A man working his first day at a barbeque sauce factory was shocked to see an entire batch of sauce was being thrown out. When he asked about it, his supervisor explained that the batch had been tainted, making it unusable. "What a waste," the new guy thought to himself. Indeed.

When so-called Christians allow things from the secular world to become part of their everyday lives, are they tainting the church? While we must live IN this world, we are not to be OF it. That means guarding our hearts and minds against those things that would serve to lead us away from God, or even distract us from His Will for our lives.

Let me bring this closer to home... There are some churches that ordain practicing homosexuals and allow them to serve as Pastors. The problem here should be obvious, though many choose to ignore it for fear of being labeled a homo-phobic gay-hater. Proponents of this practice say things like, "God loves all of us, no matter what our sexual preference." That statement alone is correct, but this doesn't excuse sin.

The Bible is quite clear about homosexual behavior being "unnatural" and "an abomination before God." But let's not pick on one group, here. Truth be told, sin is sin...whether it's homosexuality or killing or lying or stealing. All have come short of the Glory of God, so it's not a question of whether a Pastor is gay...it's a matter of whether he is a "practicing sinner."

We all have to deal with our own sinful nature. The important thing is to remember that, through Christ, we have power over sin. We can choose NOT to give in to those sinful tendencies we all possess. But if I am disregarding the Word and practicing a sinful lifestyle, no matter what it is, I am NOT fit to be leading the church. I must recognize my sin as sin, repent (turn from it), and ask for God's mercy and forgiveness. But if one is practicing homosexuality, he is not recognizing it as sin...THIS is why he is unfit to be a Pastor.

This is just one of many areas where today's church has let the world's secular views pollute the very place that is supposed to be an example to the world. Instead of preaching against sin, we've tried to become sin's buddy. The church is supposed to love people, but you can't love them without telling them the truth about sin. If you love them, you'll warn them that sin is what separates us from God. If you love them, you won't condone their actions when they do wrong.

If the Christian church is truly to be a "light to the world," then that light must shine brightly for all to see. Light not only exposes darkness, it causes that darkness to flee. Darkness cannot dwell where there is light. And sin cannot stand in the Presence of a Holy God. "If salt loses its saltiness, whereby can it be made salty again?" We are to be salt and light. Salt preserves and brings out the flavor. Light enables us to see the truth. "O, taste and see, that the Lord is good!"

We must preserve the sanctity of the Christian church. We must shine His perfect Light, exposing and expelling the darkness from our midst. This doesn't mean kicking out the sinners. We'd have to kick ourselves out. We are all sinners saved by one thing, and one thing only...GRACE. It is His Grace that is sufficient, and it is our duty to love sinners...but we cannot condone sin itself. Instead, we are to encourage sinners with the Gospel message...that God has made a way for us all, if we just turn from our sin and believe on Him.

Love them enough to tell them the truth. Only then, can we hope to keep the church untainted. A tainted church is a useless one. Jesus is returning one day soon for a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle, washed in the Blood of the Lamb. Ultimately, His Blood is the only thing that can truly cleanse us. And His Word is the Truth that leads us to everlasting life with Him!