Filters
I’m a scientist by occupation. We use filters for all kids of things. Sometimes it’s to keep what get’s trapped on the filter, and sometimes it’s to get rid of what you don’t want.
Filters come in all different shapes, sizes, and can be made to filter light or nanoparticles. It’s amazing what can happen to an experiment if a sample sees the wrong wavelength of light, or what happens to a material’s properties if some bad stuff isn’t removed. In short it can litterally fall apart or blow up.
In the church I often wonder if we forget just how valuable the filter can be. In our hurry to make as many people as we can “citizens of heaven” we forget to check their passports and visas. We fail to ask them hard questions, and demand lifestyle changes. We fail to follow up on failure and success. And as long as the numbers get bigger we excuse it all because surely God wouldn’t let us grow if we were doing it the wrong way.
Of course if we’re running the church more like GM then why wouldn’t he let it become a completely dysfunctional monumental failure.
Now, I fully believe that the church is meant to grow…and yes by the thousands in a day. However, I also believe that in many instances the church should be pruning 10 and 20 at a time as people who claim to be Christian become sexually immoral, greedy…”I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people. (1 Corinthians 5:9, New Living Translation)
Our filters at the front end should be asking people tough questions to ensure that they aren’t going to be standing in a Matthew 7 line. On the back end we need to have filters that help the church to continue to purify herself. When people choose to indulge in the sins mentioned it will be their casting out of the church that leads them to repentance. It’s a hard teaching, but in reality we are loving them by casting them out in hopes that they return repentant. Only then should we grant them the gift of fellowship. By letting them continue to fellowship without repentance could end up having eternal impact on them and on others within the body of Christ.
I think it is why we see such dramatic commands to deal with some sins in the nation of Israel. It’s also why God commands to kill every human. God knew that a little sin left without repentance could lead a whole nation astray.
We have a responsibility as leaders to make sure we are as devoting to growing the body as we are to protecting her.
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How can we reconcile what Paul taught, with what Jesus actually did?
Does the “casting out” of the indignant sinners not go against the scandalous grace of God?
Something to think about.