Loving people vs. pleasing people

Published: July 9, 2017, 10 a.m.

Plenty of people have witnessed the church at its worst. Because churches are made up of sinful people, every church has its ugly moments - including ours. That’s why it’s so important for churches to remember Christ’s design for them - a design whose beauty is in its simplicity, a design that keeps the body of Christ working at its best. Today we see that the devil tempts Christ’s church, in its love for people, to simply tell people what they want to hear. While such people-pleasing might lead a church to be popular, it isn’t giving people what they most. Christ’s church is at its best when it heralds the Bible’s message of sin and grace.