Trying to Have it Both Ways

By the Rev. Chad L. Bird

In the world but not of the world”–that’s where the Church finds herself. Like Lot, she lives in a kind of Sodom, where the evidence of Satan’s handiwork is all around her. Rather than cutting herself off from the world, however, the Church constantly speaks the truth of Christ into the world. In particular, the Church’s pastors call a world sick with sin to come to Jesus, the Divine Physician, for everlasting healing.

Being in the world but not letting the world be in us is a constant battle. And what makes this war all the harder is that some Christians try to have it both ways–to be in the world and of the world while claiming to teach God’s Word. Consider, for example, the highly popular book The Prayer of Jabez, by Bruce Wilkinson. The book claims to be built on the firm foundation of the Scriptures, but its real foundation is the quicksand of this world’s foolish “wisdom.” Squeezed into this skinny book are many of the world’s fattest lies. The reader is promised a “blessed life full of miracles” if only he will recite this prayer. The author pretends that God has “favorites,” people who have earned His “higher” favor. While the book chatters about sin, it never clearly directs readers to Jesus Christ as the only hope for salvation from sin. Ultimately, The Prayer of Jabez is worldly wisdom that is wrapped in biblical-sounding words. The book offers the world what the world already has. It does not offer them the forgiveness and life and true prayer of Jesus Christ.

“In the world but not of the world”–that’s where the Church finds herself, and that’s where pastors find themselves in their ministry. But it is a good place to be, for it is the place where Christ has put us. Holding high the blazing torches of Christ’s holy Word and Sacraments, we call those in darkness to the true light of our crucified and risen Lord.

The Rev. Chad L. Bird is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.