Quote:
Originally Posted by Igzy
Nowhere does the Bible condemn systems per se. Everything is a system. LSM is a system, your local church is a system. Even the Body of Christ is a system. It's just the Lord's system. If I study the Bible systematically, that's a system. Since when is that a bad thing?
"System" is one of those bugaboo words that Lee set us against. The question is not whether something is a system, because everything is. The question is what kind of system is it and is it compatible with the Holy Spirit.
Being against "systems" allows you to condemn Christianity as a system, but exempt your own movement from being one, even though both are.
Like I said, the Bible doesn't condemn systems. Ephesians 4:14 condemns a "system of error," but that's "of error."
Condemning systems for being systems is just sloppy thinking.
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Ok. I have to accept that all local churches are systems. But, that does not make it good. I know Br. Lee has spoken against the system. But I do not remember any particular message in which he says anything about systems.
When I read your post, I was reminded of 1 Samuel 7:8 where the Lord says that the people asking for a King were rejecting the Lord. From that verse, I understand that the Lord wanted the people to walk as per the Lord's speaking (through prophets). When the people wanted a king, the Lord saw it as a rejection of the Lord. The king creates a system, instead of letting the Lord lead the people.
Today, the Lord is not speaking through old testament prophets, but through the Son (Heb 1:1, 2) who was the Word (John 1:1) and became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor 15:45) and dwells in us (Rom 8:11). So, we need to walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:16, 18, 25, ...). And, if we walk by the Spirit, we will not need systems.
In a perfect world, we would not need apostles or teachers either because the Spirit would be sufficient (Heb 8;11, Jer 31:34, 1 John 2:27, ).
Unfortunately, We have systems because we still have the flesh in us.