Religions, governments, tribes, and even human families, all carry some form of leadership. Today we explore how Christianity is different and in what ways it is different.
Judaism is a religion, Catholicism is a religion, Islam is a religion, and there are numerous Christian religions. All of these religions are organized by set authorities that man has created. These authorities act to organize and guide large groups. In every religion, there is a form of human authority that judges, and most consider that those judgements are correct because the judgements are based on what is 'considered' good.
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Deuteronomy 1:9-14
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At that time I said to you, “You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone.
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The Lord your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.
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May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!
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But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself?
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Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.”
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You answered me, “What you propose to do is good.”
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The Holy Spirit was sent down to be present with believers. The Holy Spirit is our counselor and guide, and what guidance or council the Holy Spirit gives is good, pure, and complete. There is a difference between the greater good of human based authority and the perfect good of the Holy Spirit. Often one contrasts the other. This is because one weighs the desires of the group, and the other is sought purely by faith.
The Holy Spirit is constant. But what is not constant is the requirements or circumstances of man. So although the righteousness that comes through us from the Holy Spirit is full and complete and reliable, how we use it to fill our requirements or act in our circumstances; change. For example:
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1 Corinthians 5:4,5
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So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present,
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hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
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Paul, in the authority of leadership, told the believers in Corinth to hand a man over to Satan because of his actions. This, so that by the death of his flesh, the soul would be saved on the day of the Lord's return.
The Holy Spirit is representative of our Lord Jesus. Jesus is the Truth, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth.
Paul understood that Christ has authority over all authorities, including Satan who is the prince of this world and as such master over the flesh. Paul in his leadership directed believers into action, so their actions were in obedience to his leadership, so in judgement they were obedient, and the decision would be placed on him.
Today, leadership and believers have the same Spirit of Truth in their presence. But instead of considering the soul of the guilty as what is at risk, they consider the continuity of their grouped will as what is of value. They would for the greater good, likely kick the believer out of the group, and consider it good.
The issue is that now the leadership and the believers are all guilty of setting themselves above others. Breaking the golden rule of "Treat others as you would have yourselves be treated."
So what remains is a congregation who is self righteous and blind to their wickedness. What they consider good is evil. And without repent, or actions worthy of that repentance, the Holy Spirit will not be present to guide them further, as they have created for themselves a false authority. And further, as they claim to believe in Christ Jesus, but deny his commandment of loving one another, they are themselves not part of the body of Christ and risk condemnation.
Paul goes further in instruction, so to be complete. He explains that a group that gathers together to share the Holy Spirit is to be like Christ, holy. Not that any of us are perfect, but that those who are unable to separate themselves from their desires, have no place to worship alongside those who have. Yes, we are to be loving to all. But when we are grouped together to explore faith as one body, there is no room for those who are not capable or willing to deny themselves.
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1 Corinthians 5:9-13
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I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—
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not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.
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But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
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What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
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God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
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The Church in Corinth had Messianic Jews and Gentiles. It had rich and poor, men and women. They all gathered to be a part of holiness and explore faith together. Paul said for them to judge one another, which is to me surprising. Surprising because we leave ourselves open to judgement when we judge others. But why he said this is because as leader, he gave them specific instructions what is considered wicked to use as guidelines. If the judgements followed these specifics, the judgements that he would be held to as leader, would be justified before the Lord.
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Leadership, and being a part of a gathering of believers, must honor God first, then one another.
Too often today, groups and their leadership supply comfort and moral or social platforms. These honor the greater good, and they generally flourish. They claim Christ as Savior but deny the Holy Spirit, leaving them blind and wicked. The sincerity of faith is a sincerity of false ministry. And the purity of Holy Spirit will not be found among them, even though they claim it is.-
Personally, I remain alone. I know to listen to the Holy Spirit. I know to bear acts worthy of any repent I make. I know to love others at cost to myself. I know to pray constantly, and with sincerity. I am not a nation nor a group that requires leadership. I am alone, and my comfort is in the Spirit alone. This is my journey, and in today's religious climate, I would not risk my sufferance by relying on groups that offer comfort. I am not you, but now you know who I am.
In the body of Christ, we all have gifts worthy of development. My gift is correctness, and I share it daily to honor Christ. My gift may change, it may not. I encourage you to pray to have the Holy Spirit guide you into understanding what your gifts of the Spirit are. Use them wisely and in honor to the Father.
If you are a leader or part of a gathering, be awake in what your decisions are! Do not risk blindness for the sake of the greater good.
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