FAITH BUILT ON EMULATING CHRIST

It is sobering to know that our Christianity continues on an increasing evolution with different versions of beliefs and practices with much departure from the faith of those of our forerunners. This evolution has seen many differences in expressions of faith to a point of confusion for so many people who have not come to a grasp of what truly being a faithful follower of Christ is all about.

Picture Credit: churchplanting.com

Stating the obvious, it is as though within the movement, some people are proclaiming Christ as their servant as opposed to being His bond servants. For many, Christ  today is a problem fixer, a dispenser of blessings, destiny accomplisher, debt payer, disease healer, difference maker, match maker to mention but a few. And so it is as though those who keep their spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, giving and tithing, bible study and so forth are very important persons in the first class of Christ’s priority seats. Many have also embraced the glory of Christ minus the Cross of following Him. They have been given a faith that runs on the fuel of overnight prayers, prolonged dry fasting, sacrificial seed sowing and glued commitments to the teachings of their ‘spiritual father’. Whereas it may be an overstatement to generalize on this matter, it is still a persisting fact that many are building faiths on shaky foundations. A clear evidence for this shakiness is in the walk of faith of some in good and bad times especially in the times of testing and temptation. Close glance at the walk of faith of many people indicate desperate need for reforms and redemption, healing and restoration. It is not uncommon today to see believers living in complacency, tolerance to evil, syncretistic, always unashamed to trade positions for convenience as opposed to the glory of Christ their Lord.  

FAITH LADDERS ON THE WRONG WALLS

 

If I could put words to the pain in feeling confused and tossed to and fro by every wave of doctrines , it would be; ”Faith ladders on the wrong walls”. One man rises up and acclaims authenticity and valiancy prompted by a personal encounter with God and births a ministry in God’s name and off we go singing the praises of the latest ‘man of God’ in town. Another man rises with an even stronger tenacity and valor, more eloquent than the first, richer, more flamboyant and seemingly more powerful than the first and off we go again joining the band wagon praising the most latest ‘man of God’ in town. Even more so another man rises claiming a personal day to day buddie- buddie kind of relationship with the person of the glorified Christ, proclaiming prophetic fulfilments of uncontested records, and promising instant on record answers to prayers,  demon chasing and healing, giving the most accurate interpretations of dreams and visions, and even more so is the latest ‘version of Jesus Christ’ holding equal deity with him and off we go again praising the most mightiest, latest and most powerful prophet of God in the land.  Such is the sad reality of the times we live in when everything goes just because it works. Could this not be the most dangerous pandemic we all people need to protect ourselves from?

 What really makes this plight of false teaching, and the consequent misleading practices that ensue a worst kind of deception is the fact that we have been able to build a Bibleless and Cross-less Christianity that like a boundless river is sweeping millions in its path to a Christ-less eternity.  In the name of the dispensation of the Spirit, we have replaced Biblical qualities for qualification of servants of God with trendy, man-generated ones like; ‘Apostolic and prophetic anointing’, manifestation of spiritual experiences and power, proclaimer of accurate todate and frequent prophetic utterances, mega voice and cool accent, demon chaser among many other qualities perceived over time by the following crowd and sometimes to unhealthy interpretation and application of Scripture itself. The seemingly working ministries marked by prophecies, healings, riches, fame, and comfortable life and all in the name of displaying the glory of God are the very things that have become the means and essence of the belief and practices of such faithful followers.

"We have been able to build a Bibleless and Cross-less Christianity that like a boundless river is sweeping millions in its path to a Christ-less eternity"

 It is common in Ugandan Christianity today to hear the phrase; “the word is working”. A statement percieved to be founded on a belief or faith that leans towards manifestation of signs and wonders as evidence of the presence of God or authentic faith! So then the word must be a working one or otherwise, it is not God’s word. And so the proclaimer of the word must be one for whom the word is working wondous or otherwise he doesn't qualify.    I strongly, believe that, the questions to consider for beginning to resolve some of these matters may include but not limited to; what the Gospel is? Or what the finished work of Christ on the cross achieved on our behalf entails? Or what Christ’s death and resurrection means for God’s Kingdom and redemptive program for his world?  Or In the everyday experience of a Christian; how faithful handling of the Bible should affect our devotional life and the sermons we preach or listen to? Or how the Holy Spirit’s ultimate purpose and mission in affirming the work of the Lord Jesus can be evidenced in our beliefs and practices?  Or and how all these can and should conform to the authoritative word of God, the Scriptures, the only sword of the Spirit.

It is true we all hold the same Bible, claim to confess the same Christ. But how come we are arriving at different conclusions? Well, this is where the call to examine the ladder of faith we are climbing on becomes important  and more so the walls we are leaning the ladders on. Let's just day that by 'faith ladders' we mean our doctrinal beliefs and practices that shape our faith and by 'wrong walls' we mean the objects of our faith that our doctrinal premises are leaning on. Of all the challenges to believing as a Christian in our generation is the ‘nurturing of sign based faith’. This is the wrong ladder of faith millions are happily climbing. I have Christians in my experience who cannot tell what the gospel is all about or why they are Christians and sadly many are coming to the end of their lives without knowling their Saviour. But they follow miracle workers and powerful men of God for signs, healings and prosperity. They have been told to only come to Church with a ‘seed of faith gift’ which is usually some money given for the man of God to pray for them. Believe me I believe in healing miracles and asking for prayers from servants of God. But how many know that that alone has become the ladder of faith for millions of Christians.

"Of all the challenges to believing as a Christian in our generation is the ‘nurturing of sign based faith’. This is the wrong ladder of faith millions are happily climbing"

 How many know that many Christians today, go to Church because of desire to receive signs from God? How many know that many have turned the spiritual disciplines into means of arm twisting God to pursue their selfish gains? No wonder, the lack of fruits of true spiritual transformation in our lives or in our Churches and societies does not bother us anymore . No wonder, we are failing terribly in truly being  the light and salt of the earth as the Lord demanded  (Matthew 5:13-16). We have become like the disciples John wrote about in John 2:23-25, who after seeing the signs Jesus performed ‘believed’ but yet had deep seated unbelief. They had the wrong kind of belief; the kind that followed after miracles, signs, and wonders. The kind that was not ready to die to self on the Calvary road of living for God in this perverse world. The Kind the Lord Jesus would not surely entrust himself to because he knew exactly what lied in the hearts of them all. Like Nichodemus, a Pharisee eloquent with the Law  in the same context of this story  they all needed 'to be born again to be able to see the Kingdom of God’ since they are leaning on the wrong ladder of sign driven faith. (John 3:2-3). That same problem is what really is wrong with us even today. In the names of faith, we are seeking the wonders of God without submitting to the Word of God. We are reaping the fruits of Christ’s finished work without receiving first the eternal life that comes from spiritual rebirth authentic faith gives. As John Piper puts it; “We love the glory of Christ without, his Cross”. Where in at the cross is the symbol of suffering and shame, redemption and glory in a mysterious mixture that only causes us to glorify the living God our redeemer.

"In the names of faith, we are seeking the wonders of God without submitting to the Word of God"

We must ask then if some of us are honestly following ignorantly. Many of us by nurture have inherited beliefs and practices as has been handed over to us by those we believed to be climbing on the faith ladders leaning on the right walls.  I have a share of my own experience in this matter. I remembered sitting for hours  listening to a relative telling me stories of a powerful man of God in the city they visited for prayers,  who dispensed ‘holy water’ for sprinkling in seemingly enemy possessed areas in houses, cars and for smearing to effect the healing act of God in their physical bodies. Just you know, I speak as a believer in God’s supernatural healing and deliverance from demonic possessions and sicknesses. I am a firm believer in charismatic gifts and outworkings of the Holy Spirit in the present day to dayness of a believer.  But to relegate us Christians to a dependence syndrome on the men of God, let alone prescriptive faith in ‘elements of faith’ such as ‘holy water’ or ‘holy rice ‘or handkerchief  is but a total mess that needs redemption in the belief and practices of our Christianity today. Our doctrines and faith practices all need redemption if they are leaning on themselves without the redemptive work of Christ centered and climaxed by the true meaning of the Cross. The true gospel is enough and we should be bold and unashamed to standup for it, rest our faith on it and entrust our lives and eternity on it.

"Our doctrines and faith practices all need redemption if they are leaning on themselves without the redemptive work of Christ centered and climaxed by the true meaning of the Cross"

 The only thing greater than the gospel is the gospel itself because, the only good news that is truly good news is the good news of the gospel itself. Someone may already be asking at this point what the gospel is really all about? Let me just give us a snap shot of Romans 1:16-17 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.". From a text like this, you could answer the question this way that, the gospel is the power of God for salvation in which the rightousness of God is revealed in those who believe by faith in the finished work of Christ on  the Cross. God has offered a free gift of righteousness in Christ, by His powerful working in his death and ressurection and it is received by faith alone. This righteousness had to be received because we couldnot possess any. In Christ, the condemning power of sin has been canceled and God did this all to the praise of his glorious grace(Romans 5:6-8, 8:1-5). In Christ we have recieved from his fulness grace upon grace(John 1:16).  In fact Paul builds the entire book of Romans on this foundational understanding of the revealed righteousness of God received by grace. 

What then do we need to do to lean our faith ladders on the right wall of the one and only true gospel? 

 My call is first to us who are faithfully trying to know God through these experiences that have become our primary source of faith. May we examine ourselves to be certain that we have received of the spiritual rebirth that Christ offers all who truly believe before getting lost in the search of signs and wonders? May we stop working hard to fix the outward man which is bound to perish at the forfeit of our souls from the truest source of salvation (Mark 8:36, 2Corinthians 4:16). May we be certain that our faith is grounded on the Word of God in the Scriptures faithfully read, understood and taught because they are the surely trusted and inspired word of God (John 1:1-3, 2Timothy 3:16-17, Psalms 119:9-11,105, 138). May we as well also be conscious and guard against the Pharisaic reading of Scriptures that subtracts Christ from the equation of faith and emphasizes and exalts religion and tradition? (John 5:39). May we come to the true realization of the Holy Spirit's availability in us from the very time of our spiritual rebirth todate so that we may not be deceaved in the names of another supernatural experinece before the Spirit becoming operational in our lives (Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19-20, 2Timothy 1:14) 

"The only thing greater than the gospel is the gospel itself because, the only good news that is truly good news is the good news of the gospel itself"

Seondly, however this issue is not sorted until we deal with the sources of these beliefs and practices which I believe is rooted in the teachings  of leaders who as servants of God needs to take note on this matter seriously. I am not all out to blow smoke on our calling but to stir us up to wholesome thinking (2Peter 3:1-3). My plea to us who are called by God to shepherd his flock is the need to revisit our practices and beliefs and examine the fruits in the faith and practices of our followers. May we exalt to its rightful place the authoritative word of God, the Bible and honor its first place in informing our beliefs and practices and this by emphasizing the Bibles’ necessity for everyday life of faith in Christ. We need to embrace a sound balance between the sovereignty of God in all matters and the wisdom needed to discern the Holy Spirit’s guidance in all matters. Especially when ministering to peoples’ physical and spiritual needs otherwise, we will continue to see an increasingly sign based believers who as far as Jesus is concerned need to be born gain. May we be champions of the faith that aims at the spiritual rebirth Christ offers to all who come to him by faith as it profits in the free gift of righteousness, the power of God for victorious living in this life and in eternal security and salvation in the life to come. Paul’s warning to Corinthians was simple “Be careful if you think you are standing firm” (1Corinthians 10:12). I would conclusively challenge us to be careful to examine our doctrinal stands and teachings since they hold dear place in the beliefs and practices of those daring to follow Christ through our ministries.  

"We need to embrace a sound balance between the sovereignty of God in all matters and the wisdom needed to discern the Holy Spirit’s guidance in all matters"

How bad will it be for us and millions following in our footsteps, if the ladders of faith we are zealously climbing are but leaning against the wrong walls?  How bad will it be to invest ourselves ignorantly in a cause only to realize they are a spiritual detriment in the waiting? To this plea I write to all my friends and family and to you who desire a biblical faith and ministry. Let us examine the leanings of our ladders!!

Nyakuni Solomon
A student of Bachelors of Theology in Pastoral Ministry