Today's Devotional

 

April 29, 2008

                                                                                         

Subject:  God Defends His Church, We Defend The Gospel 

Ephesians 5:23  "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body."

Philippians 1:17  "But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel."

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The Reverend Jeremiah Wright was at it again yesterday.  Espousing more black worship and black church dialogue.  Of course that grates my ears every time I hear it; like nails on a chalk board.  This time he made the point that he had to come out and defend the "black church" because people were not simply attacking him, but they were attacking the "black church."  I think that what's clear here is that Mr Wright is wrong.  Scripture says that the world will in fact persecute the church.  He never says that we have to defend the church, but instead, we should be set for the defense of the gospel.  Those are two different things.  

To defend the gospel means to keep God's gospel holy and righteous and to convey it truthfully.  I don't see a gospel in scripture that excludes people based on color and identifies "the church" based on color or ethnicity.  Those walls were clearly broken down by Christ Himself.  The message of Christ we defend by keeping it "the message of Christ" and not some adulterated version that boils it down to my ethnic group.  

Mr Wright is expending a tremendous amount of energy to explain to the country "the black worship experience" and finally admitting to all, "you don't understand it."  I think I understand it.  It's the experience where we worship because we all look alike and we tell others that they could never worship like us because they look different.  That is the "church" that Jeremiah Wright defends, but it is not the one of which Christ is the head.  

Today Jesus defends His church and is the savior of it.  We work to defend the gospel message as we live it out in truth.  Do you belong to His church or some other?    

Carlen