This post is meant for Christians. I encourage the non-believers to read it, of course, because I want you all to know that there is someone out there who sees things your way, and wants the way the Church treats you to change.
I was speaking at some length with a very good friend of mine - indeed, he is very much like a brother to me - about spiritual walks and the like. Come to find out, he and I are in very similar places spiritually... we're both aware that we aren't 100% right, and we're both working on getting to where we need to be next.
What was interesting, though, is when we got to the subject of the church that we both used to attend. You see, there's this thing that's apparently going on there that I'm not too comfortable with, and I see it happening everywhere I go. While there's definitely been some growth (they now have a respectable building... when I attended, it was nothing more than a converted horse barn), there's a problem of acceptance.
You see, there's this huge problem with churches, anymore. They're just not comfortable. I know what you're thinking by now: "Dude has lost his mind. Churches aren't supposed to be comfortable." See, that's where you're wrong...
As a rule of thumb, Christians aren't perfect. We're just forgiven. I know that sounds arrogant, and I apologize if you took it that way. But it's something that needs to be said, not for those that don't share our faith, but for us. We need a big reality check most of the time, mostly due in part to an absurd catch-22 situation that pretty much ostracizes us from the rest of the rational.
There's this core belief in Christians that pretty much goes unquestioned, and it pretty much states that the only people you should be surrounding yourself with are other Christians.
Well.... that's alright. I guess. The only problem with that is that you're effectively screwing yourself out of what you all claim is your main purpose: to win souls in the name of God so that none shall know the suffering of the sinful. This is what you are here to do, correct? To do the will of God?
Why, then, do you neglect your brothers and sisters so?
The biggest problem facing the Church right now, ladies and gentlemen, is the fact that they are simply turning a blind eye to those that aren't believers, or those who may not share the exact same way of worship as they. I might be nuts, but... doesn't this seem just a tad counter-productive, especially considering the fact that James 5:19-20 tells us the following: "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."
You are not going to get anywhere unless some things start to change. For example: Stop chastising the younger generation from associating with their age peers just because their age peers aren't believers. You are judging these people before even getting to know them or where they're coming from in their walk of life.
There is this saying that I learned while attending those "Anonymous" classes, and it goes something like this: If you constantly do the same thing the exact same way over and over again, and expect a different result each time, that's a sign of insanity.
Hmmm....
One thing that you find way too often is people using their position of a Christian to judge others and consider themselves blameless in front of those people, and sadly, that just isn't the case. It seems as if we need a reality check, Church, because these current tactics of advertising your events throughout the community and hoping that people who aren't currently members come in and see what the hubbub is about is simply not working. Saying "churchy" things to newcomers like "God has a plan for your life!" over and over again isn't working. None of these tactics are working, because they are old, and, as the wonderful Bob Dylan once said... Times, they are a changin'.
The biggest thing that is getting in our way is this false sense of the right to judge others that is being inadvertandtly instilled within us. There are many, many verses in the Bible that advise us against this course of action. For example, 1 Samuel 2:3 says "Stop acting so proud and haughty! Don't speak with such arrogance! The LORD is a God who knows your deeds; and he will judge you for what you have done." Take some time and let that sink in before I go into why that is one of the many that I have selected to warn against such skulduggery.
If you're reading this, then I'm going to presume that you let it sink in. The reason I quote this particular verse is the fact that we are, indeed, speaking down on the non-believers with arrogance. Granted, it's not intentional by any means, but it's there, and they see it. They aren't blind to it, even if you are. We seem to forget that we, ourselves, are not perfect by any stretch.
It is my belief that Satan is poisoning the Church from within. It's really the only effective way to make something like that fall apart, to be perfectly honest. I have seen it happen in person with the church that I was attending in Pennsylvania, before the supposed "elders" had their field day with the pastor. I won't get into it unless prompted, but suffice it to say, it was a perfect example of the cancer that is growing within the Church, and spreading rapidly.
It is something that is plaguing many churches across the world... and the worst part is, people don't even realize it. You wonder why your church isn't growing? The answer can be found in Luke 18:11 "The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: 'I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don't sin, I don't commit adultery." There are too many supposed "Christians" that have this mentality, and it isn't right. Instead, I point you all to the same tax collector, who says his own prayer in Luke 18:13 - "But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, 'O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner."
Here's what I'm getting at: Isaiah 11:3 says "He will delight in obeying the LORD. He will never judge by appearance, false evidence, or hearsay." As Christians, it is our job to keep that in mind at all times. We simply cannot expect people to come to us, because of the sheer simple fact that it just doesn't really happen anymore. Yeah, sure, it happens every so often, but... it's not often enough that we can rely on it. We have become complacent in our battle against Satan, and even allowed him to infiltrate our ranks and start tearing us apart from within.
What I am calling for is a paradigm shift in the way that things are done. There is no reason that we cannot go to those that are suffering. There is absolutely no problem whatsoever with going to those that are without God on their turf. As a matter of fact, I find that it's far more effective than inviting them into a church where they shall be viewed as a "tax collector."
Listen: The Bible tells us that we need to go in and release our brethren from the clutches of whatever spiritual prison is holding them captive. It is our responsibility to make sure that others don't at least have a chance to hear about God's word and His desires for them. This is evidenced in Acts 5. I was originally only going to bring up a few key verses, but I'm feeling a bit of a preach coming on, as my old pastor used to say.
Taking apart the entire book bit by bit, we're gonna get to some great nuggets that's gonna tie this whole thing together. I know I've gottena bit rabbit-holed with this, but bear with me...
Acts 5:1-4 begins to tell us a tale of a man and his wife who sold their property and kept some of the money out of the profits for themselves, while lying to the disciples about the amount. I find this interesting because this is a blatant example of what is going on in the Church right now. There are people out there who are telling themselves - and each other - that they are all about saving souls in the name of God and doing His bidding, but, in reality.... they are lying about it. Whether or not they are aware of their deceit remains to be said, but in all honesty... what does it matter?
In Acts 5:3-4, Peter calls this man out on his lie. Good thing to do. It's what anybody should be doing when they detect BS, Christian or not. At the end of it all, Peter points out that dude wasn't just lying the apostles.... he was lying to God Himself. Again, I ask that any believe out there start doing some serious self-reflecting... we are all guilty of this. Every. Single. One of us.
Now, where things start getting extremely relevant to what I'm talking about here today is right in verse 7, and continues to verse 10, when the man's wife comes to see the apostles several hours later. She agrees with the deceit, and suffers the same fate as her husband, who was struck dead for what he had done.
See, this is intriguing because of the fact that not only was the original sinner punished for his ways, but also his wife, who had followed his errant ways, and even agreed with the decision. They were both struck dead, and I have this feeling that the Church itself is about to be struck dead for much the same reasons... lying to God.
Let's continue on with this little lesson.
Now, in Acts 5:11, we find that great fear gripped the entire church when they found out what had happened. Not surprising. They just got a kick in the pants about what could happen for even following the path of arrogance.
Now, it's right around Acts 5:12-13 that we start getting to the core of the problem. 5:12 states that the apostles were out doing whatever they could to shake things up and bring more people to the side of God. The exact text as it appears in the New Living Translation - with the key words in bold text - is as follows: "Meanwhile, the apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon's Colonnade."
I bolded the words "among the people" because it's extremely relevant to what I am trying to get across tonight: We cannot expect results by sitting safely inside of our church walls and expect the outsiders to come to us. God Himself saw fit to include the fact that it was only the believers who were meeting up regularly at the temple. The way it is worded leads me to believ that while they were doing that, the apostles were busy working the crowds, doing their very best to get more people to believe.
Now, it's right at Acts 5:13 that we get to the most chilling part of why I'm talking about this. "No one else dared to join them, though everyone had high regard for them."
Peter and the apostles were doing things very, very differently back in their days. The Church had its cancer back then, too. Satan will not stop with what he's attempting to do. He doesn't want us to succeed in God's will, but God has provided us with a way to move foward in a direction that is more suitable to His purposes! That way is by shaking things up a bit, and doing things differently, much like Peter and the others did all throughout Acts.
Don't worry, I'm going further into this. We're almost done. I promise. :)
While everyone was sitting uselessly inside the Temple, Acts 5:14-16 go on to encourage us to do something different, as the apostles did, and get out there and make people see what it is that we're doing. They read as follows:
"And more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord -- crowds of both men and women. As a result of the apostles' work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter's shadow might fall across some of them as he went by. Crowds came in from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed."
Where in there, people, does it say that the apostles sat in their chairs, nestled safely away from all harm and evil inside of the walls of the Temple? It doesn't. It left that specifically to those that are doing what you are currently doing now.
Alright. So. We've learned that the apostles did it back then. So what, right? Yeah, I get you on that. But here's the thing: God did the same thing for the apostles when they needed Him most. Acts 5:17-20 is all the further I'm going to go with this little missive, because I feel that's all that needs to be said about it... Again, key parts are bolded.
"The high priest and his friends, who were Sadducees, reacted with violent jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the jail. But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then he told them "Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!"
And there you have it. God Himself is willing to walk into our prisons and set us free... so why is it that we cannot offer the same respect towards those that we claim we are charged with saving? Instead, we judge them without giving it so much as a second thought, forgetting what Christ told us in Matthew 25:36 - "I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me."
Keeping in mind that four verses later, He explains His words with "I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!"
The problem with this is that it works both ways, folks. If you are judging those that your siblings or friends or family or whatever are hanging out with because of the sheer fact that they are not exactly on par with you spiritually or they have no belief system in place - whatever the case may be - then you are doing the same to Christ Himself. Who are you to judge God? Remember what Job 21:22 has to say about this: "But who can teach a lesson to God, the supreme Judge?"
Deuteronomy 32:36 sends us a chilling warning: "Indeed, the LORD will judge His people, and He will change his mind about His servants, when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free." I'll let you take that one in.
Now, before any finger pointing is done, allow me to tell you all I am not judging you... Not in the slightest. I'm simply doing what Peter did in Acts, and that's call you all out on what you're doing, intentional or not. I know that many of your probably haven't even gotten this far, and that's fine and well by me. Just know that, in the words of John 8:15, you all may judge me with all your human limitations, but I am not judging anyone here. I am just as guilty with not being a good Christian as any of you. My flaws are open season, and while I am not proud of the sins that I am plagued by, I will own up to each and every last one of them. I am not asking you all to do anything that I myself have not done, or am willing to do.
I had a great closing to this all typed out and on my computer clipboard, but it appears as if the Cut function ate it instead of doing what it was supposed to do. Ah, well. I do believe that the point has been driven across.
I bring up all of this not to make you all feel ashamed... only to show you where you are erring in your ways of trying to be a soldier for God. What you're doing just isn't working, and it's because of inactivity. I leave you with just one last group of verses, and then I will close it all out. Proverbs 24:30-34 states "I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one lacking sense. I saw that it was overgrown with thorns. It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down. Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson: A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest -- and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber."