I had thought that I would not write any more articles concerning my visit in the hospital as outlined in Men of God. As usual, what I what is not important.
The following exchange from the Counselor concerned the church.
Me: How can our churches help?
Counselor: Ask your church leader what is the church’s plan to fight evil. (He did not specify pastor, minister, preacher or other label).
Me: Does that mean standing up in the middle of the sermon and asking him directly in front of the congregation?
Counselor: You can do that. Another option would be for one or more to go and meet with him to discuss this privately first.
I thought of the following Bible verse:
Me: What should we do if the church will not fight evil?
Counselor: Leave that church and shake the dust off your feet.
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I did not get the impression that two or three witnesses were necessary to meet under the conditions of a crime or offense. It was as I wrote previously:
Counselor: A Man of God fights evil. A Man of God does not ask to be “picked” before he acts: he is guided by the Word. A Man of God surrounds himself with other Men of God. Men of God are guided by the Word. They work together to fight evil.
This was the shortest discussion on the topics that were discussed. The teaching was simple: if your church is not fighting evil, you need to leave.
If you cannot find a church, what are your options? I have a community center which the Lord led me to build. Once I am recovered, I will be holding Bible studies where all the scripture is taught and people can ask questions on its meaning to ensure that they understand what the Lord (not man) means.
David DeGerolamo
A lot of our early “churches” began as “common houses”. A large meeting house where the village business was tended to; including sermons.
A quick glance at the movie “April 20, 1775” is an example.
You’re on the right track.
Your doing a great service DRenegade, God bless you praying for a complete and speedy recovery.
imho, a church isn’t a building, it’s the congregation.
it could be two people standing on a beach while fishing discussing matters of the Soul and His guidance of our lives.. and living the Word.
It is also two, three or more gathered in His name in a blog. problem is we would argue about His name.
How can we behave as He taught us?
Can we also forgive each other daily?
AMEN!!!!
David, love your passion for God’s word. Get well soon!
After Pentecost, the churches, “ekklesia”, met in the homes. So, mightily grew, the word of God and prevailed, [Acts 19:20.] No radio, no tv evangelists, no internet.
People often wonder, and rightfully so, why we don’t see the signs, miracles and wonders that were prevalent in Acts. Slowly but surely, divisions led to denominations.
First, Satan went after practical error. The home fellowships were out of order, [1Corinthians 12.] Years later doctrinal error as evidenced by the trinity. Today, it is so grounded in error that the word of God doesn’t grow mightily and prevail. The result is a lack of power that the first century church had.
If anyone wants to learn more, stansylvester59@aol.com.
Do not understand what you are saying.
“The home fellowships were out of order, [1Corinthians 12.]”
we ( Israel, His people)are of one body no matter where we are in the world. No matter what our individual task, talent or gifts may be, we are individuals,(physical location does not matter.)
Good question. 1 Corinthians is a reproof epistle. Reproof is alerting someone of an error, [2Timothy 3:16.] An example is in 1 Corinthians 5 where Paul reproves the Corinthians for not saying anything about the guy sleeping with his mother. 1Corinthians 6 Paul reproves them for not settling disputes within the household. In 1 Corinthians 12 they were not handling the manifestations in a godly manner. Sometimes the love of God has some teeth to it. It’s not love to allow someone to continue in error without saying anything. They are responsible for their response.
Understood and agree, thanks for clearing this up.
You’re welcome!
Amen!
David, i believe privately if possible is our first course of action.
Mathew 18: 15- kind of lays out a procedure.
i was hoping you would continue with your articles.
I agree. Direct confrontation is not a good course of action.
Witnesses when needed need to be unbiased, not merely yes men for either party.
David , I would love to hear more about this. Some place other than the public forum. 7042026922
I continue to seek a church that teaches repentance, deliverance and obedience to God’s law. Acceptance and inclusion have nothing to do with it. I’m still seeking.
Thank you for sharing this part of your journey with us. Means more than you know.
Its intersting for me reading all the comments. It sounds like many are dissatisfied with the organized religion options in their area. Likewise.
This parallels my experiences, and points to man as the problem. I like your tack -getting back to the word of God, learning it, teaching it, living it, this is the way.
We have been too a lot of churches since our move. We have yet to find one that will do, let alone a good one. None seem to want to stand up against evil. Most outwardly go against scripture. It seems in the last couple of years there has been a real downturn all together. The home bible study thing has been running through my head for a while now. I know this is the Moses at the burning bush thing, but it would be really nice to have a couple Christian men to start it with. I am not much of a people person and for the most part, if I am not with my wife, I rather be left alone. But here lately it would be nice to find some real Christian friends. We had a few in WV and it was nice. But we had to move. Hope your Bible study goes well. If you need any prayers let me know.
Could try just attending the bible study at the church through the week. Or the Sunday school classes instead of the church service. i look at both as a chance to have discussion and perhaps correct some wrongs, plant seeds of Truth. i could not take the actual church service.