Love vs. Purity

[awareness]

Purity can't be found or achieved. And love covers a multitude of impurities. If you have to be pure for me to love you then I will never be able to love you. God loves sinners, Jesus died for them. And when we love our neighbors we're loving sinners ... or impure ones.

Brotherly love is the only way to live with each other without killing each other.

[bearbear]

Originally Posted by awareness

Purity can't be found or achieved. And love covers a multitude of impurities. If you have to be pure for me to love you then I will never be able to love you. God loves sinners, Jesus died for them. And when we love our neighbors we're loving sinners ... or impure ones.

Brotherly love is the only way to live with each other without killing each other.

We'll never be perfected in the flesh, but I believe there is an expectation in scripture for us to grow in holiness. We should encourage each other to do so in a non-judgmental way via love and not criticism.

If a brother, especially one in a position of responsibility, grows in wickedness and does not turn from his sin when asked to repent, he is probably not a brother. Think of when John Ingalls et. al confronted Witness Lee and the honored Minister of the Age didn't repent. WLee simply became more evil and hard of heart culminating in his writing of Fermentation of the Present Rebellion which was apparently a book of lies and unwarranted character assassinations.

Philippians 3:12
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

Hebrews 12:14
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

2 Thessalonians 3:15
Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

1 Timothy 5:20
As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.

[james73]

Originally Posted by bearbear

We should encourage each other to do so in a non-judgmental way via love and not criticism.

If a brother, especially one in a position of responsibility, grows in wickedness and does not turn from his sin when asked to repent, he is probably not a brother.

This is tricky ground… "He is probably not a brother" is the birthplace of dogma and division, since the whole concept of wickedness is subjective. The Jews thought Jesus wicked; they even backed it up biblically. Their "purity" killed Jesus. You might say they were wrong, but Jesus certainly didn't fight the charges, nor did he repent. Instead, he forgave those who killed him. He worked on his own heart rather than worrying about the "salvation" of others or the purity of the church. He died practicing love, not preaching hell.

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by awareness

Purity can't be found or achieved.

Of course. How pure is really pure? Dove soap only made it to 99.44% pure.

But when Tetzel was selling indulgences for salvation, Luther knew that the "purity" of God's people on earth was being corrupted. So my point in starting this thread was to point out how "purity" (perhaps you have a better word?) often was used to initiate positive change in the church, but this causation can eventually lead to their downfall.

No church or ministry can survive long or well by embarking on a negative mission. Witness Lee built the Recovery in the US based on how bad the rest of Christianity was. This was not readily apparent in the early days, but eventually it became undeniable. With all his "weapons" constantly aimed at the rest of Christianity, it became so easy to point them at "concerned" members within the Recovery, and that seems to be one the critical constituents of exclusivism.