Renewing Your Trust-In The Church (Part 3)

Renewing  Your Trust-In The Church (Part 3)

-Maybe it's because the Church looks a lot more like the Pharisees than it does the Apostles.

With the law firmly in mind and mercy abandoned, the modern Christian comes away feeling that because they tithe a few extra dollars in this week's service they're somehow absolved from sin. They aren't interested in helping others or bettering the situations of those around them, but merely of lightening their own conscience. Compare this to the Pharisees of the New Testament and you'll find there isn't a lot of difference overall.

-Maybe it's because the Church says Love and then doles out Hate.

It's true that sin is sin and God does preach that we should hold people accountable, but he also urges us to show compassion and mercy to those we see struggling with sin. It wasn't the Pharisees Jesus chose to dine with, but the prostitutes and tax collectors. After all, "it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick". Instead, we see the Church ridicule the broken who come to their doorstep and act as though their own hypocrisy is somehow more righteous than the struggles of those who come seeking aid. The irony is, of course, only one of these two groups is actually seeking betterment.

-Maybe it's because the times the Church should be doing the most to help are the times it's noticeably the most absent.

When the Church should be compassionate, they're most judgmental. When they should be the kindest, they're the cruelest instead. It's no wonder the broken don't want to come to Church when faced with this reception.

-Maybe it's because the Modern Church isn't about being Godly, but looking godly.

Despite all of the issues mentioned above, the true issue at the heart of the Church can be summed up in this: The Modern Church is no longer about companionship or growth, but instead about the image and status one achieves from their attendance. No longer do attendants go because they want to change their ways, but instead they go so that they can gloat of their righteousness to their neighbors upon their arrival. It's not about growth. It's about image.