The Need for Balance I. Introduction A. One question often asked regarding "Christianity" is why all the various divisions exist 1. From whence did they come? 2. Why do they exist? 3. Is God the author of confusion? B. Many have perhaps lost their faith in Jesus Christ because of being dismayed at the various kinds of doctrines taught 1. People want unity, and understandably so 2. It is a good question to ask: why is there so much division and dissension? C. One could formulate many theories regarding such things, but I believe that one of the principal causes of division and dissension is a loss of balance 1. "Christianity" is a religion that has been plagued with reactionaries 2. One denomination will establish doctrines on one end of the spectrum, and a splinter group will be created that goes to the completely opposite end of the spectrum 3. As can be expected, the truth is somewhere in the middle D. Let us now spend some time examining historical incidents of imbalance and how we can do well by holding fast to the balance of the Scriptures II. A Note on Balance A. I want to make sure, before we begin, that everyone is clear about what I mean by "balance" B. We think of balance many times as perhaps a seesaw that is level with the fulcrum in the middle C. Biblical balance may not necessarily be right in the middle of two opposing ends; the balance may be closer to one end than another D. It is not sufficient, therefore, to take two ends of the spectrum, find the precisely middle ground, and say that such is the Biblical way; this is not true in the least in most circumstances! E. Nevertheless, either extreme is rarely Biblical F. Let us continue our examination with this in mind III. Historical Cases of Imbalance A. The first century: Judaizers, Christians, and Gnostics 1. Imbalance was present not long from the beginning 2. On one end, we have the "Judaizers" a. Christians who came out of Judaism and believed in adherence to Law of Moses b. Attempted to bind the Law of Moses upon the Gentiles c. Condemned for as much (Galatians 1:6-9) 3. On the other end, Gnostics a. early Gnostics seen in first century, condemned by Paul (Colossians 2:8) and John (2 John 1:8-10) b. Attempted to assimilate Christianity into Hellenistic philosophy c. denigrated YHWH as "inferior god" d. Marcion attempted to excise any and all Jewish influence from Christianity, including removal of OT and Gospels and Epistles written by the Apostles to the Jews 4. Both sides were extremely imbalanced a. Christianity was not to be Judaism with a fulfilled Messiah, but a new religion encompassing all peoples and which hearkened back to the days before the Law b. On the other hand, Christianity was not to be another exercise in Hellenistic philosophy and was always grounded in the understanding of the Old Testament c. Christianity required a balance between the foundation of the Old and the acceptance of all persons into Christ in the New 5. This same kind of imbalance present today a. Many, many denominations teach practices derived from the Old Testament and do not want to recognize the clear delineation of the two covenants b. likewise, many denominations have assimilated concepts of philosophy into their religion and have thus strayed from Christ 6. The Preacher was right in Ecclesiastes 1:9 B. Paganism and Christianity 1. An issue where the imbalance is one-sided 2. As Catholicism spread throughout the world, contact made with pagan cultures a. sometimes difficult to completely convert such persons b. they would still perform pagan ceremonies, include Christ in their pantheon of gods, and/or keep the same concepts of religion and simply change the name of their gods to Christ 3. Did Catholicism attempt to truly convert or did they merely assimilate and become more pagan? 4. The latter; many cherished traditions of Catholicism nothing less than pagan assimilation a. Many observances, such as Christmas and Easter, resemble pagan rituals of the winter solstice and spring equinox, respectively, than "Christian" observances b. Veneration of Mary more similar to mother-goddess worship of the pagans than Bible truth c. Even the governmental system of Roman Catholicism many ways modeled on previous Roman political systems, even maintaining the same language 5. In their attempt to evangelize the Catholics instead assimilated pagan beliefs into their religion to win over the pagans and departed from the faith 6. Let this serve as a warning to us (Romans 12:1-2, 1 John 2:15-17) C. The Reformation: Grace/Faith vs. Works 1. early 16th century: Roman Catholicism controls Europe a. had worked out an elaborate system of control b. RCC seen as the "mother church" wherein salvation dwelt c. salvation no longer seen as from Christ but through the church d. Christianity was synthesized to the fulfillment of a certain number of rituals within a certain timeframe e. rampant corruption: many taught that giving money would procure salvation 2. RCC's teachings came without much Christ and were merit-based 3. Luther and Calvin a. recognition from Scripture that salvation was by grace through faith b. yet they went too far and "ran past Jerusalem" c. in their opposition to the Roman Catholic synthesis, they established that grace and faith were from God and therefore there was absolutely no role for mankind in his own salvation d. a misunderstanding of Ephesians 2:8 4. The truth? a. Salvation comes by grace through faith, yes (Ephesians 2:8) b. but faith must be obedient faith (Romans 1:5) c. For faith to be obedient, it must have works of obedience (James 2:14-26) d. Does man have a role in his salvation? Yes! He must accept the grace of Christ in faith and be obedient e. Are works pre-eminent in our salvation? No! There would be no salvation if it were not for Christ's atoning blood 5. In the end, the RCC over-emphasized the role of the church in salvation and the position of works in salvation, but the Reformists under-emphasized the need for obedience 6. Protestant denominations are still jumping through hoops to justify themselves according to the myriad of Scriptures which speak about obedience and the penalty of condemnation for disobedience (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9, 2 Peter 2:20-22, Hebrews 3:10-12, Hebrews 6:4-6, Hebrews 10:28-32) 7. A good warning about being reactionary IV. Conclusions and Applications A. This is an extremely short list; many more imbalances could be added save the lack of time B. We can see from these situations, however, the forces behind imbalance C. Worldliness Entering Christianity 1. many times converts will bring baggage from their previous lives into their Christianity 2. Previous modes of thought are brought in 3. We are to not conform to the world, but be transformed in Christ! D. Action and Reaction 1. The doctrines of "Christianity" are plagued with actions and reactions 2. We see that a certain group will adhere to one set of beliefs, and in the desire to be separate from those beliefs another group will react and hold to the exact opposite set of beliefs 3. neither are necessarily correct! E. Are we immune from these problems? 1. Are the converts in our churches conforming themselves to Christ or do they still hold on to concepts of the world and/or denominations? 2. Do we who are perhaps older in the faith have the same problem? F. Are we guilty of being reactionary? 1. Many situations today in the Lord's body are due to action/reaction 2. Romans 14: since there are many who teach that one can have fellowship with anyone by the principles of Romans 14, many have reacted by declaring the principles either irrelevant today or constrict them in ways that Paul did not 3. The Holy Spirit: since the Pentecostals and the Charismatic movement have over-emphasized the Holy Spirit and minimize the Scriptures, many have reacting by undervaluing the Holy Spirit and consider it only the work of the Scriptures 4. MDR: since there are many who teach that God has allowed many to remarry when He has not done any such thing, there are some who now teach that God does not allow anyone to remarry, even if they divorced their spouse for porneia G. We can see that many of these doctrines are mere reactions to what others have taught and such persons can be guilty of "running past Jerusalem" H. Let us make sure that we are not conforming to the world or simply reacting to others V. Conclusion A. We have seen that the source of much error in "Christianity" is really from an imbalance B. People have not recognized the harmony of the Scriptures and have instead taken some practices from the world or have reacted to the doctrines of others C. We are called to not conform to the world but be transformed; our doctrines are not to be a reaction to others but simply what God has stated in the New Testament D. We must diligently seek to be the people of 2 Timothy 2:15 1. handle aright the word of truth 2. go neither to the left nor the right E. If you are living right now without Christ, your life is not in a holy balance F. One's life can only be in harmony and right with God by being obedient to Him G. Please allow us to help you as we stand and sing