Friday, January 18, 2013

A Door of Opportunity



. . . a great door for effective work has opened to me,
and there are many who oppose me.
1 Corinthians 16:9

The Apostle Paul wrote those words to the Corinthian church that he established sometime after he arrived in Ephesus to work. He ended up staying longer in Ephesus than he did anywhere else in all his missionary journeys. It sounds like he was pretty excited about what God had in store for him. But it’s also a curious verse, mainly because of the last part, “and there are many who oppose me.” Is that supposed to be good, or bad?

Well, people, especially Christians, are fond of the old “door of opportunity” expression. I’ve heard lots of church folks say that a door has been opened to them – this door, that door. But I have never in my life heard anyone say it like Paul did.

Think about all the “doors of opportunity” Paul went through after he met Jesus. With most of those he passed through, he planted a new church. But the opposition got tougher as he went. As a matter of fact it became flat out life threatening. By the time he made it to Ephesus, he had passed through countless “doors of opportunity,” planted dozens of new churches along the way, and at times had to run for his life.

Now, what’s this about a “great door for effective work” that opened up to him? Well, I don’t exactly know for sure, but while he was in Ephesus, he and his disciples held discussion daily for two years so that “all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” If that ain’t a great door for effective work, I don’t know what is.

Who was against him? Oh, just the people that started a citywide riot against him in Ephesus – estimated population: 250,000 persons. They were angry because Paul had “convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia,” and it was killing their idol business.

So here’s the point of it all. It comes down to a question. Can there be “a great door for effective work” that is not accompanied by opposition? And I’m not talking about that crybaby opposition you’ll get just for being alive in this world. I’m talking about trouble.

I think there are a variety of doors that open up to believers. I think one taken most often is not one that the Lord has opened up to them. That door usually leads to greater comfort, personal success, prestige, money – worldliness.

I think the “great door for effective work” is at first sight, ugly. I think it is surrounded on both sides by trouble. I think there is nothing attractive about it – to the mind that loves things of this world. But the door is transparent to those who truly – and I mean truly – love the Lord, Jesus. They see the Lord’s will carried right on through to the other side. They see the trouble too. They also know the scorn they will endure for passing through. But it’s worth it. They pick up their cross, and follow their Lord . . . and they suffer for it. And he’s pleased with them.

Friday, January 11, 2013

-isms


“Ism’s, in my opinion, are not good. A person should not believe in an ‘ism,’
he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon: ‘I don't believe in Beatles.
I just believe in me.’ A good point there.”
~ Ferris Bueller

This comes from one of the greatest movie monologues of all time: the “How to Fake Out Parents and Avoid School” discourse from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Now, I don’t take much stock in anything John Lennon believed in, but I’ve always been in one accord with him and Ferris on their stance on isms. I’m not an ism guy.

First let me clarify something. I’m against a certain kind of isms, not words spelled with i-s-m. For example, prisms are nice. Once upon a time, I gave my wife one in the form of a diamond engagement ring. Schisms, well, maybe that’s not the best example, but I’m sure if you do your homework you’ll see that some good has come of them.

So what is an ism? Well, a definition might be best. Have a look.



***Actually, –ism (suffix) and ism (noun) are two different things. Feast your eyes.



The latter is the one that Bueller, Lennon, and me believe is not good, but I’m coming at it with a Christian worldview. Now you might say, “What about Calvinism or Arminianism? You must believe in one or the other if you are a good Christian.” My answer is this: Ism’s, in my opinion, are not good. A person should not believe in an ism. Before you burn me in effigy, hear me.

The Bible is the revelation of God to people, and a great deal of it requires that you have the Holy Spirit residing in you to understand it. That means anyone, given they are regenerated, can understand anything the Bible has to say by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. No degree necessary.

On the other hand, Christian isms are the constructs of men to simplify the Bible. They sum it up, and make things nice and neat. They are meant for good – to teach sound doctrine. But the unregenerate are capable of fully understanding these systems and arguing them until they are blue in the face every bit as much as a Christian is. It turns what God gave us into something man made. 

It’s like this: God gave us what we are supposed to know about him in a treasure chest called the Bible. It takes effort to get to know him. Then smart men simplified the treasure chest down into a basket – but they came up with different looking baskets. The problem is that you have believers looking in one basket or another for treasure, and that’s not what God intended. He gave us the treasure chest. I'll say it again. A person should not believe in an ism.

A person should believe THE WORD. No matter what this person or that person says, you don’t need an ism. You'll be just fine without an ism. Generally speaking, the -ists are usually the ones pushing their isms anyway. They will argue it will keep you from heresy. Hogwash. Heresy from believing the other guy's ism maybe. I’ll take the guidance of the Holy Spirit over an ism any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

To sum it up, isms, in my opinion, are not good. Leave the isms to the ists, and bury your nose in The Word. Let the Holy Spirit teach you. God gave you a treasure chest. Don’t settle for a basket.