How can Christians navigate difficult situations within the Church?

In this video, Jeffrey D. Johnson discusses how to glorify God in church life when relationships are strained and things are difficult. He emphasizes that the fruits of the Spirit, such as patience, long-suffering, and kindness, are designed to be utilized in the church, as it is full of Christians who are struggling with sin. 

Johnson believes that when someone is sinning against us or a person is not talking to us, it is the perfect time to show forgiveness and patience and exhibit love that thinks the best of others rather than the worst. He also emphasizes that it takes wisdom to submit to inferior leadership and to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, which greatly glorifies God.

John 13:34 (NKJV) - "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another."

How do we glorify God in church life when relationships are strained and things are difficult? Well, it's a perfect opportunity to bring a lot of glory to God. I tell our people at our church that the fruits of the Spirit are not needed when we get to heaven. Long suffering, we won't need that. Patience, we're not gonna need patience in heaven.

Forgiveness, we're not gonna need that either. The fruits of the Spirit are designed to be utilized in the church, to be long suffering and patient. Lord knew that the church is full of Christians who are struggling with sin. We're struggling with sin. We're going to need these fruits of the spirit of patience, long suffering, and kindness.

And it gives us the perfect opportunity to bring God glory when someone's sinning against us or a person is not talking to us. It's like this is the time to show forgiveness and patience and kindness and for us to exhibit love that thinks the best of others rather than the worst. So when there's a hardship, a strained relationship, that's the perfect time to bring glory to God by demonstrating the fruits of the Spirit. And I also think it takes a lot of wisdom. In fact, there's more wisdom for us to submit to inferior wisdom of the elders than it is for us to say, hey, we have to have it our way.

Sometimes we may be frustrated with the direction of the church in this matter or that matter, and we may be actually theologically more astute and wiser in this particular area and we see the church making a decision that we don't view as best or as wise as it needs to be. But I think wisdom would have us to submit ourselves to even to inferior wisdom, inferior leadership And it takes wisdom to be able to submit to that. And I think God is greatly glorified by that desire to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. He's glorified in seeing that we're putting something that God treasures more. You