by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
In order to make the church more appealing to lost sinners in the community, we could avoid talking about drunkenness, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, etc., but then our goal becomes seeking to please men (the creature) over the Creator (Romans 1:18ff). God put verses in the epistles to be read and studied in the church’s assemblies. The same book that mentions possible unbelievers coming into the assembly (I Corinthians 14:23), expected the reading of the sins mentioned in I Corinthians 5-6. Everyone needs to hear the truth, even when it may make someone uncomfortable. The news of having cancer is uncomfortable, but necessary to get the person moving toward the remedy.<\/p>\n
There are no verses to avoid in church. The mission of the Spirit is to convict the world of sin and of how to be made right with God, calling us to repentance. The church must not shun to declare the “whole counsel of God<\/em>” (Acts 20:27). If it shuns to declare what the Bible says on a few topics, it is not a true church of God. Look to be part of a church that preaches even the uncomfortable truths. Mirrors are not designed to make us feel good about ourselves. They are designed to show us the truth so that we know what to improve (James 1:21f).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Terry Wane Benton In order to make the church more appealing to lost sinners in the community, we could avoid talking about drunkenness, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, etc., but then our goal becomes seeking to please men (the creature) over the Creator (Romans 1:18ff). God put verses in the epistles to be read and studied…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[536,451],"class_list":["post-94002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-preaching","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41067,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-proper-to-rent-out-the-church-building\/","url_meta":{"origin":94002,"position":0},"title":"Is it proper to rent out the church building?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Here is my question. Is it right scripturally to rent out the church building to non-Christians for business or charitable purposes? I feel uncomfortable about a congregation that does this. Answer: The only authorized means for a church to collect funds is by voluntary contributions of its members (I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55291,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-i-corinthians-8-apply-to-not-annoying-fellow-christians\/","url_meta":{"origin":94002,"position":1},"title":"Does I Corinthians 8 apply to not annoying fellow Christians?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: After reading Would it be wrong to be buried in a denominational graveyard? I have a question: I knew that I Corinthians 8 addressed eating meat offered to idols.\u00a0 I thought this portion referred to stronger Christians refraining from activities that may cause weaker Christians to stumble. For example,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88983,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/modernizing-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":94002,"position":2},"title":"Modernizing the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Michael Ray Baggett When King Jehoiakim of Judah heard the writings of Jeremiah read to him, he destroyed the scroll. The King did not simply disagree with what he heard but took his penknife and cut off three or four pages and threw them in the fire until the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5292,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-talk-to-my-wife-about-modesty\/","url_meta":{"origin":94002,"position":3},"title":"How do I talk to my wife about modesty?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My wife struggles with modesty. I do my best to show and tell her that I support and love her regardless of her decisions, but it still makes me uncomfortable when she chooses to dress immodestly. It\u2019s not that I don\u2019t find her attractive, because she is. I feel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93630,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-role-of-women-in-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":94002,"position":4},"title":"The Role of Women in the Church","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Mike Johnson via Seeking Things Above The role of women in society has changed dramatically in recent years.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Some changes have been good, but many have not.\u00a0 Societal changes eventually filter into the church.\u00a0 Renewed discussion is occurring on this issue, and some are contending for an expanded role\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8710,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-know-which-church-is-the-one-the-lord-intended-and-what-about-the-eucharist-being-the-real-body-and-blood\/","url_meta":{"origin":94002,"position":5},"title":"How do I know which church is the one the Lord intended? And what about the Eucharist being the real body and blood?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I ran across your website and read the article on the Catholic church and the Bible. I am a lapsed Roman Catholic who has been searching for the Truth for some years now. I have four small children. 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