NOT WELCOMED

By Rick Mathes

2 Thessalonians 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep aloof from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.

There was a convict that applied to be in our prison ministry aftercare program with a record a yard long including rape, car-jacking, bank robbery and various sex offenses. We are chartered to bless Christians “His brethren” as we would Him so my ministry is for those born again only that need time to decompress from the old and learn to walk in the new. This applicant didn’t have a clue. We refused him and his mother called fuming mad that we wouldn’t take him. I asked her, “Why don’t you take him into your home, you’re his mother?” She responded, “Heaven’s no! He would just steal from me, you take him.” I said, “No thanks. He will just stal from us.” Then she said, “I thought you were a Christian!” This is the heart of the issue.

Christians are not door mats for non-Christians to walk all over them. We are neither fools nor poor stewards of God’s resources. Ready for this; there are casualties of friendly fire. Some innocent souls may be passed over because we are not perfect.

In a recent war we fought, almost 5,000 soldiers lost their lives and half were killed by fellow Americans by mistake!

However, there are those that are flat-out not welcomed in our fellowship of believers and I will mention briefly just a few.

A brother that is unruly and continuing to shame the Lord without regard to the rebukes and corrections of the elders should be dismissed from the community of believers.

The one that won’t work should not receive aid from the brotherhood.

The true Christian will be a peaceful and willing worker and provide for his family and church in an honorable manner. He will earn a living and rach for our Lord’s level of excellence and not be satisfied with his self-imposed level of incompetence. His faith will yield good works only by God’s grace. He won’t be prideful but humility will be his hallmark.

No rebels or unbelievers will be allowed in the Kingdom of God. Only those that hate sin will be welcomed. So do a personal inventory and if you insist that you are right about your foolish actions and everyone else in your church is wrong, you are not welcome.