Through the Middle
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Through the Middle
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Benoni Bulletin-270507-"The Railroad Runs Through the Middle of the House"The Railroad Runs Through the Middle of the House
That old song, "The Railroad Runs Through the
Middle of the House" always evoked a smile or a chuckle. Only
pitiful engineers wouldn't be able to see a way around the house! A news
report some weeks ago told of a warring couple in Germany who obtained a
rather acrimonious divorce. The court order required that they divide
everything 50-50. The husband promptly secured a chain saw, hacked the
house in two, and hauled off his half. The report went on to say
that the wife was "none too pleased" with his solution. Though this was
no laughing matter, her reported reaction made me burst out
laughing. That was the understatement of the year! Her ex-husband is the
personification of vindictiveness. The Bible refers to people who are
implacable (2 Timothy 3:3 ASV) but he was beyond that. He was
malicious (Romans 1:28). The Bible says that folks who "practise
such things are worthy of death" (Romans 1:32). The ex-wife
would probably have enjoyed that judgment. She might even have gladly
agreed to be the executioner!!
As terrible as that incident sounds, religious people
have had no hesitation in treating God's house the same way. "The house
of God" is the "church of the Living God" (1 Timothy 3:15). A familiar
hymn written in 1864 recognizes man's insensitivity to the Lord's
house.
It declares, "her doctrines rent asunder by names and
creeds distressed." The church is the saved people of God
(Acts 2:47). The church is the "apple of God's eye." When Saul of
Tarsus, ignorantly and in good conscience, was decimating the church,
he was messing with the King of Kings. His encounter with Jesus on the
Road to Damascus (Acts 9:4-5, 1 Timothy 1:12-14) showed him how wrong
he had been all his life. He had been fighting the one who was sent out
to save him. He was like a drowning man resisting the Life Guard whose
only objective was to pull him to safety and security.
Men have often split the church without realizing the
dire consequences for the broken church and ultimately for the foolish
divider as well. When Paul shared the life-saving message with Sergius
Paulus (Acts 13:7), the Sorcerer Elymas Bar-Jesus, tried to subvert the
messenger and block the message. Some of the harshest condemnations
recorded in Holy Scripture are aimed at Bar-Jesus, "...You son of the
Devil, you enemy of all righteousness, when will you cease to pervert
the right ways of the Lord?" (Acts 9:10). Few preachers today would have
the courage to confront the obstructing sinner with such direct words.
Yet of those who will find themselves in the lake that burns with fire
and brimstone, cowards are listed first, Revelation 21:8. Our
first obligation is to preserve "purity of doctrine." When we share the
"waters of life" with a thirsty sinner, those waters should not be
polluted but should be as pure as the driven snow. A contaminated water
supply spells death. Believe me, I know. I have lived in Africa far too
many years not to see and to know that.
Also, let us preserve the unity of the church. Jesus
prophesied that he would build his one-and-only church (Matthew 16:18).
He even prayed that it might be ONE, so that the seeking world would
believe in him (John 17:21). Paul urged the Corinthian church to believe
and practise the same thing, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13. Never allow
the "railroad" of false teaching or hidden human agendas to run through
the middle of the house of God. It will just leave a religious social
club in its wake, not the soul-saving body that God intended it to be.
Remember: "a house divided against itself cannot stand"
(Matthew 12:25). Jesus said that! Let's love the church the same
way our Savior did. Love you all, Al -- The Horne of Africa
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