I see a day coming when the true church, the church that God is pruning, will ARISE and show all of us who God really is and who WE really are in Christ. It will be a church of power, healing, righteousness, purity, and it won't be a catholic, presbyterian, episcopalian, non-denominational, whatever denominational church. It will be the TRUE Church, led by God himself, not man and his foolish doctrines. I can't wait. I am so tired of churchianity and judgemental christians who seem to live to bash other christians. God WILL cleanse the church. We don't have to do it. He is shaking the church even now--re Ted Haggard and others. All we have to do is watch it happen and pray for those men and women in power. They, as we, can be very easily deceived so we need to pray for them, not tear them down at every opportunity.
BZZZT!!!
He is shaking the church even now--re Ted Haggard and others. All we have to do is watch it happen and pray for those men and women in power. They, as we, can be very easily deceived so we need to pray for them, not tear them down at every opportunity.
Wrong answer!
"These men" are not supposed to BE "in power"!
When you have "men in power", look out!
"Church" is NOT about "power", and "ministry" -- the word -- means to serve (as in "servant").
When you see people rising to positions of POWER -- when you see "the church" taking on the structures and characteristics of secular government, you ought to be having all kinds of red flags and alarms going off. Danger, Will Robinson!
And it's even more chilling when secular government itself embraces this kind of "ecclesiastical organization".
Birds of a feather flock together!
The ONLY thing I'm gonna pray for regarding some so-called "minister" who is "in power" is that he get tossed OUT of power -- as summarily, expeditiously. and unceremoniously as possible!
The "Body of Christ" has ONE head. And it ain't bobblin' above any Hawaiian shirt, either!
When "the church" has taken on the trappings of "the world", it ceases to be "the church".
In "the world" -- "the world system", AKA "cosmos" -- "leadership" is "power" -- and power emanates from the top down.
In the view of this system in the Book of Revelation, there's a pyramid view -- a the top, the things that are the most precious, the most valuable, the most rare -- gold, silver, precious gems -- and at the bottom, that commodity that is the most common, the least valuable, the most readily disposable -- "the souls of men", is I believe how it's termed.
In the world "stuff", and "money", and POWER are what matters, and "success" is gauged in the amount of these things one has accumulated.
In "the church", it's the opposite. An upside-down pyramid. A "leader" has the position of the least prestige, power, influence. He is a servant. What is MOST valuable is "the souls of men."
Look at the "leaders" in the New Testament -- or even the Old Testament for that matter. "Types and shadows", you know.
The "leadership type" guys were always major nightmares. Grief on wheels.
God wanted to give Israel David -- but ONLY when they kept demanding a King -- so that they could be like all the other nations of the world.
So, God tried to give them David, a man after his own heart.
Israel said screw that, we want a REAL King -- someone with prestige -- a man who stands head and shoulders above the crowd. We want Saul!
So God says, well, if I do that, your King won't do all those things you think he's gonna do. Nope. He's gonna take your sons and send them into battle to die FOR his prestige. He's gonna take what you've got, and leave yoru lives and land a ruin.
But, they insisted, so God shrugs his shoulders and says fine, have it your way.
The rest, as they say, is history.
By the way, did I mention that I'm paraphrasing??? (I know y'all can't obect to that!)
In the NT, how many "leaders" pranced about in robes, with people falling at their feet treating them as if they were Rick Warren? LOL!
We've come a wrong way, baby!
How do we do this?
2 Corinthians 11:14 says that Satan masquerades as an Angel of light and his servants as workers of righteousness. Given this, how are we to tell the difference between good and bad light and the posers and the real workers of righteousness?
Titus 1;10 says that "...there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers,...they must be silenced because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach...These people should be rebuked sharply so that they will be sound in the faith...They claim to know God but by their actions deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good".
Given your admonition, how could/would anyone ever carry out clear commands in Scripture to refute false teaching and the false teachers?
How could we contend for the faith given your constraints?
The Apostle Paul named false teachers and turned them over to Satan...Do you have any words of admonition for him, as well?