However, what concerns me is that many people who have raised the objection "it won't do any good...it would not have discovered my abuser"...go on to say "therefore, it is a waste of time." Underneath many of these kinds of objections is some kind of mentality that says "Christians ought not to be so untrusting. This is a lack of faith. This will offend people."

Well, as an illustration, does your doctor look at your medical history when you go to a new physician? Does your doctor run medical tests which may not always reveal what ails you? Of course. Does this mean he shouldn't do those tests or look at those records?

If you were go apply for a job - say as a police officer - you are going to be fingerprinted and your prints run against a national registry. There is going to be a background investigation. Do all of these checks guarantee that a criminal will never be hired as a police officer? Of course not. Does that mean we shouldn't do them?

Does such a policy in a church offend some people? Yes! Does such a policy cause some people to never come back? Yes! Should we suspend a background check policy because of this? No! Because, let me tell you, EVERY background check works! "What? you say? Every one?" Yes. This policy accomplishes several things:

• Some sex offenders and other criminals will be discovered by it
• Merely informing would-be church members of this practice will weed out people who refuse to acknowledge that evil exists and that "God loves everyone" and so should we
• Practicing such a policy discovers arrogance and/or ignorance in a person
• Investigating the background of a newcomer communicates to wise people that we truly care about the safety of the flock
• Practicing such a policy puts the wicked on notice that this is a church that intends to expose and expel evil (ie, "we are wise to your kind, buddy!")

And those are just SOME of the benefits.

Let me ask you this. Do you think that we are obligated before God to welcome EVERYONE into our church? Think carefully about this. A church that looks into a person's church background, criminal history background, etc., is a church that intends to refuse entry to some people! Now, hold that up against Scripture. Does the Bible tell us that we are to refuse to allow some people to be among us? Of course. For example:

1Co 5:11-13 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. (12) For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? (13) God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

Now, how are you going to discover such things about a person if you do not investigate? Is it not best to head things off right at the church doors before a pedophile is caught molesting your children in Sunday school class? PURGE the evil person from among you.

You can perhaps begin to understand still another reason why I have been spending time at length in the Wednesday Bible study online examining the habitually repeated statement, "God loves everyone." That false gospel throws open all safeguards in a church, allows evil to walk right in the door, puts the devil's servants into "ministry" positions, and throws the lambs to the wolf.

And therefore I conclude with this: The question is not why Christ Reformation Church does background checks and investigations on newcomers - the question is, why aren't all churches doing this?