The State of the UPC

[Sabby]

Originally Posted by A.W. Bowman

A note on perspective: It is taught in many churches that once one abandons the pastoral standards relating to holiness, it will not be long before that person will become a 'backslider', or even lost to God.

Consider, this view point places one's salvation in their ability (willingness) to adhere to a set of religious laws of conduct developed and established by men, albeit derived from some biblical passages. If one cannot or will not submit to the church/organizational/pastoral rules, their salvation is either in doubt or they are even judged as lost.

This mindset, however, leaves out a very important salvation element, i.e. Jesus and His doctrines (teaching).

When an individual starts to walk away from religious 'standards', it is because they have encountered other biblical teaching, events and ideas that that shatter the facade of religious trappings being used as a substitute for a meaningful relationship with God and their fellow saints. This break in religious reality produces a spiritual crises, where when one comes to realize that they have been lied to, manipulated, and used by their leaders, there is a strong tendency to lose all trust and hope in what they have been taught from the pulpit. Combine this realization with the exposed hypocrisy and favoritism, control of individuals and families that church leaders so often exercise, the expected results must be: Rejection of the leaders, their teaching and their organization (church). Where does it usually show its self first? In one of two ways, (1) The individual (or family) simply leave the church without much notice, or (2) they allow the religious standards to slip, if not just outright abandoned - then they leave the church under a cloud.

Dropping church standards is the not cause of someone becoming a 'backslider', it is only a symptom.

Excellent point. In sum, the "backsliding" of those that leave really becomes self-fulfilling prophecy. By self-serving it tends to justify those that make those statements/hold those positions.
Some people's idea of who God is is really amazing. I was pastoring a church and after our first Sunday service I took my family to a hamburger joint in town. Wouldn't you know it, but my two boys were playing on the slide, one fell off the top and broke his arm. The first preacher I mentioned it to told me that is what happens when you aren't in the will of God implying that had I done the will of God (do what that particular preacher had in mind) it would have never happened.