The Body of Christ is in turmoil. Too many folks are trying to find dirt and fault with too many others. Usual targets of the dirt hunters are the ones on the frontline of the fight, the television preachers and world wide ministries. Churches, too, come under the gun when pastors preach and take a moral stand against the current socially acceptable sins such as adultery and living together without marriage. Others are the ministries that speak out against certain things that seem to be all right with society but are not morally right according to the Bible, like abortion and gay marriages. The moment a person chooses to speak out on such subjects, someone comes along and wants to bash them. Worse, when a television preacher is very visible, they write books about him or her. The more popular, the more the hunters sling the arrows. They find as much fault and try to dig up as much dirt as they possibly can, even if they have to make it up to do so. What's going on here?
These folks who are so bound and determined to find something wrong are called Heretic Hunters. There are several extremely vocal ones. The job of such a person is to tear apart and find fault with as many ministries and preachers as they are able. They are self appointed "Truth Police." I located a number of pages online that were specifically set up to give you a rundown on all of the mistakes made and downright lies ( or socalled lies) that the preachers and ministries tell and do. It is the job of the heretic hunter to give the public "the Truth!" Books, tapes, radio shows, internet pages are all devoted to this subject. "Hey, that's great. Now I can find out what those money-sucking preachers are really up to, right?" You would think so, wouldn't you. But maybe not.
Perhaps the one question that no one asks is....should these people do this? Naturally, the preachers need to be held accountable but who is supposed to do that? Truth police? Dirt hunters? The neighbors? Who polices the Truth Police? Can we be certain that what the Heretic Hunters say is the truth? If someone were to go after the hunters, my guess is that their lives would not be any less full of lies and mistakes. In fact, there are times when the more dirt the hunter finds, the more dirt he has of his own that he hides. But even if he is squeeky clean, is it right for him to publish this dirt? Who holds the dirt police accountable? From what I can find, no one. They say what they want to about anyone. Very few people bother to do what I did, check on them to see if they are accurate. My finding is that they are taking much out of context and much more are totally made up lies.
This is painful and damaging to the Body of Christ. Is this what Jesus wanted us to be doing when He comes back? I doubt it very much.
John 13:34-35, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
How can you love your brother or sister if you are busy finding fault with them? If you think someone is preaching the wrong things, pray for them. Then there is this one small thing that seems to escape most peoples' notice. What if you are wrong and they are right? The heretic hunters don't seem to look at things that way. Are they walking in love? Are we walking in love if we listen to them regardless of their point or target. You know, there are some not-so-great ministries out there but there are some fabulous ones too. When God is in the ministry or church, if we are critical, we dishonor the Father by the comments. This ought not to be so.
Jesus said we need to love each other. Why not try that first. If someone is straying off the path, take a moment to pray. Give them the love of the Lord by talking to the Father. Then there is the fact that God has already said what He thinks of this practice of hunting dirt. This particular scripture does not come up very often. In fact, I have not seen this one talked about at all:
James 4:11-12, "Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?"
Who are you to judge another? That's what James is asking, isn't he? The dirt hunters are doing just that, are they not? One of the biggest problems in the Body of Christ today is that we have that incessant need to find dirt, find fault, barging ahead to, for heaven's sake, CORRECT that person! Find those who believe something we don't and slamdunk them. I have this to say to anyone who believes that only they know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. You are probably wrong, at least in part. Those heretic hunters who are certain that someone is transgressing the law, beware. Those who are critical of others, beware. You who are in need of correcting all those others that you know are so very wrong, beware. Who are you to judge another? (James 4:12)
Jesus says that He will come back for a church without spot or wrinkle. That does not mean that you are the one to iron out those wrinkles or wash out those spots unless the wrinkles and spots are in your own garments. Isn't it about time we started the process of loving one another (John 13:34, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.") instead of trying to find the dirt in the other guy's life? Don't you have enough dirt of your own to clean up?
Child of God, we are at a time in history that we can no longer afford to play these silly, damaging games of the world. It is a time of rejoicing, watching for our Savior to appear. He is to soon return. Shouldn't we be about our Father's business instead of looking at someone's fault? Shouldn't we be doing what He has called us to do? The very first thing we are called to do is love each other. The second thing is to be a witness. What kind of witness are you if all you know to do is find fault and correct someone else? Who do you believe then? The heretic hunters who are looking for dirt in anyone's life? Why not just keep your eyes on Jesus and believe Him, not just believe IN Him, believe HIM! You will never be the same again if you do that.
For anyone who has not already given their life to the Lord Jesus, I encourage you to consider it now. Yes, we Christians are flawed in our lives just like the world but we do have one thing that the world does not. We are born again children of the living God, royalty. He knew us before we were born of our mothers. Jesus, God's Son, died on the cross for us. When He died, He took our sins away. All we must do is ask Him to forgive us and come into our hearts. When we do that, He comes to live with us, changing us into what we were born to be, something we cannot accomplish on our own. Do you have a burning desire to know who you are? Accept Jesus. He will show you why you were born and it is glorious. But this is all a choice because He is a Gentleman. He would never push Himself on you. The world and the devil will push themselves on you. All those "you have to do's" come from the world. Jesus allows you to make the choices. Come to the Lord Jesus today. He is waiting for you right now. Life won't be perfect after that but you will be forgiven. You will become part of the family of God and Jesus will be your Brother. That's worth it all!
Click Here for more articles on Christian Living
back to the home page of Lura's Bookcase
Then perhaps you should Check out Freenet an anonymous peer to peer publishing system that is very resistant to censorship
For more Sermons, Teaching, Preaching, Bible Studies, and
general Christian Writings, Please visit the Front Page of Lura's Bookcase
and be sure to stop by A Peculiar Place
for more Bible Study, Teaching, and general Christian articles
Please be sure to visit our sponsors:
