It has been said that the Church is not an organization that people join and its followers walk in step with the rules and all act the same like a cookie cutter; rather, the Church is a living organism where each cell has a function working together as a whole, actively building up a body. In this issue, we will look more closely at what the Bible says about the Church and the time we now live, and what the Church should look like when Christians follow God’s Word rather than the thoughts of men. When the Lord walked on the earth, He often spoke in parables. In many of His parables, He talked about the time we now find the Church, the time in which we now live. In Matthew 13:31-32 we find these words: “The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” This parable describes the professing Church, what people call Christendom. There is a mustard seed planted, which normally grows into an herb no higher than about 3 ½ feet tall, yet in this parable, we see this herb grow way out of proportion and it becomes a tree. In fact, it gets so large that birds make homes in its branches. These things normally do not happen. Today it is obvious that the professing Church, for the most part, is way out of what it is intended to be. The birds mentioned in the “branches” are of the wicked one and are a “type” of demons. Jesus also mentions seeds and birds in another parable: “And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side”(Matthew 13:4,18-19). We also read in another portion of Scripture that some will teach doctrines of demons. “But the Spirit speaks expressly, that in latter times some shall apostatise from the faith, giving their mind to deceiving spirits and teachings of demons”(1 Timothy 4:1 Darby Translation). It goes on to tell about what sounds like this day and age when churches look for teachers that promote what their members want to hear, otherwise known as “feel-good Christianity”. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3,4). It is obvious that many churches these days are not what they are supposed to be. Many Christians go to churches that teach false doctrines. There are many conferences that promote self-worth and those who attend spend lots of money to hear a teaching on how to “feel good” (making merchandise of God’s Word). The “Prosperity Gospel” is taught to make the listeners and their leaders wealthy (like Joyce Meyers). “Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain”(1 Timothy 6:5,6). This so-called “gospel” fails to mention that all the disciples of our Lord died poor in the things of the world, and they were rich only in faith. (They were also martyred.) Many teach about tithing, but fail to point out that it is mentioned under the Old Covenant. The free will offering and “collection” is mentioned in the New Testament. When the Lord talked about tithing, it was to the Jews living under the Old Testament law. The night before our Lord was crucified, He said, “For this is my blood of the new testament (covenant)” (Matthew 26:28). Christianity started after the resurrection of our Lord. The four gospels teach very little about the Church (or the New Covenant). The word gospel means good news, and the good news is that our sins are paid for, the sacrifice has been made, Christ is risen, and there is a sure hope of Heaven. In the New Testament we find, “… know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods”(1 Corinthians 6:19,20). Possibly, if preachers want to say anything about tithing they should teach about tithing on our time. We have 24 hours in a day, why not give at least 10% of that (2.4 hours) to read and meditate on the things of God? Believe me, Christ does not need our money. He wants our hearts, minds and souls. It is very good to freely give to Christian ministries and works, but tithing is not mandatory, nor is there any work which one needs to do in order for salvation to be secure. If the tithe was required in the OT, should the Christian under grace give less? The big problem is, Christians are leaving the basic foundational truths and everyone is doing what is right in his own eyes – “Laodiceanism”, “feel good Christianity”, what ever you want to call it. It’s just not what the Bible is teaching. For instance, the Bible never teaches of a church hierarchy system, but it teaches that all Christians have gifts that are used in the body of believers (the Church). “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He (the Holy Spirit) will” (1 Corinthians 12:11). Many Christian groups think that an ordained clergyman given a title runs the Church and has authority over others. This would have some merit under the old covenant (Old Testament Judaism), but in the New Testament all believers are now priests. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God”(1 Peter 2:9,10). The clergy-laity system (that is in most churches) is wrong. “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate” (Revelation 2:6). “Nicolaitan” means, “conquering the laity,” and God said He hates it, (the system that is, not the people). A true minister is a man who has a gift of talking in a clear and organized way and thus can share what he learned so others can understand. All Christians are called to share what they have learned with others, even if they do not have special teaching or evangelistic gifts, and there is no mention in Scripture about one man, or even a select group of people leading a church. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen”(Matthew 28:19,20). This commandment is applicable to all Christians. Many ministers are gifted men, but what they should teach is the Bible and they should encourage others to use their own spiritual gifts. The local church should be filled with brothers that are willing to get up and preach and teach. This calling is not to just one man or a select clergy. “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted” (1Corinthians 14:29-31). Please, dear Christian, pick up your Bible and start reading anywhere in the New Testament, then ask the Lord, “Who are the words in the Bible intended for?” He will show you that they are intended for you. This is true with all Scripture, but the New Testament is mostly about Christ and His Church, and that means you have a very important role if you are in the Church (the Body of believers). Your gift may not be as visible as a preacher/teacher, but some of the best preachers/teachers are women who don’t teach in a church setting. An example of this is in 2 Timothy 1:5. A grandmother and a mother taught their child, Timothy. There were no seminary schools. If preachers /teachers would just do what the Bible teaches, every local church would be a school to better understand Gods Word. Even so, churches are meant to be places of worship, but very few even do that or have any understanding of what worship is according to God’s Word. We hear of “worship services”, but many of these services are “feel good” and sing along to Christian music sessions while you listen to somebody speak who may know something about God, and just join in and play the “church thing”. Or, they are meetings where the congregation laughs and listens to some nice story in order to pay their debt by withstanding an hour of frivolous church stuff, so that they can leave and get dirty again (and then next Sunday they can get washed up all over again, and pay their debt again, and so on). None of these things are true biblical worship! In the beginning of this message, it was mentioned that the church is a living organism. 1 Corinthians 12 calls it a Body (body made of believers). Each part of the body has a function and there should be no divisions but all parts should work in harmony to build up one another; more importantly to worship Christ giving Him the praise that He is justly due. In 1 Corinthians chapter 13 (the “love chapter”), Paul was actually rebuking the Corinthians because of divisions and was led by the Holy Spirit to teach that the Church is a body and should be working together as a unit in love, caring for one another. 1 Corinthians chapter 14 teaches Godly order in the Church and how speakers should prophesy, (which means to bring the message of edification, exhortation or comfort that the Holy Spirit wants for that particular audience at that particular time. Which many would refer to as “preaching”). In Corinth, a port city on the north side of the Mediterranean Sea between Israel and Italy, there were many languages spoken (like in many port cities - NYC, for instance). Greek, Spanish, Arabic, Italian, Turkish to name a few. Order was indeed necessary in a church where many brothers spoke in so many different languages. (Please note there were many who spoke in various languages.) In the New Testament, a prophet is a man who repeats what God said to him through His Word, the Bible. The Holy Spirit will give brethren a message from His Word. No teacher or evangelist should simply preach (as truthful as it might be) something the Lord hasn’t led in him preaching. “Thus sayest the Lord.” Today, the Bible is the Word of God. Any person who reads it will learn things and should communicate and share what they have learned. The people in the Church should be reading and learning so if a teacher says something wrong he can be corrected. It’s a learning experience for all, and the whole Church is then exercised. (Just a side note, the word man in this chapter is only in the masculine tense. It is only men who are to speak in the church setting.) Everlasting glory unto Jesus be! Sing aloud the story of His Victory! How He left the splendor of His home on high, Came in love so tender on the cross to die. Ed Kassar
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 20:03:29 +0000
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