Van-guard (văn’gärd), noun: “The foremost or leading position in a trend or movement.”
the journey forward... exploring the emerging church... navigating spiritual formation... seeking to transform the world... ...through Christ
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Van-guard (văn’gärd), noun: “The foremost or leading position in a trend or movement.” the journey forward... exploring the emerging church... navigating spiritual formation... seeking to transform the world... ...through Christ |
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Hot Topics, Where I Stand By Bob Robinson
I provide vision to programs that teach Christians how to help non-believers on their journey toward becoming fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ. The local congregation must reach out to non-believers and seekers, bring these pre-Christians into the Body of Christ, help them receive Christ as Savior, and then assimilate them into a caring community, discipling them into mature Christians, equipped to minister to others. The ultimate goal of discipleship is to glorify and worship the Lord Jesus Christ, evangelizing people and equipping them to do the work of the ministry through the Word of God and with love. We are to provide groups in which people can experience God’s grace through building relationships of encouragement, for the application of God's Word, and for outreach. Eschatological Position I believe in extending grace in the areas that are not as clear in Scripture, allowing fellow Christians to disagree on these “gray areas.” I would never allow eschatology to cause division in the church. My personal stand is what is called “Post-Tribulational, Pre-Millennialist.” I teach from this viewpoint, but I respect and will not argue with a fellow-believers who hold other views concerning the end times. Gifts of the Spirit The issue of Spiritual Gifts is one that can easily divide a church, and therefore it must be handled very carefully. I do not believe that any spiritual gifts have ceased. I have not personally experienced the gift of "tongues," and the many of manifestations of "gifts" we see in many contemporary charismatic churches are inauthentic. It is incorrect to view tongues speaking as evidence of a “second baptism” or a second blessing of the Holy Spirit. Church Discipline The church has the responsibility to exercise the discipline outlined in Matthew 18 in cases of personal immorality or a lack of church unity. This discipline is not for the purpose of punishment, but for restoring and healing an erring believer and to maintain the purity of the church. Use of Alcohol We are to practice prudence with alcohol. While total abstinence from alcohol is not commanded in Scripture, a Christian is not to indulge in too much, for drunkenness is a sin. Care must be taken not to use our liberty in Christ with alcohol (or any other issue!) to harm the conscience of the “weaker brother” who may feel that drinking any amount of alcoholic beverages is a sin for him. Divorce and Remarriage God has established marriage as an indissoluble union. It is an earthly copy of the relationship between God and His people. However, because of the fallenness of human nature, the Scriptures permit divorce as an accommodation to human sin for the protection of the innocent party. Divorce is allowed (but not encouraged) for the cause of immorality or dissertation. The innocent spouse must attempt reconciliation as much as possible, but if such reconciliation is obviously unattainable, the obligation to maintain or reinstate the marriage may not be imposed upon the innocent spouse. In such cases, the innocent spouse is not bound. He or she is free to remarry in the Lord (though the seeking of repentance and reconciliation should always be the first recourse).
Each case of divorce or remarriage has to be dealt with on an individual basis from the perspective of God’s inexhaustible capacity to forgive human sin and to restore broken lives. Abortion Abortion is the killing of a defenseless child. The church, as salt and light in the world, must make every effort to protect the right to life that the unborn child has. We are to do so with love and grace, making sure never to harm the reputation of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We never should use violence. Homosexuality People are tempted in all sorts of ways, depending on their own unique manifestation of their fallen nature. A temptation toward homosexuality is one such manifestation. The Bible teaches that it is the act of homosexuality that is sinful, not the temptation. Therefore, the practice of homosexuality is clearly regarded by God in the Bible as sin. The movement to normalize and accept homosexuality as a lifestyle is not an option for the Christian. We are to love those who struggle with homosexual desires, and help them experience the healing that comes from Jesus Christ. That healing may be an abolishing of the desire for homosexual relations, or it may be the strength to remain celibate. The church is to be the place of loving acceptance of everyone, no matter how their fallen nature manifests itself. We accept prideful people, greedy people, lustful people, selfish people. We never say that we should accept the sin as normal, but we certainly accept the person as normal--we all are sinful and fall short of the glory of God. What Jesus Christ is all about is freeing us from the bondage of sin. Some will be completely released of some sins in this life, but certain sins are harder to overcome, especially deep-seated ones that are heart-shaping. And the temptations can feel overwhelming--especially in a culture that is increasingly trying to normalize the acts of sinfulness (and not just homosexuality!). We need to encourage one another to overcome temptation, so that we can experience more and more in this life the victory that will be ours in the heaven.
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Ministry Transformation- The Emerging Church Personal Transformation- Spiritual Formation World Transformation- Social Action Interact with Bob Robinson about the emerging church, spiritual formation, or social action by e-mailing vanguard church with your comments. |
