Vessel of Honour has posted a long exposition of his views, and I must say, that this blogging thing is great if it makes him and I stop, think about why we think the other is WRONG and explain it in a godly way So Mac asks, having extracted quotes from my voluminous posts:
“What if God himself drove you out of church? Such a thought would be considered outrageous to many, I mean after all, why would the LORD do such a ‘silly’ thing?”
God DOES drive us out of churches, but with a purpose of driving us INTO another one. It can indeed be a very painful process leaving a church as it is NOT a ”worldly lifeline” or at least it shouldnt be. A good church will be full of Jonathons who will help us to find strength in God.
Church can be an idol, but really if a Church is God focussed, it will drive us closer to him.
I agree with Mac that faith will always be tested- I am no ‘Name it and claim it” man. My ideas on the grace of God, and our need to trust him rather than argue with him can be listened to at my church’s audio sermons site.
Actually we are told to be givers and getters! ‘Freely you have received, freely give’. We CANNOT be self sufficient.
God often perfoms his miracles THROUGH others. The church is there to display God’s multi-coloured wisdom (see Eph 3)
If you are not in a church, how can you possibly obey all the NTs commands to do certain things to one another?
How do you obey the commands to submit to your leaders when you don’t have any?
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you (heb 13:17)
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