06/01/2023 – “The story goes that a public sinner was excommunicated and forbidden entry to the church. He took his woes to God. ‘They won’t let me in, Lord, because I am a sinner.’ ‘What are you complaining about? said God. ‘They won’t let Me in either.’ ” Brennan Manning, “The Ragamuffin Gospel” (Comments attached)
Bio – Brennan Manning:
It is not about the messenger, but “The Ragamuffin Gospel” is on my all-time short list of favorite Christian books. For those of you who do not know of Brennan Manning, here is a summarized bio of his walk with Christ. Be sure to read the bottom section: “10 things you should know about Brennan Manning”. There is always present I believe: 1) We all are created in the image of God but God also created us uniquely and loves us uniquely, as unfathomable as that may be.
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/who-was-brennan-manning.html
There are difficult times where it is imperative for the church to employ church discipline by casting out a member for heinous sin. (see 1 Corinthians 5: 1-5 and also 2 Corinthians 2: 5-11 for the forgiveness side – the last ditch hope that is realized…)
The necessity of Church discipline – two articles:
https://www.compellingtruth.org/church-discipline-excommunication.html
https://thirdmill.org/articles/rob_rayburn/rob_rayburn%20!Cor%20009.html
Soli Deo Gloria!