It only takes one person to make a difference or a change, both positive or negative. Dette gjelder også for kirken; Kristi legeme, that represents the Kingdom of God on earth. A person can add value to the church and be constructive or a person can cause a lot of trouble and be destructive. Achan was such a person that caused a lot of trouble to God’s people when he disobeyed the words of God and sinned. Achan’s sin not only affected his life but the whole congregation. The whole congregation of Israel came under a curse and separated from God. Nå, Vi bor ikke i den gamle pakt lenger. But what happens to a church if a church member perseveres in sin and refuses to repent and remove the sin? What does the Bible say about sin in the church and what the church must do when someone perseveres in sin?
Through the rebellious behavior of one person the whole congregation became accursed
In a previous post, The Valley of Achor, the victory of the people of Israel and the fall of Jericho were discussed. The people of Israel overcame and conquered Jericho, because Joshua and the people of Israel obeyed the words of God. They followed God’s instructions and because of that His word was fulfilled.
Når city of Jericho was taken, the people were instructed to:
- keep themselves from the accursed thing, noe annet, the camp of Israel would become accursed
- take all the silver, og gull, og kar av messing og jern, consecrate it unto the Lord, and bring it into the treasury of the Lord
You might think that these commandments were easy to keep. derimot, for one man these commandments were not so easy to keep.
One man became disobedient to these commandments and sinned. This man’s name was Achan.
Achan was not led by the words of God, but by the lust of his flesh. Achan took what belonged to the Lord.
Gjennom hans gjerning, Achan not only became disobedient to Joshua, but he became disobedient to God.
Achan didn’t show any respect towards God, nor feared God, and acknowledged God as the Almighty God.
He didn’t love God because Achan didn’t keep His commandments.
Achan also didn’t love his neighbor som seg selv. Because Achan knew what the consequences for the congregation would be if he would take off the accursed.
But Achan loved himself and was led by the lust of his flesh. The two commandments that represent the whole law of God: love God above all and love your neighbor as yourself, were not present in his life.
Achan gave in to the lust of his flesh and became disobedient to God. Through Achan’s disobedience to God, the whole congregation became accursed and became separated from God (Joshua 7:11).
Achan showed no remorse
Achan didn’t show any kind of remorse and didn’t angre of his act. He didn’t show remorse when he hid the stuff in the ground of his tent. Nor when the thousands of brothers were killed, during the attempt to conquer the city of Ai. Achan didn’t even show remorse when the accursed had to be removed among the people and Joshua called out the people of Israel. Achan just went along pretending he didn’t do anything wrong. When Achan stood among the people, Achan didn’t say anything.
Achan’s heart was hardened and therefore Achan didn’t show any kind of remorse and didn’t repent for his actions.
Maybe if Achan had shown remorse and repented of his deed, things would have ended differently for Achan and his family. But that’s something we will never know.
Likevel, the people stood before Joshua, og til slutt, Achan was appointed as the one, who had brought a curse upon the congregation and had caused a separation between God and His people.
The congregation needed to be sanctified
Achan was the one, who became disobedient to the words of God, whereby evil entered. By one man’s deed, the whole congregation became affected by evil. Akkurat som Adam.
Adam sinned against the Lord, and through his sin death entered the human race and the seed of man became corrupt. Som et resultat, man would be born in a sinful flesh and live under the dominion of death.
The holy people of God became defiled by evil and separated from God.
Therefore the congregation needed to be sanctified and made holy, so that God could have fellowship with His people again.
How did they sanctify the congregation? By removing the evil from their midst
Men, familien hans, sølvet, plagget, kilen av gull, oksene hans, asses, sheep, teltet hans, and all his belongings were brought to the Valley of Achor, where they were killed.
Achan didn’t fear God
Achan saw and experienced the love and greatness of God. He saw that every word of God came to pass. Achan should have feared God, because of what He had done. But Achan didn’t fear God. Derfor, he disobeyed God’s commandment and stole from the accursed. By his deed of disobedience, omtrent 3000 people were killed.
Achan thought that God wouldn’t see what he had done. Men Gud ser alt, He is omnipotent.
The sinner perseveres in sin
Many people live like Achan, as impenitent sinners. They rebel against the words of God and do things that oppose the will of God and persevere in sin. What could be the causes of this behavior?
- Wrong teachings (falske læresetninger) that will lead the believers astray
- They don’t renew their mind with the Word of God. They don’t study the Bible and therefore they have a lack of knowledge of God’s Word and don’t know God’s will
- Det er de ikke villige til lay down their own life and put off the works of the flesh
- Their love for the world and all there is within is greater than their love for Jesus and the Father.
God can’t have fellowship with sin
Just like God couldn’t have fellowship with sin (ond), as we see in the lives of Adam, Kain, Men, Simson, Saul, David, Salomo, etc. God still can’t have fellowship with sin.
Even in Jesus’ liv, vi ser, that when Jesus took all the sins of the world upon Him, Gud forlot Jesus. God couldn’t have fellowship with sin. Dette er fortsatt tilfelle. God can’t have fellowship with sin.
Jesus Christ and His blood reconcile man to God and give access to His Kingdom. By His precious blood, you have been washed from your evil sinful nature; which is full of sin and iniquity.
Jesus came to draw sinners to repentance and to set the captives free. Jesus came to this earth and gave His life, to deal with the sin problem of the human race, en gang for alle.
Jesus was not crucified and Jesus didn’t die, so that people could continue living in sin.
The blood of Jesus was a sacrifice, it was a remission of sin and not a permit to keep sinning.
Hva skal vi si da? Skal vi fortsette i synd, Den nåden kan florere? Gud forby. Hvordan skal vi, som er døde for å synde, leve lenger der (romerne 6:1-2)
What then shall we say? Shall we habitually sustain an attitude of dependence upon, yieldedness to, and cordiality with the sinful nature in order that grace may abound? May such a thing never occur. How is it possible for us, such persons as we are, who have been separated once for all from the sinful nature, any longer to live in its grip (romerne 6:1-2 KW)
God wants holiness instead of sin in the church
Many wrong doctrines have entered the church, whereby the cross and the blood of Jesus, Å dø for seg selv, putting off the works of the flesh, and sanctification have been replaced, by motivational ‘feel good’ sermons. A false grace and love are used to tolerate and condone sin in the church. (Les også: Har kirken blitt en tyvehule?).
Many preachers are afraid to preach Jesus Christ, Korset, Blodet, oppstandelsen, helliggjørelse, hellighet, the adversary, etc. For det betyr, that they also have to do, what they preach and many times they don’t want to.
There are also preachers, who are afraid to preach hard words to the people of the congregation. Because they are afraid that people become offended and angry and leave the church or persecute them.
dessverre, the truth is that many people can’t stand ‘true doctrines’ anymore. They don’t want to be confronted with their behaviour and their carnal walk. Derfor, the leaders of the church tolerate and accept sin in the church instead of confronting and correcting the members of the church. They adjust God’s Word to the lusts and desires of people and let the people abide in sin.
Sin in the church causes separation from God
På grunn av det faktum, that people abide in sin and live just like the world, and therefore tolerate and accept sin in the church, many churches and congregations are separated from God. sier Jesus, that whosoever keeps sinning is a slave of sin (John 8:34).
When you are a slave of sin then you are a sinner. Vi vet alle, that the father of sinners, is the devil and that a sinner will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
A slave of sin, cannot reign over sin, because sin reigns over the slave
Jesus svarte dem, Sannelig, sannelig, sier jeg dere, Den som begår synd er syndens tjener. Og tjeneren blir ikke i huset til evig tid: men Sønnen blir alltid. Om Sønnen skal gjøre dere fri, dere skal virkelig være frie (John 8:34-36)
Å vite dette, at vår gamle mann er korsfestet med ham, at syndens kropp kan bli ødelagt, at vi fremover ikke skal tjene synd (romerne 6:6)
Hva da? Skal vi synde, Fordi vi ikke er under loven, men under nåde? Gud forby. Kjenner at du ikke, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; om synd til døden, eller av lydighet til rettferdighet (romerne 6:15-16)
The devil has built his throne in many churches. His sons listen to him, obey him and preach his words and walk in rebellion (ulydighet) to the Word of God. Since the devil is their father, they belong to the world and live like the verden.
As saints in Jesus Christ, we must have an earnest desire to walk in holiness and righteousness. We should be obedient and stay obedient to Christ, not because we have to, but because we want to. There must be a desire in our hearts to serve Him wholeheartedly and to live according to His will.
What did God say about sin in the church?
God doesn’t allow sin in the church. I Det gamle testamente, God clearly showed that He can’t have fellowship with people, who walk in disobedience to Him (i synd) and refuse to repent.
Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him (3. Mosebok 19:17)
If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, og det, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, og frykt (Femte Mosebok 21:18-23)
Vær oppmerksom på, that the punishment was part of the Old Covenant and doesn’t apply to the New Testament which is sealed by the blood of Jesus Christ. But the principle of the cause and effect of evil, of sin in the church in the spiritual realm, is still the same.
What did Jesus say about sin in the church?
Jesus said the following about sin in the church:
Moreover if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone: if he shall hear you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, at i munnen til to eller tre vitner kan hvert ord etableres. Og hvis han unnlater å høre dem, Fortell det til kirken: Men hvis han unnlater å høre kirken, let him be unto you as an heathen man and a publican (Matthew 18:15-17)
Ta vare på dere selv:If your brother trespass against thee, irettesettelse av ham; Og hvis han omvender seg, Tilgi ham (Luke 17:3)
What does the Holy Spirit say about sin in the church?
It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, I vår Herre Jesu Kristi navn, når dere er samlet, og min ånd, med vår Herre Jesu Kristi kraft, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, at ånden kan bli frelst på Herren Jesu dag. Din herlighet er ikke god. Know you not that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Rens derfor ut den gamle surdeigen, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For selv Kristus vår påske er ofret for oss: La oss derfor holde høytiden, ikke med gammel surdeig, heller ikke med ondskapens og ondskapens surdeig; men med oppriktighetens og sannhetens usyrede brød.
I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. Men nå har jeg skrevet til dere at dere ikke skal ha selskap, om noen som kalles en bror, være en hor, eller begjærlig, eller en avgudsdyrker, eller en railer, eller en fylliker, eller en utpresser; med en slik en ikke å spise.
For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? Do not you judge them that are within? But them that are without God judges. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person (1 Korinterne 5:1-13)
What do you have to do when a person lives in sin?
When you see a brother or sister being disobedient to the will of God (the will of Jesus) and is living in sin, then you are obligated to go to the person alone and confront the person. with his/her sin. Because the person is not only sinning against him/herself but also against you and the whole church (kongregasjon).
You don’t gossip behind the person’s back!. Nei, instead you confront the person.
If the person listens to you, then you have gained the person, for the Kingdom of God and from destruction. But if the person doesn’t want to listen and keep living in sin, then you take a brother or sister with you and confront the person again.
If the person still isn’t willing to listen, then you inform the church leaders and make this case known to them.
If the person stays rebellious and is not willing to repent and remove the sin from his/her life, then you shall treat the person as a heathen and as a publican. Dette betyr, that you put him or her out of the church. Or as Paul said, You deliver such a one unto satan.
You don’t tolerate and accept the sin in the church, but remove the sin from the church. Derfor, you remove the person, som holder ut i synd, fra kirken, so that the person, will not be a partaker of the body of Christ anymore.
When you remove the person from the church, you will save the church from being affected by evil. (Les også: ‘Hva vil det si å levere en person til satan?')
How do you deal with sin in the church?
You don’t accept sin in the church, but you remove the sin. Når en person blir født på ny, then the process of sanctification will begin. Every born again believer has to go through the sanctification process. Det er ingen ekskludert. No one can live, the way they lived before they became born again and live like the old creation (synder) som verden.
The process of sanctification won’t happen, in general, overnight. It is a process. But how fast you will grow up into a mature son of God, depends on one thing, og det er, your love for God.
How much do you love God? Do you love Him above all (including yourself and the world)?
Because if you love God above all, then you don’t want to do anything, that displeases Him and causes separation.
We know absolutely that everyone who has been born of God and as a result is a regenerated individual does not keep on habitually sinning (1 John 5:18)
You need to renew your old way of thinking, which is full of lies of the world (djevelens løgner), with the truth of the Word of God. So that you start to think, snakke, behave, handling, and walk as the new creation (En Guds sønn).
Without renewing the mind, it is impossible to live according to God’s will.
Sanctification by the Word of God
A born-again son (Dette gjelder både hanner og hunner) shall become conscious and shall be confronted, with certain behaviour, or with certain things in his life, which seemed ok, before he became born again, but after reading the Word of God, finds out that it’s not normal and ok. After the confrontation with the Truth, the born again believer can do two things:
- he listens to the Word and obeys the Word, and repents and puts the sin away
- he covers his ears, and does his own will, and remains living in sin. Because the love for his flesh is bigger than the love He has for Jesus and for God
The church is appointed by Jesus Christ as a spiritual institution; a spiritual government of the Kingdom of God on earth, to teach, equip, korrigere, and discipline the sons of God. Så det, they will mature and walk as sons of God on this earth.
The church should walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh. The church shouldn’t be led by her senses, tanker, følelser, følelser, funn, meninger, etc. But the church should be led by the Holy Spirit and the Word.
When a question or a situation arises, it is not about what the people think and say about it, but what God thinks and says about it.
Gud er veldig tydelig i sitt Ord. Men hovedproblemet er, that only a few people are willing to listen to Him and obey His words.
There are only a few people, who are willing to submit themselves to God. Because submission to God means, that they must crucify their flesh with all its lusts and desires and remove certain things from their lives. And many people are not willing to do that.
They are prepared to go to church, listen to sermons, synge, and maybe do some charity work, but they don’t want to be confronted with their daily life and their behaviour. They don’t want any interference from other people telling them what to do.
The leaders of the church of Jesus Christ should live as mature sons of God, who are led by the Holy Spirit and the Word. They have the responsibility for all those precious souls of the church.
The members of the church should have an attitude of willingness and be open to correction. They should love one another because the Word says to love your neighbour as yourself. Det betyr, that when you see a brother or sister living in sin, you have to confront him/her. Because sin means bondage to the devil, and the wages of sin is death (romerne 6:22)
Do you love your neighbour, if you want him to die? Because that is what you do, if you approve and accept his/her sins, and let him/her walk in sin, without confronting him/her.
Free from sin by the blood of Jesus
Ja, you have been made free from sin, by the blood of Jesus and not by your works. Men det betyr ikke, that you can use the blood of Jesus to keep walking after the flesh in sin.
Hvis et kirkemedlem ikke er villig til å underkaste seg Jesu Kristi autoritet, men ønsker å leve etter sin egen vilje, da er denne personen opprørsk og har djevelens natur og ikke Den Hellige Ånd.
Fordi Den Hellige Ånd er ett med Gud, og Jesus, og er ikke opprørsk.
Hvis noen ikke vil sende inn, personen undergraver Guds autoritet. Personen anerkjenner ikke Gud for den han er. Personen avviser ikke bare Ordet, som Gud ga til mennesket, men personen avviser Gud selv.
Litt surdeig syrer hele deigen
Ordet sier, at litt surdeig, syrer hele klumpen. Derfor hvis en troende, et lem av Jesu Kristi legeme, holder ut i synd i kirken og blir i kirken, da vil personens synd påvirke hele menigheten.
Kirken vil være delaktig i hans synd og opprørets ånd skal også påvirke livene til de andre medlemmene av kirken. Fordi menighetens medlemmer er én kropp.
Paulus ga eksemplet med den lille surdeigen, for å indikere effekten av synd i kirken i det åndelige riket. dessverre, for mange kristne, Guds rike og det åndelige rike er fortsatt skjult.
Hva sier Bibelen om synd i kirken?
Accepting sin in the church will eventually cause the destruction of the church. That’s why God, det er derfor Jesus, og det er derfor Den Hellige Ånd sier (gjennom Paulus og andre troende, Hvem er kirken) at hvis en person er opprørsk og ikke er villig til å lytte og underkaste seg Guds Ord, å fjerne personen ut av kirken, og overgi ham til verden. Så det, det onde vil bli fjernet fra menigheten; kroppen og menigheten vil bli helbredet (gjenopprettet) og lagret.
Kirken er ikke en veldedig institusjon, heller ikke en sosial eller underholdningsinstitusjon for å motivere og underholde folket, slik at de har det bra i kirken.
Kirken er Jesu Kristi åndelige regjering, som representerer Guds rikes autoritet og makt (kongerikets regjering) På jorden.
Alle sammen, som bekjenner Jesus Kristus, Guds Sønn, som Herre over deres liv, skal ikke være opprørsk, men underkaste seg Jesus (ordet) og gjør det Jesus ber dem om å gjøre.
"Vær jordens salt"
