My pastor declared to the church Sunday during morning Worship service after someone publically confessed something they did before the whole congregation, that if anyone gossipped, spread rumors, or talked of the members confession before the church to anyone else that God Himself would "hush" or silence them. Do pastors have that authority to declare something like that over the congregation?
The guy was probably trying to put the fear of God into folks by trying to coerce them into behaving like people who actually loved one another.
Bad move. Nice try as they say, but no cigar.
Your pastor lost the game before he finished his sentence. In actual fact, you can't trust a whole church full of people to act like one responsible person. There's always somebody there who is willing to gossip or to use the power of the confession as a weapon. And its a terrible weapon. Your pastor knows that quite well because guess who's going to have to calm ruffled feathers and repair fences later on?
A confession, by its very nature, puts a persons heart and reputation on the line. It exposes the jugular, the soul and the mind all at once. NEVER NEVER NEVER trust a church with such valuable and potentially damaging information, because sooner or later it WILL be used against you. Ask your pastor if my assessment is out in left field somewhere or if its on target.
The Bible says that Christians would be known by their love for one another. That sort of reputation, if it ever really existed, is long gone folks. In actual fact we are less like angels and more like vultures, feeding on the dying carcass of the injured among us. Even pastors are not immune from this sort of treatment. Many's the man who's been crucified by his own church.
Now I'm sure that there will be a few who read this that will object to the strong language here. If so, then I highly recommend a few worthwhile hours perusing the documents at apostacywatch.com. It's a quick study on the degeneration of our generation in church.
Only the naive will believe the church is a place where love lives among the communicants. Certainly the pastor doesn't believe it, else he wouldn't have felt the need to give such a warning, misplaced though it might have been.
but that's just me, hollering from the choir loft...
Had a feeling it was going to be a religious answer. We are all priests in the new covenant unlike the man-made clergy laity system.
You misunderstand the scripture when you say that. We are NOT all priests like the clergy system. Some are leaders, some are teachers, some are musicians, some are just lurkers feeding on the efforts of others. Actually most. Ever hear of the rule of 80's and 20's? Twenty percent of the people do 80 percent of the work. That means that eighty percent of church members are little more than bottom feeders. But I digress.....
What the scripture means by its reference to high priests is that we do not need anyone to intercede before God on our behalf. Christ has opened the way by being Himself a high priest for us, one who's ear we have. That's as far as it goes.
The principle of shepherding stands hard and fast in the N.T. St. Paul even fills out the benefits and responsibilities of such a position. The Bible gives strict warnings to the shepherds to do their task well. No such warning is given to those who suckle the teats. Finally, I've often observed that those who cry loudest that they are 'priests' usually have no idea what they're talking about, what ministering to a church is all about, or what the study and love of God is all about - because if they did, they'd be out running their own church.
You can't run a church and enjoy the show for nothing at the same time. Consider the logic when you say you want to be a priest.
but that's just me, hollering from the choir loft...
