Troublesome Body Parts
Humans have a reputation of being troubled creatures, so it’s not surprising if we have “troublesome body parts”, such as:
-- the brain – leads oneself astray from truth & God with false theories on many subjects
-- the eyes – lust is just for starters
-- the ears – selective hearing is common enough
-- the tongue – this thing is maybe the worst . . . see James 3:5-10
-- the hands – stealing stuff & making obscene gestures
-- the heart – “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it?”
-- the stomach – sucking in too much food, & booze, etc. Jeremiah 17:9
-- the genitals – I read about a doctor who fell off a ladder & bashed his head. He said he left his body & experienced a realm like heaven. For some reason he reached down & checked his groin to find nothing there. My conclusion is: heaven will have no sexual temptations from either male or female desires – what a different world. . .
-- the legs – run from work, church, responsibility, etc.
-- the feet – “His strong steps are shortened, and his own schemes throw him down. For he is cast into a net by his own feet,” Job 18:7-8
Now everyone knows that Christ had a body, and that He died, then went to heaven. Almost everyone knows that fifty days later the Holy Spirit came down & empowered believers in order to start the Christian Church. And according to scripture the Church is the body of Christ. Ephesians 1:22-23, et al. So does the “body of Christ” have any “troublesome parts”? What about the hypocrite? The gossip artist? The occasional addict? The false minister? The obligated attendee? The family abuser? Any minister or priest will admit that not all the folks in the church are totally righteous, or involved for spiritual reasons. We don’t live in a perfect world. . . And the body of Christ on this planet is not perfect either.
The imperfection of the church, i.e., “Troublesome Body Parts” is fairly well known. And there are people who have been burned in church by folks who were either false Christians or just too shallow. I’ve met the burned – they have strong feelings against the church & state that “all Christians are false.” Then there are honest folks who say they don’t want to be in church because they will spoil the soup (be a troublesome part). I believe that using those excuses is clearly a case of the brain leading oneself astray.
The church is known to be a hospital for sin sick humanity. If anyone admits they have “troublesome” issues, they should go to a place that is proven to be helpful, NOT bash it with unreasonable arguments. Then if those same folks care about their soul, and its eternal destiny, the Christian church is the place to be. Sure, it’s not perfect, but there are a lot of good things there. I believe God is watching all of us & expecting such things as commitment to His cause. And what if there is a Divine Blessing for those who go out of their way to accept Christ & His church??
-- Psalms 5:12 “For thou dost bless the righteous, O Lord; thou dost cover him with favor as with a shield.”
-- Lamentations 3:25 “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.”
-- John 12:26 “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am; there shall my servant be also; if anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” Jesus said that.
-- 1 John 1:7 “but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
We will have to go out of this world to find perfection, but if we Choose Jesus and His Church, they will be found to be Alive. See also link 49 “Which Church Is Right?”
Many other interesting titles: www.gospelnotes.org * * F. J. Stone * *
140
