[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-church-a-trouble-free-zone":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-church-a-trouble-free-zone-surround":68},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":10,"columnName":51,"date":52,"description":16,"extension":53,"image":54,"meta":55,"minRead":56,"navigation":57,"path":58,"postType":59,"publication":60,"publicationUrl":54,"seo":61,"stem":62,"topics":63,"__hash__":67},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-church-a-trouble-free-zone.md","The Church: a Trouble-Free Zone?",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9],"John",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":47},"minimark",[13,17,20,23,26,29,32,35,38,41,44],[14,15,16],"p",{},"Does your church have problems? The first-century church had problems, but it grew anyway. In fact, the early church got in trouble precisely because it was growing.",[14,18,19],{},"Religious authorities in Jerusalem tried to shut the whole thing down. They bullied and belittled the believers, threatening legal action and jail time if the apostles kept preaching about Christ. Saul of Tarsus dragged men and women off to prison, and Herod had James put to death with a sword. But the church's persecutors were no match for the Holy Spirit. They couldn't extinguish the light of the gospel any more than they could stop the sun from rising in the east.",[14,21,22],{},"Meanwhile, internal problems disturbed the church as well. Widows were overlooked in the daily distribution of food. Ethnic tensions escalated when Gentiles embraced the faith. Theological debates ensued. Was circumcision necessary? Was it right to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols? Paul and Barnabas couldn't see eye-to-eye about a staffing issue. Should Mark go with them on their missionary journey? Barnabas said \"Yes.\" Paul said \"No.\" They ended up going in separate directions.",[14,24,25],{},"A famine broke out and many were hungry, so the infant church in Antioch collected funds to help their impoverished brothers and sisters in Judea. Cruel critics took potshots at Paul, and he spent precious hours defending his apostleship when he would rather have been preaching the gospel. An earthquake shook his prison cell in Philippi; conspirators plotted to assassinate him; he survived a storm at sea and three shipwrecks; a poisonous snake bit him on the hand; he put up with an unspecified \"thorn in the flesh.\"",[14,27,28],{},"The New Testament mentions one church problem after another. Sectarian groups in Corinth divided over their loyalty to prominent preachers. Immature church members sued each other in court, flirted with sexual immorality, debated about marriage and divorce, quarreled over spiritual gifts, and turned the Lord's Supper into a time of division and disorder.",[14,30,31],{},"Is your church struggling with inter-personal rivalries, doctrinal debates, legal hassles, financial stresses, and leadership conflicts? Welcome to the club! Jesus said, \"In this world you will have trouble,\" and your church isn't immune. Yet the Lord went on to say, \"But take heart! I have overcome the world\" (John 16:33).",[14,33,34],{},"The church isn't a trouble-free zone; but even with all its problems, it's still the best place to be. As Noah and his family discovered, it's better to be on the boat smelling the stench of the animals than on the outside facing the flood.",[14,36,37],{},"The Lord loves his people, warts and all. The church is the bride of Christ, and the groom adores his bride.",[14,39,40],{},"We are the body of Christ, and the Lord wants every cell of his body to be healthy and whole. We are the household of God, and his Spirit dwells in us. We are branches attached to the vine of Christ, with the capacity to bear much fruit. We are God's saints, his servants, his sheep.",[14,42,43],{},"We are living evidence of God's amazing grace. We're imperfect people serving a perfect Lord. We're unworthy creatures serving the God of ultimate worth.",[14,45,46],{},"Trouble-free? No. Free from condemnation and hopelessness? Yes. And we're free to accept and serve other imperfect people just as the Lord has done for us.",{"title":48,"searchDepth":49,"depth":49,"links":50},"",2,[],"First Look","2006-02-26","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-church-a-trouble-free-zone","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":16},"articles\u002Fthe-church-a-trouble-free-zone",[64,65,66],"Church Leadership","Biblical Theology","Spiritual Formation","ex2l2Bss-y0gAZ_qpaFnR8JhbkX_z24rdhF5F7saMRc",[69,74],{"title":70,"path":71,"stem":72,"description":73,"children":-1},"The Blessing—and the Burden—of Bearing Good News","\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-blessing-and-the-burden-of-bearing-good-news","articles\u002Fthe-blessing-and-the-burden-of-bearing-good-news","On the night in 1975 when Candy accepted my marriage proposal, I excitedly returned to my college dormitory and shared the news with my roommate and other friends who laughed, cheered, and congratulated me.",{"title":75,"path":76,"stem":77,"description":78,"children":-1},"The Company We Keep","\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-company-we-keep","articles\u002Fthe-company-we-keep","\"The Lord announced the word, and great was the company of those who proclaimed it\" (Psalm 68:11)."]