09.02.2017 Views

Bible Repentance: Path to Love - Robert J. Wieland

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are several possible ways of looking at our his<strong>to</strong>ry:<br />

1. We can view it with corporate pride and<br />

satisfaction as does a sports team that has never<br />

lost a game. It’s great <strong>to</strong> be on the winning side.<br />

This attitude interprets God’s blessings on the<br />

church as His vindication and approval. Current<br />

denominational his<strong>to</strong>ry is interpreted as “progress”<br />

or as “advance.” Objective evaluation of the<br />

“progress” becomes rare. The result of this attitude<br />

is lukewarmness. It is by far the most popular view<br />

of our his<strong>to</strong>ry, but it : generates an unchristlike<br />

spiritual arrogance, the opposite of New Testament<br />

faith.<br />

2. Others view our his<strong>to</strong>ry with despair,<br />

interpreting our real failures as evidence that the<br />

Lord has cast off this denomination and forsaken it.<br />

This view has produced various offshoots from<br />

time <strong>to</strong> time, and continually spawns new<br />

movements of fruitless, destructive criticism. Often<br />

these movements are initiated as a legitimate<br />

protest against, although they seldom offer a<br />

practical solution <strong>to</strong> the problem.<br />

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