Mislead

Things these days are misleading, there is no doubt about it. I personally have been mislead many times. I don't like the feeling of it. The most dangerous kind of misleading though happens within the church body. I was a HUGE fan of an online church until tonight. The pastor was biblical and spot on. Of course as with ANYONE we did not see eye to eye on everything, but those things were "gray area" things. However tonight I was watching one of his sermons online and he had a guest speaker. A man who he praised for being an amazing pastor and a personal influence in his life. I listened as this man began to speak, I had great anticipation for the message he would bring. The message He brought however left a bad taste in my mouth, and a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. To sum it up, he used Acts 15, in which there was great discussion going on about putting a heavy yoke upon the gentile believers by telling them they must be circumcised and obey the laws of Moses, or they were not saved. So the discussion in Acts continues until finally James makes the command, after listening to Paul and Barnabas, that the gentile believers should not have to have stumbling blocks, such as circumcision and total obedience to laws, put in there walk with Christ. The "guest speaker" then goes on to say, and I am totally being honest, that the cross of Christ and even Jesus himself, is a stumbling block to some people in church and should not be put upon them so that they can continue to draw closer to God. UMMMMMMMM we CANNOT draw closer to God without CHRIST!!!!!! wow, I am totally upset about this. He, this pastor, also says that churches need to be open to every single person because the gospel is for everyone. Even those who hate Christ, should be welcomed and NOT offended by having Crosses up and such.
POINT #1 In Acts 15 they were talking about putting a yoke on those ALREADY saved. Not on the unsaved "seekers".
POINT #2 The "Church" is not a building, it is a gathering of BELIEVERS. True, the gospel is for everyone, the entire world actually. But the Church is the body of Christ, comprised of his followers, his believers. We bare no responsibility in making Christs body, our church, seeker friendly to those who hate Jesus.
POINT #3 IF you remove Jesus and his Cross, because he is a stumbling block on their way to God, you have then just removed THEIR ONLY WAY to God. Jesus said I am the WAY the TRUTH and the LIFE. If people are offended by Jesus, and/or the cross, then they need to be at home in prayer, or reading their bibles, and listening to God who is drawing them to Christ, not IN CHURCH!
POINT#4 It is the job of God, via the Holy Spirit, to draw people to God, using whatever means He deems necessary, including, but not limited to, our lives as Christians, our mouths, and God's Word. It is not the job of the church to have the right atmosphere, of non offensive wall decor, or music, in order to make people comfortable with God.
POINT#5 To be perfectly clear, I would NEVER turn away a person who wants to be in church to learn more. However, I would never change, worship or doctrine, to better suit the unbeliever, in doing so making myself believe that somehow that might help give them a "leg up" to Christ.

A note of apology.

I am sorry, number one if this was written in a way that has offended anyone. I do not apologize for my content, but if it is written in rude way, I apologize. But most importantly I apologize for having the link to this "online church" on my blog. I truly hope I have not played a role in the misleading of any new believer. I am praying for the pastor of it, whom I still love, and know has a heart for God. I am very concerned about this pastor whom he watches and learns from though. Tonight I am praying for them both,and all the thousands of people who attend these campuses and watch online.