Churches come in all shapes, sizes, and sometimes even beliefs.

In Revelation 2-3, the Bible gives us some descriptions of a church that might have lost its way. Although the Bible also mentions positive things that these very same churches were doing, so they weren’t all bad. This is an important idea to remember because no church is going to be one hundred percent perfect; after all, they are run by humans.

Still, certain characteristics may be a good reason to go elsewhere:

1. Lost Its First Love
The Church of Ephesus lost its first love. I believe that this means they had forgotten the heart of the Gospel—God’s love for repentant sinners. They worry over the politics of running a church instead of sharing God’s love. Gaining numbers in money and attendance becomes a prime concern.

The love of God is a pleasing aroma to anyone seeking it. Preach it and people will come. You don’t have to bend over backwards to please the congregation.

Your first love is the reason you desire to do good for others. Christ’s love should always be your motivation.

2. Doesn’t Preach the Cross
The cross is the heart of the gospel. Jesus came to earth so that He could be a holy sacrifice for our sins. He didn’t come only as a teacher, friend, or an example–although He was all of those things. His main purpose was to willingly go to the cross to appease the Father’s wrath at all His creation’s sins.

Our churches need to keep the main thing, the main thing.

3. Dismisses Suffering or Trials
If the church seems to continually dismiss suffering or trials as caused by a believer not having enough faith, something is wrong. In the Bible, God mentioned many times that a person’s faith had healed them, but physical healings and obvious answers to problems do not always happen.

Trials themselves and how we handle them are an instrumental key to our spiritual growth. Problems have a purpose that we can’t always see until after we’ve gone through them and turned the corner.

4. Teaches Doctrines That Are Wrong
False doctrines can come in multiple subjects. It’s important to receive the messages that you hear in a church with eagerness, but it is also vital to examine the Scriptures yourself to see if what was spoken was biblically true or not (Acts 17:11).

Does it preach that you are justified by your faith in Christ alone?

Does it preach that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God?

A good church focuses on the One who convicts of sin, speaks the Truth, and lovingly points to repentance as the way to get back on track.

5. Leaders Who are in Open, Unrepentant Sin
Leaders are humans, so they are not going to be sinless; however, if they are living in unrepentant sin or even a full-fledged sinful lifestyle, it will affect the whole congregation.

People who oversee other people’s souls must watch their lives very carefully. As much as possible, they need to be above reproach. Leadership has an intense job description: faithful in marriage, self-controlled, hospitable, not given to drunkenness or violence, and there’s more. All leaders in the church should be sobered by the long list of prescribed characteristics in 1 Timothy 3:1-7.

6. Never Convicts You of Sin
When the word of God is preached, you should feel uncomfortable at times. We all fall short of where we should be. Sometimes we’re unloving, stressed, and lazy.

In 2 Samuel 12, Nathan the prophet convicts King David of sin. We all need a Nathan in our lives to show us sin that we either don’t see or have pushed down so we can avoid it.

When it’s preached, the Word of God should point out the times when we’ve acted wrongly.

7. Is It Lukewarm or Even Dead
Faith without works is dead. A church’s main job is to push, urge, and encourage their congregation to do good with their lives 24/7; not just on Sunday morning. When a church stresses entertainment over application of the word of God, there is a problem.

The purpose of church teaching is so you can go into all of the world around you, showing love and compassion and sharing your testimony about God’s goodness, especially to those that don’t believe yet.

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SOURCE: Crosswalk, Jennifer Heeren