Withering Away:

    As the last baby boomers fade on into our twilight years, we can see that much has changed in the past sixty years inside of churches.  Attendance is far below a full sanctuary.  What is referred to as His Church resembles little what it once was. 

     I suppose an arm's length of reasons could be given for the withering away of The Lord's full gospel, fully biblical churches.  The Lord tells us in the Bible that after a while He will look away from a people and an unfaithful Church body.  He says that He will "turn them over to their own way" when it is obvious the people of the Church don't totally want His Will.  God leaves then, and the Church withers away into something not much more than a social club and it becomes a shell of the Church which the founding members built.

    Many towns from coast to coast still retain their biblical or Christian name and roadways still bear Church names given in an era when politicians and the people at large were the real thing; genuine, faithful and practicing Christians.  They were a reflection of America's Founding Fathers without a doubt.  

                                                                                  

   The Bible says pastors will have to answer for their church’s disobedience, as well as their own personal disobedience to God’s complete Word on our personal Judgment Day.  Deacons and each and every other one in positions of Church leadership will all answer to our Holy Father who art in Heaven for standing by and allowing His Church to be led astray.  Ignorance of His Bible will not be excused. (Ezekiel 3:18, Romans 1:17-21, 2 Timothy 2:15)  The idea of the pastoral office being open to “anyone” is influenced by contemporary and cultural perspectives, so The Lord continues to have once-grand churches wither away.  The sin of disobedience sets up shop, the whole of the Bible gets brushed aside, our Heavenly Father leaves the Church, and it slowly dies

   Hebrews 4:12 reminds us to embrace all aspects of the Bible, whether we feel inclined to or not. "For the word of God is lively, and mighty in operation, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and entereth through, even unto the dividing asunder of the soul and the spirit, and of the joints, and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts, and the intents of the heart."  That's powerful enough to cause each of us to look inside ourselves for our motives or lifestyles; and often the motives are selfishness or money in one way or another, in Church and elsewhere.  Parts of the Bible are hurtful only because its words are meant to help us to live for the entire Word of God. 

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   He forgave me of my sin on 9-6-81 and continues to forgive me to this day because "If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9), but we must sincerely mean it, not live a lie, and we must conform to 2 Corinthians 5:17.  "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, let him be a new creature. Old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new."  We should all reflect on whether there’s been a change in our lives that aligns with Jesus Christ.  If we’ve truly become one of God’s children through confessing our sins and having our faith in Him the change will be evident.

   So, what might be one solution to guide churches in ways equal to God's Word in stopping the withering away of Church membership?   Who am I to talk?  MSC might fizzle out, but we must try, but at the same time, MSC is a fully biblical Church, and honestly, a lot of society and "Church" people do not want that.

   For long-established churches struggling to grow again, hire men who preach the whole Word of God, when the people want to hear it and if they don't.  "in season and out of season" (2 Timothy 4:2) also, it might be helpful if, when female pastors retire or step down, they first share the full Word of God with their congregation and encourage the men of the Church to embrace their God-given responsibilities by returning to the pulpit and full biblical obedience by stepping up and Pastor their Church. (1 Timothy 2:11-12, 3:1-7; Titus 1:6, etc.) Take note of all the incontrovertible, irrefutable and indisputable nouns and pronouns in those Bible verses.  Whenever the promoters of female pastorships take a single verse out of context in any given 66 Books of the Bible by not including the preceding and subsequent paragraphs and or verses with the verse of choice, you are being deceived.

   

   Likely you can remember where you ate for your last Christmas Dinner.  Likely you have an idea where your career will be in a year from now.  Though each is a whole year away in one direction or another, those twelve months are but a drop in the bucket compared to an endless eternity.

    As a Pastor, I’ve often imagined the deep eternal regret one would feel to die in sin and end up in Hell for all eternity, only to have their children or grandchildren arrive there years later.  Oh, the pain it would cause.  Whew!  Think about the misery that would cause.

   The Bible describes Hell as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, as in Luke 13:27-29 and 16:19-31.  Gnashing of teeth means grinding them together in anger, and in this case, that anger will be directed toward our Heavenly Father, "who art in Heaven", and He will no longer be listening for our pleas.  

    Heaven and Hell are the only two places where our Father in Heaven allows people to spend eternity.  There are no Bible verses in the 1599 Geneva Bible, etcetera mentioning the cultic deceptions called Purgatory and or Soul Sleep.