Hebrews 5 - Spiritual Growth and Accountability

God does judge people and nations of this world based on their morality.  But God also speaks grace (Jeremiah 49:39).  Our God of Grace is also God of Justice.  God does not bear the sword in vain (Romans 13:1-14).

Jesus is gentle and full of patience and mercy with us.  As children of God we are not to take God’s grace for granted - we are to take accountability, pray earnestly, and walk above reproach because of our deep reverence for our Holy God.

Oh, what a shame to hear church leaders who make excuses for immoral behavior who ignore injustice, and who put up false fronts of religiosity when it is plain to see that their motives are greed and power.  I’m burdened when I see that in the church.  God doesn’t miss any of it - the pitiful and unfruitful plight of hypocrisy.

We don’t have high priests today, at least we shouldn’t!  Instead, we have Jesus Christ.  “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

        As protestant evangelicals, we can find ourselves pointing out the speck in Catholic or Eastern Orthodox eyes because of the Pope and the priests (and rightly so to a degree).  But have you ever seen celebrity strong men, dictators, totalitarian so-called infallible leaders in the evangelical sphere?  God has highlighted and shamed leaders who follow greed and power throughout Scripture.  It is an enduring principle - if you lie and put up false justifications God will deal with you.

        So many churches today are completely controlled by one man and perhaps his family.  They claim they alone are called and have the power and authority to deal with people in their relationships with God.  They make themselves high priests.  What a disgrace.

What a sham.  Does your local church have meetings to deal with issues as the Book of Acts shows we must?  Does the Pastor/CEO decide every plan, objective, budget, and proceeding of your community?  Do you hear not-so-subtle messages that he is the anointed one?  He is not first among equals, he is simply anointed high priest.  Such governance structures are not biblical.  Psalm 101 calls us to expose such wicked behavior.

        Hebrews 5 makes plain that such dictators spew nonsense.  What they are doing is not Christian.  Jesus alone is our High Priest.  Jesus was called by God and He is rightly honored by God.  He never dreamed of usurping authority.  Instead, He came humbly into this world to die - for us!  Jesus is the perfect High Priest.  The archetype.  He is the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him (5:9).

Let us do away with the false fronts, the spin, and the lies.  Please just stop.  We need not dictators nor celebrity high priests.  We need accountability in the church.  Start with ourselves, for we can be accountable for ourselves today.  Each of us is responsible to our Good and gracious God.  We must go to Him - directly - without the totalitarian, without the local mob boss, we have direct access to the King.

I pray that God is merciful to His church today.  Bring us good leaders, Dear God.  Men who do not lie.  May we please receive Your mercy and grace today for we need it.  Amen.

Walking Arlington - even the judges have a Judge!