Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Betrayed by Christians

Robert Emmitt pastors a church running about 11,000 in attendance. Last Sunday, he stated in his sermon that they don't allow anybody on staff whose heart hasn't been gouged out and stomped on by other Christians.

The Gospels tell of two "Christians" who betrayed Jesus. One wasn't saved, and eventually, Judas came to a bad end. The other was saved, and God restored Peter and used him.

If you have never been betrayed by a Christian, you aren't like Jesus. God works in Christians to conform them to the image of His Son, and so God might actually set you up for a betrayal. Then you have to learn
how to forgive, get back into church, and continue to serve the Lord.

The idea that we should quit going to church "because of what the Christians do" is unscriptural. The idea that you should devote yourself to "warning" everybody else about the person who betrayed you is unscriptural. And as painful as it is to realize, the idea that God cannot possibly use a church or Christian that has wronged you is unscriptural.

We need to forgive. And then we need to move forward.