The Faith Buffet

Events of the last few weeks have impressed on me a phenomenon I believe is at the heart of most of the differences within the body of Christ related to these events and issues (terrorism, police shootings, mass killings, flags, homosexual marriage to name a few). It is something I call the “Faith Buffet”.

A buffet is a an offering of various (and many) foods with the expectation we will pick and choose what we want, take it, and leave the rest. The faith buffet is when a denomination, a congregation or an individual Christian sees the teachings of the Word as a buffet—filled with various things we can peruse, choose what we want to, and leave the rest.

This phenomenon isn’t owned by people on the left or the right (I have often said if a Christian is on the left wing or right wing of worldly issues, he is on the wrong plane). It seems to be equally present, regardless of philosophical bent—worldly philosophical bent that is.

In the end, it is a simple question of our view of scripture: Is the Bible—all of it–authoritative in our life? I say yes. (Some will object that the Bible has to be studied and interpreted. I agree. But the problems I see among Christians today with reference to the world around us are not brought about because of different results of study and interpretation—but by a lack of study and an unwillingness to consider the possibility that God might disagree with me or you.) And if we say yes, then we have to get rid of the faith buffet, and realize that we either accept the truth of the Word or we don’t—yes, all or nothing.

If you say no, we really have nowhere to go from here in this discussion. But if you say no, understand that any faith you claim to have in Jesus is invalidated by your statement, since we learn about Jesus and what he taught from scripture.

If you say “sometimes”, the question of course is “when”? When I like what it says? When it agrees with me? When it makes me feel good? When it is accepted by people around me (or my family, or my friends, or ….)? By denying the authority of the Word and still pretending to faith I inevitably make my own opinions and feelings the measuring stick by which I judge scripture—and decide whether it is worth following.

I don’t think it takes much to see how disastrous this is. It leads to a spiritual anarchy where “right” equals “I want to”. In fact, I suspect it is not possible for most of us to follow Jesus without scripture. Maybe this is where the sheep and the goats part ways? To be sure, I cannot and will not attempt to judge another’s heart before God. But I can assess their actions—actions which say a lot about the heart. When someone who claims to follow Jesus disobeys God’s word, one of two things is happening. Either they are immature and don’t know any better. Or they don’t follow Jesus.

So what are we to do? This is why I speak so often of the three dimensions of faith. First, we have to know what we agree with (God’s Word). Second, we have to trust God. And finally, we have to live faithfully–to obey him. All of these together make up the scriptural requirement of “faith”.

This doesn’t mean we are to act without love. In fact, we need to see every person we disagree with as someone for whom our King Jesus died. But if we claim Jesus as our King, we have to get rid of the faith buffet and let him be King.