Top 10 Christian Cop Outs!

Note: I would like to give credit to Pastor Brian Joines and his Sunday School class, this was more of a group effort!

The more spiritual your excuse is, the less people will question you!

10. I have spent enough time at that church; I don’t need to go back.
9. If I do that I will be robbing another Christian of the opportunity.
8. I don’t know enough about the Bible.
7. I don’t feel like God’s leading me that direction.
6. But that’s the only day I get to sleep-in.
5. The New Testament doesn’t actually say 10%.
4. One person in my family is sick so the whole family stayed home.
3. I witness by my actions.
2. I have practice, and besides I can worship God in the woods.
1. I’m praying about it.

Let a feeling of peace be your referee?

Often times Christains will give the counsel to let the peace be your referee, when making a difficult or important decision. I often hear Christians say things like, "I feel or don't feel peace about ___________." There are many very worldly/fleshly decisions that are masked under this "spiritual" counsel. In fact there are is at least one biblical example of someone who was totally at peace with rebellion against God's will. He followed the peace in his heart which lead him the complete opposite direction from God's will. This man is Jonah, he was given a direct biblical command to go to Nineveh, but what does he do? Jonah gets on a ship headed to Tarshish, the complete opposite direction. And the real kicker is that he is so at peace with his sin that he falls into a "deep sleep" in the middle of a rageing storm (Jonah 1:5-6).

I think it is often times normal for Christians to not feel peace about doing God's will. Dealing with the anxieties in our heart goes along with growth in the faith and is an important part of trusting in God's commands and principles. Do you think Jesus was at total peace when he was sweating blood in the Garden? The peace He felt did not come from a fleshly felt peace, it was peace in doing what was obedient to God the Father.

As a Pastor, I have had to church discipline at least three members all the way to the last step of Matthew 18, and I didn't always feel very peaceful about it. But I knew it was what God had commanded in Matthew 18. I remember two days before we had to remove a friend of mine from our fellowship, I was feeling anxious about the whole thing! But my wife's grandfather told me a story about his pastor doing church discipline, he said, "You have to be faithful to what God says, kick them out and God will send you three to replace the one." And you know the funny thing was in that business meeting we voted one out and in the same meeting voted three into our fellowship! Praise God!

The feeling I had during the whole thing felt more like a brick in my stomach, but doing what is right(that is what is biblically commanded) is usually not what is easy, at least at first! So don't trust the peace feelings in my heart or yours! Our hearts are desperately wicked and who can know them(Jeremiah 17:9)? If we follow them we will most likely end up like Jonah, in a dirty, fishy, smelly situation wishing we had done what God asked the first time! Because Jonah still did what God commanded, he did it with whale puke all over him.

Listen to the Still Small Voice?

According to Hebrews 1:1-2 the Bible says:

"1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe."

As a young believer, I would often hear Christians talk about hearing a "still small voice". This "voice" was telling all of these Christians what they need to do or don't need to do. The "voice" was the way that most decisions were made, and the only way to know God's will for sure. The concept for this comes from the Old Testament in 2 Kings where the Lord speaks to Elisha this way. It falls into one of several "various ways" God spoke to our ancestors before the time before Jesus came others were: a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-6), a talking donkey (Numbers 22), and a mysterious hand writing on a wall (Daniel 5). But I never heard anyone say they were waiting on or had heard an animal speak or a burning bush.

No there is a great misunderstanding of what it means to hear from God. You see from the point in time that the Book of Hebrews was written, Jesus had already completed his earthly ministry, died, was resurrected, and ascended to Heaven (Luke 1). You see God has revealed all that he wants his people to know in the Word of God. We are to live within the bounds of Biblical Commands and Biblical Principles. As Proverbs says, "Wisdom is calling out!" (Proverbs 1:20)

Let us not forget brothers and sisters that it is impossible for us to complete the joy of our Lord by "being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." -Philippians 2:2 We will never be of full accord and of one mind if we are all hearing a difference/conflicting still small voices! So this is not just an issue about misunderstanding how God speaks, but it has far reaches into the unity of the church. I think the truth is that many Christians are too lazy to read the Bible so they lack the knowledge and therefore the wisdom to make God glorifying decision. So may you be satisfied to know God has spoken once for all in the Bible, and may you rest in His Word!