Other
It sounds ridiculous to say such a thing, and yet as I awoke this morning the thought was clear and disturbing.
Why? Why would people who go to Church regularly, and who are engaged in many good works of outreach and compassion, not repent of things done that offend God and His Righteousness?
Meditating on this I have come to realize that there is a reason and it is not a Godly reason, only a ? "Loving" reason.
We do not want to offend anyone or to hurt their feelings; that is our puny reason, and it is not filled with LOVE.
I hope the reader will stick with me as I present the thoughts on this subject that I believe support this seemingly audacious statement.
Our Churches are filled with messages about God and His Love, and so they should be, for God is Love and everything He does is right; the problem is that we do not speak any more about the things that offend God. We do not call those behaviors "sin" which God Himself has called "sin." We simply do not relay those messages to the Church attendees.
Most of the Churches members do not read their Bibles on any regular basis, if at all, so what they know is what comes from the Pulpit and most of the Pulpit and yes, include the Sunday School Lecterns, do not mention that the wages of sin is death, while the gift of God is eternal life; we only promise God's love and eternal life. The message is not complete.
There are messages about how to succeed in the world of finances, and how to keep yourself pumped up and out of depression, and the list of how to improve "me" goes on and on, and there is never the mention about those things God hates, yes hates.
Most people I talk to do not realize that God has a HATE of anything.
If they do concede that God hates anything, they will not acknowledge that those who attend Church and have said they are "believers" in Jesus can stand in danger of judgment for doing wrong things. Nope! They know the Scripture that says, "We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus" and "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." These texts are true! The problem is that they do not tell the full message. Besides that, there is a difference between "condemnation" and being guilty; it's the "guilty" that the believer needs to repent to God about.
Recently a man, who claims to be a believer, and he may be, only God knows about that, but he made the statement that he had never asked God to forgive him for anything because he had never done any wrong. This man is 70 years old.
Who is the guilty one, or ones, for any person in this Land of Bibles and Preachers to not know that everyone does wrong, and that we are told to confess it to God and to ask for forgiveness? Who did not tell him that the Bible states "All have sinned and come short of the glory (the required righteousness) of God"?
Those outside the Churches walls and those inside the Churches walls are altogether unknowing about sin and the wages it pays when we employ ourselves in its works.
HOW can people repent when they do not recognize sin?
Certainly, everyone does know right from wrong, but we have allowed the psychological community of incarnate Greek philosophers to convince us that "everything is relative." God does not see blatant sin as relative to anything except eventual destruction.
Most of the Church is totally unaware that God is among them at all times. He seems remote and far away and barely, if at all, engaged in our current situations.
Many of the Churches leaders minimize, and often never mention the acts of sin that God Himself calls "sin."
One Bishop told me recently that since homosexual activity was mentioned only 7 times in the Scriptures that it wasn't such a big deal. Robbery is mentioned only 6 times, does that make it sort of okay in anyway?
The Messengers of Jesus do not either tell the people that God will judge adultery, and fornication, and gossiping, and overindulgences in substances, or any of the other things that God wants us to abstain and refrain from; the people have not heard all of what God has to say to us, so how can they repent?
I am not at all sure there will be repentance of the Church to God for all the wrong things it has permitted by avoidance of teaching, and has also indulged in doing. Do we not all perceive the Cup is about full, and that judgment is upcoming IF we do not repent and change our ways individually, and as a Nation?
The stats are that 80% of The Pulpit is watching pornography. We know that where ever you look, you are walking toward until you are fully engaged in what you have looked toward. I wish I thought those stats were wrong.
How can we seek God's face when we do not know that He has one? How can we turn from our wicked ways when we think they are normal? How can we pray when we are unaware that God has eyes and ears and that He has told us clearly in the Book of Instruction that He will judge sin, when repentance from the sinner is not forthcoming?
We ask for mercy from God: but to whom is it merciful when those who do acts of murder, and extortion, and rape of children, and yet get to keep doing what they are doing, while the innocent suffer? Isn't it time for the innocent to have justice and privilege?
Tell me, do you see an avenue for repentance anywhere?
What will it take to let us know to look up and then to look around ourselves and clean it up, "lest the Lord come and smite us?"
He is ever more willing and desiring to bless us, but He cannot bless us while we walk on the path of evil; that would be not at all like Him to confirm us in evil behavior: that is why His blessings are promised to be spread over the Paths of Righteousness.
Ramona: 05/18/2016
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
This article has been read 841 times < Previous | Next >
Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.