Over the years, people inside the church have coined various phrases and terms meant to comfort and encourage members. One such term, however, has been abused with some church people not realizing the dangers of overusing it.

Have you ever heard of the phrase, "there's no perfect church"? This is what I am talking about.

Perfectly imperfect

Friends, when we say "there is no perfect church," were merely saying that the church is imperfect. Everywhere around the world, Christian churches will always have flaws and shortcomings. No single church has ever possessed the ideal qualities we all look for.

Even the early church had its own problems. Here are some of them:

• Neglect. The early believers had squabbles about the care of Greek widows. (Acts 6:1-2)
• Hypocrisy. Paul had to rebuke Peter for his hypocritical behavior relating to Jews and Gentiles. (Galatians 2:11-13)
• Prejudice. Before Paul was accepted in the church, most of the believers did not believe his conversion for he used to persecute them. It took a Barnabas to speak up for his acceptance.(Acts 9:26-30)

Yes, the early church had problems. For as long as churches will be full of imperfect people, the church will always be imperfect.

The good thing is that Christ is bringing His people into perfection. In Philippians 1:6, we are told that "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."

Perfectly wrong

There are times, however, when "there is no perfect church" is not a good explanation or thought. Some may not agree with what I am saying here, but this phrase carries with it dangers that churches should never overlook or ignore.

Here are some reasons why.

1) It can be used to excuse wrong behavior that needs to be rebuked

There are some who use the phrase to excuse wrong behavior exhibited by church leaders including pastors and workers. Some church members who were hurt by church leaders or members and are looking for some sort of comfort will find no help when they are told these words.

Imagine abusive church settings where leaders lord it over the flock. When a member gets abused and is then told "there is no perfect church," it's like telling that person "you will be abused in whatever church you go to, that's the truth." Pretty wrong and even scary, right?

Instead of rebuking the erring church leader for his wrong behavior, he is given an excuse to just keep doing what he does. He is not held accountable.

2) It can be used as an excuse not to evaluate one's self

Another danger that this phrase brings is that churches might lose their drive to pursue holiness, righteousness and excellence in serving God because "there's no perfect church anyway." When it is used this way, it makes room for compromise in the church.

Because of this phrase or thought, some churches might tolerate sin, or even encourage it ("it's OK, there's no perfect church anyway"). We should not allow such fact distort the truth of God's word.