The Sin of Discerners

The Open Sin of the Discerners

There is a segment of the evangelical community that labels itself as “discernment”. Many would place me within that description. However, among the entire discernment community there remains a blatant and self protecting blind spot that is by any definition a sin. The discernment “ministry” majors on issues such as homosexuality, socialism, liberal politics, and a variety of Biblical falsehoods. There are many accurate perspectives that confront the Biblical issues that are being compromised and maligned by many false teachers. And in that discussion I am identified as a “discerner”.

But while we argue and harangue about such issues, there remains an open doctrinal wound about which the discerner camp is unwilling to face and address. While gay acceptance is confronted, and theological orthodoxy is embraced, there still is a blatant and conspicuous area of Biblical compromise and disobedience that is not only overlooked, but conveniently manipulated. It is the issue of money.

I Tim.6:9-11 - But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

The west has redefined the “love of money” so that it can avoid all sorts of greed and avarice. Churches by the thousands borrow money from the unbeliever without a thought about the interest going to finance the very institutions they preach against. And professing believers by the millions are in substantial debt to those same institutions. And yet they hold up the Bible and proudly proclaim they believe “every word”. But in fact, the church has been swallowed up by the culture.

The average western local assembly is filled with professing believers who spend more than is necessary and borrow more than they should. They drive cars that are above the transportation needs, and they live in homes that exceed their needs. And the church itself borrows great sums of money from the antichrist system of finances just to erect more brick and mortar because the present edifice has become inconvenient for the worship gathering. Inconvenience prevents western believers from authentic worship. Let us expand the chapter in I Timothy chapter 6.

I Tim.6:5-10 - Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Please tell me, when and where did we dilute those words and render them confined to cultural adaptation? And yet thousands of preachers who loudly proclaim their inerrancy credentials manipulate their meaning in order to make them palatable to the western, hedonistic culture. So I can own a 60 thousand dollar car as long as I am content with food and clothing? Who are we kidding? The church can BORROW thousands upon thousands of dollars to build a fellowship hall or a Sunday School facility or an athletic center as long as we are content with food and clothing? What kind of open lies are we selling?

Who can see what has happened to the church that happens to live in the western culture? We have made the Scriptures bow to the culture in order to accommodate our convenient lifestyles. And because the Scriptures teach otherwise, we must manipulate them and repackage them in order to make them congruent to our desires and conciliate them to the hedonistic culture. And in so doing, we have changed the very nature of Christianity and the definition of discipleship. We can accumlate great sums of retirement funds while millions starve. Hardly Scriptural.

And yet the discernment people refuse to turn the mirror upon themselves and upon the practices of the most “orthodox” churches among us. As long as our statements of faith are “orthodox” then we are immune to discernment? So our practices are immunized from Biblical discernment as long as our written theologies are congruent with historical orthodoxy? What kind of hypocrisy are we selling? So we have made the Trinity and the Virgin Birth and Sola Fide our doctrinal fort that protects us from orthopraxic scrutiny?

That, my friends, is a sophisticated form of hypocrisy that lends itself to a camouflaged form of self righteousness which shields us from the very Biblical scrutiny we apply to others. That is called hypocrisy. And in essence, that becomes a stumbling block to the revival we all need. It isn’t just the Rob Bell’s and the Rick Warren’s and the Joel Osteen’s that stand in the way of God’s Spirit. It is us, the “orthodox” crowd that wears its doctrinal tenants like so many phylacteries that once adorned the outward appearances of the Pharisees. In short, we require the spiritual proletariat to adhere to commandments which we ourselves refuse to obey.

And at the heart of it all is money. It is the love of money which usually causes church splits. It is usually the love of money which drives a church to borrow. It is usually money which causes a church to have financial difficulties. The New Testament is replete with verses that command us to abstain from the very financial habits we practice. But since the pastor and the elders seem to engage in those forbidden practices, the issue is unaddressed and even assimilated into doctrinal acceptance.

I do not speak as one who over the years has remained sinless in this area, but I do speak as one who has seen the Scriptural light as an elder in the faith. Sometimes the clearest vision is gained by someone who has transgressed that very issue. Just a cursory reading of the New Testament leads a casual reader to conclude that avoiding the entrapments of a hedonistic society is not only the path of Jesus, but it provides the salt and light which can sometimes elicit the question from unbelievers about the hope that is within us.

Sadly, that question is rarely asked in this modern day of spiritual compromise. The Scriptural mirror still confronts us. There are scores of Scriptures that painfully address and openly confront our financial practices, while there are few that even address the Trinity. And yet we eviscerate any diversion from the orthodox view of the Trinity, even among those who would still embrace the divinity of Christ. But we still ignore the blatant and agregious Scriptural compromises and practices within the "orthodox" community. So then, who is our God, Christ or the culture?

If we actually believe all the words of the New Testament, then we are confronted with divine words of practical indictment. And until we are will willing to painfully address them in personal application, then all things will remain the same since the father’s slept. But take solace in this fact. Our statements of faith are very orthodox, and Joel Osteen is liberal. We have discerned that. Sleep tightly tonight with that knowledge.