Jesus said, "... Upon this rock, I will build my church..." Matthew 16: 18
I was talking with a preacher friend of mine one time when I asked how is church was doing. He said to me, "Brother, my church would be doing great if it wasnt' for the people." Well, we both had a good laugh recognizing that without the people there would be no church. But underneath that simple humor lies an element of truth. The church of God, that is the people of God, not the building or the property, but the people are often times their own worst enemy.
I certainly do not want there to be any misunderstanding here. I love the church! I enjoy church! I will always be a part of a local church. However, there must be recognition given to the fact that the church is made up of imperfect people who, not only can innocently make mistakes, but also sometimes can deliberately sin and rebel against the Lord. Of course, this leads to problems in the church. By the way,it must be understood: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PERFECT CHURCH! And as I have so often heard it said: if you find the perfect church then don't join it, 'cause then you'll mess it up!
Now, having acknowledged my love and devotion to Christ's church I do feel it is warranted to examine and evaluate the condition of the church. It has been my observation in 16 years of ministry that people have a tendency to run to extremes. With respect to the church I will classify the extremes as the 'lovers & the haters.' On one hand you have the extreme of the 'lovers' who can go so far in their devotion to the church that they elevate church over Christ. This is sin and can not be tolerated! They forget Colossians 1:18 which says, "... And He [Christ] is the head of the body, that in all things He [Christ] may have the preeminence..." They fail to keep Scripture as the standard and in so doing tradition and men's opinions become the authority and the guide. Soon the church is overidden with dead religion and men live in the misery of their own futile, humanistic thoughts. Self is the new god and the Savior is relegated to the status of a lucky rabbit's foot. I wonder how many churches in America could be described like this?
On the other hand, you have the 'haters.' This group sees absolutely nothing good in the church. Now, mind you, in both groups I'm talking about people who are a part of the church and profess to be believers. The 'haters' are best known for their gryping, grumbling and complaining. They are often control freaks who get along fine with everyone until something happens that causes them to not have their way. It is then that they grumble and grype. They will often politicize church; maneuver themselves against God-ordained authority in the church. They will undermine the pastor, the elders and deacons. Of course such a person never does this in the open. They are usually way too cowardly to do so. No, they do their work in the background, on the telephone, or in secret meetings. Make no mistake they seem to be the greatest and godliest people in the church, until they're crossed. Then their true colors a revealed.
May God have mercy! I have often said that the reason why there are so few, in this country, coming to Christ is because they've been to church! They've been to church and see nothing there that is any different than any other venue in society! Oh, what an indictment! The truth is we must remember that the church is the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ! She isn't our hobby! She isn't our play toy! She isn't our gang or our group! She is the church! She is the bride of Christ! And no one has any business treating the bride in any fashion less than the way her bridegroom (Jesus) would have her to be treated (Ephesians 5: 25-33)! At the same time as part of the church we must learn to practice Biblical principles for the purpose of growth, harmony and ultimately the glory of God! We practice examination for the purpose of edification! We examine and unveil our hearts, our motives and our methods before God so that we can change and correct according to the will and the Word of the Lord. But in order to be clear I'm talking about us! I'm talking about the people. For, you see the real trouble with church is not the building, the plumbing or the sound system. The real trouble with the church is when people run to an extreme behavior that is unscriptural, unhealthy and ungodly. The individual believer must daily crucify the flesh and choose to live a surrendered life to Christ. In my estimation this is the only way for the church to overcome her shortcomings and remain spiritually effective for the kingdom of God. Until then I look forward to that grand adn glorious day described in I Thessalonians 4: 13- 18 when Jesus will snatch His bride up out of this world, glorify her, and perfect her and remove ALL the trouble out of her! Even so, come Lord Jesus!
I was talking with a preacher friend of mine one time when I asked how is church was doing. He said to me, "Brother, my church would be doing great if it wasnt' for the people." Well, we both had a good laugh recognizing that without the people there would be no church. But underneath that simple humor lies an element of truth. The church of God, that is the people of God, not the building or the property, but the people are often times their own worst enemy.
I certainly do not want there to be any misunderstanding here. I love the church! I enjoy church! I will always be a part of a local church. However, there must be recognition given to the fact that the church is made up of imperfect people who, not only can innocently make mistakes, but also sometimes can deliberately sin and rebel against the Lord. Of course, this leads to problems in the church. By the way,it must be understood: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PERFECT CHURCH! And as I have so often heard it said: if you find the perfect church then don't join it, 'cause then you'll mess it up!
Now, having acknowledged my love and devotion to Christ's church I do feel it is warranted to examine and evaluate the condition of the church. It has been my observation in 16 years of ministry that people have a tendency to run to extremes. With respect to the church I will classify the extremes as the 'lovers & the haters.' On one hand you have the extreme of the 'lovers' who can go so far in their devotion to the church that they elevate church over Christ. This is sin and can not be tolerated! They forget Colossians 1:18 which says, "... And He [Christ] is the head of the body, that in all things He [Christ] may have the preeminence..." They fail to keep Scripture as the standard and in so doing tradition and men's opinions become the authority and the guide. Soon the church is overidden with dead religion and men live in the misery of their own futile, humanistic thoughts. Self is the new god and the Savior is relegated to the status of a lucky rabbit's foot. I wonder how many churches in America could be described like this?
On the other hand, you have the 'haters.' This group sees absolutely nothing good in the church. Now, mind you, in both groups I'm talking about people who are a part of the church and profess to be believers. The 'haters' are best known for their gryping, grumbling and complaining. They are often control freaks who get along fine with everyone until something happens that causes them to not have their way. It is then that they grumble and grype. They will often politicize church; maneuver themselves against God-ordained authority in the church. They will undermine the pastor, the elders and deacons. Of course such a person never does this in the open. They are usually way too cowardly to do so. No, they do their work in the background, on the telephone, or in secret meetings. Make no mistake they seem to be the greatest and godliest people in the church, until they're crossed. Then their true colors a revealed.
May God have mercy! I have often said that the reason why there are so few, in this country, coming to Christ is because they've been to church! They've been to church and see nothing there that is any different than any other venue in society! Oh, what an indictment! The truth is we must remember that the church is the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ! She isn't our hobby! She isn't our play toy! She isn't our gang or our group! She is the church! She is the bride of Christ! And no one has any business treating the bride in any fashion less than the way her bridegroom (Jesus) would have her to be treated (Ephesians 5: 25-33)! At the same time as part of the church we must learn to practice Biblical principles for the purpose of growth, harmony and ultimately the glory of God! We practice examination for the purpose of edification! We examine and unveil our hearts, our motives and our methods before God so that we can change and correct according to the will and the Word of the Lord. But in order to be clear I'm talking about us! I'm talking about the people. For, you see the real trouble with church is not the building, the plumbing or the sound system. The real trouble with the church is when people run to an extreme behavior that is unscriptural, unhealthy and ungodly. The individual believer must daily crucify the flesh and choose to live a surrendered life to Christ. In my estimation this is the only way for the church to overcome her shortcomings and remain spiritually effective for the kingdom of God. Until then I look forward to that grand adn glorious day described in I Thessalonians 4: 13- 18 when Jesus will snatch His bride up out of this world, glorify her, and perfect her and remove ALL the trouble out of her! Even so, come Lord Jesus!
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