Seven Great Questions (Part 1 Satisfied or Edified?)

The enemy is not content to spoil the definition of the family; he wants to corrupt everything that God is working to establish. He militantly attacks our words and violently defends his redefinitions. He is a master at it. He can change terms so proficiently that anyone that reverts back to the former meanings is an idiot or a bigot. This is why Christians need to be students of their own history; all 2000 years of it. 

Popular culture has successfully taught the masses to shun and detest the past. We are infected with the “Chronological Snobbery” that C.S. Lewis warned us about. And it was no accident. Yes, Satan is behind it all. He is a liar and the father of it. So we can rightly expect that he is hard at work corrupting the meaning of words that have heretofore been plainly understood in the churches of God.

Seven Great Questions

There are seven great questions that the Saints must endeavor to answer rightly if Christianity is to survive the onslaught that threatens to breach its walls on a daily basis:  

What is Christianity?
What is Conviction?
What is Conversion?
What is Consecration?
What is Church?
What is Culture?
What is Compromise?

Unless we rightly answer the above questions we cannot understand God’s purposes in establishing the Church and therefore cannot possibly understand what it means to build that Church. Our definitions must be taken from the scriptures alone. We dare not invent our own religion with its own system of expression. We dare not assume that the enemy has not succeeded in infiltrating our understanding of these great topics. We must earnestly contend, not for the faith that was handed to us by the previous generation; but for the faith that was once delivered unto the Saints.  

Build Means Edify

When we talk about building up a believer or building up the body, what do we mean? We are speaking of two different things, really: the individual believer and the corporate Body of Christ. Perhaps we need to begin by stating again that ye (as an individual and as a Body) are God’s building. Ye is the old KJV English, but it points the finger directly at the individual. Point your finger at your chest and say “ye” are God’s building project. This is more than saying we are God’s unique possession, we are also the consequence of His working. It began when we drew us to Himself through the preaching of the Word and the accompanying Holy Ghost conviction. The essence of the initial call is to “come out” of the world and come into the Kingdom of God. In the Kingdom all of the objectives are different. This is why the ways of the world and the ways of the Kingdom are mutually exclusive. 

God’s Building

When God was ready to dwell among His people, He gave Moses explicit instructions on how His building (the wilderness Tabernacle) was to be built and how the service was to be conducted – down to the most minor of details. In fact, God anointed the craftsman to do the physical work. This means He have them the supernatural ability to accomplish the work. This was not haphazard. because this was God’s building and not man’s, there was no room for opinions about the details. God was very particular that His work be built according to His specifications. This is why we don’t read about folk adding to or taking from God’s blue prints. This approach was programmatic for the future. Paul told the churches, “Ye are God’s building.” 

When we lose sight of God’s purposes in building the Church, we are bound to introduce things into our lives and into the churches that do not edify us as the Saints. In other words, they do not build according to God’s will and purposes. Our contributions must come from God – they must originate in Heaven. Men are not to live by bread alone, but by every Word that is proceeding from the mouth of God. This is not a figure of speech, it is to be our motto. The world says “Your satisfaction guaranteed!” The Saints reply, “Not my will, but Thine be done!” 

This means we must endeavor to achieve our own edification and not our satisfaction. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. It was true for the Lord Jesus, and it is true for us. Our natural tendency is to seek the pleasant and the comfortable. The average person in America today lives a more plush and comfortable life than Solomon. He may have had five slaves to stroke his headache, but we can take two pills and it leave all together. We have no concept of how plush we live in contrast to the kings and even pharaohs of ancient history.    

Pleasing Ourselves

We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. (Romans 15:1-2)
 

What is Christianity?
What is Conviction?
What is Conversion?
What is Consecration?
What is Church?
What is Culture?
What is Compromise?