MAJORING ON THE MINORS:
Something that has been on my mind and heart for the last week or two, I would like to share with our church family, as well as any of the Body of Christ that reads my Blog. I was actually considering preaching on this in Alabama this Sunday, because there will be some family members and former church members from the previous church I pastored, present there as well.
One thing that I have noticed in my interaction with brothers and sisters in Christ, is a tendency to not place the same priority to be obedient to what many may consider the "minor" commands as they do the "major" commands. In other words, it is almost as if some Christans are content in trying to obey the "major" or "important" commands in Scripture, but that God will overlook or they just don't think the "minor" or "lesser" ones are important enough to obey. Of course any command in God's word is important, whether it is "do not murder" or "do not gossip." And I think that all Christians understand that in their mind, but not all Christians live it. Again remember that I'm dealing with issues that will apply to more than just the church family at Grace Fellowship (such as my Blog Readers, chat rooms, e-mail lists, etc.). Some of these may apply to you, and some of these may not. My hope and prayer is that the Lord will convict each of us in those areas that may apply to us, and give us the grace to repent if necessary. If you have any questions about any of these or would like to discuss any of these with me, please let me know, and I would be glad to discuss it/them with you in person when I get back Lord willing. May the Lord be glorified through this special "pastoral" message of sorts. The following are not in any particular order, and are also violations of God's word and therefore still sin:
1. Grumbling and complaining to other people (family or not) about someone you are upset with, whether or not you are justified in being upset, and whether or not you have confronted the person biblically.
2. Not going to the person that you are upset with and you believe has sinned against you.
3. Not going to the person you have upset and have sinned against.
4. Not receiving correction for God's glory and your growth, and justifying it as persecution or an attack by Satan or the person(s).
5. Not forgiving others.
6. Not being faithful to the worship services and other ministries of the church because of work, too much vacation, recreation, hobbies, etc.
7. Not tithing and/or giving when not present at the worship service.
8. Judging motives or judging hypocritically.
9. Gossiping.
10. Considering or threatening to leave the church for unbiblical reasons.
11. Husbands/fathers not biblically leading their family as they should.
12. Wives/mothers not biblically submitting to their husbands the way they should.
13. Husbands and wives not submitting to one another sexually the way they should, or even if it is mutual, just not being with each other sexually as often as they should (touchy area I know, but it is addressed in God's word).
14. Parents with the father as the lead, not teaching their children to be the godly young woman/future wife and mother or young man/future husband and father (as it applies) according to God's word (multiple areas ranging from relationships to careers).
15. Not lovingly accepting change, when the Christian life is all about change.
16. Not wanting or resisting accountability in the local church, which is part of what the local church is about.
17. Being friends with and loving the world and the things in it.
18. Not speaking the truth 'in love' to one another.
19. Not actively sharing the gospel and inviting people to Grace Fellowship.
20. Being legalistic and calling or acting like something is sin when it is not.
21. Telling things that do not need to be told for conscience sake, and/or doing something that could cause a weaker brother or sister to stumble.
Something that has been on my mind and heart for the last week or two, I would like to share with our church family, as well as any of the Body of Christ that reads my Blog. I was actually considering preaching on this in Alabama this Sunday, because there will be some family members and former church members from the previous church I pastored, present there as well.
One thing that I have noticed in my interaction with brothers and sisters in Christ, is a tendency to not place the same priority to be obedient to what many may consider the "minor" commands as they do the "major" commands. In other words, it is almost as if some Christans are content in trying to obey the "major" or "important" commands in Scripture, but that God will overlook or they just don't think the "minor" or "lesser" ones are important enough to obey. Of course any command in God's word is important, whether it is "do not murder" or "do not gossip." And I think that all Christians understand that in their mind, but not all Christians live it. Again remember that I'm dealing with issues that will apply to more than just the church family at Grace Fellowship (such as my Blog Readers, chat rooms, e-mail lists, etc.). Some of these may apply to you, and some of these may not. My hope and prayer is that the Lord will convict each of us in those areas that may apply to us, and give us the grace to repent if necessary. If you have any questions about any of these or would like to discuss any of these with me, please let me know, and I would be glad to discuss it/them with you in person when I get back Lord willing. May the Lord be glorified through this special "pastoral" message of sorts. The following are not in any particular order, and are also violations of God's word and therefore still sin:
1. Grumbling and complaining to other people (family or not) about someone you are upset with, whether or not you are justified in being upset, and whether or not you have confronted the person biblically.
2. Not going to the person that you are upset with and you believe has sinned against you.
3. Not going to the person you have upset and have sinned against.
4. Not receiving correction for God's glory and your growth, and justifying it as persecution or an attack by Satan or the person(s).
5. Not forgiving others.
6. Not being faithful to the worship services and other ministries of the church because of work, too much vacation, recreation, hobbies, etc.
7. Not tithing and/or giving when not present at the worship service.
8. Judging motives or judging hypocritically.
9. Gossiping.
10. Considering or threatening to leave the church for unbiblical reasons.
11. Husbands/fathers not biblically leading their family as they should.
12. Wives/mothers not biblically submitting to their husbands the way they should.
13. Husbands and wives not submitting to one another sexually the way they should, or even if it is mutual, just not being with each other sexually as often as they should (touchy area I know, but it is addressed in God's word).
14. Parents with the father as the lead, not teaching their children to be the godly young woman/future wife and mother or young man/future husband and father (as it applies) according to God's word (multiple areas ranging from relationships to careers).
15. Not lovingly accepting change, when the Christian life is all about change.
16. Not wanting or resisting accountability in the local church, which is part of what the local church is about.
17. Being friends with and loving the world and the things in it.
18. Not speaking the truth 'in love' to one another.
19. Not actively sharing the gospel and inviting people to Grace Fellowship.
20. Being legalistic and calling or acting like something is sin when it is not.
21. Telling things that do not need to be told for conscience sake, and/or doing something that could cause a weaker brother or sister to stumble.
Comments