How long do you think GOD will allow chruches to play church?

[hildo]

Should GOD discipline the leade or the people who encourage the leaders to play church?

[Joseph Carey Jr.]

A lot of the times God has usually sent a messenger or messengers to give them warning, but they didnt take hed to the warnings and also, some churches peopel are deceived, thinking that the glory of God is still present when really He has left, some people go by emotionalism and flesh instead of the spirit...it's sad, but in the end there will be a place for them if true repentance has no taken place

[hildo]

wow simple but direct persice and correct. great reply. GOD bless, and keep keepin the faith.

[A.W. Bowman]

I agree, excellent response Brother Carey.

The original question, however requires a different answer, i.e., How long will God will allow churches to 'play church' until the very end, when will the wheat and the tares be separated

To the second question: Both the leaders and their encourages who wish to 'play' church will be punished. The leaders because it is their responsibility to teach the word of God with integrity (teachers are held to a higher standard of judgment). Also, the assembly as a whole (even as a nation) will be judged, but specifically the individuals, because each person is responsible for working out their own salvation. Therefore, there will be both individual as well as collective judgments.

Those who have fostered a congregational culture of spiritual dependency upon the leadership (encouraged spiritual immaturity), rather than promoting the spiritual growth of the entire assembly (individuals learning to take personal responsibility for maturing in the faith and the exercising of spiritual gifts and calling), I think will receive the harsher judgments.

There are leaders who have made themselves servants of the body, and there are those who have made themselves masters over the body. Each will be judged according to his fruit.

Then there are those who have become believers in Christ, but who will leave as soon as the blessings dry up. There are also the followers of Christ - but they leave when the persecution start. Which leaves only the true disciples (students) of Christ, who have counted the costs and are still willing to pay the full measure for their faith in Him.

[hildo]

SO TRUE. I SEE IT THIS WAY. ALL WILL BE JUDGED FOR WHAT THEY DO IN THIS LIFE. ITS THAT SIMPLE. PEOPLE KNOW ARE FONNY OR REAL. BUT ITS SAD TO SEE FULL GROWN ADULTS ACT LIKE CHILDREN IN CHURCH. WHAT I MEAN IS THIS, THEY KNOW WHAT THERE DOING IS WRONG, WHAT THERE PREACHING IS WRONG, WHAT THERE ALLOWED TO DO IS WRONG, AND HOW THERE ALLOWED TO LIVE IS WRONG, BUT THEY DO IT ANYWAY. SO SAD, AND HURTFULL TO THE CHURCH. WHAT THE EXCITING AND GREAT NEWS IS THIS IN THIS WHOLE SITUATION. THAT GODS' WORD DOES NOT RETURN VIOD, AND NOTHING MAN CAN EVER DO WILL EVER ELIMINATE THE TRUE CHURCH. NO POPULARITY CONTEST, NOT ABOUT WHO HAS MORE MONEY, NOT EVEN ABOUT HAS MORE DEGREES. JUST SIMPLY ABOUT WHO WILL SERVE HIM. GOD LOOKS FOR TRUE WORSHIP NOT ACTORS. ITS GREAT TO SEE YOUR REPLYS. GOD WILLING, MORE WILL READ THIS POST, AND RESPOND.

[Rt. Rev. Adrian L. West I]

All should be and shall be cast out. We know this from the Gospel, When they say when did i see you hungry and not feed you, etc.. or didn't i prophecy in your name etc.. Sad to say we call these sepulchres Churches.. when truly the building is full of dead men's bones... brothers and sisters please stop being, rather do not be deceived, God is not mocked, there is no way to play Church, one may have a form of Godliness all the while denying the power thereof, ie, these T.V. churches, fake healers and wanna be apostles, the list goes on and on, finally the convert who has been saved sancttified and filled with the Holy Ghost, who sits there and goes along with these idiocracies, should know that they are not playing Church, in all truths they are workers of iniquity.....

[Joseph Gill]

The Lord will allow some to "play church" up until Christ's return.

 

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' " [Matthew 7:21-23]

[Rev. Dr. Felecia M. Wright]

If we believe that others are playing CHURCH, what are we doing?

Galatians 6:1

Brethren, if a man be OVERTAKEN in a fault, ye which are spiritual, RESTORE such an one in the spirit of MEEKNESS, considering thyself, lest thou ALSO be tempted.

John 3:17

For God sent not his Son into the world to CONDEMN the world; but that the world through him might be SAVED.

Matthew 7:1-3

JUDGE not, that ye be not jugded.

For with what judgment ye JUDGE, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

And WHY beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but CONSIDEREST not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Ecclesiastes 12:14

For God shall bring EVERY work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be GOOD, or whether it be EVIL.

Romans 12:29

For the gifts and calling of God are WITHOUT repentance.

James 1:5

If any of you LACK wisdom, let him ASK of God.

My people PERISH for the LACK of knowledge.

James 3:13-18

Who is a WISE man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a GOOD conversation his works with MEEKNESS of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not AGAINST the truth. (Which is required love) This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is CONFUSION and EVERY evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first PURE, then PEACEABLE, GENTLE, and easy to be entreated, full of MERCY and GOOD fruits, WITHOUT partiality, and WITHOUT hypocrisy. And the fruit of RIGHTEOUSNESS is SOWN in peace of them that make PEACE.

Jesus command was to LOVE ye one another.   

Blessed are the PURE in heart, for they shall see God and not sin.

That is a lot of churches to be observing and condemning at the expense of a QUESTION.

[A.W. Bowman]

Yes ,my friend, you are correct in offering your question, “If we believe that others are playing church, what are we doing?”

In truth, there are a 'lot of churches to be observed and judged'. And, the number of these churches continues to grow. Of course you are also right on the question of judging churches - the question extends to every church, including our own. The need for self examination is not just for the 'other' folks, but for everyone who claims to be a disciple (a student, Heb. Talmid) of Jesus Christ!

The fundamental problem is that the spiritual leaders (elders) of so many of our churches are uninstructed themselves in how to interpret the word of God (Acts 8:25-40), and therefore they cannot adequately instruct others. It is a classic case of the blind leading the blind – and the leaders are often times unaware of their true condition.

The results are that this thread stands as a witness against all who would be (1) a false witness for Christ, (2) who would remain willfully ignorant concerning spiritual things, including (3) the word of God, and (4) how it should be understood and applied in the lives of men. Finally, it also stands as a witness against all those who would use the Christ, Jesus as a means to accomplish their own agenda. We must remember that we are not to judge those outside of the body, that is for God alone.  However, we, as an assembly of saints, are commanded to examine and judge those within the body of Christ, even ourselves. Not even those who stand in places of assumed spiritual authority are exempt from this examination (Rev. 2:2)