In the last show, I rebutted Mike Patterson's comment about this "internet... radio show" host being a "bitter fall-away". Being bitter is not necessarily a sin. In fact, according to this article from the Barnabas Ministry, "It is a normal response to hardships or sorrowful situations, exhibited by righteous men and even God himself." And "[B]itterness becomes sinful when it is accompanied by sinful actions."I admit that when I left the organization about two years ago, It was a very emotional experience. I experienced many losses. I lost what I had thought to be my relationship with God and relationships with what I had thought to be fellow Christians. I was bitter accodring to some of the defintions of bitter: "hard to bear; grievous; distressful - causing pain; piercing; stinging - hard to admit or accept". (Please note that these descriptions are adjectives, not nouns.) However, after a period of several months, I gained a true relationship with God through truth and grace and started to build new relationships with healthy Christians in my new fellowship and in other churches. Meanwhile, current ICOC members shut me off when I tell them that I have left the church and am growing spiritually.
My focus with Xraydio is to expose the false gospel and false doctrines the International Churches of Christ and International Christian Churches (the "sold-out" movement) teach. This includes going after the propegators of these doctrines, including Mike Patterson, Kevin Holland, Kip McKean, and various others. I see everyone involved in this toxic religous system as a victim and continually pray for God to use whatever it takes for people to leave. The tragic part is that the price for these high-level leaders to leave is utterly enormous, but still possible under Christ. The real enemy has, is, and always will be the demonic system that masquades as a valid Christian church. (Ephesians 6:12)
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2 comments:
I pray for those who are still under the spell of the ICOC and their manipulation. It disgusts me to see how they turn the church as the bride of Christ into a spouse-abuse victim.
As a woman who has survived a toxic romantic relationship, there is no real difference between that and the abusive relationships and power-mongering in the ICOC. Everything is based on deception, emotional abuse, and the feeling that no matter what you do, it's never good enough to please.
That's not what a relationship with God is about.
I thank God every day that you made it out--and I know God is calling you to speak the truth so that others can find peace through healing.
Bitterness is a sin
Acts 8:23
"For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
-The greek word used here for bitterness is pikria which means extreme wickedness. Please explain to me how wickedness is not sin...
James 3:14
"But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth"
Amos 6:12
"Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness" -In this Scripture bitterness is contrasted to righteousness as poison is contrasted to justice. I don't know as a lover of the truth, as I assume you are, could argue around that..
You are correct though. There were righteous men of God who got bitter. But there were also a man after God's own heart who committed murder and adultery. Are we to say murder and adultery aren't sin?
Bitterness I believe can simply be explain with the proverb Proverbs 13:12- "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." If you studied out every instance in the Bible where someone became bitter, it happened after that person was hurt. Bitterness is how we naturally cope with pain. In psychoanalysis, it's call the life instinct. When we feel pain or hurt, or natural reaction is to get rid of that pain or hurt to maintain the balance of life. Bitterness is a way for us to project that pain or hurt onto someone else. If you are bitter at a person you don't feel pain but rather hatred, disdain, and/or resentment. As long as you are bitter you can not deal with your pain in a healthy manner. Maybe you won't fin a scripture that explicitly say bitterness is sin but I think the Scripture speak very clear about bitterness.
Job 36:13
"The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help"
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