Tag: imperfect

Resolving Conflict

Gary Pollard

Philippians 2.12 says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” What does Paul mean by this? He just used Jesus as an example of selflessness, positing him as the ultimate authority. He just told them that they needed to put others above self and correct several issues. So this verse is a warning — if they didn’t work out their problems, they would die spiritually. 

Resolving conflict is not just a good idea, it’s unequivocally necessary. Paul wanted Euodia and Syntyche to appreciate how dangerous their feud was for their spiritual health. They were to be so afraid of eternal consequences that they drop everything to fix the issue. 

2.14-16 has even more imperatives — do everything without complaining about it so you’ll be blameless in God’s eyes. That’s the second time he’s said this, the first was in his prayer in chapter 1. In 2.16, Paul reminds them of how much he invested in them and hopes that he hasn’t wasted his time. 

We’re all familiar with Philippians 3.1, “Rejoice in the lord.” This isn’t a generic, feel-good reminder. This is an imperative! They weren’t finding their purpose in God, so Paul had to demand that they make a change. 

Then he uses three more imperatives in a row — keep an eye out for people who try to undermine your faith. This might seem like a typical ADHD tangent for Paul, but this is where he uses himself as an example of sacrifice and selflessness again. 

This is the heart of confrontation: 3.12-16 — “I don’t mean that I’m exactly what God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal. But I continue trying to reach it and make it mine. That’s what Christ Jesus wants me to do. It is the reason he made me his. Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine because God has given me a higher calling through Jesus. All of us who have grown to be spiritually mature should think this way too. And if there is any of this that you don’t agree with, God will make it clear to you. But we should continue following the truth we already have.” 

The worst part about confrontation is that our own faults are at the front of our minds. Who are we to correct someone else’s imperfections when we have plenty of our own? Paul addresses that with this section. We’re never going to be perfect, but that shouldn’t keep us from trying. Our own imperfection also shouldn’t keep us from watching out for the spiritual health of our Christian family! 

The Plan Is Perfect, But The Church Isn’t

Tuesday’s Column: Dale Mail

Real cowboys from the American frontier, both the good guys and the bad guys, had no interest in the big, bulky Stetsons that everyone associates with them. Contrary to our more modern cowboys, the most popular headgear among 19th century gunslingers was the bowler, sometimes called a derby.

Many people have an idea in their minds of what the church looks like, but it just might be the case that the image doesn’t match scriptural teaching. 

The “church” in the Bible is a singular, unified group of God’s people spread out across the globe in the form of multiple likeminded congregations. Though the people are God’s— they’re still people. People have problems. The difference between His family and the world, though, is that there’s a solution and a hope for His own. 

When New Testament Christians claim that there’s one church they don’t mean there’s only one group of people who have all the answers and can do no wrong. They simply acknowledge the Biblical truth that God made plans for only one church and that plan had been in motion before the creation of the world (Eph. 3.10-11). 

The New Testament is largely made up of letters that were written to correct and admonish our natural human tendencies. When these things are left unchecked and unbridled they produce more pain and destruction, which can clearly be seen all around us. For most, the product of sin is self-evident but the power of the Savior isn’t— and that’s where the church comes in. The main function of the church is to seek, save, and keep the saved saved. This is done by walking, speaking, and acting like Jesus. The form and function of  His family is simple because God’s goal is to save as many as possible (Jn. 3.16-17). The New Testament church is meant to be the hands, feet, and mouth of God. The church is to work, walk, and speak only the things He would and that’s only possible if a group of people are living by His instruction. Since God only wrote one book, there’s only one manual. Since following the instructions will produce one church family then there’s only one church. In the same way you can assembly an entertainment system wrong by incorrectly following the plans, you can also assemble the church wrong. There’s a right way and there’s a wrong way and one needs only to reference His instructions to be certain. 

Dale Pollard

GET READY!

Neal Pollard

As one who can count on one hand the number of snow events experienced in childhood, I have lived the last decade in Colorado where snow is more ordinary than oddity. Even so, the meteorological chatter is much higher in advance of an anticipated big storm this weekend. Because almost all my adult life has been spent in either Virginia or Colorado, we have heard many warnings.  In both places, it has seemed as though the weather experts were akin the boy crying wolf.  At the same time, in both places, we have had some huge surprises measured in feet rather than inches.

Perhaps because of this, locals in both places have at times been jaded and skeptical at these fearsome forecasts.  Their facial expressions say, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”  Why not? I remember a time in Virginia when the forecast was a foot of snow, all metro county schools closed in anticipation, and the next pre-dawn morning revealed starry skies without even a cloud.  Man, even with sophisticated radar and computer models, are at the mercy of the complexities of weather put in motion millennia ago by an all-powerful Creator.

We should not make the mistake of thinking God is like man (Ps. 50:21; Ezek. 28:2).  When He speaks of things to come, it is not mere prognostication or educated guessing.  He declares the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10).  Thus, whatever He says is to come must not be dismissed.  It is a promise, as certain as His perfect character.

Throughout the New Testament, God is telling us to get ready for a day of judgment.  When writers say, “The Son of Man is going to come” (Mat. 16:27), “an hour is coming” (John 5:28-29), “all the nations will be gathered before Him” (Mat. 25:32), and the like, we should not expect a change in that forecast.  Just because it has not happened yet does not mean it will not come.  Peter warned of those who would say, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation” (2 Pet. 3:4).  Nonetheless, Scripture says, “Get ready!” We don’t know when, but we should not wonder if.