There is a huge deficit in the areas of credibility, and integrity - sadly, that is also the situation in the lives of some who profess to be children of GOD. GOD is credible and of utmost integrity. He always keeps His Word. Of course, we His children, do falter but overall, our Lord has the expectation that we will be people of credibility, honor and integrity. Also, He commands us to do His Word - not just hear or speak it. The doers have houses built on rock....
Matthew 7:24
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Matthew 7:25
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Today I encountered a Christian teacher who has knowledge of our Lord's Words but demonstrated an action that demonstrated ungodly conduct. Yes, we all sin and come short of GOD's glory but when we do not confess our sins and turn from our wicked ways, we are discredited. I felt a measure of pity and sadness for this particular teacher. Later the Lord spoke to me and informed me that He was not pleased with her ungodly action. He also kept bringing to me the word, "discredited" to indicate that the action that she did after the Bible words that she taught, brought discredit to her.
Though the subject person is a Christian, she did a disservice to herself and to the body of Christ. The Lord shared more with me on this but I am not at liberty now to post any additional comments about the matter relative to the subject teacher - except to add that I love her.
When Christians continue in unconfessed sin, they deprive themselves of GOD's best. GOD does not entrust His best to those who remain in unconfessed sin.
We are all at different levels in our Lord and He holds each of us accountable for what He has told us to do and not to do. Does GOD hold teachers, pastors, and church leadership personnel to higher standards? I venture to say yes. My request is that others here on this blog weigh in on this matter. We are body of Christ members and we all need help with our understanding so please help me on this. Thank you.
Prayer:
Father, please help us all to steadfastly be doers of Your Word and not hearers and speakers only. Help us to live of the gospel of which we proclaim. We need to strive earnestly to be holy as You are holy. Also, Lord, please help us to steadfastly demonstrate love as that is the core foundation of Christianity. Truly, without love, we are nothing. Thank you, Lord - Amen
Help me with this, please...
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what kind of help you need. You seem to have a firm understanding that teachers are held to a higher standard, and that unconfessed sin does damage not only to the persons credibility, but to God, and to the rest of us... I'm sure if she is open to what God has to say, the sin wont stay unconfessed for very long...
ReplyDeleteOne of our worst sins is hypocrasy. Jesus yelled at the Pharisees for this.
ReplyDeleteThis is a sin only for Christians.
Reply |Derek & Karen Gross to me
ReplyDeleteshow details 5:39 PM (1 hour ago)
Hello,
Yes, there certainly is a deficit of integrity in our society, our churches, and our lives. This teacher that you speak of is a member of the body of Christ, so the Matthew 18 principle applies. Go to her and confront her of her sin, and if she repents you have won your sister. I'm sure you know the rest.
Those of us who teach are held to a higher standard, but we still deserve to have someone speak the truth in love before judgment is passed. I pray that your friend listens to the voice of God in this situation.
In Christ,
Karen
Hi Karen -
ReplyDeleteThank you....
You are right...
Thank you, Karen, you took the words right out of my mouth. The Body of Christ is weakened because we fail to do our part and that is hold one another accountable through prayerful, loving confrontation.
ReplyDeleteI don't know the specific situation but I know this, none of us are perfect. We have to be careful as we look at the "speck" in our neighbor's eye that we don't miss a "plank" in our own.
Gal. 6:1-2, "Brothers, if someone is caught up in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
If we're not helping each other, ie. holding each other accountable, we're not really loving each other. There's a time when in humility of spirit, we have to go to our brother or sister and show some tough love.
May the Lord give you wisdom on what to do, Sandra.
God Bless.
Hi Beverly -
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments.
Today on the radio, Pastor Tony Evans spoke on that very topic...
I was so grateful that the Lord allowed me to hear that message and to receive the comments about the matter that appeared here.
Thank you all