When you come to church there is nothing wrong with getting some chicken and mashed potatoes, but you need some squash too because it's good for you. We need to hear the parts of the Word that we may not prefer because the Holy Spirit uses them to "meddle" in our lives. But if we don't get the truth in church, God help us, because we aren't going to get it in the world. The world can't digest healthy doctrine, and there are plenty of teachers out there ready to sugarcoat the truth, even in the name of God.
There will always be things in the Word of God that go against what we would like to believe, or what we have been taught. There may be something we want to do, and would do too, if it weren't for the Word standing there saying, "Thou shalt not." People with ears itching for what they want to hear and what agrees with their prejudices can always find a teacher willing to scratch the itch, to make the Word fit conveniently into their plans and their ideas.
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But the nature of truth is that it doesn't matter whether you agree or what you think. Truth doesn't change, so the church's job is to help people keep their ears turned toward the truth — which, by the way, will not only scratch the real itch inside but satisfy with solid spiritual nourishment.
Changing the analogy, the church's proclamation should hold up the mirror of God's Word to our faces so we can see what we really look like and make any adjustments necessary (see James 1:23-25). Let's make sure that we are holding up the Word of truth for all to see. "Preach the word" is God's charge to the church.
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From God's Glorious Church by Tony Evans. Moody Publishers. Copyright (c) 2003 by Tony Evans. Used by permission.
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Tony Evans is Senior Pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, TX, and President of The Urban Alternative.