The LCS Factor

[Cal]

Originally Posted by Matt

Final Question: Did you or did you not give your allegiance to the "the vision of the church" or "christ and the church" (intentionally or unintentionally)? If I didn't get it quite right, please tell me what you did give your allegiance to. Can you honestly say that you only gave your allegiance to Christ? This is what I am talking about. Right now, I'm asking about you. After you answer this, then begin to ask yourself who did not do this?

Matt,

This is really a non sequitur. Even if Roger answers in the affirmative it doesn't prove anything.

The Bible tells us to love one another. Some have given themselves to love others. The Bible tells us to preach the gospel. Some have sold out for the gospel. The Bible tells us to cleave to what is good and delight in the truth. Many do these things. Are these people then idolaters because their allegiance is to "something other that Christ?" No, they are simply doing what they feel the Bible tells them to do. To cleave to a vision one feels the Bible gives is not wrong. Certainly a person can get imbalanced by emphasizing something too much, but it hardly amounts to idolatry.

The Bible gives us a vision of Christ with his Church. To argue against this is to simply say you haven't read the Bible. Is it all the Bible talks about? No. But it is a big factor. Some love that vision. The vast majority don't love it for itself, but because they feel it is what the Lord loves and has commanded them to carry out.

Trying to make that seem like idolatry is simply barking up the wrong tree.