Some Leave and Some Cleave
We all know that some people leave the Lord and His church. Some leave a congregation and search for one in which they will be happier. Some remain, but grumble about things they do not like. Below is a list of some of the reasons one man listed for which we should happily stay, both with the Lord and with a local congregation.
- We should happily stay when the congregation holds that the scriptures are verbally inspired and inerrant (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21).
- We should happily stay when the congregation accepts that the scripture contains a pattern which will guide us to please God and obtain heaven (Colossians 3:17; Hebrews 8:5; 1 Peter 4:11)
- We should happily stay when the simplicity and nature of the worship allows us to focus on worshipping God “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).
- We should happily stay when the leaders insist on following the Biblical principle of authorizing by command (direct statements), examples and implications (necessary inference).
- We should happily stay when the leaders uphold truth and reprove unfruitful works of darkness (Ephesians 5:11).
- We should happily stay when the Bible’s teaching of salvation by grace (Ephesians 2:8) is properly combined with the Bible’s teaching of justification by works (James 2:24).
- We should stay when the leaders are determined to save our souls by not tolerating sin, and yet, discipline and teaching are done in love (Ephesians 4:15; 1 Cor. 5:5).
- We should stay when we are challenged to change every day to be more like our Lord and Savior (Philippians 1:21; Galatians 2:20).
The only thing that could keep us from growing in the above described environment is ourselves.