I grew up in San Antonio, Texas, the home of the Alamo. Of course the stories of Texas independence are a part of me. One story that stands out is about Colonel Travis taking his sword out and drawing a line in the sand. His commitment and his speech inspired all but one to cross that line and remain steadfast unto the death.
The problem with Christians is that we tend to draw lines also. We demand that others who are entitled to our fellowship adhere to our opinions by not crossing the lines that we have drawn. Like the line Colonel Travis drew, ours are drawn in sand. God, on the other hand, has drawn His line or lines in diamond, not sand.
Therefore, we must examine the Scriptures with an open attitude to learn what God has declared as non-negotiable when it comes to obedience to our Father and Lord.
There are myriads of people wearing the name "Christian." Yet, there are so many differences of what that means and how to obey God that the non-Christian world doesn't know which way to turn. All the hatred and arguing between groups even in the same fellowship has not helped. This has worked in Satan's favor, dimming the light of Christianity.
Those of us in the Churches of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Christian Churches, and other fundamental groups have as their heritage what is referred to as the Restoration Movement. The idea was to restore the practice of the church in the First Century, the time of the Apostles. We not only have the Book of Acts and the New Testament Epistles or letters, but we also have the correspondence of the disciples of the original Apostles.
The leaders of the movement began by focusing not on restoration, but on unity. Their call was to come together and follow only the Scriptures and lay aside all man-made creeds. The missionaries of the late 19th century worked with all different Christian fellowships. Even in the United States, pulpits were freely exchanged. But now lines have been drawn and discussion is not tolerated. Don't even talk about working together. Fellowship is not allowed because that signifies approval of beliefs.
I believe that God has requirements that are to be met and faithfully adhered to. I also believe that men have added to, changed, lessened, or removed God's requirements. In future blogs many things will be examined and hopefully openly discussed and studied.
Some of what will be discussed so that we can possibly learn where God has drawn lines will be:
Ed
The problem with Christians is that we tend to draw lines also. We demand that others who are entitled to our fellowship adhere to our opinions by not crossing the lines that we have drawn. Like the line Colonel Travis drew, ours are drawn in sand. God, on the other hand, has drawn His line or lines in diamond, not sand.
Therefore, we must examine the Scriptures with an open attitude to learn what God has declared as non-negotiable when it comes to obedience to our Father and Lord.
There are myriads of people wearing the name "Christian." Yet, there are so many differences of what that means and how to obey God that the non-Christian world doesn't know which way to turn. All the hatred and arguing between groups even in the same fellowship has not helped. This has worked in Satan's favor, dimming the light of Christianity.
Those of us in the Churches of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Christian Churches, and other fundamental groups have as their heritage what is referred to as the Restoration Movement. The idea was to restore the practice of the church in the First Century, the time of the Apostles. We not only have the Book of Acts and the New Testament Epistles or letters, but we also have the correspondence of the disciples of the original Apostles.
The leaders of the movement began by focusing not on restoration, but on unity. Their call was to come together and follow only the Scriptures and lay aside all man-made creeds. The missionaries of the late 19th century worked with all different Christian fellowships. Even in the United States, pulpits were freely exchanged. But now lines have been drawn and discussion is not tolerated. Don't even talk about working together. Fellowship is not allowed because that signifies approval of beliefs.
I believe that God has requirements that are to be met and faithfully adhered to. I also believe that men have added to, changed, lessened, or removed God's requirements. In future blogs many things will be examined and hopefully openly discussed and studied.
Some of what will be discussed so that we can possibly learn where God has drawn lines will be:
- The Trinity or Godhead
- The inspiration of the Scriptures
- Salvation
- Grace
- Works
- Fellowship
- The church
- Roles within the church
Ed