What should a young brother or young sister do during a period when there is lots of arguments or issues in the local church? Personally I am bothered by this but at the same time we are still living in the church. It seems that Lord sometimes gives us lots of trials there to test us.
Response:
You are right that the Lord uses trials to test us. First Peter 1:6-7 say, “In which time you exult, though for a little while at present, if it must be, you have been made sorrowful by various trials, So that the proving of your faith, much more precious than of gold which perishes though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” According to this verse, it is the proving of our faith, not our faith itself, that is much more precious than gold. First Corinthians 11:19 also says, “For there must even be parties among you, that those who are approved may become manifest among you.” Parties form because of arguments and issues. This is negative but there can be a positive result; those who are approved by God become manifested. In a positive environment, all may seem to be similar but when issues arise, the views, attitudes and actions of some will be of God, but those of others will not be.
We can look at the question of why there are troubles in the church from three angles. From our side, we are not fully transformed and renewed in our minds. If we are leaders, we may build up the church partially according to our natural concept. Even if we are not leaders, our participation in and expectations of the church will be to some extent natural and fleshly. These elements that are not of Christ will be a fruitful source of different opinions and conflict.
This brings us to the second angle from which we can view the issues in the church. Anything natural or fleshly is a weak spot that Satan can exploit to attack the church. As long as there is a fresh supply and the saints are enjoying the church life, Satan will not be able to damage the church much. But as soon as the enjoyment begins to decline, the natural elements and opinions will be used by Satan to damage the church through issues and divisions among the saints.
The third angle from which to view the issues in the church is from the Lord's point of view. It was hard for me to understand why stumblingblocks were necessary (Matt. 18:7). The reason is that natural elements are blemishes to the church the Lord is building. The Lord allows the trouble they bring to shake us out of our complacency. Sufferings and trials are the Lord’s refining fire for our purification. Without them, we would never be delivered from our own natural elements to be ready to meet the Lord.
A good illustration is the story of Job. He was seeking to please the Lord the best he knew how (Job 1:1). Then it almost seems that the Lord invited Satan to attack Job (1:8; 2:3). Neither Job nor his friends could understand the calamities that came upon him. His friends thought that God was punishing Job for some terrible secret sin. Job rejected their accusations but eventually complained that the Lord was attacking him without cause (9:17). The Lord came in to reveal more of Himself to Job only after all present had finished all their speaking. The troubles that came upon Job stripped him of his perfection. Without that stripping, how could Job have realized his need to repent and abhor himself? This prepared him to know the Lord in a deeper way and to deeply realize his need of Him (42:6-7).
So what should a young person do? First of all we should not be discouraged. Yes, some shortcoming left an opening for Satan to attack, but in the end, the Lord will gain the victory. Some of the saints may indeed be stumbled, but others will be forced to seek the Lord and the truth in a deeper way. We want to be those who are enlightened brought to repentance when issues arise.
I think Daniel is a good example for us. In his prayer for the recovery of God’s people to rebuild the holy city and temple in chapter 9, he repented for the sins of God’s people. When I first read that I thought, “Daniel, you weren’t like that. Why are you repenting for the sins of others?” Later on I appreciated his prayer very much. Daniel did not stand apart from God’s people as if he were different and in a position of being able to criticize them. He humbled himself, taking a stand as one of the sinful and rebellious people of God, and prayed for God’s forgiveness. The Lord heard that prayer and even revealed more to Daniel. Similarly, even when others are doing or saying things that we cannot, in good conscience, go along with, it is time for us to humble ourselves before the Lord and seek Him more earnestly. The Lord will gain what He desires; that is certain. The question for us is whether we will gain His reward or whether we will still have lessons to make up during the kingdom. Another thing that is certain is that we will not become the Lord’s overcomers without passing through trials in which we need to overcome.