Quote:
Originally Posted by BreadFish
Hi, Saints
I truely understand what you are talking. I also acknowledge that there are many problems in Local church. Anyway, we should spend more time to contact with our Lord Jesus and preach Gospel to others, instead of discussing how about Brother Lee, or how about Saint Paul, Saint Barabas? We should follow the good teachings of these brothers, right? Even Barabas left Paul, he is still a pattern of us since he sold all he has and consected himself to the Lord.
Our Lord Jesus told us we should pay more attention to the greater things such as "Love, Mercy, Justice", not one tenth of "celery, fennel", either infinite arguments.
I believe the Lord is working in the Local church. Brothers and Sisters in Local Church are true believers. Those who don't express Lord and misuse debuty authority or otherthings will be resposible for the Lord. Our Lord Jesus is governing all things. The older generation will past, the new generation will rise, the spiritual situation in different Local churchs are updating.
May God bless us.
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BreadFish,
Thanks for coming to the forum as a local church member and acknowledging the problems in the local church.
However, related to the rest of your post, if we think of the New Testament, much of it is indeed written discussing the problems and pitfalls at length, and chastising or correcting those whose living is not in line with the gospel. I agree that if a person's ENTIRE emphasis is only on the problems, to the neglect of the gospel, that is a problem, but to take a position that we should in some way not pay attention to the "negative" things or that it's a waste of time to do so is simply not the testimony of the Bible.
As an example of problems discussed in the Bible, we have sins of the heart, adultery, hypocrisy, lording it over others, abuse, sexual immorality, unrepentance, self-aggrandizement, inordinate judgment, false prophets, demon possession, legalism, unrighteousness, hard heartedness, unbelief, blindness, unforgiveness, greed, wickedness, drunkenness, false teachings, lies, slander, and on and on. And that's primarily just the book of Matthew only!
I would also argue that your query that "we should still follow the good teachings of these brothers, right?" is problematic. If someone has a ministry which is composed of a large number of false teachings.....that ministry is too leavened to trust. And anything we follow that Lee happened to get right, we follow because it is right, not because it is Lee who got it right.
With members of this forum continuing to bring the unconfessed evil deeds in the local church to the light, this is indeed paying attention to the greater things such as love, mercy, justice, etc. The amount of people in the local church who have had those very things stolen from them when they should have received them is shameful.
Additionally, Jesus says in Matthew 23 to pay attention to the weightier things
without neglecting the small things. If you really consider the problems discussed here to be small, Jesus says not to neglect the small.
Yes, it is true that the Lord is governing, and that those who misuse deputy authority (there is no proper use of deputy authority, by the way, since "deputy authority" is not a New Testament church concept but a known abusive teaching in bad groups) are responsible before the Lord.....but that is nowhere near the full story. It simply isn't true that we avoid problems, or ignore them, or do nothing about them because ultimately "the Lord will take care of it". This is inconceivable! The church is to be light and salt NOW, and professing believers who claim to be light while harboring darkness are hypocrites and liars. Nowhere in the Bible is damaging behavior tolerated in the church.
Please reconsider the way that you think about these things, and start bringing every thought you have, that has been put in you by the ministry, to the light to see if it holds up to the Word. So much of what is in the local church does not.
Please continue to stick around to dialogue.
Trapped