Quote:
Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah
I think it is becoming obvious that this is true. The term "the true church" vs some random meeting implies so much, as though there is a set of requirements which must be met before the gathering reaches the lofty heights of "the church". It is a term that is puffed up, every bit as much as the MOTA. Deputy authority may be a true Biblical principal, but it is used as the nozzle by which they puff up the MOTA, the elders, the "true church". These are like giant floats in the Thanksgiving day parade.
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In his final words on earth, written to Timothy (2.20), Paul likens the church to a great house. It is great because it is the house of God. Yet this house had all kinds of vessels, some precious, yet some earthen, some honorable, yet some dishonorable. All kinds, good and bad, just like the church today.
Like the parable of the tares, God accepts this reality, and let things be, just as it seems today in the greater body of Christ. Yet in the subsequent verses, and so many places elsewhere in scripture, the Spirit calls on the children of God to "cleanse ourselves." It is like the call to each of the 7 churches in Revelation to "overcome."
How different is this to Lee's way. He builds a walled city, declaring all insiders holy to God on the proper ground, and condemns all outsiders as degraded and hopeless. He refuses to admit that we are all part of the same house. He mistakenly thinks that the wall keeps all the degraded things out, and all the holy things in. Sorry, sounds good, almost like the New Jerusalem, but it doesn't work that way in this age. There is no "true" church, only cleansed vessels. "Flee youthful lusts" rather than flee the house of God.
At the time I departed from the Recovery, I was overwhelmed with how much degradation was INSIDE the walled recovery, especially among the leaders in the "work." When I started meeting elsewhere, I discovered how many holy blessings were OUTSIDE the walled Recovery. After all, we all are fallen. Fallen Christians living inside the walled Recovery are just as prone to the "dishonorable" side of God's house as those without. Perhaps more so, fueled by pride and arrogance. How else do we get endless lawsuits, motorhome scams, excommunications, etc.? There's far more honor outside of those walls.