Church Hurt

 Three questions

1. What is the church?
2. What is church hurt?
3. What do I need to do now?

Before thinking about church hurt, we must think about the question...
what is the church?

The Bible uses images like the body (1 Corinthians 12:12 - 31), the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:22 - 24), and the family (1 Timothy 3:15).  Each of these images reference the importance of relationship.  Relationship with God and relationships with other believers. Ephesians 4:11 - 16 builds upon the reality of relationships as Paul writes about building one another up, "until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God," growing up together into Jesus Christ as a body grows. 

The following statement is on tbcgr.org, our church website.

The church was not designed for your entertainment and consumption.  It is meant for the glorification of God (worship of God) and the edification of believers (building one another up).

"A group of Christians who assemble as an earthly embassy of Christ's heavenly kingdom to affirm one another as his citizens through ordinances, to proclaim the good news and commands of Christ, to display God's own holiness, and love through a unified and diverse people in all the world, following the teaching and example of [godly] elders."  Rediscover the Church

Now that we have a better understanding of what the church is, let's look at the next question what is church hurt?  

Church hurt is "pain that happens in the context of spiritual community through pastors, leaders, members, systems, and even theology used and applied wrong."  As it is talked about today, church hurt could be anything from unmet expectations to physical abuse and everything in between.

There are at least two things that make church hurt especially hard.  

1. The church needs to be working glorifying God more and more and church hurt isn't church members glorifying God.
2. Deep personal relationships that are broken cause pain.  "The closer the relationship, the greater the potential not only for joy but also for sorrow."  Donald Miller, What if I've Been Hurt by My Church?

A difficult but important lesson to learn about growth is that it happens in the midst of pain and hurt.  God uses suffering and hard relationships to help us grow spiritually.

Often, but not always, church hurt is rooted in disillusionment. 

Someone begins attending a church to make friends, but it doesn't happen.
A person whom you trusted to do the right thing didn't do the right thing.
The church should be a safe place, and yet you read about, or even have experienced, physical or sexual abuse at a church.
And there are many other examples.

Final what do I need to do to fight against church hurt in my life and in the lives of others.

• Resist the temptation to turn disappointment into opportunities for sin.
• Prepare for inevitable hurt.
• Be sure to fight against bitterness and church hurt in your life.

In Praying with Paul D.A. Carson writes...

"There is no prayer for others more fundamental this:  that God might strengthen their hearts so that they will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father on the last day."

Such A Great Salvation

This post is not meant to be an exhaustive, complete explanation of the gospel. It is a presentation of what was discussed in the Fight for the Faith class I taught on April 26 and May 3 at Trinity Baptist Church.

What is being deconstructed?

Faith.  

In today's world, faith is often more about personal preference.  This is evidence in the use of the phrase "your truth."  
Biblical faith is rooted in facts that are believed and trusted.  It is true no matter what one believes or feels about it.  Your personal faith needs to match the faith in the Bible.

The two topics  

total depravity and election.  

Our discussion on these topics went through several big words before discussing these two terms.  These word are theology (proper), anthropology, aseity, and soteriology.

Theology (proper) answers the question "who is God?"  God is creator, sustainer, and holy.  There is so much more that can be included in this answer, but for our study, we will focus on these three descriptions.  Anthropology answers the question "who is man?"  Man is created, needy from the beginning, a sinner in need of a savior.

There are connections with these words.  Creator and created.  Sustainer and Needy.  Holy and Sinner.  We need to understand that man's identity depends on God.  God's being is independent of us.  This deals with the concept of God's aseity - His self-existence and independence.  This is a key part of aseity, but there is more than independence.  "God is independent because he is the fullness of life" (Samuel Parkinson, 4 Reasons to Love God's Aseity.  Here is a podcast that explains this doctrine a little more - The Forgotten Yet Foundational Doctrine of Aseity

So, God is the one who gives life, and man needs God.

Soteriology answers the question "what is salvation?" Salvation is the decisive work of God through Christ Jesus to bring the sinner from sin and death into a right relationship with God.  HERE is a "Look at the Book" video by John Piper on Ephesians 2:4-7 that explains the decisive work of God in salvation.  This leads us to two important terms that have been debated for centuries.

The first term is total depravity.  Total Depravity is often wrongly thought to mean committing the worst possible sins.  It does not mean men will take every opportunity to commit the worst possible sins.  It does mean man is totally incapable of saving himself in his own strength.  Ephesians 2:8, 9 states, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."   Total depravity impacts the will (John 8:34; Romans 7:14-24), the mind (1 Corinthians 1:21), emotions (Genesis 6:3), and behavior (Galatians 5:19-21).

The second term is election.  This doctrine is often broken down into two camps: Calvinists (named after John Calvin) and Arminians (named after Jacobus Arminius).  A basic definition of election I have read but cannot remember the source is that election is the act of God by which, in his sovereign pleasure, for his glory, by no merit of men, men and women are brought into a right relationship with God.  This challenging doctrine is a pride-crushing doctrine.  It shows us that God is the beginning, the end, and the everywhere in between, of the gospel.  Pastor Brett preached a sermon on Romans 8:29-31 that talks about this doctrine and more (Click HERE for the entire Romans series).

While there any many articles and sites that attempt to logically support or refute the doctrine of election, it is important to remember that the driving force of election, and all of life, is doxological - God's Glory.  Here are some verses that remind us of this truth.

"Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness."  Psalm 115:1   

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."  Matthew 5:16 

"for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God". Romans 3:23  

"So, whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."  1 Corinthians 10:31  

This doctrine is hard to believe because it is at the heart of man's sin problem.  If you remember our class discussion of Genesis 3, the serpent questions whether God is doing what is best for Adam and Eve.  

Here is a good quote to consider: "We must not think that God does a thing because it is good and right.  The thing is good and right because God does it."  (William Perkins). The creator owes nothing to the creature.  See Romans 9:19 - 21.

First Timothy 2:4 states that God "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth," and is a verse often used to refute the doctrine of election.  However, this verse shows the revealed will of God, who invites and commands every person to repent and believe. There is the hidden will of God that we cannot know - who is saved/elect.  Those who hold to free will belief often say that these two wills of God are not true and cannot be the case.  

Here is something to think about related to the free will debate.  If one is not a universalist (everyone will be saved), then why isn't everyone saved?   
Because there are two wills.  The revealed will of God - the command and the invite, and the will of man to be saved.  

Obviously, this post will not be the end of this debate, but I pray it helps each of us think more and more about God and His glory, specifically as it relates to our salvation. 

Some additional resources:

• Misunderstandings of the Doctrine of Election (excerpt from Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem, pp. 674-79)
• What is the Doctrine of Election?  (John MacArthur)
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