Pillars keep cracking. That’s a bad thing and a good thing. It’s a bad thing when pillars of the evangelical church deny the clarity of Scripture or deny the Gospel. It’s a good thing when we are reminded “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word which was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:24-25). My heart, like an old fishing boat, fills with questions like raging water in a storm. “Did he really mean that? Why would he write that? What precious truths are cast away to make room for this strange cargo?” Down goes the ship. My heart sinks. Why does this have to happen? How many times have I been dealt a blindside, cutback block by an author, preacher or teacher I leaned on? The whiplash and concussion leave my soul on the sidelines, wondering how in the world do I get back into the game? Have I preached a false Gospel for these last ten years? Have I been taught wrong? Has the faith which has been handed down to me failed in some way? The pillars keep cracking. The ceiling falls in. When the dust settles and the sky comes into view, I am reminded no matter how many pillars crack, the Light still shines. The Father has not failed to clearly, faithfully and accurately reveal the Son through the Spirit.
We’re coming up on the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. I have been reflecting on this spring of many blessings we now enjoy as true followers of Jesus Christ. One of those has been made all the more clear to me amidst recent controversy. Perhaps the most popular evangelical voice today has spoken against salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. He says that while justification is all of grace, salvation, indeed going to heaven is different. Fruit (works) are required. We enter heaven by faith + works. To avoid misunderstanding, he restates this position in a variety of ways. This has been published far and wide on the internet. Yet, this false gospel is not published to a people without the Scriptures. So when a homeschooling mother reads the post, she takes up the Word of God, and with all clarity, refutes the false teaching. Her response is ridiculed by those leaning on the cracked pillar. She is not educated enough. She had not read widely enough. But this is at the heart of the Reformation. The homeschooling mother, filled with the Holy Spirit, leaning on the clarity of the Scriptures powerfully refutes the admired leader in error. She may be ridiculed, but she is not burned at the stake. Luther and the other reformers risked their lives. Many lost their lives. Many of our brothers and sisters in Christ risk the same today. We should not fear calling a cracked pillar “unstable”. Let us hold fast to Christ and put no confidence in the flesh.
