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All or Nothing

There IS No Third Bucket

I attended a very large church in Post Falls, Idaho.  This past Easter, at all associated locations, we had north of 14,000 people attend services.  I don’t mind the crowds, since I do think the goal is to have Heaven be full but I have been forced to question what is being sacrificed to keep those numbers at peak performance.

In our church, there is a concept about Biblical doctrine.  Some things are “salvation” issues known as First Bucket matters.  There are also Second and Third Bucket topics.  I’m not sure what those are.  You’d have to ask one of our pastors.  I am more convinced than ever that the entire Word of God is to be studied, comprehended, and applied.  The minute we start relegating to the third bucket, or the dustbin, we’ve proven we can dismiss all of it.  But of what import is the Word of God, if we’re striving for big tent unity?  That seems to be a question our church leadership has already settled to their satisfaction.

Jesus never once needed to embrace bad theology in order to love people correctly. ~Israel Wayne

The following is from The Bible in Context:

You cannot just believe parts of the Bible and not others. You either believe all of it or none of it. God’s Word is not a buffet where you get to pick and choose.

Notice the “every word”, i.e all of it

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

The Israelite’s were commanded to eat all the Manna and not leave any. We know the manna is a “type” of Christ – our bread of life.
Moses said to them, “Let no man leave any of it until morning.” Exodus 16:19

See the parallel?

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
John 6:31-35

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: Luke 6:46-47

Doctrine absolutely matters. The doctrine you believe is the doctrine you will live out. Wrong doctrine leads to wrong practice and wrong belief. The first piece of the armor in Ephesians 6 is the Belt of Truth.

The Trinity: God is one “What” and three “Who’s” with each “Who” possessing all the attributes of Deity and personality.

The Person of Jesus Christ: Jesus is 100% God and 100% man for all eternity.

The Second Coming: Jesus Christ is coming bodily to earth to rule and judge.

Salvation: It is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

The Scripture: It is entirely inerrant and sufficient for all Christian life.

If what you believe differs from what the Word of God says, you are in error in your doctrine. There is no person alive today who does not hold to doctrines. They may pretend to be free of doctrine and just “feeling” their way around the world, but they hold to doctrines just as tightly as you and I do. They just don’t realized how much they have been deceived by the enemy, by others, and by allowing themselves to be deceived.

The sermon just yesterday was basically sound on the topic of giving grace to each other and topping the list of next steps “If you haven’t already, establish a regular routine of being in the Bible’.  The problem is, I’ve delved into the Bible more in the past year than in my entire preceding 65 years on this planet.  The more I absorb, the more I realize I’m not on the same road as my pastors.

Even yesterday, a point made in the sermon was the need to “give grace to God” when He doesn’t respond the way we want.  Well, it sounds kind of sweet, but I kept thinking it was simply a misstatement.  I comforted myself about the vast gulf of a mistaken understanding of the nature of God, Life, Eternity, the Universe, and Biblical inerrancy by excusing it as nerves on the part of the pastor.  Right up until the moment he said it again with even more force and clarity.

The Bible I’ve been reading speaks of Christians needing patient endurance amidst persecution.  It fails to mention extending loving forgiveness to a God who may just have gotten it wrong.

As we veer toward a crowd-pleasing, man-centered faith that puts us in the catbird seat of extending grace to God I realize my options are narrowing.

You might tell me, go to your pastor first, which I had not done prior to making my frustrations known on social media.  Our senior pastor called me and offered a meeting.  The meeting lasted two and a half hours.  I can tell you that the lead pastor is rock solid on doctrine but that the church is veering distinctly into dangerous territory.  Almost like the Titanic with a rudder that is strong but too limited for the size of the vessel.  So next step, speak to the pastor who appears to represent the Emerging church doctrine.  Check.    He’s been sought out, and people have been brushed off.  It’s being made all too clear that any verbalized concerns will be firmly put down with the advice, literally from the pulpit to “ZIP it!”  Another meeting is being requested following this most recent sermon.  

After being told we’re to avoid many topics that only start fights, I must rebut that we are attempting to “gently instruct those who oppose the truth”.   Perhaps, in this case, simply ignoring the truth is more accurate.  Failing to learn, present and uphold the truth is the most subtle form of opposition, though.  The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth should be the standard.

“If we can’t have unity and agreement upon The Truth, then we can’t have unity.  True Unity is in the unity of the Spirit of Truth.”  ~The Bible In Context

When we can decide which scripture is crucial and heap the rest of it in a pile of irrelevance, it might give us nothing left to fight over.  On the other hand, it might give us the most strenuous contest ever since many of us recognize that walking away from sound doctrine is deathly serious.  Forget the Third Bucket – it doesn’t even exist.