Judgment in the "Church"

#wheretheydothatat

Judgment in the church? This can't be? Not the place where people are supposed to be "Like Christ"?

Sorry to say, not only is it true, but it is widespread. I have had an awakening over the past several years that in God's house, where His Spirit is supposed to live, there is a spirit of judgment present, and it is causing God's loss not to want to come to the church. It really is sad to see that some believers believe that they are living their lives as Christ did, but, in fact, they are living the complete opposite and really don't have the heart of God.

I want to take some time to examine the phrase " like Christ" or "Christlike" and explain what it means.

In Mark 2, Jesus was found eating at Levi's house with many tax collectors and sinners; when questioned, he told them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. (v. 17 NLT)............ So, while the saints surround themselves with people who are like themselves, saved, baptized, and filled with the Holy Ghost and shunning everyone who is not, Jesus planted himself in the midst of sinners so that he might get them saved.

How about the time Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well? It was not tradition for Him, being a Jew, to even speak to her, let alone receive water from her, but he did. Not only that, but He revealed to her who He was, and she, in turn, testified to everyone in the village, and many of them "believed," or what we call now, got saved. Just imagine if Jesus had held on to traditions and not spoken to the woman, all those who have remained lost.

There are so many other examples in the Bible, but I'll let you research for yourself. I want to talk a little bit about one of the many experiences I have seen and heard personally from the "church."

Several years ago, it made the news that singer and worship leader Israel Houghton was getting a divorce because of infidelity he had committed years before, and his wife was unable to forgive him. Shortly after, it was said that he was dating an actress, whom he eventually married. The entire world seemed to be in an uproar. The people outside the church had so much to say, "I thought he was a man of God,".... Which you expect from people who don't know the Lord. But what upset me was what the "saints" were saying. I think they attacked him harder. I even heard someone close to me say in a conversation that we were having about him., "Is he even anointed anymore?" Because of everything that happened and who he decided to marry. It was then that I realized many of God's people don't have God's heart.

What is God's heart? The Bible says love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). Even if what happened in Israel's personal life was what it was perceived to be, it is not our job as believers to criticize, judge, and turn against him as many did. It is our job to love him and pray for him. The problem is that we get saved and forget that we have not always been saved. All have sinned; that's in the bible; we can't judge someone else because our sin looks different than theirs. And while I'm on the subject, we HAVE TO get sin off the measuring stick that we have put it on. There is no sin bigger or more significant than any other sin. SIN IS SIN. That is why I had to write my latest book, "The Road That Brought Me Here." I wanted people, especially the lost, to know and understand that it is ok that you have done something that is not "godly." Hell (yes, I said hell, don't judge me), it's ok if you're still doing it. But you can still come to God; you don't have to run away from him because your life does not look like you think it should. He loves you regardless. I read in a book once, "There is nothing you can do to surprise God." He already knows everything you have done and will do, so just come to Him.

Now to the "saints," my brothers and sisters in Christ. Stop making it hard for people to come to Him. We must stop with the judgy looks, stares, comments, and whispers. We have to stop believing that we are better than other people because of the things they do and say or the lifestyle that they live. We have to get back to the heart of God, love people, and lead them to the Lord with compassion. We have to actually be "Christlike" and sit among them, eat with them, laugh with them, and draw them with compassion. Then, and only then will people actually experience God and come to Him to be saved. Remember, God is love, and His word says, with love and kindness have I drawn them. Let's actually start being the church, the body of Christ. Amen? Amen!