What is the boundary of the Local Church?

[Evangelical]

Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah

And I also pointed out that they were not significant people, they were unlearned fishermen. So when the elites saw them they did not consider them to be anything.

you wrote previously:

"all of our doctrinal issues are defined in the writings of Paul, Peter, John and the various apostles."

These seem like significant people as they define all of our doctrinal issues.

[ZNPaaneah]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

you wrote previously:

"all of our doctrinal issues are defined in the writings of Paul, Peter, John and the various apostles."

These seem like significant people as they define all of our doctrinal issues.

At the judgement seat of Christ we will know how the Lord judges us. Till then we are told not to despise the least of these brethren. This is repeated by James in his epistle. This is repeated by Peter when he baptized the gentiles. This is repeated in the experience of Paul when a small brother laid hands on him so he could get his sight.

On the other hand Peter shrinking from the Gentiles in Galatians because "brothers from James came" indicates they were "significant brothers".

Yes, Paul wrote the NT, but he was also a prisoner that those in Asia had abandoned and very few even visited in prison. His name means "small". And he said he was "less than the least of all saints". 2,000 years later you can make him appear "significant" but at the time he was despised by many, if not most.

[ZNPaaneah]

Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of them that say they are Jews, and they are not, but do lie

We now discover, hidden in Matthew 18, the boundary between the church and the synagogue of Satan.

Satan is a liar, and the father of lies. Matt 18 forces you to either follow the Lord in Truth or to lie. You have no other option. All Christians claim that their meeting, their decisions are "in the name of Jesus Christ". It is given in benedictions, mottos, slogans, etc.

But if you are truly "in Christ" you would humble yourself as a little child. The problem is a false prophet can't do that, they have to befuddle people with the false impression that they are someone "significant", someone with a special vision, a special calling, "the Apostle", "The Prophet". A false prophet cannot allow "little brothers" and "the common laity" to question what they are doing, otherwise they would not be able to fleece the sheep. So they must lie.

There will be those who are "stumbled" once they realize that "the Apostle" has fleeced them. The False prophet cannot allow others to go seeking out the lost sheep because if you did you would discover his sins, so he must lie to prevent us from being one with "the Great Shepherd" in seeking out the lost sheep. They have to lie, claiming they are in Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep, while making their disciples two times the son of Gehenna.

This is the Clergy laity system, where some people are "significant brothers" when it comes to running the church, disciplining the saints, and functioning. Others are "small brothers" who are despised. These small brothers are the boundary, the wall, the canary in the coal mine. They are too "small" to have a profit motive (the false prophet is a prophet for hire). They are the first to see that someone is being taken advantage of. If you feel you are "too small and insignificant" to speak up about something, then you can be sure you are in the synagogue of Satan, you are not in Christ. If you have to lie to defend your "faith" you are not in the church, you are in the synagogue of Satan and are taking after the father of lies.

for that they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever