Between Two Worlds

Mark Dever, from his Together for the Gospel talk:

• Why is it in so many of our churches it is unusual to see someone giving their all to follow Christ, and growing in him?
• Is it because we’ve allowed people who are in open unrepentant sin to continue on in our congregation, and so diluted the witness, the fellowship?
• Why have we so neglected church discipline?
• Is it because we’ve not followed biblical instructions on leadership in the congregation (which we need in order to successfully practice church discipline), and we’ve also neglected the Bible’s clear teaching on church discipline itself?
• Why have we neglected discipline?
• Is it because we don’t teach about what church membership entails?
• And why would that be?
• Because we haven’t made it clear what it really means to be a Christian in the first place?
• And why would that be?
• Because we’ve misunderstood the Gospel?
• How could that be?
• Because we have misunderstood the Bible?
• And why would that be the case?
• Because we’ve had pastors who have given themselves to everything in the world—sometimes with the best of motives—EXCEPT for giving themselves to the study and preaching of God’s Word!