Church Problems

The church has Christ as the Chief Cornerstone. As long as there is a church, there will also be at least one living stone upon another.

The unity of God's church does not derive from organizational expertise, the conformity of ecumenism, or the tolerance for evil, but from the family model.

Ups and downs, blessings and trials, have characterized every era of the church. God's people are always battling something negative between the brief highs.

God's true church cannot be found without revelation nor can one join the organization; God calls and places each member in its appropriate place in the Body.

The easiest part of God's work is preaching the gospel to the world. Much more demanding is the feeding of the flock, producing life-changing faith.

Martin Collins focuses on the second and third epistles of John, letters. Second John warns Christians against false teachers and the necessity not to let down their guard, realizing that deception is possible when they move 'progressively' against doctrin. . .

Misidentifying parts of the Body of Christ as enemies, or even being highly suspicious of them, causes pain and inefficiency throughout the whole Body.

Mark Schindler, reflecting on the 30th anniversary of his baptism, recalls how he joyfully, but perhaps myopically, assumed that he would automatically walk harmoniously and peacefully with the other members of the body of Christ into the Kingdom and etern. . .

John Ritenbaugh asserts that the pressures and conflicts that the church has undergone is part of a larger Zeitgeist (spirit of the time) that has embroiled institutions religious and political institutions worldwide. The mindset reflects (and is a functio. . .

Martin Collins, concluding his series "God's Perseverance with the Saints," focuses on Christ's desire that all His disciples have unity and love. The unity He appeals for is not organizational unity, but unity within the divine nature, exampled . . .

John Ritenbaugh admonishes the greater church of God that we make a conscious effort to feed the flock (devoting more effort, time, energy, and money than for preaching the Gospel as a witness for the world) until we get ourselves straightened out first. T. . .

We will become united as we draw closer to God. If we regard a brother in Christ as a competitor rather than as a trusted ally, unity will be impossible.

Martin Collins indicates that, even though II and III John are the shortest books of the Bible, they do contain significant themes, amplifying the contents of I John, emphasizing the fellowship with God. II and III John, addressed to elders in supporting l. . .

God does not want us to find a cozy comfort zone because that is when we are most likely to slip into dangerous spiritual drowsiness and complacency.

The strife between this world's belief systems shows that God did not originate them. False teachings are dangerous because they can erode the faith.

Like the four groups of seeds exposed to various qualities of soil, many have heard the true gospel, but few have remained faithful after the onslaught of hardship.

Like the symphony orchestra, only as an instrumentalist submits to the leader, working with the other members of the ensemble, can unity be accomplished.

Many heresies have crept into the church over the past several years. Here is how Satan works to introduce heresy into the church, and what we can do about it.

We tend to think of the early Church as a 'golden age' of unity and momentum. But early church members experienced problems similar to what we face today.

People who try to supplement their spiritual diet with lawlessness or other heresies risk losing their identity, and ultimately their spiritual life.

Confusion and separation have been man's legacy since Eden. Christ is working to put an end to division, enabling us to be one with the Father and each other.

A survey of the New Testament on the subject of politics shows that those who stoop to politics or other devious means to get their own way are the bad guys.

John Ritenbaugh reiterates that neglecting to feed the flock has been detrimental to preaching the gospel to the world. Because of this unwitting neglect, many members succumbed to the "lost in the crowd" syndrome, feeling insignificant, meaningl. . .

Austin Del Castillo expresses alarm that the moral fabric of our society is rapidly unravelling, with all institutions yielding to corruption and immorality. Like society, the Church of God has splintered into a diverse assortment of groups, some blinded b. . .

The true church of God is an invisible, spiritual organism, of those people that have and are led by the Spirit of God, who hold fast to apostolic teaching.

Persecution involves a wide spectrum, ranging from torture, physical beating, social excommunication, imprisonment and death. Our boldness should match Paul's.

Richard Ritenbaugh, citing Francis Shaeffer's observation, that bitterness rather than doctrine divides and estranges one member from of Christ's Body from another, suggests that individuals often look for a 'doctrinal' reason to cover up the real reason f. . .

John Ritenbaugh takes issue with the popularly held notion that preaching the Gospel to the world as a witness is the sole identifying mark of God's church. There is a vast difference between "preaching the Gospel to the world" and "making d. . .

John Ritenbaugh observes that although each of God's festivals depicts increasingly larger numbers of people being drawn to God, the counter pulls emanating from sinful carnal human nature war against the prompts of God's Holy Spirit, producing continual c. . .

The partiality of various biblical characters caused No end of trouble. Likewise, we need to avoid partiality for the problems it can cause in the church.

Do Christians need a church? With all the church problems in recent years, many have withdrawn. Yet the church—problems and all—serves a God-ordained role.

David Maas cautions that in a dangerous and troubled world in which everyone is being manipulated and conned into squaring off in hatred for one another, being enticed to take the spiritual mark of the Beast (seething anger and hatred toward one another), . . .

John Ritenbaugh suggests that the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 represent characteristics or attitudes which will be extant at the end time, levels of spiritual growth against which members may measure their growth. Although flitting from one church gro. . .