Accountability in the Body

Interesting, we forget that when we do not handle sin God's way we have to continually deal with the effects of it. The sinner doesn't learn anything and will not stop, in fact over time the sinner becomes worse because they have learned that it is profitable in some way for them to continue in it.

Proverbs 19:19 "A man of great anger will bear the penalty, For if you rescue him, you will only have to do it again."

The "just love them" mantra only empowers those who walk in ...rebellion. True love is to rebuke them, if they repent then they will profit from that, if they do not repent then they go down the slippery slope of enhanced sin all by themselves, while we move away with the understanding that we cannot help those who refuse to listen.

Matthew 18:15-17 "15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."

Boundaries For Giving

We have to make clear our boundaries. The entitlement mentality is growing since the onset of the self esteem teaching over the past 40 years.

We were raised to never ask others for things, it was impolite. We were raised that if we get something we ought to earn it. We were taught to share not merely giving what someone wants, but what is a real need.

Removing the incentive to work to earn our own way by indiscriminately giving while the recipient wastes the funds they have on foolish things, is dooming the recipient to a life of poverty.

Proverbs 10:4 "Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich."
If you want to truly love someone, give them the opportunity to earn what they need, two things will happen, they will have dignity and they will not need our resources.

An old saying; "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

2 Thessalonians 3:10 "For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either."

The Culture Doesn't Understand Love

We know that our culture doesn't understand what love looks like. Love snatches people from things that will harm them. Hate encourages people to continue to do what they want that will destroy them. Simple!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=521453324684961&set=p.521453324684961&type=3&theater

Obedience?

John 14:15
"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
So tell me, what is so hard to understand about this verse?

Correcting Wrong Doctrine is not Divisive

The culture has become so narcissistic that speaking against sin or correcting a wrong choice is unthinkable to most people. Most people feel free to correct us when things are culturally and politically incorrect, but rage against us when we speak the principles of God.

God's ways are not the ways of our culture. So much Scripture is being violated in the church gatherings that I can hardly call these gatherings "Christian." 

Those who rage the loudest and most intensely often are those who are in the church. They are unteachable, arrogant and divisive through wrong doctrine, but call those who use the Scriptures as the standard...divisive. 

It is not correction about doctrine that is divisive, it is bad doctrine or no doctrine that is divisive. We are no longer correcting wrong doctrine or putting out of the fellowship those who bring pagan practices, they are allowed to remain and even embraced, "just to encourage them."

I really hate that concept that we allow a baby believer to have his way in the church simply to "encourage him." Why on earth would we want to encourage a baby believer to bring in wrong teaching or doctrine?  

We need to be correcting and teaching the baby believer. If the baby believer leaves and becomes angry then we know we may be dealing with a pretender, who never became born again.

Anger at being taught or corrected is an indication that someone was never born again, they simply wanted the safety of the church and the enjoyment of the love of believers. 

A truly born again believer hungers after the truth, praying and listening to more seasoned believers to gain wisdom. When someone enters the church with the attitude that everyone should accept whatever they are without challenge, that person is not seeking Christ but personal glory.

The best way to weed out of the church the pretenders is to maintain Scriptural integrity, challenge where needed speaking boldly the truth, this all by itself will chase away those who are full of themselves whose aim is to be in a social club that elevates them personally. 

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, 3:17 That the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

2 Timothy 2:24,25 And the Lord's bond servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, 2:25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth.

Matthew 7:3 And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye ?
7:4 Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye and behold, the log is in your own eye ?
7:5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

2 Thessalonians 3:14 And if anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that man and do not associate with him, so that he may be put to shame, 2:15 And yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

1 Timothy 5:1 Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, 5:2 the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.

Proverbs 6:23; 3:12; 23:13; 29:17; Jeremiah 30:11; Titus 1:13; 2:15; 1 Timothy 5:20; Revelation 3:19; Luke 17:3