Firstly, my apologies for the delay in posting the last part on Elitism. So much has been happening that I completely forgot about it (see my other blog, The Grey Lady of Oystermouth). There is another topic - The Need to See, and the conclusion to the whole series to come, so I promise to post those more often. Here is the solution for Elitism.
The Bible teaches us that all Christians have the Spirit.
For we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body ... and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (1 Cor.12:13)
Indeed, it is the Spirit which lives in us which makes us Christians.
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you, and if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. (Rom.8:9)
The problem is that so many Christians do not know the overwhelming power of the Spirit manifest in their lives, and when they experience it, they feel as if they never had the Spirit before. Michael Green quotes from the Catholic writer Fr. Killian McDonnell, O.S.B.:
Hence, many prefer to use other expressions to describe what is happening in the charismatic renewal. Among other alternatives which have been proposed are: "release of the Spirit", "renewal of the sacraments of initiation", "actualisation of gifts already received in potentiality", and "a manifestation of baptism, whereby the hidden grace given in baptism breaks through into conscious experience". These are all ways of saying that the power of the Holy Spirit, given in Christian initiation, but hitherto unexperienced, becomes a matter of personal conscious experience.
(I Believe in the Holy Spirit, Michael Green, pp.176-7)
We should not be satisfied with a low level of spirituality, and should encourage all to allow God to release them into deeper experiences. We must ensure that Christian initiation is the full New Testament concept, including "the water and the Spirit" (John 3:5). But let us not divide the church and accuse others of not being Christians because they are not experiencing the fullness of what God has for them.
Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? (1 Cor.4:6b-7)
In the same way, Christians with different worship styles or dress codes must look beyond the superficial and welcome one another as brothers in Christ.
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! (1 Cor.10:12)
When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honour ... But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honoured in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 14:8-11)
Previous posts in this series:
Introduction
Legalism: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Magic Formulas: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Answers to Everything: The Truth,The Trap, The Solution
Scripture Twisting: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Superstition: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Elitism: The Truth, The Trap
Further posts to come in this series:
The Need to See: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Conclusion
Showing posts with label elitism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elitism. Show all posts
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Sunday, 2 August 2009
Blinded by the Light 18 Elitism - The Trap
There are only two kinds of people in the world: those who are saved and those who are not. This may seem a very obvious thing to say, but there is creeping into the church the idea that, to paraphrase George Orwell, "All Christians are equal, but some are more equal than others."
In some places people are frowned upon because they do not dress smartly to go to church. In others they are laughed at because they wear a suit and tie and everyone else is in jeans. In more formal churches, laughter or applause is considered inappropriate and disrespectful, and many are unhappy about demonstrative worship. On the other hand, those churches where people are demonstrative can be concerned about members who do not wave their hands or dance, but prefer to be quiet before God.
There is also elitism between congregations over these and other things. This is most marked in the area of the Holy Spirit. The charismatic movement has brought a reawakening of the life of the Spirit flowing in the lives of Christians and through their congregations. Faith has been deepened and become more dynamic. Theology is no longer theoretical. People believe that we can claim God's promises today, and are realising that receiving Christ includes receiving the Spirit and his power in order to come into the full riches of God's kingdom living.
Unfortunately this has resulted in an elitism between what are seen as the 'haves' and the 'have nots'.
Claiming to be superior and to have arrived, they are often cruelly condemning in their attitude to others and refuse to take advice from anyone who is not of their own type of spirituality. This often springs not from any particularly vicious spiritual pride, but from false teaching to which they have been introduced on the subject of initiation, seeing it as necessarily a two-stage affair; other Christians may have reached stage one, but they have, through a 'baptism in the Holy Spirit' attained ipso facto to stage two - a mountain ridge from which they are unable to descend whatever they do (for they are Spirit-filled folk; they have arrived), a mountain ridge which relieves them of any further necessity to go on climbing.
(I Believe In The Holy Spirit, Michael Green, p.264)
Previous posts in this series:
In some places people are frowned upon because they do not dress smartly to go to church. In others they are laughed at because they wear a suit and tie and everyone else is in jeans. In more formal churches, laughter or applause is considered inappropriate and disrespectful, and many are unhappy about demonstrative worship. On the other hand, those churches where people are demonstrative can be concerned about members who do not wave their hands or dance, but prefer to be quiet before God.
There is also elitism between congregations over these and other things. This is most marked in the area of the Holy Spirit. The charismatic movement has brought a reawakening of the life of the Spirit flowing in the lives of Christians and through their congregations. Faith has been deepened and become more dynamic. Theology is no longer theoretical. People believe that we can claim God's promises today, and are realising that receiving Christ includes receiving the Spirit and his power in order to come into the full riches of God's kingdom living.
Unfortunately this has resulted in an elitism between what are seen as the 'haves' and the 'have nots'.
Claiming to be superior and to have arrived, they are often cruelly condemning in their attitude to others and refuse to take advice from anyone who is not of their own type of spirituality. This often springs not from any particularly vicious spiritual pride, but from false teaching to which they have been introduced on the subject of initiation, seeing it as necessarily a two-stage affair; other Christians may have reached stage one, but they have, through a 'baptism in the Holy Spirit' attained ipso facto to stage two - a mountain ridge from which they are unable to descend whatever they do (for they are Spirit-filled folk; they have arrived), a mountain ridge which relieves them of any further necessity to go on climbing.
(I Believe In The Holy Spirit, Michael Green, p.264)
Previous posts in this series:
Introduction
Legalism: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Magic Formulas: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Answers to Everything: The Truth,The Trap, The Solution
Scripture Twisting: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Superstition: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Elitism: The Truth
Further posts to come in this series:
Elitism: The Solution
The Need to See: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Conclusion
Monday, 20 July 2009
Blinded by the Light 17 Elitism - The Truth
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal.3:26-28)
There is a great diversity in Christianity: different styles of worship, formal and less formal services, different emphases on the gifts and equipping of the Holy Spirit. In this we should rejoice. God does not require us all to fit into one mould. The famous passage in 1 Cor.12 reminds us that the body has many parts which all function differently and are all essential. We are all given the opportunity to find the place which God has for us: the congregation where we feel most comfortable and the work within that congregation that he wants us to fulfil.
Previous posts in this series:
There is a great diversity in Christianity: different styles of worship, formal and less formal services, different emphases on the gifts and equipping of the Holy Spirit. In this we should rejoice. God does not require us all to fit into one mould. The famous passage in 1 Cor.12 reminds us that the body has many parts which all function differently and are all essential. We are all given the opportunity to find the place which God has for us: the congregation where we feel most comfortable and the work within that congregation that he wants us to fulfil.
Previous posts in this series:
Introduction
Legalism: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Magic Formulas: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Answers to Everything: The Truth,The Trap, The Solution
Scripture Twisting: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Superstition: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Further posts to come in this series:
Elitism: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
The Need to See: The Truth, The Trap, The Solution
Conclusion
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