The Coolidge examiner., 1939-06-08

Victory over the destructive pow
ers Of sickness is achieved by an
orderly attack Of the problem. The
doctor first makes study Of the
condition of his patient, observing
not only the outward symptoms. but
the general condition of the body.
He proceeds to isolate and identify
the evil forces which are causing
the disease, and then he is ready
to apply his curative remedies and
procedures.
The Church is sick today even as
it was in Pauls day. We are in
need Of the sound advice and the
effective example Of Doctor Paul.
and therefore do well to apply to
ourselves and to our churches the
lesson of today. AS we do this hon.
estly we may find in ourselves that
which is making our own church
weak and ineffective. Let us apply
the cure even though the process of
healing may be painful one.
/. The Condition.
What's wrong with the Church?
The excerpts from the letters Of
Paul which make up our lesson re-
veal three fundamental difficulties
which exist in essentially the same
form today.
l. False Teachers (Gal. 81. This
passage is part of our lesson al
though not included in the printed
portion. 1t tells us Of PauPs mas
terly dealing with false teachers.
Erroneous teaching and the substi-
tuition of the PHILOSOPHERS Of men
for the Word Of God are respon-
sible for much of the trouble in the
Church. 1t is decidedly not mat
ter of indifference what your pastor
teaches, what your Sunday School
lesson helps teach, and what your
Sunday School teachers present to
their classes.
2. Divisions Il Cor. 1:10). Some
times these occur over doctrine,
sometimes over church procedure,
but all too often over the most in
significant things. Frequently they
center around personal likes and
dislikes. Cliques and little closed
groups have no place in the Church.
Man-worship in place of the worship
of God will also wreck a church.
Q COntanfiOnc IT Cor 1.1h Tor
some unexplainable reason the peo-
pie who love a fight seem to want
to do their fighting in the Church.
ii. The Cause.
The internal troubles of the
Church cannot be blamed on its tes-
timony or on its responsibility in
the world, and certainly not on its
Lord. The real cause of the
Church's problems will be found in
men and women who are not living
as they should.
l. The Contentious Il Cor. lid.
These are the fighters.
2. The Puffed Up Il Cor. 4:18).
They have an exaggerated idea of
their own importance.
3. The Disorderly q Thess. 4:14).
Unruly and erratic folk trouble the
Church.
4. The Faint-Hearted Il Thess. S:
IA. R.V.) Tinid and uncertain in
dividuals limit and hinder Gods
work.
S. The Weak q Thess. $40. They
are feeble in spiritual insight and
power.
iii. The Cure.
Diagnosis and location of the
cause Of disease is practically use-
less unless a course of treatment is
carried out. Consider the steps in
the treatment of the sickness of the
Church and then apply the remedy.
l. Remember that it is a church
of God' q Cor. l:2).
2. Recall and follow the true
teaching of Gods Word Il Cor. 4:
I'D.
3. Receive grace and peace from
the Father and the Son U Cor. 1:3).
4. Recognize those appointed by
the Lord to be over the church as
leaders and teachers Il Thess. 5:12-
16.
5. Be ashamed of ungodly mis-
behavior q Cor. 4:1N.
6. Deal plainly with sin and dis
order q Cor. 4:2D. The knife of
the surgeon may cause pain but it
is often the way to healing.
7. Warn those who are unruly Il
Thess. 5:14. The word of spiritual
admonition is too often lacking in
the church.
8. Comfort and encourage the
fainthearted q Thess. 5:1N. Un-
regenerate man has no patience
with such folk, but God does. A
note of encouragement needs to be
stressed in these trying days.
9. Be patient toward all men Il
Thess. 5:10. If you feel that you
must be impatient, be impatient
with your own faults. Patience is
Christian virtue which has almost
been lost in the dizzy, high-pressure
age in which we live. Let us
cultivate it both in the church and
in the hearts of believers.