Copyright © 2006 Ron Schwartz
All rights reserved.

Conventional Wisdom

Part 3. Disciples or Spectators

August 1, 2006

By Ron Schwartz

Chapter 7.  Conventional Wisdom says:

“My pastor is a great man.  If God is going to speak, He’ll speak to him.”

John 7:47-49 KJV,

47 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?

48 Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?

49 But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.

In 2001, 160 million out of the nearly 300 million people in the USA claimed to be spiritual or Christian.  If this were so, then if every Christian would evangelize just one person, this entire nation would be won for the Lord.  So why has this nation become ungodly rather than turned toward God?  Why is sin so pervasive?

Most Christians tend to promote their pastors and their churches as their means of evangelizing.  This practice is completely contrary to the practice of the first century Church that went everywhere spreading the gospel.  This is because conventional wisdom tends to elevate people rather than God.  It places men in a priest-like position between mankind and God.  It is this practice of elevating men that is the primary reason for the lack of evangelism today.

Many Christians have an unhealthy “regard” for their pastor.  They set him on a pedestal, try to sell him (peddle or market him) to other Christians, protect and make excuses for his actions and words, and vie for his attention and approval.  Consequently, people tend to become clones of their pastors.  They talk and act like their pastor because they truly believe that he hears from God.  As a result, they abdicate their spiritual futures to their pastors.

As people exalt their pastors, the pastors tend to take on more and more of a celebrity status.  People value their pastor’s attention and approval more than they do the attention and approval of God.  Pastors suggest that they cannot be held responsible for what people think, but this is just a copout.  Pastors relish the attention and admiration.  In their own subtle ways, they encourage it.  And most do absolutely nothing to discourage it.

The Example of Jesus

Philippians 2:5-8 KJV,

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

How is it possible that someone who could walk on water and raise the dead could make himself of no reputation?  Jesus did. 

Consider the following:

Acts 22:6-8KJV,

6 And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.

7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

In this story, the Apostle Paul recounts his own conversion.  Notice that Jesus identifies Himself as “Jesus of Nazareth.”  Why not identify Himself as someone important, such as, “I’m Jesus, the Son of God?”  Why identify Himself with Nazareth?

Let’s consider the city of Nazareth.  Here is what we know about it:

• Joshua 19:10-16 lists the cities of the tribe of Zebulon.  Twelve towns and six villages are listed.  Nazareth is not one of them.  Nazareth is not mentioned even once in the entire Old Testament.

• Josephus, a Jewish historian who was born around the time Jesus died, wrote comprehensive descriptions about every detail of the geography and history of Israel.   Josephus lists 45 cities belonging to the region of Galilee.  Nazareth is not one of them.

• The Talmud (tall-mood), ancient Jewish writings and commentary (providing the basis for Jewish authority and tradition) names 63 towns belonging to Galilee.  Nazareth is not one of them.

• In fact, there are no documents that list Nazareth or its location until about the beginning of the Fourth Century AD.

During biblical times, Nazareth was a small agricultural village of only a few dozen families.  It was not on any trade routes, so it had no economic value as it was unlikely to experience growth.

So why would Jesus declare Himself to be born so humbly?  Jesus declared Himself to be of Nazareth for the same reason He was born in a stable.  Jesus was not born of what this world would consider a noble birth for a king.  He declared Himself to be from that goat pasture known as Nazareth. In addition, He was essentially born in a barn.  He made Himself “of no reputation (Philippians 2:7),” and in doing so, He set an example for us to follow.

John 19:18-19 KJV

18 Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Jesus died in the same disgrace in which He lived His entire life.  He was born of a questionable birth (i.e., who was His father).  He was from that goat pasture known as Nazareth (though the Messiah was to be from Bethlehem).   How could He possibly claim to be more than what the title on His cross declared Him to be?  He was “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING…” He was a king from nowhere who ruled over nobody.  He was made a joke to this entire world.  With this example, why do we feel compelled to aspire to be something that He was not: a somebody?

The Apostles had to endure disgrace from the name they loved and for which they would eventually die.  Like their master, who was a nobody from nowhere, they were to bear His reproach as well.  They served a Savior who was from “nowhere,” the king of a sect of “nobodies.”  The name ascribed to them – Nazarene - described them well.

This mindset does not describe most contemporary Christian leaders.  Their goal is more to promote their ministries than to bear the reproach of the cross.  When we think of our Christian leaders, we do not think of those who abandoned everything for Christ.  Instead, we look for celebrities whose ministries exist to be served by the contributions of their followers rather than to serve.  Their need for attention and status serves only to distract others from their focus on Christ.  Just where is the reproach of the cross?  It is lost in the glitter of stardom and fame.

Chapter 8.  Conventional Wisdom says:

“We’re just sinners saved by grace.”

John 8:3, 10-11 KJV,

3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,

10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?

11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Conventional wisdom teaches us that what takes place at salvation is a change in “status,” not necessarily “state.”   Conventional wisdom teaches that following repentance little may change other than the “fact” that we are born again and covered with the righteousness of Christ.  We may feel no different at all.  However, we should “walk by faith,” not by feelings.  We are, after all, just “sinners saved by grace.”  As a result, many people begin their Christian experience with very low expectations.

It has been said that perception is reality.  A good example of this is the legend of falling off the end of the earth.  It is generally accepted that no one ever saw the end of the earth or witnessed someone actually falling off the end of the earth, yet these legends persisted for centuries.  The legends got all their power and credibility from perception.  If perception can have such a strong influence on our lives, should it surprise us to learn that the church’s lack of power and true spiritual growth stem from the lack of expectation set by Christian leaders?

It is called grace.  I believe in the grace of God, and I have experienced it in my own life.  But the way grace is taught is often designed (perhaps inadvertently) to discourage expectations from the believer.  Without realizing the ramifications, many Christian leaders present salvation as both the beginning and the end of our Christian lives.   Before I become “saved,” I know what I need to do: I need to repent.  It wasn’t optional.  It was mandatory.  And it was quantifiable.  But what about after I’m saved?  What then?  With contemporary “grace-based theology,” there is nothing more.  That is, nothing mandatory anyway.  I am saved.  I am going to heaven.  There is nothing more I need to do. Salvation is both the beginning and the end.

Recently, I built a small chicken coop for the chickens we bought.  We placed them in the coop and let them grow.  After a couple of months, we decided that they were old enough to come out of the chicken coop.  We opened the door, fully expecting the chickens to charge out into the yard we had fenced in for them, but instead, they stood in the doorway looking out.  None of the chickens would leave the coop.  Occasionally, the crowd would push one out inadvertently, but it would quickly hop back into the safety of the coop.

Christians are also like that.  Many Christians are led to believe that there is nothing quantifiable beyond salvation.   There are things we ought to do and things we should do, but they are all more-or-less discretionary.  We are told that we should go to church, pay tithes, live lives as a testimony, and occasionally pray and read the Bible.  Usually, all this is painted as a type of cafeteria plan.  We can simply pick and choose from a menu of available options, but none of them are required.

Missing from many grace-based teachings is the experiential part.  We use the scripture “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph 2:8-9)” in order to convince sinners that they cannot save themselves.  But this scripture applies to the unsaved not the saved.  Repentance is experiential.  Repentance is a work.  It is turning from sin just like James describes in James 2:17-26.  James explains that action (experience) is inseparable from our faith: “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (James 2:26).”

Christian teachers and books that talk intellectually about “who and what we are” sound so hollow.  Christians often talk about how they are “more than conquerors” or “kings and priests” but inwardly they are confused because conventional wisdom tells them that this is “status,” not “state.”  Grace-based theology often robs Christians of the benefit of experiencing anything more than the simple faith with which they came to the Lord.  It becomes impossible to quantify anything beyond salvation.

What about Jesus? Did he teach anything quantifiable beyond “believing” in Him?  Yes!  His instruction to “go and sin no more” goes largely ignored.  It crosses the line, going beyond grace-based theology to suggest that Christians should actually experience the kingdom God has given us.  Jesus’ instruction to “go and sin no more” was not only describing a change in status but in state as well.  These words show us that, to Jesus, forgiveness of our sin is not the end.

Chapter 9.  Conventional Wisdom asks:

“Who are you?  What credentials do you have to question this?”

Conventional wisdom accepts established standards without question.  Conventional wisdom assumes that established doctrine and traditions are correct.  Conventional wisdom places academic credentials as the mark of authority because it is tangible, measurable, and quantifiable by human measure.

John 9:16, 28-29 KJV

16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.

28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.

29 We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.

Consider the contradiction of this passage.  These men did not accept Jesus (who came doing miracles) because of the law, yet they believed Moses (who wrote the law) to be of God because of his miracles (i.e., the plagues he brought down on Egypt were proof that he was sent by God).  Here we find the Jews rejected Christ, not because they did not understand the scripture, but because they did not understand God.  It is impossible to embrace both God and the conventional wisdom of this age.   God is spontaneous, whereas conventional wisdom is inflexible and dogmatic.  God is alive, living and evolving in His relationship with His people.  Conventional wisdom does not embrace change well.

For years, people accepted without question the belief that the earth was flat.  It was quantifiable by human measurements.   All notable scholars agreed with this belief.  A few people took their eyes off of the obvious, looked up into the heavens, and asked, “Why, then, are all heavenly bodies spherical?”  These people were considered heretics, ridiculed simply because they dared to look outside the box.  Revelation that contradicts the status quo is rarely, if ever, embraced.  People fight aggressively against it.  It shakes their security: security that is founded in conventional wisdom, not the Spirit of God.

Conventional Wisdom

Conventional wisdom tells us that academic achievement qualifies a person to understand and speak on God’s behalf.  Yet isn’t academic achievement the very thing that stood in the way of the Jews accepting Christ?  Their education was a barrier that prevented them from understanding God.  Education tends to fill in the gaps.  It provides us with all the answers.   It leaves no room for the unknown because there is no unknown, no unanswered questions.

For centuries, conventional wisdom was responsible for countless deaths because surgeons were taught not to perform surgery on the heart.  So no one tried.  Then in the 1940s, Alfred Blalock at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital challenged conventional wisdom and performed the open-heart surgery procedure that saved a baby’s life.  A whole new branch of medicine followed from what had once been considered impossible, and hundreds of thousands of lives have been saved since then.

Education tends to channel us in certain directions.  We are taught fundamental truths, and as a result, we tend to arrive at the same conclusions as those who taught us and those who taught them.  Essentially, we live in box.  But every now and then, there comes one who refuses to accept the status quo and challenges conventional wisdom.  Jesus was such a man.

God wants us to depend on Him.  But in these days of popular ministries, affluent congregations, and huge churches with multi-million dollar budgets, where is there any need for God?  With enough money, you can attract professional musicians and buy the finest equipment.  You don’t need God to draw a crowd when you can finance exciting programs.  Sadly, far too often this is exactly how success is measured.

Do you think that pastors in poor third world nations, who meet in simple block structures and have congregations who passionately love God, know what they have?  Many of them have found groups of fiery Christians the likes of which our affluent churches will never know.  That is the true measure of success.  I believe it was John Wesley who once said, "Give me twelve men who love Jesus with all their hearts and who do not fear men or devils, and I care not one whit whether they be clergy or laity. With these men I will change the world."

Conventional wisdom is status quo.  Conventional wisdom will never change the world.  In fact, conventional wisdom will never change anything.  Its followers are not disciples winning a lost world. They are spectators, content to sit on the sidelines and watch a dying world slip away.  Conventional wisdom causes the church to be influenced and changed by the world.  It is the church becoming a disciple of this world.