Discord Within The Church

Though all believe it, error is ne'er truth,
Nor is the unknown any the less hid;
The Lord makes not a mansion of a booth,
If many men desire, and so Him bid!
We can see through the glass but darkly yet;
Our faith, though great, can't the unseen reveal;
A misplaced belief sorrow can beget,
As much as that fueled by too little zeal!
The tent of faith is large enough for all;
None is called his pet creed impose throughout;
Satan lurks within, his lies to install;
Wars in churches repel lost souls without!
Let new converts mature in faith and grace,
Before intrachurch feuds they have to face!

"'Do not judhe or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge, others, you will be judged, and with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?'" (Matthew 7:1-3)

The scripture passage above quotes Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in just one command, but there are many more that He gives throughout the gospels; other commands for Christians are contained in the Bible, and we need to study and practice them to remain in the love of God. The reason is that Christians are directed to "crucify" or banish the human nature traits with which we are born, putting in their places the "fruit of the Spirit" listed by Paul in Galations 5. This "born again" or "new life" nature must be developed by each new Christian; it is not magically installed when first we accept Christ and become a church member. At that point we are entering a fellowship of believers, none of which has reached perfection; in fact, many have made no progress at all in eliminating their pride, jealousy, selfish ambition for power, and other worldly tendencies they possessed before accepting Jesus. Is it any wonder there are so many squabbles, disagreements, power-seekers, cliques, etc., in every church? These are congregations made up of the same people we encounter on the highways, in workplaces, and society in general; they have not succeeded in eliminating the unChristlike traits, but they should be working on eliminating them.

I have learned that there is no perfect church by working as staff member and just belonging to many as a member. A lot of us, including staff, are shocked by the pettiness of many members in offending others or in being offended, so that many drop out of church, either to look for one more suited to their expectations, or to quit going to church completely. I hope, by writing this type of blog, to prepare someone to expect less perfection from other Christians. It is not that God is pleased at imperfection; He certainly is not; He knows that not one of us is ever going to reach His standard of protection. That is why we say that salvation is not something that anyone can ever deserve through his own efforts: It is given by God's grace. In heaven, we will be perfect, because God will put the finishing touches to our characters for us. That is what grace is: God's undeserved gift.