Imperfect Churches Versus Churches Who Don't Want To Be Perfect

By David J. Stewart | November 2014

1st Timothy 2:9, “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array.”

       There are no perfect churches, and a good thing, or else you and me wouldn't be accepted as imperfect people. Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” The Bible here is telling us as believers to “BE BEING PERFECT,” that is, it is on ongoing process. No one can be perfect. As believers, we don't live the Christian life; but rather, Jesus lives it through us by His Holy Spirit in us.

Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” This is why no believer can live right who doesn't walk with God. Jesus said in John 15:1-5 that He is the Vine and we are the branches, and without Him we can do nothing.

Our churches are filled with religious people these days who either are not saved at all, or they are going through the motions of the Christian life in their own human strength. They don't abide in the Holy Scriptures. They don't abide in prayer. Consequently, they have no passion for truth, no passion for the purity of the Scriptures,

Over the years I've heard numerous pastors talk from their pulpits about being interest as a church in OBEYING God's Word, rather than GROWING the size of the Church. The truth is that every pastor ought to be interested in BOTH. The Lord may not be interested in “numbers” (attendance) as many preachers like to tout, but the Lord sure ain't interested in empty pews either. Acts 2:41 and 47 tells us that 3,000 souls were saved, baptized and added to the Church.

Acts 4:4 tells us that another 5,000 men heard the Gospel and were saved. If there were 5,000 men, then there were probably about 15,000 to 20,000 people (including women and children). What a wonderful thing to see so many people saved!!! Of the millions of people present in Jerusalem at the time, it is wonderful to know that tens-of-thousands of people were getting saved, being water baptized as a first step of obedience to Christ, and joining the local New Testament Church. Praise God!
 

Shameful Pastors Who Don't Preach About Modesty

Now the “hypocrisy” which I spoke of in the title of this article is this: The very same pastors who claim that they're more interested in obeying than growing, won't preach against women wearing pants. They fail and refuse to teach and preach Biblical standards of modest clothing on women. It is nauseating to see an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church where the pastor boasts from the pulpit about desiring to OBEY God rather than GROW the size of his church, when 95% of the women members in his church congregation are wearing tight and sexy pants, miniskirts, halter tops, painted-on lewd slacks and other sinful worldly attire! Don't get mad at me, if the shoe fits wear it!!! I'm tired of hen-pecked, compromised, ear-ticklin', back-scratchin', soft-soapin', pink-tea-and-lemonade, pasty-waist, milquetoast, bad preachers!!!

“You don't identify a false prophet by what he's preaching; you identify a false prophet by what he WON'T preach!” —Pastor Danny Castle, a quote from the challenging MP3 sermon, 'COUNTERFEITS'

EFFECTIVELY, there's no difference between the minister who says that he doesn't desire to grow his church at the expense of obedience, verses the minister who doesn't want to lose any members by actually obeying. In other words, if a pastor doesn't want to take a Biblical stand for women's modesty, and the way they ought to dress in public, then in effect he is primarily interested in church size. Whether the church grows or shrinks, it is a matter of church size!

So don't tell me that you're not interesting in growing your church if you're unwilling to preach as you should for fear of shrinking your church!!! If a man of God sincerely wants to obey God above all else, then he won't worry about losing affluent wealthy church members because he takes a stand for what is right.
 

The Sin Of Women Wearing Pants And Dressing Like Men

Let me tell you something, when a woman wears pants, you cannot tell if she is a Christian or an unsaved heathen.

I can tell you that she is either a worldly unsaved heathen or a worldly saved heathen.

It is a sin for women to wear pants, knowing that she is revealing her bodily curves and shapely thighs in public. God hates that kind of lukewarm churchianity.

Bless God, women ought to dress like Christian ladies!!!

Ask any godly man and he'll tell you that it is frustrating to sing “holy, holy, holy” in church when most the women church members around him are dressed like sluts and the pastor never preaches on the issue because it's not important to him.

GET RIGHT WITH GOD!!!

Are we really holy in our personal lives today, when such wickedness is blatant in our churches?

Here are some practical words of wisdom from Pastor Jack Hyles' great book, SALVATION IS MORE THAN BEING SAVED . . .

If you want a carnal church program which appeals to the flesh, you will have no problem finding that. Of course, the dangerous thing here is that the decisions that affect us for life and eternity are often made because our appetites are carnal. For example, we choose a church because it is friendly, because we like the choir, because the preacher has a good vocabulary, with little or no thought about the power of the Holy Spirit in the services or the zeal for souls or the standards of separation, In other words, we choose an institution that is going to affect our entire lives and, yes, our eternity, on the basis of satisfying our carnal appetites. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: Hindrances To Salvation, chapter 10 from Dr. Hyles' great book, Salvation Is More Than Being Saved

The Devil doesn't go after the wimpy, compromised, milquetoast, cowardly and silent ministers who don't preach the Word of God. No, rather, the Devil always goes after the guy who's making the biggest difference, the guy making the noise and rocking the boat! Satan goes after the soul-winner! Satan goes after the spiritually active Christian who's faithfully serving God.
 

Living Godly In Christ Jesus Brings Persecution

2nd Timothy 3:12 says that any believer who lives “godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” It's guaranteed. But living godly in Christ Jesus doesn't mean putting a bumper sticker on your car or listening to religious radio daily. Living godly in Christ Jesus includes taking a stand against public wickedness, separating from worldly associations, sowing the seed of the Gospel, praying and abiding in the Scriptures, and forsaking the sinful world. When you carry a Holy Bible, the sinful world will give you up! When you're a Christian, the whole world is waiting for you to fall.

The heresy of Lordship Salvation has crept into many Baptist churches, corrupting the simplicity that is in Christ. If a person must cease from sinful bad habits to be saved, then salvation has become extremely difficult and complicated. It certainly is no longer a free gift.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” —2ndTimothy 3:16

When darkness is brought into the light, it loses its power!

Not praying for others is a sin. 1st Samuel 12:23, “Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way.” There were 10,080 minutes in the past week, did we pray for anyone for even a single minute of that time?

Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.

“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” ―John Wesley

William Guy Carr (1895-1959), in PAWNS IN THE GAME, states on page 178...

People who wish to remain FREE can follow only one plan of action. They must support Christianity against ALL forms of atheism and secularism. (SOURCE: PAWNS IN THE GAME, page 127, by William Guy Carr, 1958).

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