Because it ya’ have t’ ask about bein’ a man, then you already said the answer.”
–Clair Huffaker (The Cowboy and the Cossack)
“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”
–James 1:23-24 (NKJV)
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I was doing my morning reading and came across some thoughts from one of the early Church fathers (I’ll share it later) and it caused me to stop and ponder a few things. My mercy, I thought, we have sure tricked ourselves into foolishness.
James wrote, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.” (James 1:16, NKJV) I recall that the definition of a “hypocrite” is someone who pretends. It came from the early Greek theater when a person pretended to be someone else. They were to deceive the audience into thinking that they were that person. It was all part of an act, entertainment, but now when we are deceived by the “hypocrites” who are the bureaucrats, possibly church leaders, phoniness, it becomes dangerous.
First, it was the “mask will save us,” now it has become the “vaccine will save us,” but in reality neither will. Have we deceived ourselves? Have we allowed those in high positions to deceive us? Deception–hypocrites. . . hmmm. Let’s look at another passage from James.
“But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].”
–James 1:22(Amplfied)
There is that term, “deception” or deceivers. James speaks of those who are self-hypocrites; people who deceive themselves. They hear what they want to hear. Their opinion is more valid than the Scripture, or at least their interpretation of it. Not only do some allow others to deceive them, they deceive themselves.
This “pandemic” has led many into self-deception. Whether or not there was an agenda to close the churches (and in many cases it was tried) many have used it to stay away from church. An excuse–a self-deception. A case in point follows”
“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
–Hebrews 10:25(NLT)
Stay at home, don’t go to church; you can get as much from the service by going on-line. Hmmm, but can you partake of the Lord’s Supper at home? Can you allow someone to lay hands on you at home? Can you give a word of encouragement to someone if you stay at home? Are you shirking your obligation, responsibility, and duty by staying at home?
Excommunication is a “tool” for the church to use. I won’t go into details about that now, but all too often the church misused it and today it has a negative context. However, what I am seeing is that people are self-excommunicating themselves (self-deceiving) from church. Here is the quotation from one of the early church Fathers.
“Let no one be under any illusion; a man who excludes himself from the sanctuary is depriving himself of the bread of God… Anyone who absents himself from the congregation convicts himself and becomes self-excommunicate.”
–Ignatius of Antioch
He also mentions that if the prayer of one or two people have great effect, then think of the power of the pastor (bishop) together with the church.
It is time for us to remember who the great deceiver is–Satan, the devil, the enemy of our souls. He is the wicked one, and he has used deception since the very beginning with Adam and Eve. What is so shameful is that there are those in the church who are allowing themselves to be deceived. I do understand that sometimes a person must be at home and miss services. I understand that a person must do their own Bible study and pray at home (really anywhere), but there is a real place for assembling together.