Featured Wisdom in church differences with the Fundamentalists

Putting her before yourself...just as Christ sacrificed Himself for the church. Good on ya.

Doesn't actually matter whether you ascribe to "every form (kind) of evil" or "appearance of evil." Paul wrote that letter to the Thessalonians; he also wrote a letter to the Romans where he talked about eating and drinking. Same principle.

We *should* eat with the sinners, and go where the sinners are, because that's who needs to hear the gospel. Where we have to take caution is when we cause a brother or sister to stumble. As you recall, it wasn't the brethren that had a problem with Christ doing these things; it was the Pharisees.

As we mentioned early in this thread, Romans 15:1 - taking care for the weaker brethren. Placing the needs of others before ourselves.

I actually had a pastor once who said from the pulpit that if it were raining from a hurricane, and he saw a woman walking on the side of the road without an umbrella or a raincoat, he wouldn't stop and pick her up because of the appearance, the perception, some people might have of him alone in a car with a woman who wasn't his wife.

Remember the story of the Good Samaritan? Which of those people does he most remind you of? (I know you agree with me on this subject; just trying to make the point further)

 

I do understand that you are not living "alone". I did not fall off the apple cart yesterday.:smilewinkgrin:

My point is this- you have so much debt that you cannot afford to pay (or choose not to pay rent in order to pay down your debt) for a place to live, so you must depend upon others to provide a roof over your head. This in itself is not a good sign.

One of the main things a woman wants from a marriage relationship is stability. Until you are able to provide a steady income and place a roof over your future wife's head I would strongly advise you NOT to get married.

I know- you didn't ask, but I am speaking from years of experience in dealing with marital problems- including my own. My wife and I have been through every up and down imaginable (short of separation or divorce), and one of the reasons for that is so that we can help others avoid the pitfalls and mistakes that we made.

 

Evangelist,I'd like you to please ponder something here, because I've seen a common theme in many of your posts that suggest you want others to always agree with you. When they don't, you get offended.

Brother, not all pastors, church members, and posters here agree. Maybe you've heard the saying that if you put 2 Baptists in a room, they will come out with 3 different opinions.

"Winning" is not about convincing people to our side all the time or standing our ground when someone disagrees with us. The real "winners" are those who can discuss their differences and still handle them in a Godly manner.

 

I wouldn't call legalism culture, I'd call it teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Thus I wouldn't let them just slip by with this with the 'culture' excuse because that is not what it is.

 

All kinds of churches hold to this wise counsel, it's not just a Fundamentalist thing.


Fellowship Church (Ed Young):

http://www.fellowshipchurch.com/wedding_policies

"we ask that you agree to separate living arrangements until the wedding. (1 Tim 4:12)"


Lutheran:

https://www.crosspt.org/files/files/Facility_Forms/Wedding_Ceremony_Agreement.pdf

"we ask that you agree to separate living arrangements until the wedding. (I Corinthians 6:9-11; I Corinthians 8:1-13)"


Reformed Church in America:

http://www.gracereformedchurch.org/page27.php

"The church recognizes that economic reasons are often behind co-habitation. Low-cost or even no-cost separate living arrangements for a couple can often be found until after their wedding."


Catholic

http://catholicexchange.com/living-together-before-marriage/

"we would strongly recommend that the boyfriend live in his own apartment or home"

 

A priest and a Levite (both religious men) passed the man in need. It was the Samaritan who helped him. You'll recall what the Jews thought of the Samaritans as a whole.

 

Your offensive remarks are just that: offensive and rude. And that, my friend, is not Biblical. It is "stupid" of you to post in this way knowing what people will think of you in the future. It is not posting in grace.
The Bible says:
A man shall give account of every word he says;
For by thy words thou shat be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

Now consider the OP, in light of what you have said:
Does the Bible have rules?
Certainly: We have the Ten Commandments.
We have the commandments of Jesus; "He who keeps my commandments is he that loves me." If we love Jesus we will keep those commands that he has given us. Our obedience to him is a demonstration of our love.
So, yes, there are commands in the Bible.
In the pastoral epistles there are many more commands, as there are in the other epistle.

Are there man-made rules? Yes, and in Romans 13 we are required by law to follow many of them.
What about in church? We are to both obey and to submit to our elders, as they who rule over us and watch for our souls.

And other man-made rules? The Pharisees had many rules; so many that they became a burden to the people. Were all of them bad? No, not all of them. They became bad whenever one of two things happened.
One, they transgressed the laws of God. The example is given about "Corban" when they exercised a law from the Talmud which allowed them to get out of their duty from taking care of their parents. This was totally unbiblical.
Second, when they took some of these man-made laws and imposed them on the people thus making them burdensome for the people to keep. It wasn't wrong for them to keep many of the laws or rules they had made for themselves. But if they were outside the Word it was wrong to impose them on the rest of the Jews. That is what made them Pharisees or legalists.

An example. I know a pastor (now passed away) who would not baptize a woman unless she first promised not to wear slacks again. He believed that all Christian women should wear dresses and skirts that come down to the knee at least. That might not be a bad standard to have, but it shouldn't prevent one from being baptized.
Neither should it be imposed. If it is his conviction, then by example it should eventually become the conviction of others, not forced upon anyone. Modesty can be properly taught from the pulpit in an appropriate way according to the convictions of the pastor. It doesn't have to be legalistically imposed.

BTW, do secular companies have rules and regulations concerning dress?
Do lawyers who represent you in court wear "business suits"?
Why are they called "business suits"? Who wears them and why?
Are not pastors also professionals? Do not they and their wives have a standard they also should adhere to? Or is dress in the secular world more important than dressing for the King of kings and Lord of lords?

 

just make sure that we are seeking to keep REAL ordiances/commands of the lord, and not seeking to bind people up by imposing on them our own personal preferences and convictions!