On Judgement and Forgiveness

I have most recently seen injustice in my own church. How does one reconcile when Christians mistreat each other and practice such brands of judgment seldom dished outside of a body of believers? I have seen people practicing biblical (some just opinions about how things ought to be)standards, enforcing the rules in such a non-loving manner that it begs the question, "do they really hear their rebukes"? Do they really get their tone? It has prompted me to thinking that we in the church should spend a little more time practicing the spirit of meekness.

Gal 6:1 says, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. I like the spirit of meekness part; I also like the ye, which are spiritual part as well. The Bible warns us to pay consideration here since we all can be tempted in the same manner. In other words self-righteousness will surely lead to judgment. Pride goeth before the fall does it not?

Finally, think about our own judgment of those who judge in unloving manners, with no semblance of meekness. Are we not considering that we all deserve hell and the penalty for sin, that in the eyes of God any righteousness that we have is inputted by Him on behalf of Christ's atonement? We must practice the blessedness of forgiveness, then as God extend to usward. How oft should our brother offend thee (and others)? Christ answered infinitely so. Lets not live under the judgment of God because we fail to practice Biblical standards in a fully Biblical way. Lets also lovingly forgive fully those who practice injustice in church with the same meekness that we demand of them. Hey Crow, that goes for you too!

ON Removing Anemia from our Churches

I am burdened about the lack of clarity when dealing with sin in our churches today. We modern Christians have bought into the satanic lie that judgment within the body of Christ is wrong. Modernistic philosophy and psychology has done much damage to the church; after all this is the enemy’s desire. Lets consider Paul’s admonition to the Christians in Corinth regarding the adulterer who was living in open sin with his mother-in-law. 1 Corinthians 5: verse 1 says “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you…” Here is the key: this man’s adultery was commonly known; it was public. Why even the gentiles (that is the pagan culture around them) were scandalized by this (1b). Paul goes on to say that they were prideful when they should be in mourning (verse 2). Look at verse 3, Paul said that he was in judgment about this even though he was not there. Why? He knew the Word of God; that is our standard. He preached the Word of Truth, that is the only measure (1 Tim 3:15-16). Paul knows that fornication is wrong! His admonition? “When you are gathered together” (verse 4); that is corporate worship, “…deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh…”(verse 5); that is cast him out of the church, where his leaven cannot infect the body.

Here is Paul’s key: verse 7 says to “purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened….” Paul understood that harboring sin as a corporate church body was to allow a cancer to destroy unity and fellowship, as it had done in this church.

What is our solution? Some would say that Christ said, “Judge not that ye be not judged”, that is Matthew 7:1, but Christ here is talking to those (hypocrites) who are blinded by their own sin. What does he go on to teach? That we are to first remove the beam from our own eye where we can see clearly to remove the mote (speck) from our brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5). Let's face it friend, we must all be on our knees asking for God’s forgiveness everyday, but we must exercise discernment in dealing with the open sin of others within the church. The point is that we cannot have a clean hearted congregation until we corporately deal with open sin in accordance with Paul’s loving admonition. It is the loving thing to deliver church discipline in a humble and loving manner, with the grave hope that such a transgressor would recognize the wickedness of their openly sinful ways and come back to be lovingly restored to fellowship. Such acts can help remove the anemia that churches experience today, and will restore God’s power to save the world through the Great Commission. Humbly submitted.