“Any message that threatens our autonomy is automatically rejected no matter what it is.” (“A Slice of Infinity,” Ravi Zacharias, No. 1855, January 15, 2009)

A completely disturbing, but chillingly accurate, portrayal of 2009 American culture, even (especially?!) in the established church, Dr. Zacharias is responding to the themes of an old book by Carl Henry, a hero of the non-fundamentalist but still evangelical church, called The Christian Mindset in a Secular Society. These ideas aren’t new, of course, if you’ve read or heard committed Christians through the last couple of generations.

It even seems to me that if I had to name the single most destructive force for the “mainline” established church over the last 75 years, and especially these last 35 years of decline and now seemingly imminent death, that force would be summed up by this very point. We have baptized personal freedoms, rights and liberties and then cried “bigot” at anyone who dared to challenge us and call our living what it is: license. As a church, we have reflected the culture, which is actually proud to declare itself, in the words of a local radio station, “physically spent and morally bankrupt.” And still, there is just enough truth in the accusations of bigotry to make real conversations about how we ought to live as God’s people almost impossible.

So what’s my point? Well, really, my point is that seeking to live under God’s authority, holding the scriptures to be our ultimate authority (yes, even more than “experience”), forces me to conclude that God is more interested in who I am becoming than in who I used to be, and that my personal drives and desires are not meant to be the final word, in my behavior, my life, or my faith (Paul the apostle had something applicable to say about this in the Bible, I think, in 1 Corinthians 6, among other places). It does not help to resort to accusations like heresy or bigotry (depending on one’s point of view). The final word is meant to be life in Christ, placing our bodies and our drives and desires under the control of the Holy Spirit, and growing up into our rightful place as brothers and sisters in Christ’s body.

God looks at the life of the church, which seems to have been taken over by the politicians, and weeps. What God longs for is our transformation into the likeness of Christ—the challenging life that bears fruit for God’s kingdom. So—let’s all read Galatians 5 again, and place our conduct and our living on the path that bears the fruit of the Spirit, not the acts of the sinful nature. What’s the difference? Well, I close by looking at the lists again: “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

May God bless and guide each of us as we share life together by the power of the same Holy Spirit.

Michael