Finally answered His call...

One thing I have always wondered about is how so many people say that God has "called" them to this or that. We have all heard someone say God called them to the ministry, to a certain job, to missionary work somewhere in the world and so on. The list is endless. I guess if we enjoy doing something we feel that it is somehow a calling from God. I am not so sure that is the case. To illustrate what I mean, a Christian was detailing his concern over a particular church he was attending. As he said, "I finally answered His call and went to a church that I feel He directed me to." To illustrate his concern he went on to say the following things about this church.

• The pastor running up and down the isles like a chicken, yes, a chicken. (sic)
• The laying of hands and those women falling out every Sunday. (sic)
• The pastor putting people personal business out there and into His sermon for the congregation to look at or down on you. (sic)
• And allowing women to come into the church in short dresses, fishnet stocking or tight jeans. (sic)
• Even sending members of the congregation home empty handed when they were in real need of the churches help. (sic)

This individual said that he has since left this church and is "currently looking for the next place that God will call us to." Let me see if I understand this correctly. This person is saying that God called him to a church that is engaged in all the above-mentioned error. Earlier he mentioned that he "finally" answered God's call to attend this church. Therefore, we are supposed to believe that God, on more than one occasion, encouraged him to go to this church that apparently is engaged in all these, as he put it, "false teachings." And now he is looking for the next church God is calling him to! I just don't get it. Who is his god?

There are two truths I think must be addressed here:

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

First of all, the only calling anyone responds to is the calling to come to Christ for salvation. I believe one of the main reasons for so many false teachings, bad doctrines, poor church experiences and lack of spiritual growth comes from people who may have been called to something, but were never called to Jesus. I don't say this to diminish the individual leading of the Holy Spirit in the lives of each believer. My point is that I find it hard to believe that God would intentionally lead someone into error. After all, the Holy Spirit is our Counselor who will lead us into all truth.

The second area I would like to address is that after we respond to God's call to come to Christ, we are then sent by God out into the world. As the Great Commission reveals, we are sent to be a witness to the world about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This could lead us into many different situations, including attending different fellowships. However, it is so that we can have an opportunity to talk about the fullness of the Gospel with others. God isn't going to lead us into error as though we are supposed to sit under it. While we may find ourselves within a church that teaches error, we are there to be a light in the darkness to each individual we come in contact with.

"At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed." Acts 14:1

To quickly illustrate what I am trying to say, we can look at what Paul did numerous times. Because of his love for the Jews, Paul would spend great amounts of time in synagogues reasoning from the scriptures with his Jewish brethren. He didn't go to the synagogues as though he was being guided by God there to learn anything or attend services. No, Paul went there because it was a place where God was being talked about and He would have the opportunity to talk about Jesus Christ. It is not all that different with the fellowships we attend. God doesn't lead us to fellowships to sit under teachings or become members. We are already a member of the Body of Christ and are taught by the Holy Spirit. If we choose to attend a particular gathering of believers, great. But, our true "calling" is to share the message of salvation in Christ to all.