Introduction

SIN IN THE CHURCH

What is the Holy Ghost saying to the Body of Christ right now? These are the questions that must be answered if we are to move with the Spirit. We, the Body of Christ, must be made aware of the mind of the Father. We must know His heart if we are to ever feel the great compassion needed to reach the world.

Time is coming to an end. The Body of Christ does not have long to work the works of Christ. We will soon enter into the seven trumpet judgments. Therefore, we must reach as many souls as possible, while the world conditions are such that we can work. The Christian home is the target of the enemy. Satan is out to destroy the Christian family structure. He has been extremely successful in the world, and is now rapidly breaking down the estate of holy matrimony.

Though we have heard this discussed many times in the past, I want to deal here with some of the tools the enemy uses against the sacredness of marriage. Because this book is written with the hope of bringing love and unity back into the home, I will need the liberty of being able to discuss freely the behavior of both the man and the woman, without either taking offense. All of the scenarios used throughout this publication are factual and are used solely for the purpose of conveying the extremities to which sin will take those of us who are born of God.

TELL MY PEOPLE

The main objective of the enemy is to destroy the unity and the God-given principles that should govern marriage. Divorce is extremely fashionable now, not only for the world, but for the Church as well. The key is to separate the husband from the wife, and the children will become most vulnerable to the wiles of the devil. The devil will use whatever he deems necessary to destroy the love and harmony in the Christian home. Many saints are falling prey to the devices of the enemy.

After having fled tradition long ago, the Lord placed me back in a position to observe and document its handiwork in the household of faith. I was and still am shocked at the strongholds Satan has fortified in the Body of Christ. I truly believe that the traditions and doctrines of men are running a winning race with lust, as it relates to the most successful weapon Satan is using against the institution of marriage. Brothers, I do not mean to sound biased, but the facts are staring us in the face. The effect of tradition on marriage can easily be seen in the vast number of bastard babies and abandoned offspring in the church. We have to be honest here. The traditions of men and their doctrines have destroyed many households and left innocent children to cope with divorce, abandonment and a loveless existence. Women are left to make it the best way they can, while the men move on to the next conquest.

Brothers, you have to bear this because the weight of the sin falls on you. Why? Well, think on this. Men were the first to minister to the people of God. Even in the days of old, men were made the guardians of the faith. Men managed and kept the house of God, offered His sacrifices and governed His people. Women had virtually no part in the matter. Therefore, men perverted the laws of God to maintain their positions of power, authority and lordship over the people of God. Men used their influence in the lives of the people to satisfy their own lustful desires for greed and sex.

Beloved, nothing has changed. Men are still doing the same thing today as they did before the coming of Christ and the construction of the apostolic church in the days of Peter and Paul. But who were these men? They were leaders. They were the men at the very root of influence. They were the ones respected and trusted to convey the mind and heart of God to the people. They, however, perverted the truth and fed the people lies and hypocrisies. How could these, who carried the Word for so long, be so evil? How could they remain in the evil year after year, while preaching and teaching the Word of God? Well, Jesus answered that question for us. In the scriptures to follow, listen to the concerns of the religious leaders of Christ’s day. They were offended because the disciples did not wash their hands before eating. They were not concerned about the devout lifestyle or the level of commitment the disciples had. Neither were they concerned about the gift the disciples brought with them. The gift of God was standing before them, ministering daily, and all they could think about was “those men with Jesus make the church look bad because they did not wash their hands before eating a piece of bread.”

St. Matthew 15:1-20 (KJV)

1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,

2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:

11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?

13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.

14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.

16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?

17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

St. Matthew 15:1-20 (NIV)

1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,

2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"

3 Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

4 For God said, `Honor your father and mother' and `Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'

5 But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, `Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,'

6 he is not to `honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

8 "`These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'"

10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand.

11 What goes into a man's mouth does not make him `unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him `unclean.'"

12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"

13 He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.

14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

15 Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."

16 "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them.

17 "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?

18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man `unclean.'

19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

20 These are what make a man `unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him `unclean.'"

TRADITION WORSHIPS OUTER APPEARANCES

I once encountered a young man in training for the ministry who was left in charge of a particular service during the absence of the pastor. Since no devotional leaders or musicians were present at the time the service was scheduled to begin, the young man was contemplating how to proceed without them. Another minister pointed out to the young man that two visiting guests were gifted with the psalmist ministry and suggested he approach them about helping out, which he did. The two gifts brought in a powerful anointing that carried over to the preaching and the deliverance service that took place afterwards. Souls were healed physically and emotionally. A young lady rejoiced all night praising God for being set free from a stronghold the devil had in her life.

Nevertheless, I was shocked when afterwards all the deacon could speak of was the unprofessional way the young man in charge handled the service. When questioned as to what his problem was, the deacon was furious because the young man used two visiting guests to minister the devotional. I could not believe my ears. The deacon actually felt this young man made the church look bad by using two visiting friends of the ministry, who were gifted by God to sing. Neither the deacon or the minister who bonded with him were concerned about the move of God in the service through the psalmists. The concern was the psalmists were not their people. This deacon was so enraged that nothing came from him except negative comments concerning the young man in charge. Everything the deacon reported to the Pastor regarding the service was negative. The Pastor was not told anything God did in the lives of the people, but was only told how the young man made the church look bad by using the two guests God sent to their service. It did not matter that God had provided two rams in the bush so the service would not be hindered by the absence of the regular devotional team.

It is a traditional and legalistic mindset that says, “We are in charge and we do not need any help from outside visitors.” The deacon actually said because the young man used the two visiting singers it appeared as if the visitors were in charge. Had I not seen and heard this with my own eyes and ears I might not have believed it. Especially since the young pastor involved was such a learned scholar of the Word. However, this particular deacon and minister are not unique in this line of thinking. This is the mindset of most traditional churches. How will the Body of Christ ever come together in love and unity with every joint supplying that which it was compacted with?

Ephesians 4:13-18

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

There is to be an effectual (effective) working of grace in every part of the Body, as each part is compacted with something it is to supply. It is by this supply that the Body increases and edifies itself in love. You see, LOVE DOES NOT CARE WHO IS IN CHARGE. Love just reaches out to help. Love is concerned about building the Body and supplying what each other needs. First it was denominationalism and now its organizationalism that is stopping the flow of that love. In the midst of the anointing and the working of the Holy Ghost, “little men” are concerned about positions of authority and not the souls of the people of God. They walk in the vanity of their own minds, instead of the purpose of God.

PROTECTING A MAN’S RIGHT TO SIN

Men are actually inventing doctrines that are designed to protect the male factor from exposure of his sin to his superiors, or to those who have rule over them. I had the opportunity to see this in action. A while back I visited a church and was amazed at the lengths the enemy took the young pastor in protecting his right to sin against his wife, his God and the people of God. I have to say that Satan was either speaking through this young man or he was indeed putting words in his mouth as he ministered to the congregation. First of all, one of the scriptures he used to justify or to build the doctrine was:

Ephesians 5:22-24

22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

PROTECTION OF NEGATIVE DISPOSITIONS

If a husband is living in any type of sin, whether it is drug addiction, spousal or child abuse, drunkenness, adultery or any sin that the wife and children may find difficult to cope with, the wife should be able to seek counselling from the leaders of the church. This is regardless of whether the husband is in a leadership position or not. In such a situation, the husband may not want his negative disposition to be revealed. However, because the overseer/leader has spiritual oversight and responsibility for both the husband's and wife's soul, he is charged to address anything that could be detrimental to either soul. Some ministries choose to counsel and address the woman only and in so doing, allow the man to do as he chooses without any accountability. This should not be so in the household of faith as it does away with all spiritual authority and oversight concerning sin in the church.

We have to consider that SIN IS NEVER PRIVATE. IT ALWAYS AFFECTS SOMEONE. If the husband is committing adultery or fornication with members in the church, or out of the church for that matter, those souls are affected. If he is a drunkard, an addict or an abuser, the people in different spheres of his life are affected. T overseer is charged by God with the oversight of the souls of those in sin, as well as those who are affected by the sins of his flock, especially those in leadership positions.

Ezekiel 3:18-21

18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

How does an overseer not address sin in his camp? How does the leader serve God and respect a man’s right to sin without submitting to counsel, while serving in his church. According to this doctrine, it is more godly for the man to be taken before the unjust judge than for the overseer to try to reach and deliver him without public exposure. If the wife conceals the issue, then the sin can continue unmolested. The family structure is torn apart, the children suffer and the devil wins. Someone needs to care enough about the husband, to override his right to privacy and try to save his life, not to do so is sin. Let’s get real. Why would a pastor teach such a doctrine to his congregation? Why would a traditional pastor give up his spiritual authority in dealing with the sin of a man serving in his camp? Why does he insist victims of the sin keep silent and not seek help for themselves and for the offender? I can only surmise one reason for such a teaching: TO COVER AND PROTECT THE SIN OF THE MALE FACTORS IN THE HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH.

THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF THE DOCTRINES OF MEN

Look at the results of such a teaching. Women have been left to deal with infidelity, abuse and addiction without any spiritual help from the church. Christians are flooding the divorce courts, bastard babies are birthed everyday and children are suffering the torments of broken homes. Why? Because, the sins of the male factors are protected by the men in authority of God’s house. To tell a young baby Christian that she is sinning by seeking out help for her addicted, abusive or adulterous husband who may be a deacon, or a minister in the church, is blasphemous. He is the one in sin and refuses to seek help. This does not relieve the leader of his responsibility to use his spiritual authority to minister to the man concerning his weakness. God is not pleased with this doctrine. It is a blatant attempt to cover and protect men as they sin against their wives, their God and the people of God. If a wife is not dealing with a negative situation righteously, how can she seek help from the righteous without speaking of the situation. There is no way for her to be instructed as to what to do about the situation.

I recall a sister from another church who felt comfortable with my husband and me to seek out counsel concerning a negative situation in her marriage. Her husband would not consent to counsel, and being a babe in the Lord the young lady did not know whether it was a sin for her to deny her husband the pleasure of oral sex, or whether it was indeed a sin to engage in such sex. Her marriage was on the rocks, and she was torn between satisfying her husband or her God. She simply did not know which was right. When she denied the husband of that type of sex, he became bitter and angry. War raged in their house, because this was something common to their relationship before she received Christ. He was highly offended by her refusal to continue in the type of lovemaking he was accustomed to. Nevertheless, the young wife felt that God was offended by her doing such a thing. She really felt it was a sin. Loving them both, she was tormented. Because the husband refused to consent to counseling, she needed spiritual help from someone who was mature enough to counsel her and keep the matter confidential. This was done and the marriage was blessed. However, she would still be under the bondage of condemnation had she not sought true spiritual help from leaders in the Body of Christ. Her marriage could have ended in divorce, which is what the enemy had desired.

SIN MUST BE CHALLENGED

The same principle is true when sin is in the house. To seek out spiritual help from spiritual leaders is not considered exposure of sin. It is not an attempt to publicly humiliate the offender. Saints do not always know how to deal with the issues they face and to take away a person’s right to seek out spiritual help for an offender is not the heart or mind of God. It is an attempt of the devil to keep sin protected and unchallenged in the Body of Christ. I warn you, brothers do not throw the following scriptures out the window.

James 5:16

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

2 Thessalonians 3:14-15

14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.

15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

The word admonish means to warn.

2 Corinthians 10:1-6

1 Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:

2 But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Leaders are watchmen in the Body of Christ. They are to be aware of what is happening in the church, and God never ordained they respect the privacy of those in sin. The church is not as the world. It is the Body of Christ. Sin is supposed to be expelled from the Body and dealt with according to the Word of God. Jesus, did not respect the right of a man to sin in the house of God, nor did any of His apostles. Paul rebuked the leaders at Corinth for not dealing with the sin of an elder, because they were living with the sin and overlooking it. ANY DOCTRINE THAT ALLOWS SIN TO THRIVE IS NOT OF GOD. IT IS OF THE DEVIL. IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEFILE THE BODY AND ROB THE FATHER OF HIS ETERNAL PURPOSE.

Hebrews 13:17

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-15

12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;

13 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.

14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.

15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

1 Timothy 5:19-22

19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.

20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.

21 I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.

22 Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure.