Saved from 'christians'

[forgivenson]

What if Jesus wanted us to stop all the religosity...and just love everyone around us? If He told you to do so, would you obey? I have spent years 'alienating' my friends and using my religion to put up an inpenetrable wall between me and the very sinners that Jesus wants me to be loving with the love that He gave me. Re-thinking this thing...including my church.

[Hoovie]

[Dedicated Mind]

i think we need a balance. there are scriptures like come out from among them and be ye separate. what fellowship is there between light and darkness? etc I think if we have personal holiness we should show love and friendship to sinners, just not partake of any evil. there can be extremes in either direction, either too much separation or too much involvement with sinful activities. I would lean towards more friendship with personal holiness and less religiosity like you suggest.

[Sam]

The folks that hated and fought Jesus the most were the "holiness" folks of the day, the Pharisees, those who were "sanctified" and "set apart." What began with good intentions had become a system of rules and measurements emphasizing the outward and visible while personal inward consecration and love had dried up. Matthew chapter 23 has some pretty strong language from Jesus to the religious folk of His day.

[tv1a]

The Bible says to be separated not isolated.

[The Lemon]

Interesting...I remember for many years my life consisted of work and church with little time for anything else. I remember turning down several invitations to dinners, functions etc., because there were responsibilities I had at church. It got to the point where my family and my wife's family just quit including us at all, feeling that we would not show anyhow.

Fast forward to today, I have been peeled more then once for missing a service to spend time with family, the difference now is that I stopped letting the church and leadership control my personal life and how I spend my time. At the end of the day, when you really sit and contemplate life and the meaning if life, is this really all about converting people to our church, our lifestyle, or is it about them finding that Jesus is real and loves them.

Sometimes I wonder if we are trying to win people to an idea, a lifestyle, or to God. It seems that in some circles when a person starts questioning the system or anything, or begins to think for themselves they immediately get black listed as rebellious and backslidden - when the truth may be that they are searching and going through a season of proving in their life and walk - it would be refreshing for Christians to really act like it, rather then yelling and screaming and shuning folks who are not living in sin but do have real and valid concerns and questions.

For some that is hard since being "right" takes precidence...

[acerrak]

Lets face it we are in the world, and a sinner can where the same clothes i can. While modesty plays a part in us. it is not the defining factor of us. Wearing pants versus shorts doesnt make you Holy.

What makes you Holy is the Spirit in you. If you have no love then its like Paul said you could speak with tongues, you could have all the gifts and you can dress up and look pretty and be seperated all you want, but your nothing but a sounding peice of brass, a symbol that just makes loud noises.

Be seperate hoever you like but if it interferes with the fruit production then what good is it to ya...

[SiblingRevelry]

I think a lot of Apostolics forget that Jesus spent time with notorious sinners and the Pharisees regularly complained about it.

15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:15-17, also Matthew 9:9-13)

See also Luke 19:7 (story of Zaccheus), Luke 15:1, Luke 7:37...

Matthew 21:31: Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.

Would Jesus be accepted in our Apostolic churches today?

[Sam]

Originally Posted by SiblingRevelry

...Would Jesus be accepted in our Apostolic churches today?

In some churches He would be and in some He wouldn't.

That hair and beard would keep Him out of some churches and so would those open toed shoes. And then even if they did let Him in, they wouldn't want those kids and sinners that hung around with Him in their churches.

[Sister Alvear]

The word balance comes to my mind as another poster stated...