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As I concluded in part three of this series, a Christian woman having to submit to her husband even when she does not agree with a certain decision he has made, is by no means an easy thing to do. To submit to your spouse when you really disagree with them in your heart can really test your love, faith, patience and mutual respect. After all, it is hard to respect someone when you strongly disagree with something that they're doing. Not only that, but such a situation will really test one's humility as well. It is at times such as these that we must throw ourselves utterly on the Lord, and trust that He knows what He is doing; even if we don't. We need to have the confidence that God remains in control of the relationship, and that in the end, the situation will work out according to His perfect will. Consider this group of verses:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."


"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."


"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."


"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."


In this particular case, we can hope and pray that either one of two things will happen. First, this husband will come to understand the truth regarding this pastor, and the very serious damage that he is causing to his church. As a result, the husband will decide that it is time for he and his wife to leave this church. Or second, the Lord will find a way to simply remove this pastor from his position of authority in the church, and provide the congregation with a more worthy, Spirit-led shepherd. If this church is large enough to have a church board, perhaps they can simply vote him out.

At the same time, I believe that this dear woman needs to seriously consider the challenge which I have presented in this series -- that is, to begin a fellowship in their home -- and to challenge her husband with the same. As I explain in articles such as "Are You Just A Baby Huey?", my personal impression is that in the United States of America -- and perhaps in other countries as well -- many people hold the erroneous view that the end-all of being a Christian, is to simply accept Jesus Christ as one's Lord and Savior, and to spend the remainder of one's life faithfully and obediently attending local church services on weekends, and perhaps on a few other holy days as well.

My friends, this is not what the Bible teaches by any means. What I have just described for you is simply churchianity. It isn't true Bible-based Christianity. The aforementioned idea is similar to a grapevine producing luscious grapes, and then leaving those grapes on the vine to slowly rot, when they are supposed to be eaten or used to produce raisins, wine or some other food product. Being as I amply discuss this subject in other articles, such as "The Parable of the Sower: Salvation and Service", I will not go into great detail here.

Allow me to simply state that during the First Century when our faith was born, becoming a true Disciple of Jesus Christ meant adopting the life of an evangelist, and going out on the road in order to win other souls to the Kingdom of God. It was a hard, danger-filled life which often required a lot of personal sacrifice, but it was also a very rewarding life, particularly in the eternal sense. Christianity was a living, growing faith. It was not the dead, rotten, self-satisfied, lethargic faith that we see today in so many modern churches. The Apostles and Disciples of the First Century had a vision for reaching the lost, as had been conveyed to them by Jesus himself, as is evidenced by the following group of verses:

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:"


"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."


"And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."


"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."


"As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world."


"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."


"And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.‭"


"And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also."


"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."


Sadly, many Christians today remind me of chickens that are maintained in small cages on poultry and dairy farms. As you may know, they can barely move around, and they are stuffed with feed until they are ready for the slaughter. In similar fashion, many people today are so stuffed with the Word of God, that many of them are either sick of hearing it, or else they have heard it for so long, that they have totally hardened themselves against its eternal truths. In fact, in many cases, they have become totally immune to its effects on their lives.

As I explain in the aforementioned article, God's Word is a precious seed, and it is meant to be planted liberally, so that it will produce abundant fruit -- or saved souls -- for the Kingdom of God. God is in a constant war against Satan, to win as many souls to His Kingdom as He possibly can. But how does God accomplish this goal? He does it by using us -- His weak, human vehicles -- to complete the task. As I point out in the series "Once Upon A Time: A True Story", the Lord expects us -- His Bride, the Church -- to bear spiritual fruit for His Kingdom. It is for this very reason that both Jesus and the Apostle Paul spoke in the following allegorical manner:

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing . . . Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples . . . Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."


"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God."


If we are not in some way producing spiritual fruit in our lives, by winning others to Christ, or by helping to feed and nurture those people who have already come to Christ, then we are simply dead branches on the Lord's vine. Well, be advised that God does not like dead, fruitless branches. Jesus said that such unfruitful branches will be cast into the fire, as we can determine by the following two verses:

"Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit . . . If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."


Just as a man and a woman cannot bear physical fruit -- in other words, children in their lives -- unless they engage in physical sexual union, in similar fashion, neither can we Christians bear spiritual fruit in our lives -- or souls won to God's Kingdom -- if we are not in unity with the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and obeying His Will. As shocking as that may seem to some conservative Christians, that is the plain truth of the Scriptures, as is clearly exemplified by the previous set of verses.

So this is the challenge that I am presenting to you today concerning organized religion, churchianity, Christianity and home fellowships. If you are not happy or satisfied in the church in which you currently find yourself; if you feel that your spiritual life has become stagnated; or honestly believe that your current situation is holding you back from becoming a more fruitful branch for the Lord, then why don't you do something about it? Don't just lazily accept the status quo.

You really only have two choices. Either join a church that is more active and productive for the Lord, or better yet, if you have the faith, the vision and the motivation, start a local fellowship in your own home. That is, a home church. Simply get back on fire for the Lord! Be a burning ember for Jesus Christ! Don't be an overgrown, spiritually-retarded Baby Huey, or a fat chicken in a cage! Bear fruit for the Kingdom of God! What do you say? He is more than willing. are you? Churchianity or Christianity; which do you practice?

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Abundant Life Doctrine: Scripturally Exposed!
Are You a Burning Ember for the Lord?
Are You Just a Baby Huey?
Civil Disobedience and Christian Persecution
Exposing the Tactics of the Enemy
Gargoyles: Satan Loves Church Buildings!
Money-Making Bible Hucksters and Mammon
Once Upon a Time: A True Story
Pontifex Maximus: Pagan High Priest to Roman Catholic Pope
Rise of the False Church
So You Really Think You Are So Humble?
The Only Credentials You Need!
The Parable of the Sower: Salvation and Service
The Wisdom of God vs the Philosophy of Men
Tradition or Truth? Old Wine or New Wine?
What Is God's Will for My Life?
Where Are the First Century Churches?
Who Is Babylon the Great?

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Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.