Discipleship Letters 45-46

Discipleship Letter 45                                                June 07, 2009

One of the challenges that we face today as a church is hypocrisy. “Our lives don’t match our beliefs. In many ways, our lifestyles and perspectives are no different from those of anyone around us.” [David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, Unchristian (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008), p.46.]

One of the reasons why people turn away from Christianity is that there are many Christians whose beliefs and lifestyles don’t match. “You may be saying, ‘What terrible people you have been talking about!’ But you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you do these very same things” (Rom. 2:1, NLT).

We tell people not to do certain things; however, we do the exact same things. Lifestyle is the key word for the Christian message. We can know the Bible inside-out. We can have profound insights about life. We can sound religious and passionate in some occasions. But our lifestyles expose our true spirituality. People see us just as the way we see them. Stop being hypocritical is to be more aware of our own lifestyles—what we truly believe and how we live. We live in certain ways that don’t match what we should believe. Yet our lifestyles often match what we want to believe. This makes Christian faith unchristian.

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Discipleship Letter 46                                                June 14, 2009

“Because of God’s special favor to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful” (1 Cor. 3:10, NLT).

Each church member is called to build on this foundation—Jesus Christ. Whoever is called to build the church must build with maturity, purity, spiritual sensitivity, and sound doctrine. Each of us should build it with care. If we overlook the above criteria, we are careless. In ministry, why do we participate? We want to build his church. How do we build his church? By momentary enthusiasm? By strength? By human wisdom? “It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty” (Zech. 4:6, NLT).

The Corinthians thought that they were mature, and filled with wisdom. But Paul said, “I couldn’t talk to you as I would to mature Christians…you were infants in the Christian life. I had to feed you with milk and not with solid food, because you couldn’t handle anything stronger, for you are still controlled by your own sinful desires. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other…You are acting like people who don’t belong to the Lord” (1 Cor. 3:1-3, NLT). The Corinthians failed to build his church with care.