CHAPLAIN’S PAGE – “FEED MY SHEEP”
“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because He said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto Him, Lord thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
This spake He, signifying by what death he should glorify God And when He had spoken this, He saith unto him, Follow me.”
(John 21:15-19)
THIS conversation between the risen Lord and Simon Peter has a special quality which is deeply moving.We can so easily identify with Simon Peter because Jesus asked him the same question three times. We too would have felt grieved if we had been in his place.
This great command uttered three times to ‘feed my sheep’ has echoed down through the centuries, not only to individuals who love the Lord, but also to the churches. How have they responded? You the reader can no doubt answer from your own knowledge of the churches in general. Incidentally, if you do attend a church which feeds the sheep with God’s Word, that is a great blessing. Sadly today, so many churches are feeding their congregations with watered down sermons which have little or no relevance to 21st century events.
There are many churches which are almost extinct, with no proper teaching, merely a formal religion which has become no more than a duty. On the other hand there are churches and gospel halls filled to overflowing. It would appear that the so called ‘love gospel’ is more popular than ever. Those who attend are happy and contented, and go away with a great sense of God’s love. Why should we question their happiness and joy?
Before we examine some of the reasons why the love gospel is so popular, and many other churches are struggling to survive, we should firstly look to see if there are any shortcomings. There are several in fact, but perhaps the matter of greatest concern is the fact that it ignores God’s many other attributes. This has had serious consequences for the nation.
The first and most dangerous is that it has lowered the defences of Christians.They have been swept away on a tide of emotion, and live on cloud nine. All that is
necessary is to wave their arms in the air, and repeat ‘God loves you’. A very noble thought, and if that was the way to bring the nation to its knees and repent, then
surely the Scriptures would be clear on the issue. Their fervour and sincerity are without question. The only effect that this mantra does have is to make the people
themselves feel good.
Jude made it quite clear what Christians must do in verse 3 of his epistle:
“Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints”
What does ‘earnestly contend’ mean? It means hard work and graft. In other words we do not sit around and shout ‘God loves you’ and then leave Him to sort out the mess that our nation is in. We must go about the Lord’s business which He has given us to do. It could mean getting our hands dirty and going the extra mile.
“And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain” – (Matthew 5:41)
To repeat every Sunday ‘God loves you’ and ‘love conquers all’ is not what the Lord intended us to do. Prayers and praise, however well meaning, is only acceptable to God if it is in accordance with his will. For example, to pray for world peace at this time, cannot be answered. How may we be so certain? Because to pray for peace is to cut across all the prophecies for this end time.
Some will say ‘those prophecies about world upheaval and God’s anger is all about Old Testament times.We prefer the gentle Jesus of the NewTestament’. Whilst it is true that there are very few mentions of God’s anger in the New Testament, it so happens that ‘anger’ is mostly translated as ‘wrath’ and there are over forty references.
Yet another point which is importarit is that those who proclaim the love gospel, maintain that God’s wrath or anger, was for the Old Testament era, and His love is for the New. If this is correct, then God has gone against His Word and contradicted Himself. The true nature of God is clearly expressed in Malachi 3:6
“For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed”
What a profound statement! It needs some thought to fully understand it. Many people fondly believe that God changes His plans throughout history; that He sees
some event on the earth, and decides that something needs to be done about it. In order to put things right, He pulls a few levers, rather likean old time railwayman
in his signal box. And so events get diverted, and the Lord wipes His brow in relief! Yes, many people do think this is how Godworks.We would call it management by crisis.When will Christians learn that the Creator’s Plan in every detail was complete before the foundations of the earth were laid. At no time has it been necessary for Him to change even the smallest detail.
The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New. If you believe that Jesus was always meek and mild, then read Matthew 23:17 to 33. Our responsibility as Bible believing Christians is awesome. Never forget that our Lord is not physically here at this time. Until He returns, we are His tongue, His arms, His hands and feet. Do we use all that He has given us to His glory? When it comes to the tongue, this is where so much damage is done. For example, if we speak without knowledge, we can dishonour the Lord. Some will say,
‘I would never speak about my faith to anyone, it is a private matter. I leave that to the Pastor, that’s his job’.
This attitude is quite common, for many do not seem to grasp the fact that all believers have a responsibility to share our faith with others. The purpose of corporate worship is not just to feed ourselves, but also to learn sound Biblical doctrine. Thus the Pastor himself must be well taught in order to instruct his flock.
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The question was asked above, why is the love gospel so popular today? There are several reasons, not least is the fact that to concentrate on God’s love to the exclusion of His many other attributes, acts as a catharsis upon the congregation. They become swayed by emotion rather than intellect. A correct balance between the two is much more healthy. By the end of a love gospel meeting, the congregation is on cloud nine, and endeavours to stay that way until their ‘top up’ the following Sunday. It acts as a drug, making them feel good about themselves. They have built a bubble between the world and themselves, and don’t want it pricked. This feeling is the basis of secular counselling. Christian counselling on the other hand is, or should be, a different concept.
Yet another reason for the popularity of the love gospel is because it is a religious ‘quick fix’. It seems that everything these days must be done in a hurry. This is why the shelves are packed with food that can be prepared and eaten in minutes. Many families eat their meals on a tray in front of the TV.
Remember James? “Eamestly contend for the faith” The only way this may be achieved to God’s glory is to study the scriptures for ourselves, hopefully guided by a Pastor who has himself been thoroughly instructed. If this is not possible there is a wealth of good (and bad!) material available these days.
Being a Christian is a ‘take your jacket off and roll up your sleeves’ job. This is what we must do if we are to have an effective ministry to God’s glory. §
