Quote:
Originally Posted by theoldpaths
Thirdly, is it a personal opinion of the Pastor or is it a conviction that he had gotten by revelation, etc? Or is it just a personal preference because maybe the kids might be teased by not being fully one or the other and the Pastor wants to try and spare them of that?
(1) If it was a "standard" in the church, then the standards are communicated to the flock so that they all know and will obey. (2)If this was the case, then it might not have been the best decision to KNOWINGLY rebel against the rule and move forward without the man talking to his (3) Pastor first BEFORE perusing whether they might be compatible.
(4) We are not ignorant of the devil's devices and I know one of the devils devices is to CONDEMN a child of God if they don't obey their Pastor. I don't think it really matters to the devil whether the Pastor asked them to fast, pass out some tracts, or just asked them to perform a duty in the church or to go buy something for the church. (5) If they fail to obey, the devil will jump all over it, whether it was written in scripture or not, to condemn them.
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(1)
If this was a standard, it is unbiblical-- creating a man made division that is clearly not the intent of the scriptures. Everyone knows that there are churches where this attitude is pervasive, even in America, in the 21st century. These churches are in sin-- practicing and encouraging sin!
It's an attitude of racial superiority that instills a feeling of racial inferiority, wounding the body of Christ and it a sin. This real-life situation is a perfect example as to why the "traditions of men" can NEVER be taught as commandment from the Lord: men are contradictory in their thoughts and actions, God is righteous.
(2)
The people "caught up" in this situation rebelled against a rule that itself was not biblical. God has granted the Pastor authority but since the Pastor has taken upon himself to use his authority in an unbiblical way, the "rebellious are the ones who are guilt-ridden. However, they feel guilty and are ostracized, criticized for no godly reason as what they have done does not violate any biblical principle.
This creates a situation very similar to the situation that's created when a father provokes his children to anger-- it causes "rebellion" and all sorts of pain, but the root of the problem is the father, not the child.
When a Pastor teaches for commandment stuff that's not biblical, the PASTOR causes the rebellion-- the PASTOR scatters God's Sheep.
In this case, and in other cases where the extra-biblical standard is made into a command from the Lord, the "rebellious" are not in sin. A command from the Pastor should not be disobeyed-- but it is only valid if it does not violate the established Word of the Lord. To add to the Word of the Lord is to violate the Word of the Lord.
(3)
So if you Pastored a church of 5,000, do you honestly expect to personally oversee the courtship of each and everyone of your members who are of courting age? Would you have subordinate leaders who would take charge of this responsibility? What would be their job title?
(4)
If you know this, then why give the devil any opportunity? When you add to the Word of the Lord your own whims and traditions, you are doing exactly what Eve did back in the garden-- giving satan a door by which he can deceive, kill and destroy.
(5)
For a while yes, but if that saint continues to search out the scriptures and realizes that the command of the Pastor was not Biblical, not inspired, not God-breathed in the first place, the guilt should leave them and they should leave the church of that Pastor that has set himself up to be equal with God.
By the way:
"When in doubt do without" is not an adequate answer-- it's a trite saying that dulls the mind of an adherent, blunting critical analysis.
The Word of the Lord is sharper than a two edged sword though-- it doesn't blunt, it pierces and convicts.