There's a pastor who posted this about his church ~
Let's examine the purpose for the church. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love {Ephesians 4:12-16}. This, my friends, is the true definition and purpose of what church is all about. We must STOP being like children, tossed to and fro; listening to the lies of those who are not preaching the Word of God.
Let's examine the purpose for the church. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love {Ephesians 4:12-16}. This, my friends, is the true definition and purpose of what church is all about. We must STOP being like children, tossed to and fro; listening to the lies of those who are not preaching the Word of God.
The
church in Corinth was SO messed up that Paul wrote two books in the Bible to
them. He strongly rebuked them for allowing a man who was having sex with his
step-mother to remain in the church. Do you not know that a little
leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as
you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed…
But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he
is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard,
or a swindler-- not even to eat with such a one.
For what have I to do with
judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those
who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES {1 Corinthians 5:6-13}.
The church is a place to equip the SAINTS so they can go out
into the world and spread the Gospel. Yes, anyone is welcome into the church
for the purpose of hearing the Gospel, repenting, believing and becoming a new
creature in Christ. It is NOT a place to promote or honor those who are living
in sin. NO! This is what Paul was exhorting and rebuking the church in Corinth
about.
If a church wants to spread
around a post about their church, it should read something more along the lines
of this; All are welcome here!
We are a family of believers who God calls saints. Our goal is to love others
deeply, forgive freely and show grace to others as the Lord has done for us. If
you are interested in hearing the Truth of the Gospel, come in and let us
explain to you how much Jesus loves you and His power to transform you so you
can be freed from your sin and walk in newness of life!
Why would we want to draw others to church if we looked just like the world? We are God's transformed children by
the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. As soon as we believe, we are new creatures
and transformed by renewing our minds with God's Truth. His Spirit is working
mightily within us to be salt and light to a dark and decaying world. Now, go
find a church that teaches biblical Truth that will inspire you to be like
Jesus with other believers who will encourage you towards godliness and NOT brag about their bondage to ungodly and unholy living. "He chose us for a purpose - to be
His holy people. To come out of the world and NOT be common or unclean anymore" {John Piper}.
