State of the Church: The Celtic Revival (11)
These few testimonies out of many from the prophets, which serve to restrain the pride and laziness of stubborn priests, may suffice to prevent them supposing that it is by my own fabrication rather than the authority of law and the saints that I bring such denunciations against them.
– Gildas, The Ruin of Britain
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
– James 1.23, 24
Authority
The priests of Britain would have been stung by Gildas’ report—a lowly monk taking on the official leaders of the Church! Who did he think he was?
Gildas knew who he was, so he was careful not to proffer his own opinion on this matter; rather, he turned to the Law, prophets, Gospels, and epistles, as understood by the best teachers of the Church, to make his case against the priests of Britain. He held up Scripture like a mirror so that all could see, against the divine standard, the “pride and laziness” of the shepherds of God’s flock.
From the earliest days of the Church, true shepherds such as Gildas held the Word of the Lord, as understood by orthodox interpreters everywhere, to be the final standard for all matters of Christian life and conduct. Church leaders who did not follow the Word led their flocks into heresy, spiritual dryness, apostasy, and worse. But because their drift from orthodoxy typically was slow, it took time for Church leaders to realize what was happening and call out the ruinous teachers and priests.
Gildas was doing nothing else. The Christian people of Britain were being robbed of their true spiritual heritage. Their faith was withering; politics was rife throughout the churches; and the shepherds sought only status and ease as they drained their congregations of all true life in the Lord. Gildas saw this ruinous tendency, and he denounced it soundly, holding up the mirror of Scripture to the apostate practices of the British priests.
The same mirror
We stand before the same mirror of the Word of God every day. We may not be looking into it as faithfully as we should; or, looking at it, we may choose not to see ourselves against its unchanging standard. Merely looking into the Word without seeking the changes God intends is a useless exercise in faux discipline.
What’s true for us is true for our churches as well. How well do our churches stack up against the examples set forth in the New Testament? And what about our shepherds? Do they follow the model of shepherding Jesus outlined in John 10 and demonstrated before His disciples?
We may be very busy as Christians and churches. And our pastors may be earnest and admirable. But if we are not following the standards of Christian life and building our churches as the Scriptures present, then we cannot expect the blessings of the Lord to abound in and through us.
Are we as believers following Jesus according to His way (1 Jn. 2.1-6)? Do we reckon ourselves to be His disciples and witnesses (Matt. 28.18-20; Acts 1.8)? Are we growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord (2 Pet. 3.18)? Or have we chosen other standards and criteria to shape how we think of ourselves as Christians?
And given the state of the Church today—losing members and having little impact on our culture or society—it may be time for us to take a closer look into the mirror of Scripture to make sure we are holding fast to the standards God reveals there.
We must be neither complacent nor satisfied about our walk with the Lord. Paul calls us to press on in the life of faith that we might gain more of the promised blessing of the knowledge of the Lord. And we can only do so by holding fast to the Word, shaping our lives according to its teaching, and seeking to become more like Jesus every day.
To do other than this is to forfeit our distinctives as believers and to chart a course of “Christian life” that can only end in ruin.
For Reflection
1. What is your practice of looking into the mirror of God’s Word?
2. Why must we guard against embracing standards other than those found in Scripture?
Psalm 19.7, 8 (St. Christopher: Beneath the Cross of Jesus)
The Law of God is perfect, His testimony sure;
the simple man God’s wisdom learns, the soul receives its cure.
God’s Word is right, and His command is pure, and truth imparts;
He makes our eyes to understand; with joy He fills our hearts.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: In our ReVision series on “The Church” we consider the work of God’s people in ministries of grace. Our Read Moore podcast is working through our book, The Kingdom Turn. The focus of our Scriptorium daily study is on “Matthew: The Coming of the Kingdom.” Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
