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}.
helen · 489 weeks ago
thank you for this post. My heart sank when I read the intro from the Pastor, this is so prevalent nowadays. We are new creations in Christ and though we may fail very badly at times (me too!), we should be growing in Godliness. It says in 2 Peter 1 vs 5 Make every effort to add to your faith goodness, and to goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge, self-control, and to self-control, perseverance , and to perseverance, godliness.
As you know re the news item I emailed you about earlier in the week, this is getting more of a 'clarion call'. I have had more replies saying 'Stop judging others, who are you to judge......, how dare you criticise others behaviour, let him who is without sin, cast the first stone'.
Thank you for hilighting this increasing viewpoint which is sadly gaining more ground.
Blessings to you
Helen UK
Lori Alexander 122p · 489 weeks ago
Roselyn Krapf · 489 weeks ago
Lori Alexander 122p · 489 weeks ago
Shiloh · 489 weeks ago
Lori Alexander 122p · 489 weeks ago
rajuncajun · 489 weeks ago
Lori Alexander 122p · 489 weeks ago
However, the greatest way to be delivered from bondage to sin is to know who you are in Christ and what He has done to free you. I recommend Michael Pearl's study of Romans! It is amazing. http://nogreaterjoy.org/audio/romans-audio/?minis...
Lady Virtue · 489 weeks ago
Indeed, the above post from the pastor sounds like he is glorying in the sins within his congregation. If the church, who are supposed to be God's called out saints, look just like the world, how can the world even be aware of its need for Christ? It seems like a lot of Christians want to identify as Christian but then insist that they never have to deny themselves or sacrifice anything and then think they can win the world to the Lord by being like the world. It's very sad, really.
Lori Alexander 122p · 489 weeks ago
@GenuineFAITH · 489 weeks ago
Lori Alexander 122p · 489 weeks ago
elspethbreathinggrace 46p · 489 weeks ago
For the record, while smoking isn't particularly wise or healthy, it is not necessarily a sin either. And no, neither I nor my husband smokes nor have we ever smoked.
Lori Alexander 122p · 489 weeks ago
I would have no problem with someone smoking outside of a church. I wouldn't call smoking a sin but it certainly isn't good for you just as drinking a lot of coke or eating junk food all day isn't good for you either or wise. It sure isn't in the list of sins that keeps one from eternal life; that is for sure!
Guest · 488 weeks ago
When my husband became a Christian he had been a heavy smoker for more than 25 years. He had a long history or drug abuse as well as an strong addiction to smoking. He was willing to give it all up to serve the Lord. He prayed earnestly that if the Lord wanted him to give up smoking, that He would enable him to do so. Within days, my husband was no longer a smoker. He went cold turkey, and had NO cravings.
So whether or not smoking is a sin I still don't know, but I do know that the Lord will enable us to do everything He asks of us, if we are willing to change/be changed by Him.
Dennis Marks · 488 weeks ago
Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including 43 known cancer-causing (carcinogenic) compounds and 400 other toxins. These include nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide, as well as formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, and DDT. Nicotine is highly addictive.
I know your tempted to tell me that overeating is sin too. Very true. But this does not excuse purposely putting tobacco into your God-given body AND spreading your toxins to others around you.
R G · 489 weeks ago
Lori Alexander 122p · 489 weeks ago
thejoyfilledwife 62p · 489 weeks ago
I am shocked at how many believers and church volunteers wear low cut tops and very short shorts, even while serving. The world has enough temptations that we don't need the church to be a continuation of that. When the leadership does not set a standard in areas like this, they are perpetuating the objectifying of women and allowing sin and temptation to reign in the house of the Lord. I'm not sure that there are a whole lot of men in most churches who are actually able to focus on the message and fellowship because of all of the women revealing themselves at every turn. It's sad that most Christians don't seem to be very set apart from the world.
Lori Alexander 122p · 489 weeks ago
Guest · 488 weeks ago
Mom · 488 weeks ago
Dennis Marks · 488 weeks ago
Lori Alexander 122p · 488 weeks ago