About Church Discipline: What Does God's Word Say About Church Discipline

About church discipline.

Have you ever been offended within church?

It's amazing to me how many people don't go to church any longer for exactly this reason.

I've watched this play out in many cases within my own circle of influence.

* Someone creates an offense of some sort
* The offended goes about talking about the offense in negative ways that the one who caused the offense does not go about.
* Sooner or later the offender finds out and is hurt about all the gossip.
* Relationships are severed and people stop attending services.

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What does God's Word say about how church discipline should be handled compared to the way that it is largely dealt with today?

Matthew 18:15-18
If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Here are the 4 steps outlined above:
STEP 1: Between the two of you
STEP 2: Take one or two others along
STEP 3: If he refuses to listen… tell it to the church
STEP 4: Treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector

Let's get into the details of each of these above steps.

STEP 1: Between the two of you – When you choose to involve others in the dispute you open a "can of worms" that cannot be easily shut.

STEP 2: Take one or two others along – In-other-words; don't go blabbing your grievances to the entire church body. That will not help with any potential resolution to the issues involved. It's easy to bypass this step in the name of "fairness," but doing so will not prove healthy in the long run of the situation.

STEP 3: If he refuses to listen… tell it to the church – Even here it's not in a way of gossip that you are going for, but rather a very structured approach of discipline. Naming exactly the issue, rather than superfluous unrelated items that do not support the main points of concern. The problem at this point is when people choose to stuff their feelings as not being important instead of carrying this step forward. When that happens sooner or later you will find an erupting volcano in-place of what could have been a "mole hill" comparatively.

STEP 4: Treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector – This may be difficult, especially if it is one of the church leaders you are dealing with. However, it is necessary in-order to receive ultimate success within the journey to healing and wholeness for the entire body.

It's never fun to carry out church discipline, but when it is necessary there are specific steps to take according to God's Word. Therefore, next time you wonder what does God's Word say about church discipline you now have a clear process to follow for the hopefully healing of everyone involved.

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A Religious Cult: How To Escape A Religious Cult By Knowing What Are Cults

What are cults?

With so many religious persuasions today knowing the answer to this question is imperative if someone is to avoid a religious cult.

Webster tells us that a cult is:

* A system of religious beliefs and rituals.
* A religion regarded as unorthodox.

To understand the meaning of "unorthodox" I needed to lookup orthodox and found this answer waiting from Webster:

* Conforming to established doctrine especially in religion

Thus, according to Webster a cult is any set of religious beliefs or rituals that do not conform to established mainline religious doctrines. That, in and of itself, is certainly not a bad thing; so why is everyone so "scared" of cults?

Perhaps the answer waits in the connotation of the word rather than the denotation. In-other-words, the suggestive meaning rather than the literal meaning of "cult".

Here are 11 commonly understood characteristics of cults and why they get such a bad rap.

* Unquestioning leaglist commitment to a single leader.
* Mind-altering practices used to illeminate doubts or questions about the group.
* The leaders dictate how the followers will behave even away from the group.
* Group members are set apart from the rest of society as somehow "better than" society.
* There is an exteme "us" verse "them" mentality within the group.
* No accountability exists within the leadership, especially the focal messiah.
* The ends justify the means is a commonly held perspective among the group members.
* Members are controled via peer pressure feelings of guilt and shame to do things they would not have previously.
* Group members are strongly encouraged not to continue communications with non-group loved ones.
* Preoccupation with building membership and raising funds is excessive.
* Members are conditioned that there is no life apart from the group.

Simply put, there is excessive control and isolation within this type of cult which is indeed not a healthy proposition which should be avoided at all costs.
Therefore, if I were to foll Websters denotation of what a cult is I would indeed say I am part of one as I do not hold to mainline orthodox doctrines preferring instead to follow the Holy Word of God as it is written.

However, as it relates to the unhealthy manipulative controlling attributes mentioned above, Adventism itself does not exhibit or encourage such behaviors. Are their groups within Adventism that do this? Of course. But then the same could be said for Catholicism, Methodism, or even Paganism.

My hope is that you now understand what are cults and have the ability to escape a religious cult which is unhealthy in nature while aligning yourself with the true Word of God.

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About Our Bodily Resurrection And Firstfruits From The Dead In Christ

Today, I'm going to let Scripture speak for itself about these issues since it does so very clearly. It is up to you to believe what Scriptures clearly say about our bodily resurrection or not. During this article please ask yourself, who was the firstfruits from the dead in Christ, as I believe that will help bring answers to apparent mysteries that some have about the state of the dead.

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1 Corinthians 15:20-26
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

John 5:28
Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

1 Corinthians 15:52
in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

Revelation 20:6
Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Revelation 21:8
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

Yes, those who are the dead in Christ will life again once we experience our bodily resurrection from the grave. Since Jesus is clearly the firstfruits from the dead, we have this hope. However, that life begins when Jesus returns for us not the instant after we die.

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Are Angels And Demons Spiritual Beings On Planet Earth With Humanity?

What do all the following have in common?

* Mother Mary
* A child's death * A fatal car crash

Each of these speaks to different aspects of lives that have been lost to the grip of death.

Interesting enough there are encounters where people see them on planet earth with their own eyes. The question that I was asked recently is, what are they really seeing?

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* Perhaps these are spiritual beings?
* Or could they really be their dead loved ones?
* Some say these are angels and demons impersonating their dead loved ones?

This is an important matter to clearly understand.

What is true?
What is false?

What does the Word of God say on this issue?

*** DECEASED LOVED ONES ***

Proverbs 9:18
But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave.

Ecclesiastes 9:5
For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.

John 5:28-29
Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

You can find Scripture after Scripture showing that the dead know nothing while they are in their graves. Therefore, these spiritual forces cannot be the spirits of dead loved ones that have gone before.

*** SPIRITUAL ENCOUNTERS ***

Hebrews 13:2
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

Matthew 10:8
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Clearly, none of these passages mention dead loved ones but the instances are angels and demons that are among us. Thus we can conclude that the spiritual beings that we see are actually angels and demons on planet earth with us.

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Where Do People Go After Death? To The Heavenly Kingdom, Into The Lake Of Fire, Or Some Place Else? Where Do People Go After Death?

Life after death, sooner or later everyone wonders about it. Some are even bold enough to teach about it.

* You will find some that talk about a place of nothingness call purgatory.
* Others will describe places of eternal torment where sinners are cast into the lake of fire.
* Still others are comforted by thoughts of their dead loved ones that have gone to the heavenly Kingdom.

The question remains, what does the Bible say. Or more precisely

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"Where do people go after death"?

I had this conversation with a friend of mine that was convinced the unrighteous enter into eternal torment.

Revelation 14:11
And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.

The problem with his take on this verse is that it talks about the "smoke of their torment" not "the fire of their torment". Major smoke happens when a fire starts and when it is going out, not when it is in the middle of raging. Thus, one cannot conclude an everlasting fire from the above verse.

Especially when you include verses like

Malachi 4:3
Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty.

He didn't seem to want to talk about the properties of fire or how a concept of ashes can coexist with unrighteous eternal life. And I don't blame him in a way.

After all, the unrighteous had their chance! They deserve to be punished. Bring down the hammer and give it to them, since they were too stupid to see what was right in front of their eyes.

Course, taking that attitude one could easily define God has a vicious tyrant who we ought to be fearfully afraid of rather than a loving Savior who died for the world. It would also run in direct opposition to the Word of God.

John 3:17
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Notice how it does not say that He came to save those who would be saved, but He came to save the world. This doesn't mean that everyone will be going to the heavenly kingdom, but sending them into the lake of fire where they burn forever more certainly wouldn't be the essence of saving in my book.

Therefore the unrighteous will become ashes after being burned up. This fits with the Scriptures mentioned above. And the righteous will enter into the Kingdom of God where they will begin living out eternal life. We have but touched the surface of this conversation on where do people go after death within this article, though we have touched it deep enough to have some very workable answers.

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Refuting The Heavenly Sanctuary?

Have you heard about the Heavenly Sanctuary? Perhaps an Adventist friend of yours has been trying to convince you that this is where Christ is interceding on your behalf this very day?

I've looked at their Sanctuary evidence more than once while walking away being profoundly confounded by the information they provide.

It seems their first main point is that the earthly sanctuary of Moses was a "type" of the Heavenly sanctuary. A "type" of something is a representation of it rather than the entity itself.


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Jonah was a "type" of Christ because he spent 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of a whale.
Baptism is a "type" of death because it represents the entire "being made new" process.

This alone could and perhaps should lead to it's own article and may do exactly that one day soon. For the mean time we will accept their definition of "type" as being relevant and venture further into this discussion on heaven's sanctuary.

According to the way their teachings go the sanctuary consists of 3 main parts.

1.] The Courtyard (Exodus 27:9-13)
2.] The Holy Place (Exodus 25:10-22)
3.] The Most Holy Place (Exodus 26:33)

*** THE COURTYARD ***

This is where they say animals were sacrificed and the priest would was their robes in the laver afterwards. Venturing further into the sanctuary before this is done would not be possible.

Problem is, what high priest has made the sacrifice so that they may enter further into the sanctuary to atone for our sins?

Hebrews 9:28
so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Also… Hebrews 9:26-17 and 10:1 & 10

If we agree that Christ is that sacrifice then this problem is resolved. Given that He also had no sin He is free to enter the next part of the sanctuary, which is the Holy Place.

*** THE HOLY PLACE ***

Here you find a seven-branch candlestick, the table of shewbread, and the altar of incense. The candlesticks represent the message that was taken to the seven churches mentioned in Revelation. The table of shewbread would be representative of communion. And the altar of incense would be where Christ would intercede for humanity.

A further study of this part of the sanctuary would clearly show that their has been seven distinct periods of the church as well as explaining how important communion services are. I'd refute any position of this if I could, but it simply makes sense.

*** THE MOST HOLY PLACE ***

Many have wondered where the Ark of the Covenant is hiding. According to the premise of Adventism it is in the Heavenly sanctuary. In the heart of the ark you will find the 10 commandments according to their teachings. In 1844 Christ entered The Most Holy Place and is there now judging people who have gone before you and I.

I would refute this point if I could; the problem is it seems to line up quite nicely with Scripture. The very next event to take place would thus be Jesus returning to gather up His people from the four corners of the earth. Not in a rapture, but rather a resurrection event. If that is true, and I believe it is these are extremely exciting times we are currently living in today.

My own personal conclusion is that Christ is indeed in the heavenly sanctuary today and we need to be ready for His soon coming return.

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Sexual Purity: Does God Desire Sexual Purity In Our Lives?

Turn on most any TV station or attend any of a number of movies and sooner or later you will get the message that sexual promiscuity is not only okay but the way things are today. Fact is, if you look at the way our culture is behaving toward sexual purity before marriage it seems quite clear that those who practice such things are simply not up with the times.

Does God desire Christians today to remain sexually pure before marriage?

Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

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While it is true that premarital sex (especially with someone you don't intend to marry) would defile the marriage bed just as much as marital sex with someone other than your partner would. Some would argue that when a person has premarital sex with someone they intend to marry the act becomes the marriage commitment rather than the ceremony.

It's an interesting point, especially since the first thing people do after a traditional ceremony is to go on a honeymoon where they consummate their marriage. However, when the actual legal joining of two people has not yet taken place you are operating from a position of what you "hope" the other person will follow through with. Thus, the higher road of receiving the commitment before the fun begins really is the best option.

With that said, "marriage bed kept pure" means to abstain from sex even with your future mate until marriage as well as during marriage with anyone other than your spouse. The second part of this statement does an excellent job of explaining physical adultery, which should indeed be avoided. However to think that adultery is just an act of having sex with another person than your spouse is to indeed be very short sited.

Since I have recently written an article related to this exact point I will not cover it further here at this time.

Instead let's look at that later part of this verse.

How important is it to keep from being sexually immoral?

1 Corinthians 6:9
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders.

Matthew 15:19
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

Romans 13:13-14
Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

However, with all the sexually explicit thoughts and concepts bombarding are lives today, can we really achieve sexual purity today? Yes.

Does God desire purity for His children? Yes.

But how can people possibly do this today? Simply by refusing to put unhealthy concepts and ideas into our minds. Ever hear garbage in garbage out? It's true.

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