A QUESTION BEFORE ANSWERING THE QUESTION

"And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you..."[your question].

(Mk. 11:29)

When Jesus was asked a question, He replied to his inquirers that there was a more important question to be answered first; after that He would give them His answer. With world conditions as they are at present, also directly affecting the Church, there are many questions being asked by pastors and people. 

I am not a "Monday Morning Quarterback," nor do I fit into the chair of, "The Armchair Scholar." For I have been in the trenches. Out of a 60-plus year ministry, I pastored 20 of those years. In other words, to quote Ezekiel, "I sat where they sat." I would like to think I understand some of what's going on.

The Bible generally gives us the choices in each dire situation, then asks us to choose. I say generally because as in life there are exceptions: when it tells you what to choose, Deut. 30:19. In my writings I try to follow this rule of generalization and exceptions. It is important a person be fully convinced  in his or her own heart.

To rephrase Shakespeare's, "To Be Or Not To Be," I want to discuss, "To Do Or Not To Do." Not only is our precious nation divided, but also the Church of Christ! Jesus tells us the seriousness of such a schism. "And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand."

And now, the question before answering the question. In that excellent movie, The Untouchables, starring Kevin Costner and Sean Connery, there is a great quote that applies to what we're discussing. Costner plays Elliot Ness, and Connery the cop on the beat, named Malone. Ness has come to the end of himself attempting to bring down Al Capone. They are both kneeling in church and Ness asks Malone what he was to do. Malone asks him the question that we too must answer in our situation, "What are you prepared to do?" He repeats this question to Ness when he lay dying from gunshot wounds.

No question we may ask concerning our present condition in the church is more important than this one, I ask both pastor and people, "​ ​WHAT ARE YOU PREPARED TO DO?"

​By An Old Disciple