God’s Standards Have Not Changed: British Fall Conference 1997
by Marian Kinahan

C astleton was the venue once again for the British Fall Conference. Folks came from the U.S., Ireland, Scotland and England for a weekend of fellowship. Over the weekend we discussed issues which illustrated the importance of discipline in the church and adhering to God’s standards. Sin which is not dealt with and not repented of continues to have a detrimental effect on the Body. Throughout the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, we have seen God’s dealings with sin. He dealt very severely with the children of Israel on their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land when they rebelled and sinned.

God does not expect any less of us today than He did then. His standards have not changed. We, as members of His body, must apply these same standards to our own lives. We listened to a tape by Dr. David Jeremiah in which he emphasized that sin among Christians must be dealt with. His text was Matthew 18:15-20 where Jesus set forth a clear process of church discipline. Clearly sin left unchecked and tolerated leads to destruction. "…a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough" (1 Corinthians 5:6).

We are all without excuse when it comes to how we live our lives as Christians since God’s wisdom  is available to us throughout the Bible for every aspect of life. We know, too, that only Christ can live a right life through us; our responsibility is right believing (Galatians 2:20).

Time was set aside for people who wanted in-put from others on particular aspects of their lives. It was exciting to see God’s Spirit clearly at work through us giving insight and light in each situation. Throughout our discussions we drew on the teachings of scripture as our reference point with examples of the consequences of sin and God’s guidelines for our lives.

The youth were led by Scott Prewitt and Ginny Mansoor as they studied Proverbs and Psalms and applied God’s Word here to their lives. They also very ably led the whole group in singing with Joanna Langley on guitar. On Saturday night the youth introduced the adults to "George" (a game) which tested our rhythm and concentration and added much fun to the evening.

We all headed home on Sunday in the English rain, very grateful for our time together. A special word of thanks to the folks who came all the way from the U.S. and their invaluable contribution to the weekend.