What is the church?
It is a group of believers. Locke called it a "free society that men join voluntarily". No one is born into it, so it can't be inherited. It must be owned, it must be realized.
What then to believe? To have faith? Locke said "the life and power of true religion consists in faith, faith involves believing, and no one can just believe what someone else tells him to believe, even if he wants to." It too is voluntary and must be owned. It cannot function as another's--it must be one's own.
In the church, Locke said that a person "joined that communion in the hope of salvation, and that hope is the only reason he can have for staying there."
Where did the church get such a bad rep? Men started to force Christianity on others. Church and state became one. Power overruled the person.
Locke captures it perfectly with this startling quote. "The Gospel often declares that the true disciples of Christ must suffer persecution; but I can't find anywhere in the New Testament that the Church of Christ is to persecute others, and force others by fire and sword to embrace her faith and doctrine."
People affected by the gospel often forget where they were before they came into contact with it. It's a reality check to see where one stands before God. If we truly had an accurate understanding of this, and bowed in humility instead of towering over one another in pride, we would realize this. You can't force people to love God. God doesn't even force people to love him, why do you think you can? When we share the gospel, we can only do our part, and that is simply telling the good news. God draws the sinner to Himself. The sinner must then respond--yes or no. If they reject you, they really reject God. We must make sure that when we share the gospel we do it in humility, not pride.
We have to remember, we are sharing Jesus, not ourselves.
I commented on Clabo's and Gabby's
It is a group of believers. Locke called it a "free society that men join voluntarily". No one is born into it, so it can't be inherited. It must be owned, it must be realized.
What then to believe? To have faith? Locke said "the life and power of true religion consists in faith, faith involves believing, and no one can just believe what someone else tells him to believe, even if he wants to." It too is voluntary and must be owned. It cannot function as another's--it must be one's own.
In the church, Locke said that a person "joined that communion in the hope of salvation, and that hope is the only reason he can have for staying there."
Where did the church get such a bad rep? Men started to force Christianity on others. Church and state became one. Power overruled the person.
Locke captures it perfectly with this startling quote. "The Gospel often declares that the true disciples of Christ must suffer persecution; but I can't find anywhere in the New Testament that the Church of Christ is to persecute others, and force others by fire and sword to embrace her faith and doctrine."
People affected by the gospel often forget where they were before they came into contact with it. It's a reality check to see where one stands before God. If we truly had an accurate understanding of this, and bowed in humility instead of towering over one another in pride, we would realize this. You can't force people to love God. God doesn't even force people to love him, why do you think you can? When we share the gospel, we can only do our part, and that is simply telling the good news. God draws the sinner to Himself. The sinner must then respond--yes or no. If they reject you, they really reject God. We must make sure that when we share the gospel we do it in humility, not pride.
We have to remember, we are sharing Jesus, not ourselves.
I commented on Clabo's and Gabby's
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