Sound familiar?

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The Mark

If you've spent much time on the Web, you've probably noticed that contentiousness, partisanship and "finger pointing" are the order of the day among Christians. Everyone has a complaint about some one or group of Christians, either of a personal nature or concerning a fine point of doctrine.

Arguing.
Gossiping.*
Name-calling.
Assigning bad motives to people.
Assaulting people's character.

Gossip: casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, usually derogatory in nature, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true.

Nowhere is this more evident than among the "Christian" Web's latest group of trendsetter's: those notorious bloggers. Everyone thinks they need a blog today, where they can wax-on eloquently about everything from religion to sports to politics. But all-too-often they are transformed into "mini-pulpits" to bash about their brothers and sisters in Christ over some matter or another. Or they are used to advance the cause of some faction or group that has seemingly replaced Jesus as the supreme object of affection and loyalty.

In my opinion the most dangerous place to be on the Web today is not on an internet pornography site but in one of the the countless chatrooms, blogs, or discussion boards -- published by "Christians" -- that breed hatred and contempt for others. Where such behavior cannot be suppressed and/or eliminated, it would be better to have the platform removed, lest it stumble ourselves and/or others. In fact, that is precisely why we took down our own Dialogue Box last year. Contrary to what I have read elsewhere, it was all the arguing that caused its untimely death.

Now this is all done, of course, in order to "contend for the faith" -- warning others about some danger that could easily "lead them astray." Like, using the TNIV Bible, or reading a book by an Open Theist or (God-forbid!) someone who is suggesting that perhaps the 17th-century "Westminster Divines" didn't get it exactly right in every single instance.

Now I do not want to set aside the need to be sound in our beliefs and practices. Our work over the years should make that abundantly clear. But I would suggest that this growing pattern of contentiousness, partisanship and "finger pointing" is destroying the body of Christ today. Why? Because it completely undermines what it means to be a Christian in the first place -- to be born of God, as the Apostle John calls it. And what is that?

To have fervent love among us, so that the word will know that we, in fact, belong to Jesus, who is The Christ, the Risen and exalted Lord over all.

As the late Francis Schaeffer wrote, it is our love -- not our theology -- that is the true sign (the "mark") that we have passed from death to life.

A new commandment I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
By this all men will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another.
| John 13:33-35|

Moreover, it is the God-appointed apologetic for the Christian faith:

We cannot expect the world to believe that the Father sent the Son, that Jesus' claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality of the love among us.

Selah.

Here is the true crisis among Christians in our day. A pattern of destruction is ruining our fellowships and grieving the Holy Spirit. And it's nothing new -- as Timothy George & John Woodbridge point out in their most recent book, The Mark of Jesus. We would do well to put the words of the Apostle Paul over our computer monitors, next to our phones, and at the top of every email we send:

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
| Ephesians 4:29-32|

So enough of the arguing. An "apologetic of destruction" -- devouring our "opponents" as if at war -- is incongruous with the true faith delivered once and for all to the saints. Theology is not an end in and of itself. And it will be utterly useless at the last day, when we all appear before the judge (see Matthew 25.)

Enough of the gossiping.Has some Christian wronged you? Then either deal with that Christian in the manner Our Lord prescribes (in Matthew 18) or "put a blanket of love over it" (see 1 Peter 4). Airing your dirty laundry only serves to bring shame to the name of Jesus -- as Paul makes abundantly clear to the Corinthians (see chapter 6.) It is self-serving, and we have been called to serve another, even Jesus.

Enough of the factionalism. There is no room among us for "carnal Christians" -- those who (consciously or unconsciously) replace loyalty to Christ alone with loyalty to their group, experience, tradition or confession of faith.

Are you "Reformed"? Then keep your "Reformed-ness" a very distant second to your primary identity as a member of Jesus' family -- the followers of the Risen Christ. Remember that the greatest time in history was the 1st century, not the 16th.

Are you "Charismatic"? Then keep your charismatic-ness at the same distance. Remember that the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the one that should cause us sheer excitement -- occurred at Pentacost, not Azusa Street, Toronto or somewhere else.

Are you an "emergent" Christian? Then view your "emergent-ness" within the broader context of God's Spirit working throughout the world in a variety of contexts, some of which may seem outdated to you.

We are called to follow Jesus, Our Risen Lord. And we are called to love one another in the same manner that he has loved us -- to "bear the mark of the Christian." There is NOTHING more important than that. For if we do not manifest that love, we are telling the world that Christianity is a huge fraud. Nothing could be more tragic.

What about you? Are you bearing the mark? If not, do what I have had to do countless times: pray that God will push everything else to the periphery of your life so that you can focus on this one area. If need be, formally apologize to those you might have stumbled through your behavior. And receive God's grace, remembering that only He is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy . . .

But above all things, love fervently.

Rob Schaffer