I am going to presume all of you would agree with me when I say that, of course after extensive discourse and much prayer, we should not be associated with those that are known to be false prophets. There comes a time when our conversations with them must come to a close, when every possible avenue that can be traversed has been traveled, and they must be left in the hands of the Lord. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. 10:31)
This is something that most will agree upon, but now consider this, the individual within the church walls that you attend, the one who has been among you for quite some time, is well known, and loved even, if that person commits and continues in a sin for an extended period of time, will you and others in the church begin to employ Matthew 18:15-17, will you treat him or her as a Gentile, having nothing to do with them, until they repent? Always make it personal, always bring it a little closer to home, that is where the truth of who we are, or propose ourselves to be, starts to come into the light.
Think on these thoughts, for they show us just how much we are willing to submit, to obey the Word of God. In many nations there are institutions called “Interfaith” organizations, and they vary from nation to nation as to who is in their group. In many of these mostly small, loosely knit groups, the Roman Catholic cult has a seat, a place at the table, if you will, and among those present that will attend these meetings will be Evangelicals, those who profess at the core of their belief structure, that men are saved by the Lord God through grace, not works. (Eph. 2:8-9) Now, ask yourself this, why would these two get together in the first place, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14)
There are stages of obedience within the human mind, and admit it or not, they are not directly correlated to the will of God, or His Word. It was quite easy, was it not, from the known and sinful, rebellious false prophet to the sinner amongst your midst, to an entire religious organization, the stages of how far most will walk for the Lord, and many if not most times, that is not very far. Those who were sent into the promised land to kill every man, woman and child, every animal that was there, were not asked by their wives when they returned home if they had a good day at work.
It is easier to bend the rules just a little, it is easier to believe that we know better than God does, that if He could see just how much we love people that He would understand why we let that person stay in our church, why we associate with those who believe that there is another way into heaven besides the way laid out by Christ. How He would completely understand why we do not obey completely and remove ourselves from the world, to keep ourselves unspotted, unblemished, how it’s not really sin, just our caring, loving nature shining through, all for His glory.
I will tell you a truth, when you think that you are right, and God is wrong, you are wrong.
We do not like to call evil, evil anymore, it would seem rude, we do not like to point out the sin in the life of another, after all, are we not all sinners, do not all of us have a log in our eyes, or at least a speck? (Matt. 7:3) Recall just these three incidences I have mentioned here, and if you have not heard your pastor preach on them, ask him why not, and then, depending on the answer, ask yourself, why do I continue to come to this church. Perhaps you belong there, because you also will not go into the land of Canaan to face the enemy, after all, they are not your responsibility, are they? You are not your brother’s keeper, right. When do we love, and when are we to be obedient?
