Your church should be hated…BUT for the right reasons

“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets”  (Luke 6:26)

“Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.”  (1 Timothy 3:7)

These two verses are not in contradiction.  In fact they are meant to compliment one another.  A Luke 6:26 church (to the exclusion of 1 Timothy 3:7) is not healthy.  Neither is a 1 Timothy 3:7 church (to the exclusion of Luke 6:26) a healthy church. 

Some churches believe that being persecuted (no matter what reason) is the mark of a true church.  After all Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil”.  Westboro Baptist Church fits that bill.  So does this mean that they are “Blessed” according to Jesus?

Other churches believe that being thought of well by outsiders is the mark of a true church.  After all the world is watching us and we may be the only Jesus that some people ever see.  That means if they hate us then they also hate Jesus—and we certainly do not want them to hate Jesus.  This is why Paul wants the overseers to be thought of well by outsiders.  If they like the pastor then they probably will want to come to church.  But what do we do with what Jesus said in Luke 6:26?

Why did they love the false prophets?

In Luke 6:26 Jesus is contrasting the true prophets (Luke 6:22) that were hated, excluded, reviled, and spurned as evil.  Now after Christ true prophets are regarded in such a way “on account of Christ”.  But false prophets tell the people exactly what they want to hear. 

False prophets are described by Paul in 2 Timothy 4.  They are the ones that draw a crowd because they reject the truth and instead “teach to suit their own passions” and “wander off into myths”.  People will flock to a church that tells them everything they want to hear about themselves.

I’d be really cautious if everyone loved our church.  In fact I’d be a little wary if those that actively reject the gospel feel right at home in your church.  Jesus seems to be saying that true prophets will be hated, excluded, reviled, and spurned as evil.  And Paul said that godliness will be persecuted. 

So then it is good to have everyone hate you?

There is a little phrase that I have thus far left off of my quotation of Luke 6:26.  Yes, true prophets will be hated, excluded, reviled, and spurned as evil but they will be “on account of the Son of Man”. 

The folks at Westboro Baptist aren’t being persecuted because they are following Jesus.  They are being persecuted, reviled, hated, excluded, and spurned as evil because frankly they deserve it.  They are evil.  They twist Scripture to suit their own hateful impulses and they hide behind passages like this to make themselves think they are being persecuted for the sake of righteousness. 

This I believe is what Paul is saying in 1 Timothy 3.  An overseer (and I believe this would in many ways extend to the church as a whole) should be well thought of by outsiders; namely, they should not be able to rightly point a finger and say, “this man is a swindler, a liar, a cheat, a hatemonger, etc.” 

Conclusion:

I love what Ed Stetzer says, “The cross should be the only stumbling block any “outsider” would ever face when entering our churches.”  Of coure by “the cross” is a reference to Christ and everything upon which he stands.  And I believe Stetzer would agree that the cross should be so illuminated that those who hate Jesus also have a tendency towards hating those who are magnifying Christ. 

Your church should be hated…but only because of the offensiveness of Jesus (and our fidelity to Him), and not because you’re an idiot. 

One more thing to consider…

How to Filter Rubbish

The Internet is overflowing with garbage. I am not merely talking about all of the pornography and the ramblings of the idiot culture. I am talking about the Christian blogosphere. Just as it is in a Christian bookstore there is quite a bit of rubbish out there. I do not care to add to the collection. So, I have set up a filter for myself; I use it for blogging, for preaching, and for engaging in deeper conversations.

As I have mentioned in the past I have a quote in my office that is taken from Piper's Don't Waste Your Life; I use it as my mandate. "To so live and so study and so serve and so preach and so write that Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen God, be the only boast of this generation." That is great, but how can I determine whether or not I am writing to make Jesus the only boast or if I am simply adding to the heap of Internet rubbish? Simple, you use the Rubbish Filter 101...or as some people like to call it 1 Timothy 1. I use it to ask 7 sets of questions:

1. Does it promote speculation? Is it clearly related to Scripture or does it require a "secret" knowledge to find it in Scripture?
2. Does it accurately preserve the gospel and transmit the clear gospel? Is it faithful to the stewardship that God has given us?
3. Is it motivated out of love? Or is it pride, self-evaluation, revenge, self-righteousness, bitterness, discord, or unbelief?
4. Will it lead to vain discussion?
5. Is my motivation to promote the unity and purity of the Bride of Christ or my own name?
6. Does this come from a deep conviction and love for the Christ and His Gospel?
7. Will this doctrine exalt man to an undue place?

There you have it. Mark Dever has a few good questions he asks concerning what doctrines are essential (I would be indebted to anyone that could provide a link to that). Also Michael Patton considers the same question, here.