The old cliche’ never judge a book by its cover can now be applied to our churches. Just because a building looks like a living church ministries on the outside, does not mean it is a church by any stretch of the imagination on the inside.
By definition, what is a church… the word church has many meanings; from assembly of called out ones, a congregation of worshipers, the building where worshipers assemble, a group of baptized believers, and by the Apostle Paul’s teachings, the body of Christ.
Our place of worship, that is, the physical building should be looked upon as more than just a mere building made by the hands of man, but as God’s house of worship. The title, God’s house, by implication alone requires a certain amount of respect and honor which should be displayed in our actions whenever we enter into His earthly house of worship. The amount of respect and honor given to anything or anyone depends on the way people actually perceive that person or that thing.
So just how do we see our church buildings…the answer to this question can be determined by what activities are allow to go on inside our churches and sanctuaries. In the book of Matthew, Jesus literally took a whip and ran lying, cheating crooks out of the temple. Jesus would not allow God’s house to be turned into a place of immorality or ill repute. Anyone attending the average community church lately, would have to ask the serious question; What in the world has happen to people today concerning the church? Why is it that our churches have been allowed to become places of ill repute, or in other words, why do so many churches which are supposedly open in the name of Jesus have such a bad reputation in the communities and also are so evil spoken of by those who are outside the church. that is, the so-called sinners. The people in the world look upon the church in a negative way simply because of the activities which are being allowed to go on inside the church. These very activities are the determining factor upon which the reputation of the church lies and on which standards the church is being judged. Below is a short list of such activities going on in many of the churches today;
It almost seems senseless and ridiculous to have to bring attention to such immoral issues when referring to the church; but the shocking truth is that all of the above issues are taking place in so many of our churches today and are being justified by many Pastors and accepted and condoned by many members of the congregation. This is not a church of baptized believers, but a Church of Baptized Sinners, Crooks, and Liars.
Sinners will not and cannot be drawn into a church that offers what the world is already giving them for free. True saints of the church need to wake up and take a look around and discover that the church of today mostly consists of a Church of Baptized Sinners, Crooks, and Liars who will allow almost anything and everything to go on in the name of the church and religion.
It is no wonder that sinners cannot recognize the church from the world; but even sadder than this is that the church itself cannot separate or distinguish itself from the world, because the people which make up most congregations fail to judge themselves by a Biblical standard, but rather by what is pleasing and acceptable to the world. With a little self study, church members could actually become a strong and powerful church body of true baptized believers in Jesus.