FROM THE DESK OF PASTOR WILL

[Rev. William Griffith]

"If we are to revive the core principles of what Jesus called us to do as His followers, then we need to recognize that we have entered a time when agreeing on that core will require the abandon of dogmatic and doctrinal divides. To bridge this gap, we need to look at what Jesus taught. We need to follow Him in His example. The rest is quite simply divisive. I am reminded of a gentleman who was trying to make a point by saying one chapter in Genesis about the flood says Noah sent a raven out to see if the flood subsided. Another chapter claims is wasn't a raven but a dove. The account of the flood in one chapter says the flood lasted 40 days and 40 nights and another suggests that the flood prevailed on the earth 110 days. We have come to know the Torah as books written by Moses, though Deuteronomy closes in chapter 34 with the death of Moses, which clearly suggests that Moses could not have written all of Deuteronomy. I looked at my friend and said, "we can debate this if you want. For instance, perhaps Noah sent both a raven and a dove. Perhaps the flood raged for 40 days and 40 nights, but the water did not diminish for 110 days. Perhaps Moses, indeed, was not the only author of the first five books of the Bible we know as the Torah. But we both agree on the core. There was a flood. There was a Noah. There was a Moses". I share this to illustrate that for all of the doctrinal debate on this or that, the Bible was an account, from the first to the last book, about the coming of Jesus Christ. And it therefore stands to reason that as followers of Christ our primary and only concern should be His teachings as they apply to us as followers. If we followed Him more and debated with one another less, we would actually be building the Kingdom of God through service, love and compassion. While few will actually abandon debate in favor of getting to the core of our faith, others will. Others have. There is a clear difference in believing in Christ and in following Christ. James tells us in scripture that "faith without works is dead. Being alone". We must put our faith into action if we are to follow Christ fully. And if we are not doing so, we divert ourselves with the diversions of debate and discord. As the Christian faith enters a new era, we will find that it will look much like the early first century church. More followers will be meeting in the homes of one another. More will be engaged in outreach with the world. More will be focusing on the core that unites us, rather than the doctrinal differences that divide us. This is true revival."

-Pastor William Griffith

 Evangel Pacific Ministries