The idea that it is wrong to influence people to leave a church to join a more compatible gathering by accusing others of "sheep stealing" has no basis in Scripture.
There is no such example in the scriptures of "formal membership" into any congregation of born-again believers. This is nothing more than the traditions of men.
Attending a local body of believers is not anything like a marriage as some people have asserted to intimidate people into remaining in their particular gathering. Marriage is based on a covenant one person with another. We are commanded by God to make a commitment with a spouse for life. There is no such covenant in church gatherings, not even an example of it being practiced in the local new testament churches written of in the Bible.
Here again, we experience modern ideas concocted by men to control and intimidate people into making commitments that God never commanded.
It is a good idea to take every accusation and every assertion to prayer and the Word of God to see if it is true. There are so many rules and mandates exercised in churches today that the people using them have been indoctrinated into believing. This only works because most church attendees do not know their Bibles and are not very interested in the way God wants things to be done. Many people have placed their trust in men with degrees over the wisdom of God through the Holy Spirit. It's downright silly when you understand the ways of God.
When someone cannot prove a mandate is from God with scripture then we are free to disregard that mandate. If someone accuses us to intimidate us into their particular version of obedience without scripture to back them up, then we are free to ignore their version.
What a wonderful freedom we have when we are not worried about what people will think of us. It is interesting that men place more burdens on the people than God does. There is more freedom in Christ than there is with self-exalted leaders.
Matthew 23:15 "“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."
Matthew 23:3-5 "…3 So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.…"
Times are not different from the days when Christ walked the earth. Men still want the glory and the power over people rather than giving it to Christ.
Many preachers go to bible schools and seminaries to learn how to become superior to others these days. They are unteachable arrogant and self-righteous ones who think their education affords them the luxury of lording it over the people to control them.
1 Peter 5:2-4 "…2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but because it is God’s will; not out of greed, but out of eagerness; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.…"
Leaders in the church should be a group of elders, not one man who is paid. That group of elders is not called to force, intimidate or manipulate anyone into compliance with their rules. Proper eldership is when the group of men is chosen because they have been proven to be godly, exhibiting all the fruit of the Spirit, and are teachable.
2 Timothy 2:15
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."
2 Timothy 2:24 " 24 And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing. "
Here is an example of why there has been a misunderstanding about the phrase; "able to teach." The words in the original language do not mean the preacher is good at teaching, it means that the preacher is able to be taught himself.
Every man in the fellowship should be allowed to preach and teach and be taught themselves. No one is superior to anyone else because it is only the Holy Spirit Who works in all of them Who is superior.
There is an old prayer the preachers used to use in their prayers before they preached in the gatherings; "Lord let me be hid behind you", meaning the peacher did not consider himself the source of wisdom, he knew it was the Holy Spirit Who was the source and the preacher was merely the messenger.
With the onset of the "self" generation, we see the preachers acting and preaching as though they are the ones who must influence the congregation, therefore they must be "talented" enough to sway them.
A true preacher of the word does not depend on his own clever devices and delivery to influence others. He depends on the Holy Spirit as he is led by Him, giving out the pure word and letting it influence the people. The result of his preaching is not his business, it is God's business. He merely obeys and God brings the increase in the hearts of those who want to know Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:6-8
"6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 8 Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor."
Bible Colleges and Seminaries often teach methods and techniques to reach the people rather than reliance on the Holy Spirit. I have heard more than once in my discussions with people that "we should say things in a way that they will receive it", as though the technique takes priority over the power of the Holy Spirit.
We see a lot of flippancy and disrespect for the Word because of the erroneous idea that pastors must be entertainers.
If this were true that we need to say it just right then we would have to assume the apostles and Jesus Christ Himself didn't do it right because the ones who heard them murdered them.
And, we would have to assume that God didn't mean what He said when He said this:
Matthew 1:22-23 "22 You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. "
Cain killed his brother Able out of jealousy when Able was the righteous one. Many people hate believers, not because of their delivery in conversation but because they hate God.
In our day many "pastors" who have been educated cannot tolerate being corrected, they are not teachable which disqualifies them from any position as an elder in the local gathering.
We see many unbiblical ideas coming out of Christianity today that place silly heavy burdens on people, even maligning our character because of our love for the scriptures.
We must become strong enough that we are unaffected by the personal attacks since we know they are not directed at us but at the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.
Luke 10:19
"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you."
Every born-again believer has been given the authority to speak the word of God to anyone the Holy Spirit tells them to speak to, no man can negate the guidance of the Holy Spirit in someone else, unless they discern it is not the Holy Spirit because it defies scripture.
Here is where we are today:
2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears, they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."
There are scriptural standards that we should all follow for the gathering of believers, the men are to teach and preach and the women are to support them in this. The men and women alike can share the gospel with the unsaved outside the church gathering, even children can do this too. When we obey the Word of God in this order we will be at peace with God.
Make no mistake, there is an order in the church given by God in His Word, this should be obeyed. Any rule that is not Biblical and is oppressive we are free to ignore.
No comments:
Post a Comment