Quincunx, my dear friend,Thank you for your kind response. May our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you today.
You ask some difficult questions. Firstly, there are times when man's own ego overtakes even a once Christian organisation. In fact, I would argue that all churches are in need of continual cleansing. This cleansing cannot come from the mind of man, but only from the Mercy of God. We must pray for that.
Now, are we to make blanket judgements about this church or that church based on isolated events? No, we are not. Allow God to judge men's hearts. He doesn't need our "help" (and certainly not mine for sure).
Now, are we to be careful of which church we attend? I think so. Several characteristics of a Christian Church are quite evident. 1) They are praiseful in their worship of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2) They have as their central teaching, salvation in the shed blood of Jesus on Calvary. 3) They preach an uncompromised Gospel, and if a human error is made they admit it and repent. 4) They love Jesus Christ first.
If the churches that you have attended, or have heard about, do not have these basic characteristics, then they will surely grow increasingly apostate over time. However, it is our job to try to bring the church back (through prayer, Godly example, Christian love, witnessing the Word of God, and quiet correction of those who are drifting away) to its Christian mandate. If that fails, then still pray for those dear ones and find a church that does indeed fulfill Christ's mandate.
Secondly, we are not to belittle God by being so proud that we would think "He agrees with my man-made ideology" whether it be communism, socialism, capitalism, or any of the other "isms". God can not be boxed-in by our limited minds. It is an affront to Him to think that He will be impressed with my man-made affiliation. He doesn't need our "help", and we should not try to impose our egos on Him.
I personnally have felt the ridicule of those not in Christ. Being called a "fundamentalist" (whatever that is) in an anti-Christian setting is akin to being shouted-down, mocked, and jeered like a Jew at a brown-shirt convention. Believe me, I've been there and felt it. Maybe it is a technique used to take advantage of Christians with these types of sloganeering methods in hopes that they will not know how to respond or that they too will be dragged down into sinful behaviour. But, at the end of the day it is no real big deal because God will judge the hearts of men. You can count on that. I simply pray for these dear ones.
Finally, God does not teach us to be religious. Read my other responses and they address this issue sufficiently and it would be redundant here.
May I pray for you? Dear Heavenly Father, Lord and Saviour Jesus, thank you for this opportunity to converse with this dear one. Lord I beseech thee to reach down and deliver Quincunx from any anger that he feels from his past. Lord, lead him into your most Blessed and Eternal Kingdom, in Jesus Name I pray this, Amen.
Quincunx, dear friend, may the Lord's richest Blessings be with you in great abundance.
Robert M. Mitrocsak
"But seek first his kingdomand his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33
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