THE
CHURCH OF WHOSE CHOICE
While
traveling on the interstate recently, I fell in behind a semi that
had this sign printed on its back doors; "Attend the church of
your choice." There is no numbering of the times that I have
seen this slogan printed in every place imaginable. This same
sentiment has been uttered on the tongues of many, from preachers to
those claiming
to be "Christians," to those who have no real convictions
on anything religious. The invitation of those words seem generous,
unpretentious and far from hypocritical. But where did the idea of
"choice" come from in reference to where and how we will
worship God?
We
are a blessed nation of people to live in a land that allows us to
pursue our religious beliefs without fear of government intervention
and which protects us from those of differing religious beliefs
forcing
upon others their own convictions. Under the first amendment of the
Constitution of the United States we have the assurance that congress
can make no law respecting an establishment of religion or
prohibiting its free exercise. In the forging of that right of law
is the assumption of our freedom of choice to "attend the church
of your choice." We should thank God every day for this
blessing which allows the free course of the word of God. However,
while it allows such unrestraint of the spread of the gospel, it also
allows equal proclamation of religious error. The real blessing in
all of this is the fact that we live under a constitution that does
not permit the government to determine
for us
which is according to truth and which is according to error. That
choice has been honored and given to the people of these United
States. While we recognized that we have been blessed to make such
choices without government interference, this still doesn't answer
the question of where
did the idea of choice come from in reference to where and how we
will worship God?
The
first choice
in how we will worship God is seen in Gen. 4 where we are introduced
to Adam and Eve's two sons, Cain and Abel. "And in the process
of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of
the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstlings of his
flock and their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering,
but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very
angry, and his countenance fell." (Gen. 4:3-5) In this account
we see the difference between Abel's offering from his flocks
in worship to God, and Cain's offering from his crops
in worship to God. We see the outcome of this difference in
religious conviction when we read vs. 8 which tells us that "...Cain
rose against Abel his brother and killed him." More reason for
us to be thankful to live under a government that protects our
freedom of religious expression.
Isn't
it ironic that the first murder at the beginning of mankind's long
history was due to religious differences? Some things never change.
We can relate to this age-old conflict even in our own time as we
watch the nightly news and hear of the ongoing conflict in Iraq -
which they view as "jihad" (holy war). But regardless of
how heated
people may become over matters of religious differences, the greater
lesson in the example of Cain and Abel is that their choices of how
to worship God did
make a difference and was a matter of grave importance
in the eyes of the God to whom they offered up the sacrifices of
their worship. We are told in Heb.11:4 that, "By faith
Abel offered to God a more
excellent
sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was
righteous
, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still
speaks." Because "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by
the word of God" (Rom. 10:17) we know that Abel's sacrifice was
according to God's instruction and was therefore a matter of being
righteous (or doing
right)
in the eyes of God. Such is not said in regard to Cain's worship.
As Jesus said, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth."
We should learn from their experience that worship is not a matter
of what someone else thinks
about it, but whether it is acceptable to God. However, that doesn't
change the fact that there is still a matter of choice
involved in our convictions. That brings us to the origin
of the idea behind that slogan; "Attend the church of your
choice."
The
invitation for everyone to "attend the church of your choice,"
implies that there are a plurality of churches from which to choose.
There is no denying that varying religions abound. A casual look
around would confirm that there is a smorgasbord of religions from
which to make a choice. But the question is; why
are there so many choices, and where
did the idea of "choice" in religion come from? For there
to be a plurality of "religions" implies a plurality of
ways
in which man worships God. To adopt the sentiment of acceptability
in multiple religions is to fail to understand the lesson learned
just outside of Eden. It is a failure to realize the impact of
Jesus' words that states that "...those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth."
He stated a choice
in the matter while demanding the conditions of what is acceptable.
Where either sincerity of heart (spirit) or truth, or both are
missing, our choice in worship fails to accomplish its purpose - to
glorify God. So, while we may be left to choose, we must realize the
consequences of our choices.
Before
Jesus left the place where He and His apostles had observed the
Passover, He prayed for them. Listen to His plea. "I do not
pray for these alone (the apostles, gvw),
but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that
they all may be
one,
as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be
one in
Us, that
the world may believe that You sent
Me."
(Jn. 17:20-21) Jesus not only prayed for those apostles, but He
included us
in His prayer. Notice that He prayed that we all be one
in God by means of the word
which His apostles would preach. In His prayer He reveals the impact
of this unity
on the rest of the world; "that
the world may believe that You sent Me."
As we view the religions of the world and the multitude of their
variations, it is little wonder that so many in the world are
confused while many more have thrown up their hands in despair,
rejecting any kind of "organized'
religion. From His prayer for unity it becomes clear that He would
not approve of the religious division that we see all around us. Is
"choosing the church of your choice" proving to be less
fulfilling than the invitation appears to imply?
If
the world fails to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, sent by the
Father as the sacrifice for sin, then the consequence of that
unbelief will cause the world to be lost. Consider what Jesus said
to the unbelieving Jews of His day; "Therefore I said to you
that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am
He, you will die in your sins." (Jn. 8:24)
Many
years ago, I recall attending a high school football game prior to
which one of the local preachers gave the invocation prayer. (That
should tell you how long ago it was.) In that prayer I can still
distinctly remember him thanking God for all of the many churches
that we have in this land. There is no doubt that that
prayer has been prayed by many people on many occasions. But in
light of Jesus' prayer for unity, how can we thank Him
for division? Denominationalism did not originate with God but with
man.
When
Jesus acknowledged Peter's confession that "You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God," Jesus said, "I will build My
church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."
(Mt. 16:18) He promised to build only one
church. Paul declared that the Father had "put all things under
His (Jesus', gvw)
feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the
church, which is His body,
the fullness of Him who fills all in all." (Eph. 1:22-23) Then
he admonished the church at Ephesus that they should be "endeavoring
to keep the unity
of the Sprit in the bond of peace. There is one
body,
and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is
above all, and through all, and in you all." (Eph. 4:3-6)
There
is no denying that many within denominationalism claim to believe in
the fact that Jesus built only one
church. Notice these words which are stated within the creed book of
one such denomination; "It is most likely that in the Apostolic
age when there was but 'one Lord, one faith, and one baptism,' and no
differing denominations existed, the baptism of a convert by that
very act constituted him a member of the church, and at once endowed
him with all the rights and privileges of full membership. In that
sense, 'baptism was the door into the church.' Now
it is different;
(emphasis mine, gvw)"
* My question is "who changed it and by whose authority?!"
Let's
look back to the beginning "before man made his changes."
On the first Pentecost after Jesus' death, burial, resurrection and
ascension back to heaven, His apostles began to preach the gospel
concluding with these words; "Therefore let all the house of
Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you
crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)
"Now
when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter
and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?'
Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and
you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to
you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the
Lord our God will call.'" (Acts 2:37-39) Notice the result of
the preaching of the truth on that day; "Then those who gladly
received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand
souls were added to them." (Acts 2:41) These new Christians
"...continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and
fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." (Acts
2:42) We see the unity among them as they continued "...daily
with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to
house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
praising God and having favor with all the people. And
the Lord added to the
church daily those who were being saved."
(Acts 2:46-47)
Dear
friend, nothing
has changed
in nearly two thousand years since that event happened except that
some claim
that "now it is different." The truth taught on that day
remains the
truth, and
the Lord still adds to His church those who follow the pattern of
that same teaching. The only question is, which church did Jesus add
those people to? He added them to the one
church
that He promised to build in Mt. 16:18. Those people on that day who
obeyed the gospel constituted the
church even as those today who have obeyed that same gospel continue
to constitute "...the church of God which He purchased with His
own blood." (Acts 20:28)
Today,
when people hear this same message of truth and obey it, the Lord
still adds them to His church. Peter describes them as "living
stones, (who) are being built up a spiritual house, a holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ." (1 Pet. 2:5) As long as the same pattern
of worship, teaching, work, organization and local autonomy are
continued as originally outlined by the teaching of the apostles by
the authority of Jesus Christ, then what is constituted therein is
the church as God intended it.
Many
have tried to depict the one
church by using the illustration of a pie that is cut into many
sections,
with each slice
representing a different denomination,
or division of the church. To support this misconception of the
church, Jesus' parable of the vine and the branches has been used as
a proof
text.
But look closely at this parable found in John 15. "I am the
vine, you are the branches. He
who abides in Me, and I in him,
bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone
does not abide in Me, he
is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and
throw them into the fire, and they are burned." (Jn. 15:5-6)
Notice the personal pronouns he,
him, and
anyone
(emphasized in italics) that Jesus used in describing who
the branches were. He was not referring to denominations
within His church as being branches,
but rather, He was referring to individuals
as He spoke this parable to the twelve apostles. (Notice the context
of this parable. This took place while Jesus met with the twelve
apostles in an upper room to observe the Passover. He spoke this
parable after having taught them a lesson on loving service by having
washed their feet after the supper. This account begins in Jn 13:1
and ends at Jn. 17:26. In Mt. 26:20, Mk. 14:17-18, & Lk. 22:14,
each writer identifies only the twelve apostles being present with
Jesus on that occasion.) So when Jesus said, "You
are the branches...," He was speaking to His twelve apostles as
individually being responsible for abiding
in Him,
pointing out their absolute need
of Him as the vine
in which they were to be nourished. To use this parable to
illustrate God's design of a divided
church is to misrepresent His design of the church over which Christ
is the head, and is to misunderstand the valuable lesson intended for
each of us.
The
concept of one
church is difficult for many to accept, for it demands the admission
that we are responsible for submitting to God's pattern for His
church. It admits that, if there is but one
church, then there can be only one
means of entrance into it, only one
kind of worship, and only one
doctrine. There can be no denying that Jesus plainly taught one
way to heaven when He said that "I am the
way,
the
truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (Jn. 14:6)
In Jesus' illustration of being the Shepherd over His sheep in
Jn.10:1-5, He referred to His sheep as being protected in one
sheepfold (corral) and He warned of anyone other
than the Shepherd (such as a thief or a robber) trying to get inside
by climbing over the wall rather than going in through the one
entrance through which He (the Shepherd) enters and leads His sheep.
In His next similar illustration in Jn. 10:7-10, He calls Himself
"the
door of
the sheep." Then He said, "I am the
door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and
out and find pasture." In this illustration, Jesus plainly
teaches that there is only one
entrance into the one
church and that it is by entering in through the one
entrance that a person enjoys the blessings of Christ - which
includes salvation which is in
Him
.
In
"The words of the Lord to Israel by Malachi" (Mal. 1:1) is
another illustration of unacceptable worship offered to God. Notice
what He said to those people who had failed to follow His pattern of
worship in the offering of their animal sacrifices; "'And when
you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you
offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your
governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you
favorably?' says the Lord of hosts." (Mal. 1:8)
Under
the New Testament pattern of worship, His church is not at liberty to
decide how to worship Him. In 1 Cor. 11:17-ff, Paul rebuked them for
their failure to follow God's pattern of worship in regard to
observing the Lord's supper. "Now in giving these instructions
I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but
for the worse." (vs. 17) "For this reason many are weak
and sick among you, and many sleep." (vs. 30) In their abuse of
this part of their worship, they had disregarded God's pattern and
one another, resulting in their own spiritual deficiency. Once
again, this points to the fact that there is only one
kind of worship that is acceptable to God.
Additionally,
we see in the words of Paul to the churches of Galatia, that there is
only one
doctrine within His church. Paul rebuked them for their failure in
understanding this when he said, "I marvel that you are turning
away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a
different
gospel, which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and
want to pervert the
gospel." (Gal. 1:6-7) John echoed this same sentiment when he
wrote, "Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the
doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the
doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes
to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your
house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.
(2 Jn. 9-11) The church does not have legislative power to define
the conditions of entrance, how her members will worship God, or to
define
His
doctrine in the form of creed books, catechisms, etc. It is the
Lord's
church, not ours.
As
the gospel began to be proclaimed in Jerusalem on Pentecost after
Jesus' ascension to heaven, many responded to that invitation of
forgiveness. On that occasion we find that "the Lord added to
the church daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:47)
Notice a couple of important points here. (1) Those who were added
to the
church were people "who were being saved."
It is obvious then, that the church is made up of saved
people. This was the plea of the apostles, "Be
saved
from this perverse generation." (Acts 2:40) It was the question
of greatest inquiry on that day; "Men and brethren, what shall
we do?" (Acts 2:37) It was the answer to the worlds longest
standing query; "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins..." (Acts
2:38) (2) The other thing we must notice is that the church is not a
world-wide organization that these obedient believers were "joining"
as some have the concept of joining
a club. They were being "added"
by
the Lord. As more became obedient to the gospel it is said that
"believers were added
to the Lord,
multitudes of both men and women." (Acts 5:14) This "adding
to" has with it the same idea of a marriage as ordained by God.
Jesus said, "...a man shall leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." (Mt.
19:5) When obedient believers are joined to the Lord, they have
entered a relationship with Him which is binding as that of marriage.
In regard to marriage, Jesus said, "Therefore what
God
has joined together,
let not man separate." (Mt. 19:6) God does the
joining together
in marriage as He does the "adding
to"
the church.
It
is said of these new christians that "they continued steadfastly
in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread,
and in prayers." (Acts2:42) It is also said that they
"continued daily with
one accord
in the temple..." (Acts 2:46) Herein we see harmony and unity
among the people of God as it should be. If you will notice, there
was no "choosing
the church of your choice"
during all of this early growth of the church. Until you get to the
eighth chapter of Acts, where it tells of the church being scattered
due to persecution, there was no other church to be found except in
the city of Jerusalem. If the saved were only those who were added
to the church by the Lord, and if there was only one church to be
found anywhere except in Jerusalem, would we be bigoted to say that
the only people who were saved were the people who were members of
the church that was in Jerusalem? Certainly not! But such would not
remain the case as time continued.
As
early as about 50 AD, there arose a conflict at the church in Antioch
over some false doctrine that was being spread regarding
circumcision. "Certain men came down from Judea and taught the
brethren, 'Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of
Moses, you cannot be saved.'" (Acts 15:1) That chapter records
how the apostles and elders dealt with that problem, however, in that
circumstance we see the beginnings of how error could influence those
in the church.
About
four years later, when Paul was working with the church in Ephesus,
"And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three
months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom
of God...some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of
the Way before the multitude..." Therefore, "he departed
from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school
of Tyrannus. And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt
in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks."
(Acts 19:8-10) Christians traveling to Ephesus had at least two
choices of where to worship, the synagogue where truth was not
accepted, or the church that met at the School of Tyrannus. Here we
see how truth draws the line that divides religions.
Some
time after Paul left Ephesus to teach elsewhere, he passed by Ephesus
on his way to Jerusalem. In that brief visit, Paul gave solemn
warning to the elders of the church in that city, saying, "For I
know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among
you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise
up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after
themselves." (Acts 20:29-30) The introduction of sin would
result in division.
When
Paul addressed the concerns of the church at Thessalonica regarding a
false doctrine that they had been led to believe, namely, "concerning
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to
Him...as though the day of Christ had come." (2 Thess. 2:1-2),
he warned, "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day
will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin
is revealed, the son of perdition." (2 Thess. 2:3) The day
would come when Christians would "fall
away"
from the truth. The result would be division.
Today
we see the results of that falling away all around us. Thousands of
varying religions pull in all directions as they vie for converts to
their own faith, while encouraging people to "join the church of
your choice." Consequently, people searching for the Lord's
church end up "shopping" for religion.
The
idea of "shopping" for religion is one that did not
originate with God. As we have already seen, Christ promised to
establish His church (Mt. 16:18) and in that promise it is evident
that He is head over only one
body. (Eph. 1:20-23; Col. 1:13-18) It has also been noted that the
church is not to be compared to a pie cut up into sections
representative of the many denominations. Such an arrangement defies
Jesus' prayer for unity among His disciples (Jn. 17:20-23) as well as
Paul's plea to the church at Corinth for unity as they faced the
problem of division. (1 Cor. 1:10-11) The idea of denominationalism
assumes that man cannot agree on spiritual matters and therefore has
the liberty to differ
while diplomatically overlooking those differences. This is the
philosophy that has spawned the ever popular slogan, "join the
church of your choice."
In
the early days of the church, those who had become Christians were
dwelling only in Jerusalem. "At that time a great persecution
arose against the church which was at Jerusalem, and they were all
scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the
apostles." (Acts 8:1) The apostles remained in Jerusalem with
those who did not "scatter." In that seemingly distressing
situation in which the growth and continuation of the church would
seem doomed, we see the providence of God in allowing persecution to
become the impetus to growth. "Therefore those who were
scattered went everywhere preaching the word." (Acts 8:4)
As
we have previously noticed, this persecution marked only the
beginning of trouble for the infant church. Unlike the persecution
from "outside" forces, the greater
challenges would come from "within." As we noticed in Acts
20:29-30, Paul had warned of those who would cause division from
within. He had also warned of a "falling away" (2 Thess.
2:3)
Peter
echoed these same warnings as he pointed out that there had for a
long time been "...false prophets...even as there will be false
teachers among
you,
who will secretly bring in destructive heresies,
even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift
destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of
whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will
exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has
not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber." (2 Pet.
2:1-3)
Paul,
as he dealt with the problem of division within the church at Corinth
said, "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that
there be no divisions among you,
but
that you be
perfectly
joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those
of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. Now I
say this, that each of you says, 'I am of Paul,' or 'I am of
Apollos,' or 'I am of Cephas,' or 'I am of Christ.' Is Christ
divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name
of Paul?" (1 Cor. 1:10-13) Notice that Paul pleaded with his
brethren "by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." That
should bring to mind Jesus' prayer for unity. However, the church at
Corinth was becoming divided
because they were not all "speaking the same thing" and
they were following men
rather than the teachings of God. Those things are the leavening
influence of division.
Gradually,
error crept into the church, especially in Rome. By the second
century, during the reign of Constantine I, under which the church
realized relief from the plagues of persecution it had been suffering
under the heavy hand of the Roman Empire, we find that history
records the coming together of ecumenical councils, the first of
which was officially recognized by the Roman church in 325 AD at the
council of Nicea. Many more such councils followed in which "church
law" was determined, later to be canonized within five books
known as the Code of Canon Law of the Holy Catholic Church. Within
these "canons of law" we find laws forbidding marriage
within the "clergy" (book 3, canon 1035-80) and the
forbidding of eating meat on Friday. This was the fulfillment of
Paul's earlier warnings as he wrote to Timothy, saying that "the
Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart
from the faith
giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking
lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot
iron, forbidding
to marry,
and commanding
to abstain from foods
which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who
believe and know the truth." (1 Tim. 4:1-3)
In
the adopting of these "church laws," we see repeated the
same failures as those of the scribes and pharisees of Jesus' day.
Jesus rebuked them with the prophetic words of Isaiah, saying, "...in
vain they worship Me teaching
as doctrines the
commandments
of men."
(Mt. 15:9)
As
the reformation movement began to heat up in the sixteenth century,
such men as Martin Luther, Huldreich Zwingli, John Calvin and a
number of others, earnestly sought to correct the false doctrines and
practices of the Catholic religion. Because most of those early
reformers tried to "reform" that which had fallen away
instead of "restoring" New Testament christianity by using
the New Testament as the divine pattern for the church, their efforts
fell short in many regards. Mainly, the result was the establishment
of several differing religious denominations which failed to totally
meet the Lord's pattern.
Five
centuries later, men are still in disagreement in regard to the
ancient order. The plea of the reformer is no longer a call for men
to stand against that which they know to be in error. Their call to
arms has become a white flag of defeatism, a resignation of divine
principle in favor of religious compromise, and the surrender of
truth in exchange for human opinion. And the words of Paul has come
to pass, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have
itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will
turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."
(2 Tim. 4:3-4)
As
Paul reminded the church at Corinth, they, as members of the body of
Christ, were "...God's building." (1 Cor. 3:9) The
implication is that they were the result of the preaching of the
truth of the gospel. He said, "And I, brethren, when I came to
you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to
you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything
among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." (1 Cor. 2:1-2)
It was upon this foundation of truth that Paul had built, as he
said, "...as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation,
and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds
on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is
laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Cor.3:10-11) This is an
emphatic declaration that the church is built upon only one
foundation
- Jesus Christ. It is for this reason that extreme care must be
exercised by all who seek to "build upon that foundation."
Notice the warning; "Now if anyone builds on this foundation
with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work
will become manifest; for the Day will declare it, because it will be
revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what
sort it is." (1 Cor. 3:12-13) Inferior building materials (some
different
gospel. Remember Gal. 1:6-9) will result in the manifest judgement
of that which fails to meet the divine blueprint. Not following the
pattern is the seed of denominationalism and the consequences on
those who are responsible for causing such division is evident.
Paul
instructed those in Rome to "...note those who cause divisions
and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid
them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but
their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive
the hearts of the simple." (Rom. 16:17-18) From this warning
we must not miss the emphasis on the deceptiveness of those who cause
divisions and those who succumb
to its purpose. It is the "simple"
(those who are innocent)
who become susceptible as lambs who can be "drawn away" by
such "savage wolves." (Acts 20:29-30) Without realizing
what is happening, these are easily drawn up into the deceptiveness
of error and are lead away by those who depart from the faith.
Jesus
warned of those who are "...blind leaders of the blind. And if
the blind leads the blind, both
will fall into the ditch." (Mt. 15:14) Notice that both the
leaders
and
the followers
will suffer the same fate. This gives emphasis to the fact that
"Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be
uprooted." (Mt. 15:13)
Division
and its causes are a serious matter not to be taken lightly.
Therefore it becomes the responsibility of those who are in Christ to
be watchful, to stand in the truth, and not become participants of
division by blindly following the lead of those who are in error. As
Paul said, we should be "proving what is acceptable to the Lord.
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but
rather expose them."
(Eph.5:10-11) It is clear from Paul's admonition that we
cannot take a passive
view toward error and its divisiveness. This is in contrast to the
typical attitude of those caught up in the error of
denominationalism, whose stand is one of compromise. However, truth
cannot be compromised!
Such claims as, "It doesn't matter what you believe as long as
you are sincere" and "we are all are going to heaven, just
by different ways," and yes, "join the church of your
choice," are all exemplary of the deceptive and familiar ring of
"unity in diversity." There is
no unity where truth is compromised for that which causes division.
Those
outside the body of Christ not only avoid
anything that resembles "organized
religion,"
but often speak reproachfully against such. It is a sad truth that,
sometimes, those who are opposed to religion
can see more clearly the hypocrisy of religious division
(denominationalism) than those who are caught up in its web of error.
They who watch from the outside
are the victims of the consequences of division. Peter said it well
when he pointed out the response of the world
as it views the division that results when the unsuspecting
follow those who lead in the ways of error; "And many will
follow their destructive ways, because
of whom
the way of truth will be blasphemed." (2 Pet. 2:2)
The
light of Peter's words cast a long shadow that regrettably touches
even the one true church for which Christ died. It makes clear the
undeniable reality that those who do not know the truth, who fail to
distinguish between that which is genuine and that which is (at best)
only similar,
do indeed "blaspheme" (maliciously speak against) the way
of truth, confusing it
as a part of all that which is error.
In
the midst of such confusion, there is the comfort of knowing that
"...the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: 'The
Lord knows those who are His...'"
(2 Tim. 2:19) While many, even within the body of Christ, look on in
dismay, all must look to the pattern of God's word to know and
recognize the church which is "of
Christ"
and faithfully remember Jesus' words in regard to sheep who follow
their shepherd; "and when he brings out his own sheep, he goes
before them; and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. Yet
they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for
they do not know the voice of strangers." (Jn. 10:4-5)
-
Gary V. Womack - July / August 2003