Editor's Note: "God loves people and asks his Son to save them. Anyone who believes in Jesus will have eternal life. God sent his son to save people from sin instead of condemning them. "(John 3: 16-17)
In January, many Christians joined the discussion about grassroots pastors' difficult service. In the discussion, we can see many unbiblical views.
These ideas have dominated the operation and theological direction of many Chinese churches. They have also led to the dilemma of Chinese churches and forbidden us from keeping up with the times and preaching the Gospel.
I wrote an article titled "Rely on Yourself instead of Waiting for the Crow to Come." In the article, I analyzed the concept which separates the secular world and the spiritual world. I also clarified the so-called suffering theology which takes suffering as the only measure of godliness. These unhealthy theologies make the church a religious fortress where Christians could escape from the society, which is against the principles of the Bible.
Now I will clarify the spiritual culture filled in the church and explain the theological concepts of conviction and curse.
A brother who has served in the grassroots church wrote: " I thought that if you had stayed in the Chinese rural church, you would certainly hear a voice which said 'If you love God, you will be a full-time servant!' Many young pastors were forced to be a full-time servant. One old pastor reminded me that if I stop full-time service, my family will break and I will go to death.
The phenomenon is not an exception in traditional Chinese churches. There is also a set of theological domination systems behind us. We may call it "theology of guilt", " theology of curse" or "theology of intimidation".
This theology takes the Bible and God as a tool to attack others randomly. People who worship this kind of theology are just like the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. It seems that they are aimed to protect the spiritual world in the name of God. In fact, they just enjoy the moral superiority over others.
Many Christians, especially those reformist pastors and believers, always attack anyone who holds different views than them. They spare no efforts to quash quarrels online with words in the Bible. They attack others in the church in the name of God.
In this spiritual attack, believers will be convicted or attacked. Attackers use evil words coated with religion to hit others to hell. They not only stand on the commanding heights of moralities, but also generate a horrific atmosphere in the name of God. Their evil words and extreme behavior have brought about great spiritual injuries to those new or weak believers.
This kind of unhealthy spiritual culture has brought about much pressure. The attackers can be regarded as spiritual threat theorists in the church. Some believers may be affected by this kind of culture. Every time they encounter setbacks, they are buried in such a psychological hint: "I must have violated God and been cursed by God."
Some church leaders boast that they are authorized by God and force youngsters to be full-time servants. In fact, youngsters are not necessarily suitable for full-time service. They still need social experience. As a result, those young people not only suffer from poor economic conditions but also have difficulty in preaching the gospel.
For the author of "Inner Voice of Grassroots Pastors", he said that when he wanted to find a job in the secular world, the church leader threatened him with a ferocious tone.
Why is the unhealthy culture popular in the traditional church? I can think of three main reasons:
Firstly, believers misunderstand the image of God. Affected by folk religion, the spiritual attackers think God always judges and punishes others like the heartless king of Hell in folk religion. They never learn about God through the words and behavior of Jesus.
Many years ago, I met such a case in Fuzhou City. Some believers promoted the so-called normalized movement, but other believers were against it. A few days later, more than half of the poultry raised in a believer's home died. The believer happened to resist normalized movement. The supporters of normalized movement said that it was just the punishment given by God. People who resist normalized movement are against the willingness of God. This is clearly the Karma of folk religion.
Secondly, the attackers haven't realized the true meaning of the Gospel and the teachings of Jesus. Their hearts are still stuck in the regulations of the Old Testament and civil religion. When Jesus and his disciples passed a village of Samaria, John and Jeremiah were furious and even asked Jesus to destroy the village with fire. Jesus said: " In fact, you don't know about your own heart. We are not to destroy the humans' life. We are to save them." (Luke 9: 55-56)
The Gospel is not to afflict us with curses. On the contrary, the Gospel is to remove the curse in our lives and give us freedom and dignity. However, today, some attackers distorted the Gospel. They judged others with regulations of the Old Testament and worshiping attitude practiced in this period towards religion. They are narrow-minded, thinking they are always right.
Thirdly, some unscrupulous church leaders stir up the atmosphere of condemning or attacking others. They want to control the hearts of believers by means of this atmosphere. In a niche group, the most effective way to increase cohesion and leadership is to create a hypothetical "hostile force". As a result, the believers would live in anxiety and fear. The leader of the church could consolidate his prestige and control his believers easily.
Brothers and sisters who are troubled by this unhealthy condemnation culture don't need to be afraid. The Bible has told us: "The sparrows and the swallows fly. The curse will not come without any reason." (Proverbs 26: 2)
What matters most is the true essence of gospel. The Gospel of John declares in a very firm voice: "God loves the world and even gives us his only Son. God blesses his believers an external life. Jesus was sent to save people in the secular world instead of condemning them. "(John 3: 16-17)
Jesus came, revealing God's characters and intentions to us. God's purpose is not only written in the Old Testament. The theme of Jesus' Gospel is grace. So the truth Jesus revealed to us is not set to control us; but, to bring about freedom to us. So we don't need to live in the bondage of the law or the self-condemnation. Of course, the Gospel of grace doesn't mean that we can do anything we want. It just brings us more freedom as well as more responsibilities.
This freedom is based on conscience and love instead of fear or benefits. It urges us to shoulder the responsibility of serving others inside and outside the church.
Translated by Emma Ma
