Comfort or the Cross? - Part 1

I remember as a kid at Lakeside (“Pink Building”) when the new auditorium was being built, the old pews were being traded for new, cushy chairs. One Sunday, a small portion of the new chairs had already arrived and the front pew was replaced by these new seats. Naturally, when it came time for worship no one was in these chairs because of their position at the front. As a fifth grade boy it was too tempting for me and my crew to pass up the allure of the new, more comfortable, seating. We sat down in the front row to test them out, and they were nice. When Brother James began to preach the talking among those of us on the front row started to grow in volume. During the middle the sermon, James abruptly stopped speaking, looked straight at us and simply said, “Boys.” One word was all it took for us to remain silent throughout the rest of the service. I did not turn around to check but I could feel my dad’s laser vision burning in the back of my head. As you can imagine, I received punishment for my actions in worship. I learned a lot that day about worship, and specifically, the importance of worship that is pleasing to God.

Over the years I have continued to learn from James. In fact, it was not a youth minister that inspired me to go into youth ministry, but a preacher with a strong biblical foundation. James has not been preaching at the same congregation for 20 years simply because he is easy to get along with. His longevity in the pulpit is attributed to the truth that he teaches. Truth unifies. This is a congregation that seeks truth and finds truth in the gospel of Christ and none other. Unfortunately when I was growing up at Lakeside there were several teachers and individuals that came and taught things that sounded true, but when compared to scripture, were not. This caused division and some fell away. Many who fell away because of false teachings were later restored to the truth while, sadly, some did not. It took me until late in my college years to find the true answers about teachings that I learned from some of these men in junior high and high school. I am thankful today for devout men like Quinn, Earl, Ken, and Wenzen who can teach our youth. Men who hold views that have been tested by scripture, therefore we know they teach truth.

When truth is understood by all, a congregation has unity. On the contrary, ideas that differ from the truth cause division on many levels. This is why as a congregation we must use truth to convert lost souls rather than with our crowd pleasing programs. Sound doctrine separates those who come to worship out of selfish motives from those who desire to be disciples. Look at what our Savior says in John chapter 6 when a crowd of people were following Jesus. “Jesus answered them and said, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled (John 6:26 NASB).’” Christ later goes on to talk about how He is the, “bread of life.” He claims that we need to, “eat of his flesh” and, “drink of his blood” to be saved. At this teaching he weeds out those who were there for the free meal and entertainment.

John’s account of the event continues with this:

Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who

can listen to it?” But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”

As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.

(John 6:60-66 NASB)

Jesus’ words are still true. The truth is hard! It separates those who desire self-pleasure through the church from those who want only to please God. We cannot assume that every person that hears the word is good soil, nor can we assume they are bad. We just have to preach the truth and see what happens with the seed. God causes the growth (1 Cor. 3:6). When congregations focus on growth rather than truth they find themselves full of individuals with many individual ideas. The good news is that truth unifies those who are made disciples of Christ and they have “all things in common” (Acts 2:44).

So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered

Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have

come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:67-69 NASB)

These men were not converted by entertainment or a meal but by the truth. Jesus let those who were offended by the truth go. It does not mean he did not love them just same. It does not even mean at a later point they could not return to follow Christ. Jesus however, does not use a façade that masks the truth. He knew that His words would be too hard for many to live by. Following Christ and worshiping him is not entertainment, nor is it easy, but it’s blood, sweat, and tears. It’s not comfy chairs but the cross!