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However, I for one do not care what your doctrine is, how patriarchal you are, how well-behaved your homeschooled children are, how submissive your denim-jumpered wife is, how well you know the Bible or the Reformed teachings of Calvin, Knox, Luther or Augustine, how many church offices you have held or how many books or tapes you have in your library...if you do not have and show love to my family and me.
I have found many families to be islands unto themselves. They may love their own family members (as they should), but do not seem to acknowledge that we are all one Body of Christ, we are all sinners descended from Adam, saved by the grace of God, and we all need love and forgiveness.
Thanks for pointing to this very important - though usually undetected - problem, Michael D. Please enlarge when you can. Thanks.
Also, I think this family unto themselves would be less so, were the church to meet in localities in a large corporate way for worship from time to time. It would break the sense of isolation of those needing contact with others, and break the illusion of families who seem to have it all together. This is a command of the Lord to gather together!
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Part of the challenge of homeschooling, and house-churching, is the requirement to love and protect our children (and ourselves) from bad influences and false teachings, while still obeying the commandment to preach the gospel to all creatures, including the lost and including those that may have been raised in a denomination different from ours.
Some acquaintances of ours that appear to be like-minded in terms of being very conservative Christian and modest in dress are very closed minded when it comes to showing grace to others of slightly differing doctrines. For example, the five points of Calvanism/Doctrine of Grace vs the belief that God desires that all should come to salvation, but in His kingship allows man the free will to reject His call. (With said acceptance not being a 'work' but merely the acceptance of God's gift)
Andrew Murray in his book Total Surrender mentions that Christians have chosen to make many (minor) doctrines (ie those with no effect on your salvation) such as baptism (believers vs infant), communion, gifts of the Spirit and end times (pre, post or a-millenial) to become mountains that separate Christians. Murray points out that is is the lack of receiving/surrendering to the Holy Spirit that causes this. He mentioned that the Disciples of Jesus were not truly empowered until God sent them his Holy Spirit.
Is it spiritual pride (Phariseeism), overt fear of contamination, or just lack of Holy Spirit that causes this lack of love and grace amongst Christians?
Part of the problem, in my opinion, are all the 'classic' writings that came after the scriptures were canonized, which are decent helps at times but are each fallible opinions, such as the writings of Luther, Calvin, Knox, the catechisms, the creeds the confessions of faith (ie Westminster, London Baptist, etc)for which Christians have been 'going to swords' over for centuries. Another problem is the elevation of church elders, unordained by any apostles, to special status, leading to idolatry.
Are true Christians willing and ready to pull down the strongholds of manmade doctrines and traditions, and just return to the Holy Bible as their rule of faith? We also need to remind ourselves daily what we were before we were saved...filthy lost sinners...and that we all have our old sin natures to battle daily.
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