I said that right, “Don’t Just Do Something - Stand There.” You see, the liberal church for years has said, “Let’s not squabble over the Bible and doctrine. Let’s just go out there, open our doors to every sin, every new theology, and preach the message of tolerance, relativism, and personal interpretation. Let’s just do something.”The bottom line is this; it doesn’t matter whether we go out there if we don’t have the message that saves. So, don’t just do something, stand there on the Bible. Stand there on the truth. Stand there on the gospel. Stand there on what the Bible says about Jesus. Believe that and then we’ll do something.
This spring and summer I have been teaching a series on cults and the occult. Rob, a member of the vestry at St. Andrews in Middleburgh, MA, shares my rabid interest in Apologetics. In one of our many email conversations, he sent me a scripture from Jude, a passage I hadn’t visited for awhile. Jude calls us to be lovingly contentious Christians; to stand with conviction about our faith, to care about truth, to believe in truth, and teach the truth. Why?
For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:4)
Jude is saying, ‘Here’s why I’m writing to you. There are people in your own congregation who have the name Christian, who say that their teaching is Christian, but they’re leading you astray. They’re teaching you false things. They’re teaching cheap grace and using it as an excuse to live a life of indifference and sin, and they’re denying the biblical historic Jesus Christ.’ Sound familiar? It certainly strikes a chord with most of us battle scarred Anglicans.
The new relativistic theology tells us that it doesn’t matter how you live as long as you’re sincere. It doesn’t matter what your life is like as long as you’re good and kind. It doesn’t matter what you believe about Jesus as long as it is relative to your expression of him.
A false teacher is a flip of the channel away, the opening of a book away, or as close as the nearest progressive congregation. False prophets and false teachers are everywhere. We need to be discerning because truth and good theology matters. What you don’t know can hurt you as false teaching can destroy souls and lives.
And so here’s Jude speaking to a group of Christians who lived in a pluralistic society, a relativistic culture that followed after many gods, many truths, many fashions, and many fads. And lo and behold, here we are 2,000 years later in a culture that’s very relativistic and pluralistic, following after many fads, many fashions, and many gods. Jude is saying to us again - care about the truth - cling to the truth - believe the truth. Be savvy enough about the truth that you can tell a false teacher from a faithful believer. Stick close to the Bible. Stick close to God’s word. Stick close to Jesus Christ. Don’t just do something, Stand There!!!
He’s saying all those things to us. And that word is just as fresh today as when he spoke it 2000 years ago. Thanks Rob, it’s been a while since I’ve looked at Jude, a simple message, with eternal consequences.
Be standing on the truth.
Bishop Ian
