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“We should love one another.” Let’s do it now. Let’s train to love better every time we gather. It’s not enough just to hear more sermons about love, we need hands-on training in love, not just talks.
For many centuries Christians who “ought to be teachers” have been trained to sit passively and be taught the same religious basics, what the Bible calls “milk, not solid food,” over and over week after week and year after year. That tedious teaching (that never graduates anybody) has trained Christians to be spiritually inexperienced infants. Pastors have repeatedly given their congregations the same basic info about Christ, but they have given them little or no practical, hands-on training in and experience of being personally led by His Spirit. (Romans 8:14)
The Bible says in Hebrews 5:12-6:1: “Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food! For everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity.”
It is time for Christians to do what the Bible says. (James 1:22) It’s time to set aside our redundant religious infancy and to go into rigorous training for spiritual maturity. But how?
Stop the repetitive Sunday service passivity. Make church interactive and hands on. Enough teaching about prayer, train and release people to pray. Enough teaching about heaven, train people to experience the will of God “on earth as it is in heaven.” Stop teaching people the same information about God, train them to experience, demonstrate, and share His reality. Stop teaching people about community, train them to obey the 50+ New Testament “one another” commands here and now. Stop teaching about Jesus like He’s not in the room, train people to continually listen to and obey Him. Stop keeping Christian spiritual babies, train them to be mature and mighty men and women of God.
Amen!!! I haven’t heard anyone say it better. A dose of sermon for 1 hour a week isn’t what Jesus’ church is about. His church is actively loving in all we do guides. by His Spirit. Thank you.
Great word! So how are you doing this? I’m curious what that church actually looks like. Can you provide an example of how this is happening in your area/ministry?
To be honest, I’ve prayed and wondered if there’s a better “way of building the Church” than what the typical American church. Then the Spirit convicts me, “worship in spirit and in truth.”
I wish the example of Cain hadn’t been used. That he murdered is definitely something most folks will see as sin, The way his offering was rejected comes off to me as odd and random. I’m not a vegan, but it really seems random and odd that the offering that Cain made was rejected. I am aware of the concept of blood for blood to appease God. That also seems like a God that is kind of rough. Isn’t this the justification used to throw people into volcanoes? But I digress.
I still look at the Hope that Christ represents. No more blood for blood too appease God… Or for a person in charge of a religious group to be appeased.
We don’t need another person leading a religious group that needs to be appeased.
I’m holding onto the vision of Abel.
Jeff, I have some sense of understanding of your thoughts here. At the same time, this left me concerned with how little we understand about God’s thoughts, so much so that we would reduce His sovereignty to a comparison with human, pagan ritualistic practices. That God would establish a blood sacrifice requirement does not make Him a rough God. It just acknowledges that He is the one true God who is the source of all life, and life is in the blood. We may need to be careful that we are not too rough with Him. We don’t want to negate the full truth of Who God is nor what God has authority to say. The good news: the penalty for sin that God requires in His sovereignty He has paid for us in His mercy. Your covered if you’ve received the gift that was paid for with His own blood. God bless you.
Oh my. Please everyone watch the video that JD put in the notes today of christopher! I’ve said for many years the healing the wholeness the fullness of the soul is the greatest Miracle of all. Yes even greater than the healing of a body. Which Christopher truly exemplifies. Though he is physically blind he fully and wholly SEES Jesus better than many of us who have professed Christianity for decades. Talk about someone who is “becoming!” Oh out of the mouth of babes is perfected praise.
There is a real need for us to worship God as part of our Sabbath. Spirit-filled worship does so much for our souls and relationship with Christ. Yet, I totally agree with Steve Sims about this need to mature in our love for Christ and others, living this love out, creating “pockets” of heaven on earth.
We can’t undermine the value of Spirit-filled worship of God on the Sabbath and all that can do for our souls. Nevertheless, I agree with Steve Sims and what he’s saying about the importance of us maturing in our ability to love Christ and others. It’s what I believe JD’s talking about when he speaks about the second half of the Gospel. Our faith comes alive when we seek to be true vessels of Christ’s love and truth, living by the Spirit, creating “pockets” of heaven on earth in this life.
Sorry about the double post! My tablet messed up and I didn’t think anything posted!
The song of praise also came to me from the lesson…
“On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand”