Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. (Romans 15:7 NASB)
The word in the Greek here means to ‘aggressively receive, with strong personal interest’ (http://biblehub.com/greek/4355.htm)…
This scripture is speaking of the way any Blood bought saint should ‘receive’ or ‘accept to yourselves’ or ‘welcome’ to themselves any other Blood bought saint…
This is a strong injunction in scripture…
So why is it that we do not see this happening?
Is everyone scared that in doing this they will open themselves up to being abused?
“I couldn’t let them get too close to me ‘cos it might backfire!” – maybe something like this?
Why also is it that we see the Church so fragmented in little slithers where to ‘belong’ you have to jump through quite particular theological hoops about quite extraneous topics…
“Oh, I couldn’t have fellowship with them as they believe in the ‘post-trib’ rapture position where I believe in the ‘pre-wrath’ rapture position!” – for example…
A more controversial example, “Oh, I could never have fellowship with them as they don’t believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit!”…
At the end of the day if we believe we have been bought by Jesus’ Royal Blood (as Rend Collective so beautifully wrote in one of their songs), i.e. admitting and confessing that the Blood of God – Jesus Himself – has bought us – if we agree at this level then all else will follow – maybe not instantaneously but eventually with insight and with the prompting of the Holy Spirit within us – as He is our Teacher and will gift Teachers on earth to teach – He will teach us all things and we will attain to the unity which is in Christ Jesus…
Nothing is to be ‘too freaky’ for us to handle from our brothers and sisters in Christ…
Someone will say, “Oh, but Andrew, what if they’re not really our brothers and sisters in Christ, I can’t have fellowship with them if I don’t know that!”…
And I would reply, “If they’ve said that they’ve been saved by Jesus’ Royal Blood and believe that Jesus is both Lord and God and came to be the sacrifice for their sins and that they are now trusting eternally in His Righteousness and His Gift of Grace to save them then we should trust them in this”…
Over time it will become clear who is and who is not really one of God’s children…
“How will this become clear Andrew?”…
I would say, “It has nothing to do with how quickly the Holy Spirit releases them from sin but it has everything to do with their attitude towards God and wanting to be made more and more and more like Him”…
No one who has been born again can remain the same or want to remain the same…
They have been born again and want to know their Father…
We see this in human behaviour…
All children instinctively – even if their father is a real ‘asshole’ – want to know their fathers – and children instinctively copy their father’s behaviour…
It is no different with a born again believer…
We may not be perfect but we don’t like the perfect we’re not and we want to become more and more like Christ – the Everlasting Father – the Prince of Peace…
“Can I accept a believer who swears even though scripture tells us swearing is bad?”…
My answer would be, “Can you accept a baby who poops its diaper?”…
Can you accept a recovering drug addict who gets high a few more times after coming to Christ as the reality of what has just happened dawns on them?
Can you accept someone who has been addicted to pornography and masturbation when they come to Christ and don’t instantly lose the desire and stop completely?
Jesus Himself had this to say,
“And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’” (Luke 5:39 NASB)
There’s a transition of behaviour which takes place as the old is replaced with the new in the power of the Holy Spirit and this process is unique for each and every child of God…
I remember a testimony from a brother at Drug Arm – he and I were leading a team on Friday nights to give out food to people (the majority of whom were either on drugs or alcohol) in our square on Friday nights – and he had come to the Lord out of drugs and his Pastor very wisely told him not to worry if he got high a few more times (removing condemnation and removing the fear of failure) and this brother was delivered from getting high and was going well during the time we worked together…
Another testimony from a book I read about a Jewish man who came to the Lord was that he began to read scripture and he was a chain smoker – he kept devouring the scripture (reading right through the bible) but at the same time smoked even more and as he got to a certain point (I can’t remember if it was the book of John or right through the bible or even after that time) he gave his life to Jesus…
He eventually became a Pastor and began a church in his house (from what I remember)…
The point was that he didn’t try and ‘clean himself up’ before coming to the Lord – he just came as he was – and the principle also holds for after we come to the Lord – we just come as we are – accepted – into His Presence – and let Him clean us up – and none of us standing next to any other saint in the Presence of God have the right to comment in condemnation about the remaining stink coming from our brother or sister in Christ…
Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:4 NASB)
Does our condemnation of our brothers or sisters help them to improve? Does it help them to stand?
If it really turns out that they are not our brothers and sisters at least we have followed the injunction that ‘love always trusts’ – it is then up to the Lord to judge the one who has said they are a brother or sister but in reality are not but are still in their sins…
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:7 NIV)
There are no negative emotions associated with trusting others…
There is no anxiety, there is no worry, there is no suspicion, there is no insecurity, there is no need to check up on people, no need to ensure everyone is ‘accountable’ to someone, there is no ‘secret service’ – think about this – what a waste of time these activities are in the Kingdom and Service of God – we are called to trust and let God deal with the rest…
Ananias and Sapphira should serve as a warning to those who want to lie in the Presence of God…
God is not mocked and neither is He fooled…
But for us who are His Servants we are not to meddle and judge…
The lack of unity in the Church has had a lot to do with this…
Once eliminated we will be a force to be reckoned with…
Territorialism and power trips – associated with ego – are another major reason why unity has not occurred in the Church along with a desire to ‘make merchandise’ out of the ‘charisma’ which God has freely given to His Servants to share freely with one another…
These things will change…
God will regain the control in His Church…
He has left us to see what we could do – as we were not willing to turn to Him in desperation and stop our attempts to do His work for Him – and now – very soon – He will come and cause us – all – to stop – and wait for Him to come in us – to come to His Fullness in us so that we can work together as a team – in one spirit and in one soul – as one body to achieve His Purpose on earth – the salvation of the world and the purification of His saints…
a house of prayer for the nations 