Creepers

 I can read a Bible passage a hundred times, and something different stands out each time and draws my attention. It’s like certain words leap off the page, and the way my mind works, all I need is a thread. Once the thread is there, I keep pulling until the whole thing unravels, but in a good way.

If you start at a particular point and work your way back, you eventually uncover the intent and objective behind the façade and empty words. The intent is important because it lies at the root of why people do what they do. Everyone has a purpose. Either their objective is to glorify God or turn the grace of God into lewdness and deny the Christ.

Jude’s warning that certain men had crept into the household of faith unnoticed is what stood out to me this morning. We can look at this in two ways to determine how they succeeded in infiltrating the church. Either the shepherds were not watchful enough, or the creepers were really good at faking it.

It’s not as though these individuals barged into the congregation one morning dressed in neon rainbows, talking about how sin was in, and people who didn’t embrace it were just sticks in the mud. They crept in unnoticed. They didn’t start out denying Christ, but that was their intention all along. They were able to mimic humility, piety, hospitality, and brotherhood but did so with a nefarious purpose, toward a nefarious end.

Nowadays, they no longer have to creep in unnoticed. Weak, compromised, and defiled shepherds are serving their sheep up to the wolves and opening their pulpits to them as though there was nothing more normal than having a dude with a beard wearing a dress and tiara talk about their spirituality. At least the devil’s minions had to put in some effort back in the day. Nowadays, we’re making it easier for the devil by half.

Although those who crept in unnoticed could fake a lot of things, one thing they could never fake was their fruit. They can act meek and humble and fake being contrite and obedient, but only for so long. Eventually, the mask slips, the fangs show, and the fruit they produce will reveal their true nature.

If all someone ever leaves in their wake is division, confusion, heartache, and heartbreak, then you know that’s the fruit they produce. If strife is a constant in someone’s life, and no matter what you do, there’s still no contentment to be had, then their fruit is not the fruit of the Spirit but of some other spirit.

Every church has that one guy or gal. I’ve been in conversation with enough pastors to know this to be true. There’s always that one individual that is never content, never at peace, never joyful, always raving about how everyone else ought to be faithful while they themselves are not. They are firm believers that every problem can be solved with a hammer, even though most of the time, a scalpel will suffice.

Granted, some are harmless enough, but make no mistake, some are far from inoffensive, and they incrementally try to assert influence and control with the patience of a snail riding on a turtle’s back. The devil appreciates the impact of small incremental changes over a long period. Patience is not one of the things he is lacking in. All he needs is a foothold, an opportunity, a chink in the armor that he can exploit and manipulate over time.

This is why the household of faith must be a compromise-free zone. This is what the Book says, we do what the Book says, and that’s all there is to it. It could be, and it should be as simple as that.

When you start jiggering with God’s pre-established order, when you start second-guessing the specific instructions He sets forth in His Word, it’s only a matter of time before the compromises increase, the rift between the church and God gets more expansive, and the less light there is in a given congregation, the more the enemy can plot and scheme in the shadows.

The enemy doesn’t have to destroy a church outright; he just has to make it ineffectual. Suppose a congregation is no longer about building the Kingdom and bringing glory to God but has been distracted by and pursuing expansion, entertainment, influence, or compromise. In that case, they’ve been effectively sidelined. They’ve become like a rescue boat that’s bobbing on the ocean, waving to the survivors of a shipwreck as they are dragged into the deep, all the while boasting of their magnanimity for rowing to the site of the calamity. The world is the shipwreck, Jesus is the rescue boat, and the church’s job is to toss as many life preservers as their strength will allow, to as many as they can see, and bring them to safety.

The gospel of Christ is the life preserver. It must be ever present in the heart of His servants, in their hands, and on their lips. Whenever and wherever you see a drowning soul, be ready and willing to present them with the lifeline. Not all will take it, but some will, and those that do will be saved.

The purpose of those who creep in unnoticed is to keep the church from fulfilling its calling and purpose. They’ll always find something to replace the gospel, even though the gospel is irreplaceable. They’ll constantly attempt to subvert the Lordship, authority, and uniqueness of Christ, for to know Him is to love Him, to love Him is to obey Him, and to obey Him is to pick up your cross and follow Him daily, and that’s something the devil and his henchmen just can’t have.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.