1 TIMOTHY 4:1\u201311<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2026 in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons \u2026<\/i><\/p>\n
(1 Tim. 4:1)<\/i>.<\/p>\n
A commonly asked question of leaders in ministry is \u201cWhen is it time to leave a church?\u201d or \u201cWhen is the church no longer the church?\u201d Does there ever come a time when a whole group of \u201cprofessing Christians\u201d becomes so corrupt that it ceases to be a church?<\/p>\n
We must first realize that we live in a day when people are apt to separate from their local church over many inappropriate reasons: the style of music, the color of the carpet, the lack of artistic fixtures, the personality of the preacher, the insufficient number of youth or children\u2019s programs, personality conflicts with other members, etc., etc. This is a modern day phenomenon. There was once a time when church members bent over backwards to remain part of the local community. But, just as church members in the past came to the realization that there are times to leave a church, we should be aware of those times today.<\/p>\n
To know when a church is not a \u201cchurch,\u201d but a \u201csynagogue of Satan,\u201d we must know the marks of a true church: first, where the true Gospel is preached; second, where the sacraments are duly observed; third, where church discipline is practiced. Anytime a church fails to manifest any one of these marks, it is time to consider seriously whether you should remain. Usually if there is a breakdown in one area, there are other breakdowns. But careful, patient examination must be given before you do anything rash.<\/p>\n
One of the first things you must consider is how purely the Gospel is preached in order to justify a break. Some think any deviation warrants division. The Reformers maintained that the Gospel must be pure\u2014the ingredients without which it would not be the Gospel. However, not every error denies essentials and is heresy. But when essentials are denied (justification by faith alone, the deity of Christ, the atonement, the sufficiency of His grace), the church ceases to be a church. Still, we must be cautious in making this judgment. The church, like individuals, may sin and, then, be brought to repentance. We should not err in either direction: either by being too hasty to separate or by tolerating the intolerable and thereby identifying with the denial of Christ and the sufficiency of His grace to save.<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
Psalms 16\u201318<\/p>\n
Acts 19:21\u201341<\/p>\n
Are you, or is anyone you know, thinking about leaving your church? If so, prayerfully consider today\u2019s study. Examine the reasons for your desire to leave. Do they have to do with serious issues of the function of the church and its faithfulness to the Gospel? Begin by prayer, then search the Scriptures (use verses below to get started).<\/p>\n
For further study: Acts 2:40\u201347 \u2022 1 Cor. 2:1\u20135; 5; 11:23\u201326 \u2022 Col. 2 \u2022 Heb. 10:26\u201339<\/i><\/p>\n
tuesday<\/p>\n
july<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
1 TIMOTHY 4:1\u201311 \u2026 in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons \u2026 (1 Tim. 4:1). A commonly asked question of leaders in ministry is \u201cWhen is it time to leave a church?\u201d or \u201cWhen is the church no longer the church?\u201d Does there ever … Continue reading “WHEN TO LEAVE A CHURCH”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12803\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}