Benefit of the Doubt - What's at Stake?

I'm still coming off the sadness of my grandma's funeral this week. My cousins sang a song she wrote called, "Jesus is Sounding Me Out." The song was written about a sermon my grandma heard about a tree cutter who could tell if the tree was good or not based on pounding it. My grandma's song began -"Jesus is sounding me out - What kind of tree will I be?" My grandma had played the song for Rebecca and me the last time we visited her. We actually wondered if that song would be part of the funeral.

I knew the service would be old school bad theology. When I left the cult several years ago, a pastor friend of mine told me the group would begin to change their terms and concepts to fit the things they were hearing from people who were leaving. Most of the congregations in the group that fellowships with my former cult haven't had the mass exodus that mine has. They haven't had the motivation to change words and concepts to fit into a new box. Rebecca and I anticipated hearing the old message without any of the newfound buzzwords. It lived up to our expectations.

Several years ago a member of the group asked if he could explain some of the things God had opened up to him. He told me about not sinning in this life and how it has to be done by the Spirit instead of by our own will. It wasn't new. It was the same perfection doctrine with a few new twists. It wasn't salvation by faith alone in Jesus. The group also believes a believer doesn't actually have the Spirit unless they've spoken in tongues, so faith alone isn't even on the map.

When I first left, I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt when they talked about change. I wanted it to be true so badly, that I'd believe them when they told me there had been new light shown on their old doctrine. I had several conversations where I would listen to them describe their new beliefs. Most of the time I would ask, "So, it hasn't really changed, right?" And they would usually admit it was no different. The hardest and longest conversation I had was with a man who kept trying to end the conversation by telling me we basically agreed. I was finished with the conversation four or five times before we actually ended, but everytime I had a chance to exit he would repeat what he had said and tell me we were in basic agreement. I rehashed why we weren't over and over again.

I've been thinking a lot about those conversations this week. I've been thinking about my reaction to discovering the true gospel and the freedom of God's grace. I immediately thought of people I needed to repent to for spreading my false gospel. I had an overwhelming sense of grief for the lies I had spread. There were no sublte changes or new lights shed on old beliefs. I had to renounce all I had believed and stand on the grace of Jesus. My foundation had to be exposed and obliterated, not reorganized.

The reason I cannot give them the benefit of the doubt when I hear about new lights and new words is because I love the people still there. I believe with all my heart the most loving thing I can do for those I long to see delivered is take a hard-lined stand. I heard a line a few years ago about Christians being against the world for the world. I feel the same call for those I love still in the bondage of false-religion.

What's a stake is the souls of people who have put their faith in another gospel which is no gospel at all. Pray with me for their salvation. Pray with me for their foundation to be destroyed so the Lord of love and grace can be their rock.

As I listened to my grandma's tree song I thought about the songs we sing about Jesus and trees at our church. We sing about a tree and a Savior being hung on that tree. He wasn't there proving my goodness or my love. He was keeping the covenant in my place. He is the God who saves, and that makes all the difference.