A Call To Excellence

A Call To Excellence:

There must be a distinction!

When I decided that I would step down and place God at the head of my life, I was immediately introduced to the most powerful revelation of my life; my individual responsibility to God. Nothing comes before honoring Him, glorifying Him and fulfilling the destiny He created for me.

When I moved into the ministry, I did not do so for the sake of obtaining fame or popularity. In fact, I knew that much of what I would say would not come across well. I knew that I was a part of a culture in which many spiritual leaders have chosen to ponder at the pool of popularity, or worse, preach and teach from the platform of perfection.

Although I strive for perfection and excellence everyday, I am reminded daily that I have not yet arrived. I don't waste my time seeking popularity, but it troubles me that I see so many that do. Many have used ministry as a platform to execute their own personal business agendas, and with that they have left the quest for and the responsibility to deliver the truth somewhere in their past. Too many people who are in positions of leadership are more concerned about tickling the itching ears of the self seeking believer than they are about accurate and complete dissemination of God's infallible word.

One thing that really troubles me are some posts that I came across this week in which leaders are minimizing the impact of sexual immorality. In simple, their reasoning is that if they speak on the issues of sin it will drive people away. Their focus was on the grace of God and how it covers sin.

What bothers me is that the doctrine of Grace is predominantly revealed in the New Testament by the Apostle Paul and the writer of Hebrews (which some believe to be Paul). It was the close examination of Paul's epistles that prompted Martin Luther to post his 95 thesis to door of the Church in Wittenberg, igniting the Protestant Reformation.

It is truly revealed that Salvation is a gift we receive through grace; it cannot be earned, but it comes with great responsibility. As much as the Apostle Paul expressed grace, he intently spent more effort expressing the responsibility impressed upon those who have received the grace of God. You cannot capture grace from a biblical perspective without engaging the tantamount responsibility of experiential sanctification. With scriptures such as 1 Corinthians 6:18, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Hebrews 13:4, Ephesians 5:5, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Corinthians 6:13-20, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Colossians 3:5, 1 Peter 2:11, Mark 7:20-23, etc., how can one not see the need and requirement to teach on this issue.

Many of the leaders that peddle this cheap grace that is used to blanket unbridled sin, consistently use the passage of scripture in which Jesus receives the women who was caught in adultery to validate their stance on liberality in sexual immorality. What they fail to acknowledge is the last thing that Christ said to this women; "Go and 'sin' no more." Christ himself taught against sexual immorality.

Dr. Rick Wallace

We rob people of power when we give them half truths. Sharing grace without sharing the immense power and responsibility that accompanies it is simply irresponsible. You handicap those you teach when you coddle them with passive words and teachings. I am by no means a fire and brimstone teacher, but I believe that grace that does not acknowledge the power that was provided by Christ's magnanimous gift at Calvary to defeat sin, is cheap grace. It is that grace that people use to excuse their sins as if their are no consequences. Yes, Christ purchased every sin with His death at Calvary, but he still demands that you flee from the sin form which you have been set free. How can you say that you love someone for rescuing you from slavery while you still wallow it the pit of it.

I am not preaching perfection, but a mindset of purity, sanctification and Christian excellence. Will we stumble? Most certainly, but does grace give us a license to dismiss our fallibility or mitigate our responsibility? I think not. Wake up leaders; the souls and eternal inheritances of those you lead are in your hands. Don't allow your personal quest for popularity and acceptance place you in the crosshairs of God's wrath. Remember what Revelation 22:18, 19 says concerning adding to and taking away from God's Word. We are to teach holistically all that God has bequeathed to us in His word.

Oh yeah, for those leaders that become totally irate when sexual immorality is mentioned; chill, you are exposing yourself. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace