Be Not Conformed to the Church

...but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Rom 12:2 KJV)

There is a real problem that weakens Christians and robs them of the joy of their unique lives in Christ. Of course, the first clause of this verse is "Be not conformed to this world..." but the world is deeply enmeshed into the church. Today's Christians do not know what it means to be free in Christ as they try to conform themselves to the "church image of Christ".

The evidence is everywhere of the influence of the world upon the church. Consider the divorce rate amongst Christians which is equal if not higher to that of the world. Or the immorality of singles who fornicate with one another, or frequent porn sites on the internet. That includes the married pastors.

Consider the lack of integrity amongst Christians who build up their debt and forego paying their debts. Is there any wonder regarding the debt in the church? Consider all the congregations who take on debt for building programs making "faith" pledges, when the Bible says to give from your abundance (2 Cor. 8:14) And that same pulpit speaks of integrity in finances by paying taxes. They do not tell you that the privately owned central bank, called the Federal Reserve, takes all your income tax from the government to pay their usurious interest. The government then borrows more money from the Feds and the debt continues. The biblical practice of "pledging" is presumption upon God, and is making a vow that Jesus and the Old Testament forbid.

We are called to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we may know the real will of God. And, according to 1 Cor. 15:49, 2 Cor 3:18, and Col 3:10 that image is Christ. Jesus is a real Man. He overthrew the moneychangers, He parried with the Pharisees who tried to entrap Him, and by His Spirit, He is the Lord Sabaoth, the Lord of War.

Christians today think that there is no place for war or rebellion in Christianity. Yet Jesus said:

"But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. " (Luke 22:36 KJV)

The U.S. Constitutions guarantees our right to bear arms in the 2nd ammendment. Why would our founding fathers, who were a mix of Christian and Deists, insist on including such a guarantee? Remember, the 2nd Ammendment is not so people have the right to hunt food, but rather for the citizens to form militias to defend themselves and to overthrow any government that encroaches on their soveriegn rights as Citizens. And they fought the British to secure that end. Were the founding fathers any less as Christians than Christians of today? No, they were more the followers of Christ than the church of today.

The church is filled with cowards who will not obey Jesus who said that we are to go to our brothers with whom we have ought and to seek reconciliation. There is, of course, a time and place for reconciliation. The wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God. Cooling off so one can reconcile is appropriate. But many do no such thing. Rather they run away.

God wants us to be the people that He created us to be. We are all unique creations of God intended to be unique expressions of Christ. The person of mercy should not be judgmental of the prophet who speaks out against injustice. The prophet should not ridicule the person of mercy. But neither should try to conform to the image of one another. And that is what happens in the church. And Satan uses that in the institution to muzzle the prophet, and to take advantage of the merciful.

One of the muzzles in the church is the doctrine of accountability. Jesus does not teach such a doctrine. It is a doctrine of control. What the Bible does state is that we should confess our faults to one another (James 5:16), which is the context of relationships. We are accountable to God, who is the only righteous judge that knows our hearts. Accountability as understood in the Protestant church is the continuation of the confession to priests in the Catholic church who used the information to control the congregation. The American heritage of self government, was originally understood to mean that each soveriegn citizen was to govern himself, not in the current sense of government by representation. The freedom of Christ, who has forgiven all our sins before they were committed, is freedom to follow Him as He leads, not other people's opinions of what we should do or how we should behave.

The answer is what Paul told the Romans, renew your minds. Know Christ and His Word your selves, and recognize the world in the church. Resist Satan as you submit unto Christ. Be not conformed to the world. Think for your selves. Paul said:

"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." (Rom 14:5 KJV)

Be fully persuaded in your own mind.