December 13, 2012
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Christians Judged By The Church Rules?
Today the Lord reminded me again exactly to whom the Apostle Paul gave the "church rules," sometimes wrongly presented as the New Testament Christians' Ethics. Paul wrote clearly in 1 Corinthians 3: (Amplified Version): " 1... BRETHREN, I could not talk to you as to spiritual [men], but as to nonspiritual [men of the flesh, in whom the carnal nature predominates], as to mere infants [in the new life] in Christ [unable to talk yet!] 2I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough [to be ready for it]; but even yet you are not strong enough [to be ready for it], 3For you are still [unspiritual, having the nature] of the flesh [under the control of ordinary impulses]. For as long as [there are] envying and jealousy and wrangling and factions among you, are you not unspiritual and of the flesh, behaving yourselves after a human standard and like mere (unchanged) men?"
In effect, Paul said these were rules for his not-yet-spiritual new Christians to follow until they began to grow up and follow the leading of the very Spirit of Christ!
It is impossible for such people to "rightly divide" the scriptures, to recognize that the "letter of the law kills but the Spirit gives life," or to perceive the greater foundational passages as distinct from the lesser. Unfortunately, many such spiritually-immature people are actually called ministers of the gospel. They and those unfortunately under their teaching give Christianity a bad name, replacing Christian love with judgmental rules-keeping. And they turn many who are seeking redemption and salvation away from the church and away from becoming acquainted with the Author of Life.
If you would like to experience a truly Merry Christmas this season, read about the God - man Jesus in the Gospel of John after you read about His heralded arrival in Luke.
Comments (8)
yeah so many teachers of the Word fall into that spiritually immature group. It's really sad and I see that happening in Christianity as a whole. A pastor at a church next to my house didn't have any formal training in the Bible. I don't understand how that's possible. I think if someone is going to teach the word they should have some training especially with the language of the Bible.
@godfatherofgreenbay - The old joke: "It's all Greek to me..." just isn't funny to me anymore.
yeah, my church body is in a tough spot because we used the NIV and the publisher is discontinuing that copyright in favor of a new version that they didn't ask my church body for advice like with the NIV and there are some glaring problems with this new translation. Anyway I've been going through a study with some pastors looking at the actual Greek and it's really eye opening.
"Author of Life"
i like that.
You lose your "bet." The Holy Spirit moved Paul to say exactly what he said. We really need to be careful in second-guessing the scriptures - even the various translations. The things we think are wrong or need improvement are not either of those things...it is our understanding and application at times that needs closer scrutiny.
@quest4god@revelife - We can see some of Paul's regret for what he wrote in "1st Corinthians" when we read "2nd Corinthians." My "bet" is safe. And the rules remain in place for the as-yet-unspiritual.
@confused@revelife - I'm happy to see you seeking and getting acquainted with the Author of Life and could care less if you never set foot in a church again. The Truth is there are some who are Christ's at His soon coming, and there are many who are apostate and have fallen away if they were ever really His at all. How ironic that this last larger group of imposters declares itself to be heaven's gatekeepers! And you are not the first nor the last Truth Seeker to be
confused
by this.
Amen! You may already be familiar with Blueletterbible.com, but it shows the actual Greek and Hebrew text with the word translations right there...it's totally awesome.
As has been said already seminary unfortunately doesn't lead to spiritual maturity...its a personal journey. And more sadly many protestent seminaries/theology don't even have context for it and yet the Spiritual journey leading to maturity is available to ALL. Jesus didn't train as a Rabbi...and yet was called such. It's the Spirit who offers understanding of scripture to those on the Spiritual journey.
The cool thing is how when mans' way goes off the path leading to life, God Himself is right there leading the way. So while mainline church congregations with their seminarian taught leaders are dying away, God is calling others to a Spiritual journey directly, who in turn are inviting others to join them.
Praise the living God!
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