dar334

It is my understanding that the church is not a building with walls that restrain, or walls that could be taken as barriers.  When you walk in that building with a steeple and a cross, and close the door, you are not in the church, you are the church.  A concept I learned through many hours of study.

Mr. Webster tells us that “church” is a noun.  He gives five definitions.  1) a building for public and especially Christian worship.  2) the clergy or officialdom of a religious body.  3) a body or organization of religious believers.  4) a public divine worship.  5) the clerical profession.  If you notice, only one of the five refers to a building.  Only one has visible walls.

The church is in trouble, some more than others.  The common denominator seems to be in trying to please the people.  It is my observation that by trying to please the people, we are getting farther and farther away from pleasing God.  This upsets me because the reason for having church is to gain knowledge and wisdom in order to emulate Jesus Christ.  For the “church” I’m currently a member of we are dealing with the LGBTQ+ issue in regards to ordination.  It upsets me terribly that we are wasting time, money, and energy on deciding what to do when, in my opinion, the “church” comes with an Instruction Manual.  There are three specific books in that Instruction Manual that deal with this issue, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus.  Paul also warns us in these books about the false teachers that we will come in contact with.

My belief is strong in that we are all sinners and no sin is greater or lessor than another.  A sin is a sin.  They are not rated on a scale of 1 – 10.  I also feel we are to love the sinner, but not the sin.  In my readings in the Instruction Manual it teaches we are to repent, turn from our sinful ways, and follow Jesus.

The church has no walls, no barriers to keep people out.  All people should be welcomed and loved by the church.  It is only through fellowship and study that we can gain knowledge and wisdom.  The Instructions are hard to understand sometimes, and let me tell you, they are not easy to follow!  Some are not the way we want to do it.  Perhaps we want to rearrange the order.  But with any instruction book, it is written to make our life easier.  We will need to stop and start over from the beginning throughout our life on earth but the end result will be well worth it.

Courtesy of James, brother of Jesus Christ.  Chapter 4, verse 4.

You adulterous people!  Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

We are all screwed up with who we are trying to please, and it terrifies me.

-dar