Heavenly Heartburn

Dr. Adrian Rogers once told the story of a young Indian prince who became the leader of his province while he was still a child. As this was during the time when India was a part of the British Empire, it was customary for such rulers to visit Queen Victoria and pay homage to her.

In an effort to impress her, he ignored the the counsel of his advisors and presented, as a gift to the Queen, a very large and precious diamond. This diamond was without question the most valuable item that was in his province.

Years went by and the prince became a man. Twenty years or so passed before he visited London again. The Queen’s counsellors told her that it was possible that this prince would request the return of the diamond. If he did so, protocol demanded that she oblige him.

Sure enough, as he received his audience with the Queen, he asked her if he could have the diamond. She commanded that the gem be returned to the prince. Upon receiving it, he turned to Her Majesty with the stone in hand and said, “Your Highness, when I gave this diamond to you, I was only a child. I did not understand the value of this gem and what it represented for the people I rule. Now that I am a man, I do realize the value of it and what it means. As a man, I now give you this stone again.”

Many of us have made commitments to God at earlier times in our lives. Perhaps at a revival, concert, youth camp or some other event, we made a “decision” for Christ that we might not have fully understood. Since that time we have come to a fuller awareness of exactly what was at stake. Maybe it is time that we renewed that commitment to God with the full knowledge of what we are doing, motivated by love for Him.

“He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”

It is with a burdened heart that I write this post. I am concerned about something that is occurring among Christian blogs even as I sit at my keyboard.

Over the past month or so I have observed and even participated in an ongoing discussion among evangelical bloggers. This conversation has primarily been among those who would identify themselves in alignment with Free Grace theology or a more centrist soteriological position. These are people that I believe are sincere in what they believe and I look at them as my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Debates among bloggers are certainly not unusual occurrences. Having often engaged in them myself, I find that they can be stimulating, challenging and generally enriching when conducted in a gracious spirit.

What concerns me in this particular situation, however, is the devolvement of the dialogue into a playground brawl. I have observed name-calling, childish attempts at deceit, intimidation tactics, taunting, false accusations and even people questioning one another’s salvation. Instead of getting better, the problems are escalating, even spilling over onto blogs that are not even a part of the discussion. Not everyone involved in the debate has stooped to such tactics, but many have.

I have watched as pastors, teachers, theologians, students, authors and lay-persons alike have sullied themselves in this fray and are doing so head-long with little regard to possible consequences.

Brothers and sisters, I implore you in the name of our Lord, let us put an end to this maliciousness. I am not asking anyone to compromise their beliefs, or even end the discussion. The truth of the gospel is always worth proclaiming, but let us do so in a Christ-like spirit.

Let us keep in mind that while we may consider this to be an intramural debate, this forum is visible before the whole world. We must remember that this is being observed by those who do not know our Lord. Do we honestly think that this will have the effect of drawing them to Him?

I am sure that each person involved is convinced of the rightness of their particular theological position. That is between them and the Lord. But nowhere does God ever give us license to treat each other with such acidic behavior, even if the other person is a “heretic”.

I do not write this to sound arrogant or judgemental. This is merely a plea from my heart to those who will hear it. Let us treat one another with the same grace that God has extended to us.