How seriously should we take sin? Sin in our lives? Sin in the Church? What did Jesus say about sin in our lives? If we have an offending body part, what should we do with it?
Matthew 5:
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Many people, especially today, say this is completely figurative. Many people, especially today, are too accepting of sin. I'm not promoting self-mutilation or dismemberment. I'm am proposing that you stop sinning by any means necessary. Jesus commanded that you get rid of the sinning member. To cast out/off that which leads to sin. To separate from it.
There was a man in the Corinthian church that refused to stop sinning. What was Paul's advice to the leaders of this church?
1 Corinthians 5:
1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.
Why would he take such a drastic measure? In verse 7, Paul said that this one man in the church was contaminating the whole body. Paul was willing to send this man to his grave early (destroy the flesh) so that he might retain his salvation, and so the church could clean itself up. One more passage.
Deuteronomy 21:
18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
God tells Moses that this is how to deal with an unruly child. Why so drastic? To keep sin out of the camp. Just as a little bit of leaven effects the whole lump of dough, so sin effects the whole family, church...etc. When we look the other way with sin in our own lives or in our church, for one we are not dealing with it the way Jesus Christ commanded. And two, we are allowing sin to spread and fester within the body, when really the infection needs cut out and cast aside. But asking someone to leave the church if they continue in their sin just doesn't sound Christian, does it? Well, if you don't like that idea, try Paul's. Turn him over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh. We need to flush sin from our churches, and we need to start in our own lives...by any means necessary.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Quote
A quote from King James VI, the king who commissioned the translation of the Bible into the English language in 1604 (completed in 1611):
"Holiness [is] the first and most requisite quality of a Christian (as proceeding from true fear and knowledge of God)."
Probably won’t hear this from too many American pulpits today.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Odds and Ends
Odds:
A quote from the interim pastor at our church. He couldn't remember where he heard it from. Very true nonetheless.
"When we inoculate the world with a weak gospel, they become immune to the true gospel."
Then, when asked what he attributed the lack of dedication and sincerity in the church to, his response was:"The lack of sin being preached. People don't realize how lost they are. They think that they're good people. Why would good people have a need for a savior?" Great thoughts. It kind of surprised me to hear him say this, though. I kind of thought he was a bit too soft on sin from the pulpit.
Ends:
I had a discussion with one of the leaders in our church a couple weeks ago. He mentioned that one of the congregates asked him about the potential new ministers wife working outside of the home. The leader mentioned his opinion on Titus chapter 2. He feels that it's greatly misused. He feels that we need to focus more on the "keepers" part and not so much on the "home". Here's the passage in question:
Titus 2:
2:3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
2:4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
2:5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
How can we separate the "keepers" from the "home"? Strong's Greek dictionary says that "keepers at home" is: oy-koo-ros'
From G3624 and οὖρος ouros (a guard; be “ware”); a stayer at home, that is, domestically inclined (a “good housekeeper”): - keeper at home.
A guard...I would think you should be AT home to guard your home. A stayer at home...pretty self explanatory. Domestically inclined? Domestic comes from the Latin domesticus <>domus (house, home). I'm not buying into it. One other thing to note is that this leaders wife also works outside of the home. Maybe he's a little defensive. If a husband and wife agree that the woman works outside of the home, than the woman should work outside of the home. I don't think it's best for the family, but that's just my opinion. But don't distort the scripture to make it agree with your lifestyle.
A quote from the interim pastor at our church. He couldn't remember where he heard it from. Very true nonetheless.
"When we inoculate the world with a weak gospel, they become immune to the true gospel."
Then, when asked what he attributed the lack of dedication and sincerity in the church to, his response was:"The lack of sin being preached. People don't realize how lost they are. They think that they're good people. Why would good people have a need for a savior?" Great thoughts. It kind of surprised me to hear him say this, though. I kind of thought he was a bit too soft on sin from the pulpit.
Ends:
I had a discussion with one of the leaders in our church a couple weeks ago. He mentioned that one of the congregates asked him about the potential new ministers wife working outside of the home. The leader mentioned his opinion on Titus chapter 2. He feels that it's greatly misused. He feels that we need to focus more on the "keepers" part and not so much on the "home". Here's the passage in question:
Titus 2:
2:3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
2:4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
2:5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
How can we separate the "keepers" from the "home"? Strong's Greek dictionary says that "keepers at home" is: oy-koo-ros'
From G3624 and οὖρος ouros (a guard; be “ware”); a stayer at home, that is, domestically inclined (a “good housekeeper”): - keeper at home.
A guard...I would think you should be AT home to guard your home. A stayer at home...pretty self explanatory. Domestically inclined? Domestic comes from the Latin domesticus <>domus (house, home). I'm not buying into it. One other thing to note is that this leaders wife also works outside of the home. Maybe he's a little defensive. If a husband and wife agree that the woman works outside of the home, than the woman should work outside of the home. I don't think it's best for the family, but that's just my opinion. But don't distort the scripture to make it agree with your lifestyle.
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