Dealing With Controversy

Dealing with Controversy. As we enter into this end time era, I feel that we all need to know how to deal with controversy. Jesus dealt with it; from the time He started His Ministry until the Day He was crucified. Have you ever dealt with areas of life that caused a division among you and your friends, your spouse or your entire family? It’s difficult to be different, isn’t it? Lets deal with specifics of controversy. Controversy is a disagreement, or debate. Here is one that James dealt with ; James 2:2-4 For if there come into your synagogue ( church, place of worship) a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, and there come in also a poor man in vile ( loathsome, nasty, obnoxious, odious, base, degraded, foul, ect) clothing; and ye have regard (look upon, gaze at, have preference to, ect) to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say, Sit thou here in a good place; and ye say to the poor man, Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool; Do ye not make distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? These three verses are pretty self-explanatory aren’t they? Controversy starts with a difference of opinion, or a difference in policy. So you ask, “Where s the controversy here?” Its everywhere a poor man cant come into a church, to seek after God, dressed the way he is, maybe all he has are a pare of blue jeans and a clean shirt, some churches would stop Him at the door and refuse him entrance, Yes, its true, I’ve seen it. Have we gotten to the point that salvation is only for the best dressed or only for those that can afford it? Isn’t salvation a free gift from God? Have we become a Nation of judges, having evil thoughts? Maybe so, or maybe, we have lost sight of who we are in Christ. The end days are a negative time that needs to be addressed and opened up. If we are to endure and be faithful witnesses for Christ, we must bring out the worst of mankind to help others make a complex decision on their place in eternity. Dealing with controversy here is learning to deal with, church doctrine and making it line up with the word of God, instead of contradicting it. Hebrews 13:2-3 Forget not to show love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; them that are illtreated, as being yourselves also in the body. We have a responsibility to others that are in bondage as once we were, to help set them free, and those that are illtreated (abused, neglected), to suffer with them, showing compassion.

Lets stop and think for a moment, has there ever been a time in your life that you’ve met someone, talked to him or her for a moment and turned around and they were gone from sight? Or you needed help along side the road, and all of a sudden someone was there? Have you ever passed by someone on the road and looked in your rearview mirror and couldn’t see them? Have you ever turned away someone away from the church because of the way they were dressed? Someone that may have been turned away from the church doors, could have been an angel. Now we all know the difference between vile raiment and just plain vulgar clothing, the latter must be stopped at the door and addressed. But to turn away some one because of a dress code or other doctrine, that, might I say, is contrary to sound doctrine, is very dangerous. Because of James 2:2-4 and Hebrews 13:2-3.

Matthew 19:23-25And Jesus said unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, It is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. (The Sadducees and Pharisees, were fixed on or had an fixation on clothing and fine apparel, which became part of their downfall) And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye (a passage way, very narrow, that camels had to be unloaded to pass thru, on the trade route), than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And when the disciples heard it, they were astonished exceedingly, saying, Who then can be saved? Controversy, because something hadn’t been taught before makes it difficult for people to comprehend and understand. Sometimes people have been taught wrong for so long that they begin to take it as being right. Controversy on the salvation of the rich over the poor. Jesus was asking in His teachings, “Who among you have made the Rich better than the Poor as far as salvation, as far as sin, as far as condemnation, as far as the Law and as far as Gods love for each?” Matthew 19:30 But many shall be last that are first; and first that are last. Your status or station on earth will not be the status that you will receive in Heaven. {M.H.} There will be reversals; those rich on earth, but poor hereafter; those high in station, degraded hereafter; and the lowly on earth, exalted hereafter. The right man to follow any cause, be it what it will, is he who loves it well enough to fling to it everything he has in the world, and then think that not enough, and so fling himself after it. This last item often weighs down the scales in heaven, and the man gets what he gave himself for. This is where many controversies lie. Being exalted of ourselves here, self-righteousness, does nothing to change the destiny that is ours in the afterlife. Jesus once said of John the Baptist, Matthew 11:11 “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” This in itself, is a controversial, statement, because of mans pride wanting to be the best of everything. If the smallest in Heaven is to be greater than the greatest man born of woman, then where are we as man, not born the greatest of woman, going to stand? Humbleness is a virtue that we all need to work on.