The Spititual Rapist

With his six guns ablaze the revivalist crushes all in his wake.

I am angry today, but I think it might be righteous anger.

I have a friend whose son was the victim of spiritual abuse. This child believes the Gospel and has born fruit of that faith as only a child can do.

Like so many others the child has been faced with questions, the revivalist might call "doubt." Surely the boy has become aware of sin and questions how it is that a child of God can be so bad. So the spiritual rapist aims for the "kill" and tries to force the child to "nail it down!"

The questions pour forth from the pulpit and guilt is heaped upon guilt. "Are you sure that you are sure? Did you say that prayer with your whole heart? Do you remember the date and time? Have you been truly converted? Do you FEEL saved?" And the final blow, "If you died tonight, do you know where you would go? Heaven or HELL?!!"

The answer, according to the spiritual rapist, is a rapturous moment in time that a decision is made from the heart and the child "asks Jesus into his heart" and "makes" him Lord and Savior.

How far from Biblical salvation we have fallen.

How sad it is that we allow men to come into our evangelical churches and abuse our children and the weak. How sad it is that we have come to the place in the history of the Church that we think that preying on souls is considered true spirituality.

If you just believe enough. If you just get the formula correct. If you "place your faith" in Jesus. If you say it the right way, or have the correct experience. Nothing more than existential neo-gnosticism.

The invitation of Christ is not to walk an aisle and make a bunch of promises. His invitation is not to "true conversion" or being "born-again." How can a man decide to be born at all?

Is salvation an event? The historic Christian faith has been understood as more a picture of a journey or race rather than an event. We begin by faith and walk by faith; in the end we are saved if we continue in the faith.

The command of Christ is to believe and repent. The invitation of Christ is simply, "Come and follow me." It is not possible that man could believe without the gift of faith from God. It is not possible that my heart and mind could be changed or that I could be born again unless God creates a new creature. Our salvation is the work of God. We hear and believe, and it is by hearing that faith comes.

When our children or weak ones doubt, we should edify them by encouragement to continue to believe and obey Christ. As Bonhoeffer said, "Only those who believe can obey, and only those who obey can believe." Those who are truly spiritual should feed the hungry ones, and warn the ones in danger.

Enough of the spiritual abuse of our weak ones! May the shepherds of Christ's Church be good shepherds -- feed and guard the sheep.