In the midst of an ongoing struggle against sin, the nation is now responsible for protecting one of the most rudimentary biblical and social institution of human union. It is tragic however, that a nation whose vast majority of citizens profess to embrace Christian values remain aloof to an exacerbating spiritual devastation; and the once vibrant community of Christianity that has endured two millennia of mission growth and reformation is now debilitated by the silent leaders who fail to act upon their beliefs.
One must re-examine the identity and role of a congregant and a congregation of Christ to lay a firm foundation to possibly begin to rationalize the intent of a call to move a body of believers. What is a church or a ministry" Since the term fails to be intuitive in nature, it is formally defined using knowledge of description. The definition of a church can be simply asserted without any loss of generality, as a congregation of believers of Jesus Christ. In a historically consistent context, the definition lay deeply rooted in a collective set of deeds of members of church, which inevitably renders the first prototype.
Acts 2:42 states ?gThey devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."
The Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches elaborate on this, ?gThe chief responsibility of the ordained ministry is to assemble and build up the body of Christ by proclaiming and teaching the Word of God, by celebrating the sacraments, and by guiding the life of the community in its worship, its mission and its caring ministry."
Rev. Dr. Frank Kirkpatrick reduces the role into fundamental values, ?gThe ordained ministry continually reminds the community of its three-fold structure: kerygma, koinonia, and diakonia" Ministry Development Journal No. 9, 1986, Total Ministry.
Similarly, the constituents of a congregation are adherents of life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Essentially, they live following the praxis and theory revealed by the savior.
To a believer, 2 Peter 2:9 is a statement, which ultimately distinguishes holy people from secular world. In the same way, a Christian cannot be valid unless he or she abides by the life and teachings of Christ.
Then it is clear that an orthodox church must adhere to the tri-fold structure of its functions, in Greek: kerygma, koinonia and diakonia. First and foremost the Word of God must be preached by pastors and reside in the center of the heart of a church as a driving life source of its existence. The Holy Scriptures accurately expose the reality of Christ as an authentic, unique and originative account. Even after excluding the perception of the Scriptures as the Word of God, it is the most representative and inclusive recording of history. It is an inherited tradition, which is the only expository method to reconcile the gap between the present and the past.
In the Word of God, church bodies are united and share fellowship as brothers and sisters under one Father. Servitude must follow as grace and love overflows from fellowship and the church becomes a positive influence on society.
The church must be governed by the sovereignty and the truth of God, whether liberal or conservative in eclectic set of interpretation of the Christian doctrines. All actions must be taken under the implicitly embraced framework of orthodox theology.
If the underlying framework of beliefs is not intact then the individuals are no longer congregants according to the presuppositions of a definition of church.
Silent, inactive conservative groups fail to serve the society and inadvertently promote deviant teachings on which radical liberals thrive exploiting iconoclasm against dogma to further separate themselves from the Word of God while attempting to legitimize their viewpoints.
The outcome is ubiquitous: pro-family, conservative civil activist groups fight with greater fervor than churches; holding onto family morale that remain as one of few remnants of now ambiguous Christian values in this nation.
Acceptance of homosexual marriages has begun from Canada and has now spread to the state of Massachusetts, the county of San Francisco, New Mexico and just recently, to New York. Public figures are now leading the fallen movement, assailing the fundamental institution of God.
Matthew 5:37 adamantly states, ?gSimply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."The believers of Christ must judge sin and relentlessly shout out ?gNo!" to activities of crime against the Holy Spirit. This spiritual war cannot be compromised but only yield to the Word of God.
All churches must now unite and strike against the propagating message of homosexual marriages with a new wave of nationwide movement and deny any further acceptance of sin in full audacity.
