DO GOD AND SPIRITUAL LEADERS IN THE BIBLE SPEAK NEGATIVELY ABOUT CHURCHES AND CHURCH PEOPLE?

Acts 4:32; 5:1-5 Luke tells us how Ananias and Sapphira, a married church couple, lied to God (Satan having filled their hearts) and consequently dropped dead.

Acts 20:17-20, 28-31 The apostle Paul tells the elders of the church in Ephesus that savage wolves will come in among them, not sparing the church flock/people, and that from among the church people themselves, some would arise and speak perverse things to draw the people away.

1 Cor. 1:7 Paul scolds the church people in Corinth for their:

divisions and quarreling among themselves – 1:10, 11.

carnality as displayed in jealousy and strife among themselves – 3:1-3.

sinfully judgmental action and words – 4:3, 5.

immorality – 5:1.

pride/arrogance – 5:2.

boasting – 5:6.

compromising attitude and actions – 5:7, 13.

lawsuits against each other - 6:1, 4-8.

marital insensitivity – 7:5.

insensitivity to their fellow Christians – 8:9-12.

division, selfishness, and drunkenness – 11:18-22.

taking communion/the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner – 11:27-31.

immature thinking and selfish misuse of spiritual gifts – 14:20, 4, 12.

lack of belief in Christ’s resurrection – 15:12.

lack of sober-mindedness and continued sinning – 15:34.

lack of belief in the resurrection of believers – 15:35, 36.

being easily deceived and religiously gullible – 2 Cor. 11:4, 20.

sins of all kinds – 2 Cor. 12:20.

failure to deal with their sins – 2 Cor. 12:21; 13:2, 10.

Gal. 1:2 Paul scolds the churches/church people in Galatia for their:

quick desertion of Christ and the true gospel – 1:6.

foolishness in trying to be perfected by the flesh – 3:1-3.

faulty religious thinking and actions – 4:9-11; 5:4.

2 Thes. 1:1 Paul scolds some in the church in Thessalonica for leading undisciplined lives, being lazy, and busybodies – 3:6, 11.

1 Tim. 1:19, 20; 4:3; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 4:3, 4 Paul warns Timothy about religious/church people who will or have gone astray and who pollute churches with false teaching and sinful living.

2 Tim. 2:16-18 Paul says that Hyemnaeus and Philetus went astray from the truth, are teaching falsely, are speaking worldly and empty chatter, and that they are to be avoided.

Titus 1:10-13 Paul tells Titus to severely reprove the religious/church people who were rebellious, deceptive, empty talkers, who were upsetting whole families with false teachings.

Heb. 5:12 The author criticizes his Christian readers for their spiritual immaturity, needing milk instead of being teachers.

Jas. 1:1 James scolds the Hebrew Christian assemblies/churches for being discriminatory (2:1-9); quarreling, having conflicts and self-centered pleasure, lusting, murdering, being envious, fighting, being worldly (4:1-4); being sinful and double-minded (4:8); boastful and prideful/arrogant (4:16).

3 Jn. 1:1, 9-11 John states that Diotrephes, a self-appointed church leader, was slanderous, prideful, and acting evilly.

Rev. 2:1, 4, 5 John warns the church in Ephesus to repent of having left their first love of Christ or suffer the consequences.

Rev. 2:12, 14-16 John warns the church in Pergamum to repent of the evil teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans or suffer God’s discipline.

Rev. 2:18.20-23 John warns the church in Thyatira of their tolerating the evil woman Jezebel who teaches and leads Christ’s bondservants astray so that they commit immorality, etc.

Rev. 3:1-3 John warns the church in Sardis to wake up and repent from their spiritual deadness and incomplete deeds of responsibility.

Rev. 3:14-19 John warns the church in Laodicea to be zealous and repent from their lukewarmness, pride, self-sufficiency, and spiritual blindness.

Yes, God and spiritual leaders do speak negatively about churches and church people. What value does it have? Well, it might restore sinning Christians (2 Cor. 7:8-10); it can protect other Christians from harm or error (Acts 20:31; 1 Cor. 5:7)