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| Volume 24 Number 10 October 2022 |
Page 11 |
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| Volume 24 Number 10 October 2022 |
Page 11 |
George McNulty
The House of God must be a place of comfort, not discomfort; a place of truth and justice, not of cliques and divisions; and welcoming to those who literally do not have a prayer. There are far too many places where folks are jumped on and read the riot act because they don’t reach the standard of a dictatorial member, a member who has forgotten the caution of Paul, when he said, in 1 Corinthians 6:11, “And such were some of you.”
It must be understood that a congregation that is cold will attract no one. A self-righteous, prideful attitude repels, and the active presence of a sister or a brother who thinks himself or herself to be better than others will kill a church stone dead. For these reasons, it is imperative that a congregation examine itself for evidence of the above negative, un-Christ-like characteristics and nip them in the bud. If these things are allowed to grow, they will turn a church of Christ into a church of man just as much as any false doctrine. People will not see the love of God but rather the disdain of hypocrites in such places.
In 1 Peter 4:17, the apostle wrote, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” Once saved always saved? Not according to Peter. He said that judgment comes first to the house of God. Any congregation that fails to act as the body of Christ has no reverence for God. God hates puffed up attitudes. Sin is anything that misses the standard that He has set.
In Hebrews 12:27, we read what God will do to the prideful: “Now this, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.” God seeks to purify His church and to make it worthy of His name. There is no room for petty dictators or busybodies. The kingdom is a supreme, theocratic monarchy. Christ-like is what Christians should to be! Pharaohs, Caesars, Presidents and Kings have thought of themselves as men who were gods. However, Christ, Who is God, became man! Colossians 2:10 reads, “…who [Christ] is the head of all principality [“rule” ESV] and power [“authority” ESV].”
Nadab and Abihu’s disobedience did not end well for them (Leviticus 10)! God requires better of us in His service. In Matthew 5:20, our Master said, “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” This means we must not be so full of ourselves that we have cast out the will of God! The scribes and Pharisees made laws out of traditions of men, which received Christ’s condemnation. We must be better than they! First Peter 2:5 states, “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
Paul wrote, in 1 Timothy 3:15, “…that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” Our idea of how to behave as Christians is irrelevant; God’s will is all that counts, and any deviation from that is rebellion.
In Luke 13:23, our Lord was asked who will find salvation? In verse 24, He said, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” We will not be able to enter into salvation and will remain outside of Christ should we fail in our walk with Him.
In Luke 13:25-27, Christ taught:
When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’
God’s Word is the authority, rather than the opinions of men and women influenced by the local culture. If God says it, we obey it!
Our time to be right with Jesus Christ, according to the Gospel, is short. The Pulpit Commentary puts it so eloquently: “Death is the period when the door of salvation is shut to the children of men.” God’s house is open to all who will enter in by His way – and no other way! Jesus promised a home with Him for the faithful. “In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). As faithful subjects of His kingdom, it is our duty to welcome the sinner into His house. First, we do so that they may hear the Gospel call. Second, we invite people into the house of God so that they may see how different Christ’s church is. Thirdly, we want people to feel the love of God, not the ire of the self-righteous. Those who come from a denomination or from another world religion, as well as those who have no religious understanding, need to be presented with the hope in Christ that we have. Otherwise, they will never be able to obey what the Lord says in Luke 8:39, “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.”
