LEARNING DAILY

 

1 Corinthians 1:10, Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the same judgment (thought).

 

Paul was speaking to a problem developing in the early church – division over leaders in some churches was beginning to develop.  The result was some church members were becoming

more attached to certain ministers of the gospel than to the gospel itself.  You might be asking the question right now about why this was a problem.  Read on and you will find that Paul wrote that neither he nor any other person the people were following had been crucified for them.

 

We are seeing that same situation in the church today and it is error.  Becoming attached to a particular pastor or an evangelist can lead to a betrayal of Christian principles and can even divide the church.  There will always be differences in personality and teaching styles; however, the message is always the message of the cross of Jesus Christ, where salvation is found.  The church must be about the salvation of souls and keeping those saved on the narrow way to heaven.

 

There is a movement called the Church Growth Movement (CGM) that is working hard to convince the church that doing things God’s way is no longer the right way.  According to the CGM the best way to run a church today is to do it the world’s way which includes secular business ethics and marketing techniques that might be considered questionable.  The church according to the CGM needs to do like the world in order for the world to like those in the church.  Why do they believe this is necessary?  If people in the world like the church they will stick around and attendance will soar and that is what the CGM believes is important.

 

Perhaps the problem in the church today is people are being made to feel comfortable in the pew.  The Church Growth Movement is saying make people comfortable, even the unsaved person, so the church can brag about their attendance and make the power of the cross null and void.  Paul speaks to the power of the cross in verse 18, For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”

The responsibility of the church is to help those perishing know and understand the power of the cross to save them.  That will make them uncomfortable!  If that is true, who cares if it makes them uncomfortable and do not like you – at least at first.  Would it not be better for them to not like you and end up in heaven than have them like you and end up in eternal fire?

 

Here is the take away today.  If you are in a church whose only concern is to increase the numbers on the attendance role. You need to find another church.  The church is to be about saving people and keeping them on the narrow way to God’s kingdom.  It is a sign that we are in those days termed the “end of days”.

 

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