TRP Bandits Are the Worst! – Part 2
But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ [Philippians 3:7-8].
No one is born a Christian. Doesn’t matter who our parents are or if we are in church seventy-three times a week. No one is born a Christian. Every person must be born again to become a Christian.
In the natural realm after a person is born, he must then grow up. He must mature into an adult who can contribute to society. He must study and learn and gain experience and put it all together by practicing what he learns.
The spiritual realm has its counterpart to this. Every person who is born again must then grow up. We do so by eating hearty spiritual meals from the Word of God—from the whole counsel of God rather than picking and choosing what we like. We also grow strong spiritual muscles through prayer and Bible meditation while alone with the Lord Jesus. Then we put into practice what He teaches us, as the Holy Spirit gifts us and directs and empowers us.
One thing each and every Christian must do as a part of maturing spiritually is to prioritize what is important and what is not. In the natural realm my Tootsie Roll Pops were not important, as least not to anyone who matured a bit. There are also many spiritual TRPs which exist. The Christian must prioritize between what is a spiritual TRP and what is a spiritual principle.
Sometimes this is phrased in today’s parlance “major on the majors and not on the minors”. Alas, but the spiritual immaturity in many churches is prominently on display, when minor, insignificant points serve as a soapbox, while the weighty matters are left by the wayside. Such conditions usually are a sign that the lunatics are running the asylum! Beware the spiritual bedlamites!
Let’s list a few hills in the Body of Christ which are worth dying on:
• growing up in Christ
• discovering our spiritual gifts
• employing our spiritual gifts in the ministry assigned us by the Holy Spirit
• holding to the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible
• insisting on the Bible as the sole and final authority in all matters of faith and practice
• holding to the deity of Jesus Christ
• holding to the humanity of Jesus Christ
• holding to Jesus as being the only way of salvation
• holding to the necessity of being born again to get to heaven
• holding to the requirement that only born again folks can have church membership and hold church positions
This list is by no means exhaustive. It is given to open our eyes to the reality that there are some things on which we dare not compromise. Then again, on other things we should be prepared to compromise. Many of them are good. Others are quite helpful.
But in the end these other things don’t get anyone into heaven or keep them out of heaven. They are useful in helping us to understand the Lord and His Word better. Still, there is room for us to agree to disagree with regard to them, without compromising our salvation or witness for Christ.
Let us recognize this truth and demonstrate our spiritual maturity. Let us build up the Body of Christ, not tear it down by majoring on the minors. Paul abandoned all the things he once deemed essential and necessary, all for the sake of knowing Christ Jesus better and growing up in him. That is the essence of his words which we quoted at the start of this study.
We will do ourselves good to emulate this fine man of God on that point. After all, the Holy Spirit did inspire Paul to pen these words for our learning. That is reason enough for me to want to emulate the behavior. How about you?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
No one is born a Christian. Doesn’t matter who our parents are or if we are in church seventy-three times a week. No one is born a Christian. Every person must be born again to become a Christian.
In the natural realm after a person is born, he must then grow up. He must mature into an adult who can contribute to society. He must study and learn and gain experience and put it all together by practicing what he learns.
The spiritual realm has its counterpart to this. Every person who is born again must then grow up. We do so by eating hearty spiritual meals from the Word of God—from the whole counsel of God rather than picking and choosing what we like. We also grow strong spiritual muscles through prayer and Bible meditation while alone with the Lord Jesus. Then we put into practice what He teaches us, as the Holy Spirit gifts us and directs and empowers us.
One thing each and every Christian must do as a part of maturing spiritually is to prioritize what is important and what is not. In the natural realm my Tootsie Roll Pops were not important, as least not to anyone who matured a bit. There are also many spiritual TRPs which exist. The Christian must prioritize between what is a spiritual TRP and what is a spiritual principle.
Sometimes this is phrased in today’s parlance “major on the majors and not on the minors”. Alas, but the spiritual immaturity in many churches is prominently on display, when minor, insignificant points serve as a soapbox, while the weighty matters are left by the wayside. Such conditions usually are a sign that the lunatics are running the asylum! Beware the spiritual bedlamites!
Let’s list a few hills in the Body of Christ which are worth dying on:
• growing up in Christ
• discovering our spiritual gifts
• employing our spiritual gifts in the ministry assigned us by the Holy Spirit
• holding to the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible
• insisting on the Bible as the sole and final authority in all matters of faith and practice
• holding to the deity of Jesus Christ
• holding to the humanity of Jesus Christ
• holding to Jesus as being the only way of salvation
• holding to the necessity of being born again to get to heaven
• holding to the requirement that only born again folks can have church membership and hold church positions
This list is by no means exhaustive. It is given to open our eyes to the reality that there are some things on which we dare not compromise. Then again, on other things we should be prepared to compromise. Many of them are good. Others are quite helpful.
But in the end these other things don’t get anyone into heaven or keep them out of heaven. They are useful in helping us to understand the Lord and His Word better. Still, there is room for us to agree to disagree with regard to them, without compromising our salvation or witness for Christ.
Let us recognize this truth and demonstrate our spiritual maturity. Let us build up the Body of Christ, not tear it down by majoring on the minors. Paul abandoned all the things he once deemed essential and necessary, all for the sake of knowing Christ Jesus better and growing up in him. That is the essence of his words which we quoted at the start of this study.
We will do ourselves good to emulate this fine man of God on that point. After all, the Holy Spirit did inspire Paul to pen these words for our learning. That is reason enough for me to want to emulate the behavior. How about you?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
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