KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
Foundation
KNOWING THAT THE church is built (Matt. 16:18) upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, and thus that it will stand forever (Dan. 2:44), will cause Christians to appreciate the fact that time and culture cannot alter the makeup of the church...
Many man-made churches of today are in the midst of crisis of identity because they are trying to make their churches fit into the cultural context. Should "the church" ordain women as pastors, priests, etc.? Should "the church" accept homosexuals into full fellowship? How should "the church" handle the issue of abortion? These are questions that most prominent denominations struggle with today, because they see the church as a changing body that must keep pace with man's ever-changing ideas.
Jesus is the foundation of the church, and Jesus does not change. The book of Hebrews proclaims, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8). The point of that statement can be seen in the next verse: "Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines..." (Heb. 13:9). Since Jesus is unchanging, and since He is the foundation of the church, then it must follow that the church also is unchanging. Various sorts of doctrines that are foreign to the teaching of Christ must be rejected, not adopted, for Jesus does not change. God's eternal purpose (Eph. 3:11) was sufficient for all ages. Therefore, whenever human society becomes inconsistent with the church, it is society that needs to change, not the church. (Kevin Beard)
KneEmail: "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 3:11).