I recently came across a quote at this post on the excellent blog of a Southern Baptist (U.S.) Missionary to Spain, David Rogers. It disturbed me greatly. It is the written statement of a trustee of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.
It is the expectation of the IMBoT [Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board of Trustees] that IMB missionaries attempt to make disciples of the nations who represent the clear Baptist identity of the SBC [Southern Baptist Convention]. You will find that it is the expectation of the SBC that their missionaries make disciples who represent the clear Baptist identity of the SBC. The IMB and SBC are not embarrassed with who they are….
In light of that quote and my unease, here’s a story from 1 Kings 11-14 about the first king of the Northern Kingdom after Israel is divided:
About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.
So, Jeroboam gets a word from the Lord Himself that he will be king. And, his first actions thereafter appear to be fairly honorable if you read in 1 Kings 12:1-17; it is King Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, who acts foolishly. Jeroboam goes to Rehoboam and offers to pay tribute to Rehoboam if only he will lighten the burdens upon the people of the north. Rehoboam seeks counsel and the elders give him good counsel, telling him to serve and listen to the people (the subject perhaps of my next post), but he ignores this counsel. He goes to his peers and they tell him to rebuke Jeroboam and increase the burden. As a result, the Northern Kingdom is established.
But, even with this incredible word from the Lord and it becoming true, 1 Kings 12 says of Jeroboam this:
Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.” After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there. Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.
Jereboam fails to trust the Lord. He has been told God has given him the kingdom, but rather than believe it he believes he has to hold on to it. It appears that Jereboam doesn’t take his identity from God’s word – God Himself; instead, he begins to believe that his identity is wrapped up in this earthly status of being King and having a Kingdom. So, rather than trust God he creates an entirely new religion, something he devises in his own heart, to maintain power over his subjects and in the false belief that it will prevent them from killing him. Sadly, this unbelief and sin becomes the standard for all of the kings that follow him over the Northern Kingdom.
When we wrap ourselves up in an identity that is something less than Christ, an identity that cannot be stolen from us, we are wrapping ourselves in something that will fade or that can be stolen. As a result, it is a place of insecurity, and, for us, it can become a false god to hang on to. We build shrines to it and raise it up to exalted places where it does not belong. It creates division, not unity, and, I think for many, as is exhibited by the above quote, a denominational distinctive or a clear denominational identity becomes this false religion/god/thing to be grasped. But it is in Christ alone we stand and our conduct must be worthy of the gospel of Christ and of nothing more or nothing less. We must, as it says in Philippians 2, let the mind of Christ Jesus be in us, not considering equality with God something to be grasped. We should let nothing be done in selfish amibition or conceit and look out not only for own interests but also for the interests of others, fulfilling Jesus’ prayer in John 17 and joy by being likeminded, having the same love (of Jesus), being of one accord and of one mind.
Many of the things people hold dear aren’t bad things in and of themselves. But, for those who are unfamiliar with what is happening in the Southern Baptist Church, how it has been applied is to prohibit anyone from serving as a missionary for their church who doesn’t agree with every aspect of many disputable doctrines, such as those around charismatic practices, baptism, and (i think) even pews in churches. What this means is that the International Mission Board is proclaiming to the world that they are more interested in sharing the gospel of a clear baptist identity than they are the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. Similarly, Jeroboam was more interested in proclaiming a gospel of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and his throne than he was in obeying the Word of the Lord. As a result, the Nation of Israel, God’s chosen people, were divided in their worship of the One True God, and ultimately the ten tribes of Israel in the North were lost in history.
This is sin. This is wrong. This is idolatry. And we need to humble ourselves and repent. This is not a statement against the author of the above quote; he is my brother and I love him. In fact, if you read his comments toward the end of the stream of the post I cite to, they are filled with grace. No, it is not an attack against him or anyone else; rather, it is a statement against the sin of idolatry and division that we see not only in the Southern Baptist church but in churches all over the world. It is an attack against the enemy, Satan, and all of his angels who seek to steal, kill and destroy, and prevent the prayer of Jesus in John 17 from being answered. We cannot show the world that God is a God of love for them and the Truth of John 3:16 when we cannot even love one another and work together for the gospel of the Kingdom. Please pray for the unity of the entire Body of Christ, repentance of division and puffed up knowledge, and a desire to see God’s kingdom under the authority of Jesus (and nothing less) advanced.