" Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, are full of the bones of the DEAD and everything unclean," Matthew 23:27 ( NIV )
INTRODUCTION
A. The church in Sardis was described as being " DEAD, " (Revelation 3:1 )
1. It appeared to be ALIVE and had " a reputation of being ALIVE," -it looked spiritually vibrant on the outside- but was spiritually dead
2. The Sardis church was Christian in name ONLY. This recalls the scathing rebuke on the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27.
B. We shall study an article written by T. Hanchell on May 8, 2017 on Ways of Killing a Church.
1. Some Ways of Killing A Local Church
2. Counter Arguments on Killing a Local Church
DISCUSSION
A. Do not come to the church's worship assemblies. If they come, they make sure " they are late! "
1. Common excuse " no time " even for an hour or two.
2. Many have a " lackadaisical " attitude toward public worship
3. Remember the command in Hebrews 10:25 " do not forsake the assembly of the saints."
4. Suppose God will NOT let the sun shine even for a day?
5. Suppose we are always absent or late for our jobs?
d. God is " God always on time."
B. Show Up Only When Weather is Good and Find Fault With Everyone and Everything
1. Called " fair- weather " Christian and gets mad when a storm comes
2. When things are great and they have little in their pockets, they are in the front row and sing " Amazing Grace. "
3. When they are laid off and deal with difficulty, they are ready to " curse God and die," Job 2:9
4. As fault finders, they sit in the seat of the scornful, Psalm 1:1
5. They always SPOT a problem but never SOLVE a problem
C. Never Accept a Leadership Role or Responsibility in the church
1. Renters ONLY mentality not owners of house
2. As such, no responsibility to repair any damage
3.A church, full of followers ONLY, not leaders, is ready to die, but...
4.To be a disciple of Christ, one must " deny himself, take up his cross and follow Him," Matthew 16:24
D. Never give comments in a meeting but wait until it is over!
1.They comment only after the meeting and usually negative
2. More of a spectator than an active participant
3. Manifestation of a deep seated pride- a dangerous killer
4. A disciple is part of the body of Christ and cannot exist by itself, read I Corinthians 12:27
E. Do Nothing in the Local Church
1. They show up, then go home and are not active at a
2. They want to do the LEAST in the church and criticize those who do the most
3. James 2:26 " For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith WiTHOUT works is dead also."
4. Without " love " for Christ and His church, one is NOTHING in God's sight
F. Hold Back Your Giving to the Local Church
1. Leads to limiting the work of the church
2. Lack of giving will result to the church's foreclosure and death
3.One way of killing the church and depriving help to the needy
4. " Whoever has pity on the poor lends to the Lord and He will repay him for his good deed," Proverbs 19:17
5. " Lay up for yourselves in heaven..for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also," Matthew 6:19-21
G. Don't Reach Out To The Unchurched
1. They are not coming to any local congregation for many reasons
2. Primary purpose of the church is to introduce people to Christ
3. When not done, it is a sure way of killing the local church
4. " The Son of Man has come to save that which was lost," Luke 19:10
5. Jesus calls everyone to come to Him and obtain spiritual rest, Matthew 11:28-30
CONCLUSION
A. Knowingly or not, our attitudes, as individual Christians, tell whether we are helping the Lord's church or slowly killing His body.
1. The Hebrew writer has a reminder for all who are SLOWLY and UNKNOWINGLY killing the Lord's church
2. " For if we sin wilfully after that we have the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins.
3. But a certain fearful looking for judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries," Hebrews 10:26-27
B. The time to repent and come back to God is now
1. Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:2 wrote, " Now is the accepted time.Today is the day of salvation."
2. If you are NOT yet in Christ, believe Him and be baptized, Mark 16:16
3. " Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit," Acts 2:38
4. " When Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them who know not God, and obey NOT the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ," 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8