I think all Christians spend their journey walking a line between legalism vs righteousness, trying to be righteous but not legalistic. We, like Paul, "do what we don’t want to do" (Romans 7:15), but often in our quest for righteousness we become judgmental of the other person or of another church. We momentarily forget that no one; no pastor, no priest, no Sunday school teacher, no worship leader, no mentor, will ever measure up to an expectation of the perfect Christ follower. And for that reason, the reputation of the Church, of Christianity, and of Christians, has often been viewed as trash by the world and even some Christians. It’s also for that reason that Christ paid the penalty of our sins.   

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I am going to speak for a moment to the “offended” Christian. There are two mistakes we often make.  One is directing our resentment toward the entire body, for the offense of individuals.  It's true in a group of people, not everyone is going to say the right thing to the person going through a divorce or the person facing addiction or insert any other hardship.  There is going to be someone who knowingly or not, makes you feel "less than" because the Church is made up of people, and people, all of them, are sinners. (Romans 3:23) But, can I just say that if you're on the other end of that, when you choose to be offended by someone's misstep, you're allowing Satan a place of stronghold. If we are spending more time criticizing the members of the body of Christ over transgressions, versus sharing the relationship of Christ with the world, we are actually repelling the world from learning about Jesus. We need to be a reflection of Him and that goes for the transgressee as much as it does the transgressor.

 

The second mistake is speaking ill of the body of Christ because an individual or group doesn’t meet our personal standards. If you are not growing in a church body, first take an inward look.  Your relationship with Christ is not based on the building, nor the style of music, nor the sound system, nor the other members, or what some member said or did, it’s based on YOU spending time with HIM on a daily basis. Yes, Christians are called to be part of a body that accurately preaches and teaches the Word of God.  But, when it comes to a church style or culture, that's just personal preferance, there's not a wrong and right. Some of you dress to the nines, some of you wear jeans, neither is wrong.  Some of you like hymns, or country gospel and some of you like rock n roll. Did Jesus tell you He had a favorite year and genre of music?  Some of you like small churches and some of you like big ones, Jesus worshipped with the 12 and He also taught the multitudes.

 

The point is, God calls us to be a member of the body of Christ, encouraging one another, not tearing each other down. (Hebrews 10:25) Time is short, and we have a lost and dying world who needs to know about Jesus so we can’t waste that time deciding who’s more righteous. Jesus called the disciples out on that one too. (Luke 9:46) No one is perfectly righteous, but Jesus!

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When we walk around with a jaded attitude towards the Church, which comes through in our speech, our posts, maybe even avoidance of church or "certain" believers, we are really robbing ourselves of joy. There is a pure joy that comes from knowing Jesus and walking through life with Him. It is the kind of joy that doesn’t go away no matter what circumstances of life come your way.  It does not mean or guarantee you will have a continual smile on your face or be happy 100% of the time. It does not mean that your life will be trial free. It does not mean that you won’t be offended. This joy that I speak of, it means, that you are forgiven and free of the bondage that death holds on sin, that you have the Holy Spirit as your guide. This joy allows you the ability to forgive others that have offended you. This joy shows the world Jesus!