back then. Men
in Israel were expected to attend three ceremonies a year; there was no
requirement for women to do so. That doesn’t sound very religious. Obedience to
God when Israel was his nation, had more to do with daily life than with public
ceremonies –the very opposite of what is taught today. A person’s spirituality
is judged on Church attendance. Jesus said his disciples were lights in the
world, presumably lights where light was needed, not a cluster of lights in a
decorative chandelier.
Many of us have spent a long time in a Church.
Much good has been accomplished through the system of Churches that may not
have been possible without the institution. The first missionaries to southern
Africa were from Britton, later there were missionaries from New Zealand, and
about that time missionaries arrived from USA. In later years it must have been
very confusing for the African people since there were many missionaries and about
as many different doctrines. Modern times are no different, Churches send
missionaries to foreign countries to teach people about Jesus –no, not Jesus,
but each Church’s particular brand and doctrine. The Church is more important
than Christ; truth is the possession of a Church –of course that is pure
nonsense!
Some, to be sure, are preaching
Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do
it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former
proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking
to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way,
whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will rejoice,[2]
Where is the spirit of
Christ, that each Church teaches its habits and traditions as truth, when it
was Jesus who was crucified and raised to life by the Father? Why isn’t his
name glorified? Why isn’t his love exemplified? Why instead are his goals
modified? Paul rejoiced because Christ was being preached. He stated his desire
and intent:
And when
I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of
wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing
among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.[3]
It is really sad that
Christianity is torn apart by Church traditions and trash. Jesus prayed for the
unity of believers and instructed his disciples that by their love for one
anther he would be seen as their leader. Who emerges as the leader of
Christianity when seen through the discord and animosity among Churches? Maturity
in Christ is being able to tell the difference between good and evil. Maturity
come from years of spiritual practice and life exercise. Spiritual maturity is not
the ability to argue points of doctrine. It is the ability, to know right from
wrong –the difference between good and evil.
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