March 9, 2022

During the days of the iron curtain, there were many stories of persecution against believers that came out of Russia, Romania, and other Soviet bloc countries. But the persecution was not evenly distributed. Some regions were more tolerant of evangelical Christians than others. After the curtain came down, I, along with many other pastors went to the former Soviet bloc countries in order to help train the pastors and those who aspired to be pastors. During one of my trips, I observed a discussion between a couple of young men on whether or not it was right for a local church in Russia to register with the government.

In my class there were those who thought that it was right to register with the government since it was the law. I should note that those who held this view tended to be from a region where the government did not persecute the church and did not see it as a threat. On the other hand, were those who thought it was wrong, since it was ceding control of the church to the government who would inevitably tell the church what it could or couldn’t believe or say. As you might guess, those who held this view tended to be from the regions where gospel churches were targeted for harassment and in some cases, persecution. These brothers had good reasons for their view. Both views had valid points and clearly one size did not fit all. Could they see that and give each other space with charity? Or, would this continue to be as divisive as it had been?

Of course, as the teacher, they wanted me to weigh in and say, which view was right. As a rather young pastor from America, who never experienced persecution, I was not about to get drawn into that one. And yet, there we were, a decade after the fall of the iron curtain, and believers were still taking up sides on an issue which was not a clear-cut case and fellowship between those churches tended to be strained or non-existent.

Put yourself in Kyiv, Ukraine. You have a wife and a 5-year-old daughter. Do you stay and defend your city? Do you stay and help the believers in your church? Do you stay and risk your wife and daughter being killed or other atrocities? Do you send them somewhere and stay to fight? Do you all leave? What if you have three children under the age of 7? Does that make a difference? Can you expect your wife to manage all of them alone? What if one of your kids has special needs? What if your wife has an illness? What if your family has friends in Moldova or Poland? What if you don’t have anybody? What would you do? What should you do? Well, it depends, doesn’t it? One size does not fit all.

Not every man can stay behind and defend the city. Those who do are certainly tempted to feel as if they are doing their part, and others are taking the easy road. This is not theoretical. One of the pastors in Ukraine left the country with his family. There are members of his church who feel like he is being a coward and have said that they could never let him preach again. I am writing this in the comforts of my office. There are no missiles landing around me, so I am not about to weigh in on what I think he should do. I do know that it is easy to draw lines where there should be flexibility, but when that happens, the result often is flexibility where there should be lines.

Many of us have watched American Christianity capitulate to the culture and be an echo-church instead of a lighthouse. We are frustrated over the failure of many to take a stand on clear biblical matters. In reaction to that, some are drawn to those personalities who take a stand on everything, whether it really matters or not and demand that everyone else stand with them. Belligerent believers or a spineless faith are not the only options. If you don’t stand for what matters, you will not have a faith. If you act as if everything is an ultimate issue, then you won’t have a faith either. Godliness demands truth, discernment, wisdom, humility, and charity. Truth without charity is a club that betrays the gospel. Charity without truth is shallow sentimentalism that denies the gospel.

Hold to the Scriptures with an ironclad grip! This will help you know how tightly to hold on to other views. It will also help you know how to hold tightly to those who don’t hold the same way you do on everything else. We guard the faith, in part, by guarding our hearts.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Sunday’s text: 1 Samuel 13:15-14:23 (Yea, it’s ambitious!)