Fundamentals Of Balanced Christianity: Charismatic Parlance Or Pragmatic Balance

By Daniel O. Ogweno

One of the most crippling problems challenging the validity of most people’s Christianity is the imbalanced way they understand God’s Word and do the things of God. The result is that sceptics make excuses and take advantage of the contradictory doctrines and theologies in order to ridicule Christianity; truth seekers get confused as others relapse to settle for what is tickling to their ears; and people who ought to work together end up vehemently dismissing one another.

This latter case can be illustrated by the story of two blind men who were asked to feel an elephant. They were expected to report their experience. One of them, being a tall man, reached the ear first. Either he was so mesmerised by it that he forgot to survey the entire body as well, or he was too proud to stoop to feel also the parts that could only be felt if someone was 'close to the ground.' When asked to describe the elephant, he said that it was like a large towel. His description centred only around the ear.

The other man’s observation was also dictated by what he reached first. He was a short man. He reached the foot of the elephant first. Like his companion, he got spellbound by the elephant’s foot. Either, he also forgot to give a complete inspection of the whole body, or never cared to climb on something to reach the parts of the elephant’s body that were ‘out of reach’ without help. When asked to describe it, he said that an elephant is like a tree trunk.

The two men got into a dispute. The one insisted that an elephant is like a towel and the other that it is like a tree trunk. They spiritedly dismissed each other.

They were, however, both right and wrong! Right in the sense that each presented what was true about the elephant. Wrong in the sense that both thought that their (limited) impression was all there was about the large animal. Fundamentals of Balanced Christianity helps the reader think and act balance. This balance is not about 'compromise', rather, it is as radical as it is practical.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daniel O. Ogweno
• Release date: Sep 20, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466067585

Daniel O. Ogweno

Ogweno holds Bachelor of Education (Moi University, Kenya) and M.Phil. in Mass Communication and Media Studies (University of Bergen, Norway).He is the founder of Christ is Lord Ministries—Worldwide (Cilmin—Worldwide).He has a call in conflict resolution based on the virtues of Christ. He summarises his call as follows: “Mine is to bridge the gap between doctrines/theology and practice both for leaders and individual Christians."Ogweno ministers internationally in conferences, seminars, workshops and church settings. He is available for itineraries.Married to Laura Caroline Ogweno, they are blessed with three kids: Victor, Jim-Jif and Baraka. He and his family reside in Norway where they are active in a local church (Christian Fellowship—Skien).

Book preview

FUNDAMENTALS OF BALANCED CHRISTIANITY

Charismatic Parlance or the Pragmatic Balance?

Daniel O. Ogweno

******

Smashwords Edition

Published by Daniel O. Ogweno at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 by Daniel O. Ogweno

You may also wish to consider other titles by the same author at Smashwords.com. The titles include:

The Secret Weapon Against Terrorism

A Life of an Enthusiastic Worship

The Pursuit of Commitment

Dreams of Hope and Visions of Divine Intervention (Personal Story),

Faith, Mountain And The Seven Options, etc.

******

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

All rights reserved solely by the author. The author guarantees all contents are original and do not infringe upon the legal rights of any other person or work.

Thank you for downloading this e-book. I am very much willing to let my readers share, reproduce, copy and distribute this book to friends and acquaintances, etc. for non-commercial purposes, this, however, is technically minimised because I have engaged commercial distributors. They may not be keen to distribute a book that after being bought by one person, is redistributed near and far for free. If you feel this book is worth reading, recommend it to your networks that they may get a copy of their own. We rely on the book proceeds or offerings to fund the ministry and to give alms. But if for one reason or another they are not in a position to get their own copy, you are free to send your copy to them.

One more request: Write a short (or long if you like) review if you can and post it at the book’s page at Amazon, or elsewhere where the book is being displayed. This is a very important source of feedback to me as an author. Your review will also help other readers to decide whether to read the book or not. With that, may the Holy Spirit guide you in your actions. Thank you for your support.

******

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Authorized Version (King James Version) of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION(R) NIV(R) Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified(R) Bible, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org).

When a scripture reference is marked with a specific version, e.g. NKJV; KJV or NIV, etc. it shows the recommended version in relation to what is being discussed.

Unless otherwise indicated, the italics in the scriptural quotations are author’s emphasis.

******

Dedication

Alice Akinyi Okoth (Nya’N’giya)

In you I see the fruits of God’s call in my life;

A fulfilment of the old adage: ‘Charity begins at home’.

******

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

The Challenges of Balance

The Importance of Balance

Ignorance: Number One Cause of Unbalanced Christianity

i) Ignorant Ignorance

ii) Indifferent Ignorance

iii) Selective Ignorance

iv) Complacent Ignorance

Part 1: Illustrating The Importance Of Balance And Complementarity In The Body Of Christ

Chapter 1: THE BALANCED DIET

The Right Food

Three Witnesses of Food

The Witness of Knowledge and the Spirit

Deficiency Diseases

Some Deficiency Diseases and What They Tell Us

Chapter 2: BUILDING A HOUSE

Facts About Constructing a House

Facts About Building the Church

Decorations for Distractions

Let Christ Build His Church

Chapter 3: THE FUNCTIONING OF THE CHURCH AS AN ORGANIC BODY

The Body of Christ—Living or Dead?

Indispensability and Complementarity of the Members of an Organic Body

A Clean Body and a Clean House

Part 2: Selected Topics to Help Put Balance into Perspective and Show its Fundamentality

Chapter 4: FREEDOM AND THE LAW

Freedom Management

Functions of the Law

The Law that Brings Freedom

The Right Attitude to the Law

Making What is Already Difficult Even More Difficult?

Chapter 5: FAITH AND WORKS

Predestined for Good Works

Faith Materialises in Good Works

Making a Religion Out of Good Works

Management of Spiritual Promotion

Bearing Much Fruit

Chapter 6: THE GOSPEL: LOVE OR CONDEMNATION?

Good or Bad News

Talking to Two Kinds of People

Getting People Saved By ‘Threatening’ Them With Hell?

Can Fear Make People Get Saved?

The Offensive Hell Into Perspective

Evangelistic Lessons from Fishermen

Chapter 7: COMPASSION AND JUDGEMENT

We Want Justice!

Judgement, Who Wants it?

Willing to be Judged; Reluctant to Judge

Judgement unto Identifying Sin and Judgement unto Punishing Sin

‘Do Not Judge!’ What it Means and What it Doesn’t Mean

Chapter 8: PROSPERITY AND POVERTY

Property is not all Prosperity is About

The Package of Material Prosperity: What it Contains and Entails

The Package of Spiritual Prosperity: What it Contains and Entails

The Goal of the Obsession with Material Prosperity

Tempted by Material Prosperity, Trained by Material Poverty

The Poverty of the Rich

The Riches of the Poor

Loved and Blessed, Rich or Poor

Can a Poor Man Love His Children?

Putting Everything into Perspective

Chapter 9: GIVING AND RECEIVING

Expectation, Not Necessarily a Pre-condition for Receiving

Give in Order to Receive

Receive in Order to Give

Nurture God’s Nature in Giving

When Receiving is a Mark of Humility

Giving as a Mark of Gratitude

Keeping No Record of Giving

Chapter 10: PROMISES AND SACRIFICES

Partakers of Abraham’s Promises, Performers of His Sacrifices

An Inheritor Doesn’t Need to ‘Earn’ the Inheritance

Sacrifices as Expressions of Appreciation

Sacrifices as Expressions of Identification

Sacrifices as Expressions of Commitment

Chapter 11: THE FEAR OF GOD: IS IT REVERENCE OR DREAD?

When the Bible Doesn’t Say it the Way We Want it Said

Mutually Inclusive

Dread Leads to Repentance, Reverence Leads to Worship

An Awesome God

God Loves Us and We Love Him, Do We Still Need to Fear Him?

Reasons We Still Fear God Despite Regeneration and Mutual Love

Chapter 12: HEARING THE WORD OR SEEING THE MIRACLES?

First, The Word; Second Faith; Last, Miracle

The Word: The Most Profound Miracle!

The Dearth of Miracles

The Purpose and Place of Miracles

End-Time Paradigm Shift About Miracles

Can Miracles Help Win Sceptics?

i) Malicious sceptics

ii) Judicious sceptics

iii) Capricious sceptics

One Can Be Saved Through a Miracle, But Must Be Established By The Word

Sight Sees then Believes, Faith Believes then Sees

Chapter 13: SUFFERING: CAUSE OR EFFECT OF SIN

Speculating the Cause

Desperate to Blame Someone

The Afflictions of the Righteous

The Afflictions of the Unrighteous

Chapter 14: GENERAL PRINCIPLES Vs. EXCEPTIONAL ENCOUNTERS

The Essence of the General Principles

Reliable but Unpredictable

Special Encounter is not for Duplication as a Rule

Part 3: Laying To Rest The Immaterial; Limiting the Chances for Pointless Rows

Chapter 15: DOES IT REALLY MATTER?

Subjective Importance or Definitive Difference?

Rejected for 'Trivial' Technicalities?

Notes

Epilogue

About The Author

Other Books By The Same Author

******

Acknowledgements

I am eternally grateful to the Lord Jesus Christ through whose grace I am what I am and have the hope that I so cherish.

I am forever indebted to my wife Laura C. Ogweno. I sincerely love you. To my sons: Victor Ogweno, Jim-Jif Okinyi and my daughter Baraka-Norine Awuor, I must say that you are my most precious gifts from God. You are a blessing to me.

My deepest gratitude to Leif Steinar and Anna-Marie Huseby. You are wonderful people. I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish part of my call without your input.

Bishop John Peter Bigirimana and Ada Bigirimana, thank you people for allowing me to be part of your life and ministry.

Rose and Celestin Mutabaruka, the reunion after over 20 years was more than I could express. Rose Mum, after you led me to Christ, you have been to me more than a mother. I drew a lot of inspiration just seeing you enthusiastically doing what you did then that resulted into my new life. May God bless you people beyond measure.

Esther Nduta, since I met you, my life has been enriched in monumental proportions. Thank you for the editing you deed on this book. If there is any quality in this work, you contributed to it.

******

Back to the Table of Contents

Preface

When God called me to be a writer way back in the year 2000, the first issue He impressed in my heart was Balance. I had already noted how we as believers can be imbalanced in the way we handle God’s Word and, by extension, how we relate with one another. But I had not seen it all. When I was given this topic, I started having an eye and an attitude of balance. I was and am still amazed at how easy it is to pick one thing and forget the rest. This is a thriving ground for out-of-context references to endorse preferences and court pretext. For example, you will hear most people quote Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus ..., How people love to hear that they are not under condemnation! In King James Bible, the verse does not end there. Some of the other Bible versions put it as footnote. Consider it ... who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. The latter part of this verse defines who is and implies who is not in Christ Jesus. If one walks after the flesh, it doesn’t matter how much he quotes that he is not under condemnation.

Since it became clear about the call to be a writer, I have consequently written eight manuscripts, five of which have translated into books. Fundamentals of Balanced Christianity ought to have been my first book but ironically I am finishing writing it as the ninth manuscript. Other titles came and jumped the queue. Interestingly again, the first manuscript I wrote is yet to be published.

The delay in writing this manuscript must not be construed to mean that it was not important. There are two reasons that I believe made the manuscript stay with me for a decade:

i) I believe God wanted me to grow in some areas before undertaking this assignment;

ii) This, so far, has been the most difficult manuscript to write. It would be ridiculous if a book that ought to point people to balance turns out to be imbalanced.

But the fear of missing the point here and there must not be allowed to derail the noble task. A complete balance is a perfection, it is infinite and we can always strive towards it. One important thing to remember is that balance is not about compromise.

May the Lord speak to you in the pages of this book as you think, act and mind balance. May He activate your spirit, to inspire you to find and pursue His pleasure.

Ogweno Daniel Owino

Norway

October, 2010.

*****

Back to the Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

If you pose to have grasped it all, that in itself would be an incriminating evidence that you don’t know what you are talking about; it is infinite, it is God’s Word.

The Challenges of Balance

In places where dogs are left to roam about, it is common to watch a dog find a carcass, pick a piece of bone from it and bolt away, leaving the rest of the stuff behind. If he happens to come back for more, he would pick another piece and bolt away again.

The above can be likened to the way we tend to treat God’s Word. Many a time we come across a scripture or a teaching in the Bible, we pick it and ‘run away’ not caring about the whole stuff. This happens mostly for three reasons:

i) When what we come across says what we love to hear;

ii) When we come across what we have a soft spot for; and finally,

iii) When God enlivens a specific area of the Scripture for a particular occasion, only for us to make it a doctrinal issue. If we happen to come back to the other portions of the Scripture, we take another piece and behave as if that is all there is in God’s Word.

One of the most crippling problems challenging the validity of most people’s Christianity is the imbalanced way they understand God’s Word and do the things of God. The result is that sceptics make excuses and take advantage of the contradictory doctrines and theologies in order to ridicule Christianity; truth seekers get confused as others relapse to settle for what is tickling to their ears. The New Age Movement and Post-modernist thoughts are gaining popularity and acceptance for their religious versions of political correctness, tolerance and relativist ideologies.

In order to make it popular, many preachers and commentators avoid the rigorous and vigorous transformative training in God’s Word and the consequent practice of the same. They, instead, present the Gospel as if the most important things about it are the instant therapies to poverty, calamity, sickness, etc. instead of espousing the constant entreaties for integrity, sobriety, humility and selflessness. Yes, it is true God’s Word can fix problem of any kind but suffice it to say, these are not the most important things about it. The most important things about God’s Word, however, are the regeneration, transformation and reconciliation that a man receives when he accepts Christ as Saviour and Lord in his life. These are evidenced in a resolute pursuit of righteousness and holiness, regardless of the prevailing circumstances.

Imbalanced exposition of God’s Word does not only lead to building questionable doctrines, it also denies the Church the decisively needed unity the strength of which could see breakthroughs in revival around the world (See John 17:21-23). Today, the Church is more distinguished by its multiplication into heterogeneously incompatible factions than by its multiplication as an essence of growth. Church growth is not defined by a proliferation of feuding factions but by its tendency towards maturity and unity in spirituality as the springboard for her spread.

Sometimes a lot of time and energy are wasted on things that turn out to be divisive yet they ought to have been complimentary and supplementary. When the Body of Christ misses the point, what results is that instead of becoming God’s instruments to mastermind revival, it becomes self-defeating by undermining the very mission unto which it was called. May this not persist.

A story is told of two blind men who were asked to get to an elephant and have a feel of the large animal. They were expected to report their experience.

One of them, being a tall man, reached the ear first. Either he was so mesmerised by it that he forgot to survey the entire body as well, or he was too proud to stoop to feel also the parts that could only be felt if someone was close to the ground. When he was asked to describe the elephant, he said that it was like a large towel. His description centred only around the ear.

The other man’s observation was also dictated by what he reached first. He was a short man. He reached the foot of the elephant first. Like his companion, he got spellbound by the elephant’s foot. Either, he also forgot to give a complete inspection of the whole body, or never cared to climb on something to reach the parts of the elephant’s body that were ‘out of reach’ without help. When asked to describe the elephant, he said that an elephant is like a tree trunk.

The two men got into a dispute. The one insisted that an elephant is like a towel and the other that it is like a tree trunk. They vehemently dismissed each other.

They were, however, both right and wrong! Right in the sense that each presented what was true about the elephant. Wrong in the sense that both thought that their (limited) impression was all there was about the large animal.

The problem was not that these people failed to survey the whole animal; it was, rather, that they didn’t know they didn’t. As we have indicated, they were both right but their rightness didn’t represent the truth. Just as we can be sincere without necessarily being innocent (2 Cor. 4:4), so can we also be right without necessarily being truthful. Truth is an absolute virtue—all its parts have to be in place for it to be conclusive (1). Half truths can be dangerous!

There is a fundamental thing about a balanced disposition of God’s Word that I must mention right away. It will help us get the whole picture. Here it is: We must know that there are some aspects in our relationship with God that we would grasp only if we humble ourselves. For example, the tall man could only have the feel of the foot of the elephant if he stooped—stooping is a sign of humility. Alternatively, he could be willing to ‘accept’ to be informed by the person who has had a feel of what is at the lower end of the animal. For the short man, he needed to be willing to look for an aid. Either he could look for something to climb on so as to reach those parts that were ‘beyond his reach’, or be willing to be kept abreast by the person who has had a feel of the parts outside his area of familiarity.

For a meaningful understanding of the Scripture and a sound relationship with God, we have to balance out God’s Word. Just as dogs love bones, so it is common that we love some portions of the Scripture more than others. And like the two blind men, what we know may be part and not the whole of what there is. We must be careful not to neglect or dismiss the portions we don’t seem to like or ventured to investigate.

I have discovered on many occasions that I didn’t have a balanced understanding of the whole Scripture when I thought I was scripturally apt. Once in a while, one may unintentionally take an imbalanced position in his teachings. The important thing therefore is to continue asking the Holy Spirit to open our understanding of the Scripture. That sometimes we hold an imbalanced position with God’s Word may not be the real problem. The real problem is when we refuse to budge even after being shown that there is more to it. Another problem is when we build doctrines out of what is selective perception and subjective scriptural preferences.

It is in this regard that I am trusting God to help us be open for more revelations, or rather, be flexible to the fact that the whole picture is infinite and we can only grow if we persistently investigate. There is no room for denominational and factional arrogance.

The problem was not that these people failed to survey the whole animal; it was, rather, that they didn’t know they didn’t.

Why is the balance important? In our world, the most serious problem facing mankind, not only in religious matters but also in other aspects of life, is the deviation, or what I would call defiance to the rule of balance. Any deviation is always either to the right or left. In some cultures, rightness (understood as the opposite of left) is symbolic of something good. But in the things of God, a deviation is a deviation even if it is to the ‘right’(2). This is why in Isaiah 30:21 the Bible says:

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Balance of the Scripture is the most delicate thing. It is tricky staying on this balance. It should be the pursuit of our life as an on-going process. We can only get help in this ceaseless process if we sincerely surrender to and focus on the One and only One who is perfect—the Lord Jesus Christ. Because it is a process, I cannot claim that I personally have achieved it in its fullness. But I pursue it because I am conscious about it.

One of the most important challenges to Christianity is that in anything we do, we are faced with a daunting task of finding the right balance. Otherwise, extremes even of what looks good may be as dangerous as vices themselves. This is why Ecclesiastes 7:16 warns: Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise—why destroy yourself? (NIV). It is important to remember, nevertheless, that balance is not about compromise; it is rather being radically christocentric.

Extremes make us build mountains of rituals and embankments of doctrines on some areas and neglecting equally important aspects in others. There is only one extreme that would pass for any degree—love and commitment to God. All other things must find the right balance. Take for example food: extreme love of food or put it this way, overindulgence to food is as dangerous as poison itself.

The Importance of Balance

Balance brings completeness. It is what is required, for example, in the relationship between word and work; it shows when water is death and when it is life; when prosperity is a blessing and when it is a curse; when poverty is a curse and when it is a blessing. Balance calls our attention to all aspects of prosperity so that the latter is not understood only in material contexts. Balance shows the poverty of the rich and the wealth of the poor; it exposes the greed of the generous as it extols selfless giving.

Balance tells you that when you ask you will get, but at the same time doesn’t necessarily blame you if you don’t get what you asked for. This is because balance is aware that both reality and Scripture have more variables in this area, namely:

God being a Father—and a perfect One at that...

i) He knows what you need even before you ask. Therefore, He doesn’t always wait for you to ask. There are many things that God has given you without you asking. The first on the list is YOU. You didn’t ask to be born in this world.

ii) He uses His discretion to decide whether to grant or not. Therefore, you may ask and not get. The fact that you have asked doesn’t put Him in a corner. Show me anyone who claims to have received ALL he has ever asked God for and I will show you either a spoilt child or a pretender.

iii) He may give you what you need rather than what you want. Therefore, you can ask for X and you get Y. But remember that this is not in the sense of asking for fish and getting snake.

There are so many reasons why the above variations can occur, I will not go into those here.

Balance doesn’t build a mountain of doctrine out of an isolated experience with God. In a teaching he entitled, He Saw, He Left, He Conquered, Ravi Zacharias asks this question: Have you ever pondered how God raised Joseph in a desert in order to use him in a palace and raised Moses in a palace in order to use him in a desert? There is a tendency of people who are trained in the desert insisting, or behaving in a manner likely to suggest that God would use you only if you went through an identical training as them.

Balance prepares you to accept the fact that what God tells you in a whisper is as important as what He tells you in a thunder. Balance tells you to be prepared to meet God in different ways: He may whisper or thunder, but you must not miss Him even in a whisper because expect Him to thunder.

Balance acts like a judge between two people disagreeing about the colour of the zebra: white with black stripes or black with white stripes. Balance presents Christ as a Lamb but doesn’t forget to present Him as a Lion as well.

Balance is about consistency. True Christianity has an affinity to what is consistent both doctrinally and practically. What this means is that:

i) Doctrine must not be in conflict with itself;

ii) Doctrine must not be in conflict with the practice;

iii) Practice must not be in conflict with itself. A house divided against itself cannot stand, says the Lord (Matt. 12:25);

iv) The inside must be in harmony with the outside;

v) It is not the light from the outside that influences one’s practice but the light of Christ from the inside. This is possible only if He indeed lives in you.

Balance makes the whole body of Christ be built without some parts being neglected. Balance allows everyone in the body of Christ to build his part rather than encouraging solo shows. Each person in the body of Christ is encouraged to build his area of gifting. This includes preaching. For example, instead of one man preaching Sunday in and Sunday out, others are also allowed and trained to build the body of Christ in areas the Holy Spirit has given them special insights.

This book may not be exhaustive in the way of a balanced scriptural understanding but it intends to give enough promptings and examples of the need to continuously pursue a balanced perspective of the Scripture.

With that, I trust that in the pages of this book, the reader will be prompted not only to think balance but also pursue it. May the Spirit of God minister to you the truth as we seek to find the balance together.

Ignorance: Number One Cause of Unbalanced Christianity

Before you delve into the Fundamentals of Balanced Christianity, take a moment and reflect on some of the reasons that cause inadequacy as far as the wholesome Word of God is concerned. Pray that God will help you be open to His entire Word.

I made the following statement above to describe the experience of two blind men:

"The problem was not that these people failed to survey the whole animal; it was, rather, that they didn’t know they didn’t."

This statement implies some degree of ignorance, ranging from deep-seated to mild ignorance. In the case of the two blind men, their ignorance was basically due to two things: limitation and pride. There are many types of ignorance but I will talk about four for this time. I would categorise them as follows:

i) Ignorant ignorance;

ii) Indifferent ignorance;

iii) Selective ignorance;

iv) Complacent ignorance.

i) Ignorant ignorance

This is where one doesn’t know that he doesn’t know; he is unaware that there is something to be known. It is an ignorance resulting from lack of exposure. An example of this ignorance is represented by what the disciples at Ephesus answered when Paul asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed: No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2, NIV).

ii) Indifferent ignorance

This is an ignorance caused by lack of interest. Here one knows that there is something (more) to know about a certain matter but the person lacks interest to pursue the insights thereof. A person in this case remains ignorant because he has adopted the attitude of I don’t want to know! or I am not interested! (See Matt. 23:37).

iii) Selective ignorance

This is where one ignores things that don’t seem to either gratify his expectations or fortify his convictions; it is ignorance by