Back to the Basics
Early Christians used to meet in synagogues. These were Messianic Jewish believers connected directly or indirectly to the Jesus movement in Judea. Many gentiles would worship there as well. If there was no synagogue in the area, then Christian people probably would meet in the home of a peaceful, hospitable family.
It’s time to get back to the basics. We should have learned our lesson in 2020 that we can easily be cut off from our brothers and sisters by government regulation, shut down orders, and other prohibitions. Meeting in the home can be done safely, and with the right tools, it can be just as effective as going to a church building. This was the model the Apostle Paul used for many years.
There are bad Churches
Many Churches fail to teach what the Bible says and instead have drifted from the sound doctrine inspired by the Holy Spirit. Church leaders have become arrogant and have compromised with the culture-at-large that they preach what they think and feel instead of God’s incredible wisdom and message to the lost people of this generation.
The number one practice that has been violated (by the Church) for a long time is the prerequisite and requirement of a person being filled with the Spirit in order to serve in a basic deacon role. As western civilization moved further away from spiritual things, church leaders found it hard to qualify members for service based on “unseen” evidence. But there is evidence, Jesus tells us that every tree has fruit (or evidence of what kind of tree he/she is). We definitely know what the bad fruit is as Paul lists it some examples in Galatians 5:18:
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
No more excuses
We know who should not be in leadership or even serving in any church capacity until they turn to God. How will we know who can serve in the Church? No problem, he explains it here:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Let us keep in step with the Spirit. Don’t compromise with people who aren’t living according to what the Bible says. Love them always and be firm in what you believe. If your church leadership doesn’t teach this, you have a difficult choice to make. Contact me if you need help.
