Three Cord Ministries Introduction page   How to Contact Us   Many links to Christian websites and ministries that we come in agreement with   A Comprehensive Site Map of our website



The Church in the World
(and the World in the Church)


Christians are generally not afraid to tell the world how it should live but are often afraid to tell the church how it should live. Putting it another way; as Christians (salt and light) we are called to

"love the Lord our God with all our soul and heart and mind and to love our neighbours (the world) as ourselves".

We are called to love the world, not condemn it - the world is already condemned. Many people in the world, even non-Christians can quote John 3:16

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

But how many know what the next verse says?
(mouseover the box to find out)



"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him."


But we Christians, with full 'justification' and 'standing on the WORD', condemn the practices of non-believers when we are actually called to "go into the world and make disciples of them, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" and tell them about Christ, tell them about His salvation.



Does this mean we are not to be 'angry' at the sin that in the world - sins of hatred and greed and immorality and murder and incest and the like?Of course we are but, the Lord said we are to be "in the world but not of the world"



It was finally revealed to me by the Spirit, while studying the Bible, that I have had it all wrong - I had it the wrong way around. I stand quite firm on issues such as traditional marriage, abortion, family values and it upset me how the 'world' was making a mockery of these by allowing unelected judges to turn Christian values into worldly norms.



What I had wrong was that I was angry at the people perpetrating these abominations instead of realizing that they, the 'lost', don't know any better. I was condemning the lost instead of speaking God's salvation plan to them and showing them by MY actions, that His way is better than the world's way.



I was even angrier with the churches that condone these 'politically correct' decrees under the guise of Christian love and acceptance. That is where the Light of Truth was shone the brightest into my spirit.



The world doesn't know any better but those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ, Christians, have the opportunity to know better by studying/knowing His Word. Yet, I realize I make little attempt to call other Christians to account for bringing the world's value system inside their churches. The entire letter of JAMES is a benchmark in church relationships.



Fellow Christians, we should be bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to the 'lost' world and not condemning it and we should be confronting our churches because they are 'found' yet they condemn themselves by bringing the bad news of the world to into their walls.



From the Sermon on the Mount, Christ said



"You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world -- like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."