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Christian Maturity
The newly born-again Christian is destined to be a world changer but he begins as a babe in Christ. He must first learn about himself, what it means to be a “new creature,” what is expected of him, and how he is to go about fulfilling those expectations. He then needs to develop the skills required to do so. Finally, he needs to take action to execute the tasks God has assigned him. If he has been a church member or attendee for some time, he probably needs to unlearn much false theology, a potentially lengthy process.
He needs to take care, though; the inclination to go out and conquer the world for Christ is too often more urgent than the desire to continue to develop the skills needed to properly perform that task. We learn a little and want to apply what we’ve learned. We do so and perhaps are encouraged by some success, but instead of returning to the humdrum task of personal development, we continue to apply our really very limited knowledge over and over again. We may feel we are accomplishing something and are doing all we can to further God’s kingdom when we are actually employing a very small fraction of our potential. When this becomes widespread, the overall Christian impact on society is either misdirected or drastically reduced.
On the other hand, though, application is necessary; without it we cannot really appreciate or retain knowledge; but continued development is the greater need, without it our growth is curtailed, often long before we reach our true potential. We must avoid excessive pride in our accomplishments. Rather, all our lives, we should see ourselves as just beginners that still have a long way to go to become mature Christians.
Often when, with insufficient preparation, we sally out to do battle with unbelief, we meet with disappointment, become discouraged and gradually lose heart. We lose heart because we lost sight of the big picture. We forgot or perhaps never properly understood how great Christ is and who we are in Him. These things may be just words to us and not carry the deep conviction they should. There is so much baggage we carry with us from our time of unbelief and/or our exposure to false teaching that needs to be discarded and replaced. This takes time and training in righteousness. We need much time in God’s word, in theological study, and in discussion with fellow believers. We must learn from it and from them and mature in the faith even as we increasingly spend more time as the salt and light of the world we are commissioned to be.
Personal development in godliness is a life-long process, one that is never completed. It changes us on the inside and is reflected in our outward behavior. As it grows internally, we become more and more God’s servants externally. Our words and our actions more consistently and more fluently radiate God’s message to the world around us. We become stronger and more effective conveyors of God’s truth and righteousness. We are less and less affected by what once might have been discouraging setbacks. We realize that we are not and will never be perfect in this world and take our failures in stride. We know that even these are all a part of God’s plan and will work together for our good (Rom. 8:28).
No Christian is ever fully matured in this life; maturity is always a matter of degree, as is effectiveness. A Christian’s effectiveness as a world-changer increases as he matures. One that neglects personal development, even to apply himself more fully in godly effort, does not grow in maturity or effectiveness as rapidly as he could. He may apply himself diligently to whatever activity he has chosen but never realizes his full potential as God’s world-changer. As in any field of endeavor, basic and advanced training is the key to success. A medical doctor that dedicated more years to develop his skills is better able to treat serious illness than is a nurse or an orderly. There are far too many relatively ineffective Christians doing this and that and even more doing almost nothing.
The great need today is for mature Christians. The most immediate and urgent task for those that have a degree of maturity, rather than attempting to change the world through their own efforts, is to bring as many other Christians as they can to a level of maturity so they can do so. In our current sorry state, Christian maturity is the greatest need and the most important work for Christians to be involved in. This can be self-improvement or work that would help others to mature.
Christians should be very distinctive individuals with forceful personalities that derive from their clear understanding of who they are and how different they really are from unbelievers or unregenerate, so-called Christians. They should possess a certainty in what they believe, what is true or false and right or wrong. They are not proud because they know they are only what God made them; but they must hold their heads up because they are the children of the King and the delegated servants of their Lord who has been given all power and authority over heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18).
A Christian individual that sees himself as God’s instrument, clearly understands the task God has given him, and has dedicated his life to furthering His kingdom is a powerful, culture-changing force. These qualities cannot be acquired without an investment of much effort. It involves personal study and interaction, especially with peers in the ecclesia assembly environment.
When even a small minority of God’s people begin to realize how important their personal development really is and begin to pay attention to it, we will begin to see real change. They will become the unstoppable force that topples the giants that now rule most of this world. They will usher in the kingdom of God, which in time, will consume all the nations of this world. The kingdom of God in the Western World is not advancing today because the development of the typical Christian is arrested at a point very far short of his true potential.
Sovereignty*
Sovereignty is defined as dominion, rule, power, or authority. The sovereign of any society is the ultimate lawgiver of that society. Today, sovereignty is claimed only by the state. We speak of sovereign states or sovereign nations that claim this authority. In earlier times, the clan leader or tribal chief was the sovereign lawgiver in his society. For example, Louis XIV of France said “l’etat, c’est moi” (the state, it’s me). He saw himself as Sovereign; law sprang from his mind and his lips.
In the Christian West, sovereignty was generally understood to belong to God alone. The authority of kings was considered to be derivative from God and subordinate to God. This was affirmed by the Council of Chalcedon (a.d. 451) when it declared of Christ, the God-man, that His human nature was distinct and separate from His divinity. In other words, they underscored the premise that men could not become gods or participate to any degree in the divine nature. Sovereignty was expelled from earth and restricted to heaven.
This was an important milestone in Christian history. It provided the theological foundation for Christian liberty and led to a degree of freedom for the common man never before seen in history. How so? Rulers could no longer, as many of the ancient emperors did, claim divinity—and the sovereignty concomitant with it. They could not say, “My word is law because I am a god,” rather, they had to resort to claiming to be God’s representative and merely the administrator of His law. Now, to be an administrator is a far cry from being a sovereign ruler. An administrator is required to justify his decisions and actions from his sovereign’s words or instructions. If adhered to, this greatly curtails his ability to rule in an unjust manner and extends liberty to the citizenry.
In the Christian world, the decisions and laws set by kings could be and often were challenged by church officials based on Scripture. The Pope had much influence and real power in that he could order an interdict and shut down all church services in a nation. Pope Innocent III did this in 1207 when King John of England refused to accept Stephen Langton, the man the Pope had selected, to be Archbishop of Canterbury. The effect was dramatic; all churches were closed and no baptisms, weddings, or funerals were held for more than a year. The outcry was so great that even this stubborn King eventually had to give ground, and, in 1215, submitted and signed the Magna Charta, an agreement to surrender the kingdom of England to “God and the Saints Peter and Paul.” Because the common people understood that sovereignty belonged to God only, the power of kings was limited and at least a measure of freedom was preserved.
A serious impairment to this principle of sovereignty came from within the church itself in the form of doctrinal heresy. It originated with Pelagius, a fifth-century figure who denied the doctrine of original sin. Pelagius claimed that man is basically good and morally unaffected by the Fall. This teaching was fought by Augustine and rejected by the church. But not long after, the church adopted a variant of the original teaching called semi-pelagianism where salvation became the cooperative effort of God and man. This toehold on man’s sovereignty was retained until the Reformation. The Reformers rejected it; but, soon after, Jacob Arminius resurrected a similar heresy. In a desperate effort to retain some degree of sovereignty for man, he taught that salvation was by faith in Christ but that it was man who decided whether or not to accept it.
The Arminian doctrine was rejected in 1618 at the Synod of Dordt (also Dort or Dordrecht) but it has revived since and is now a prevalent teaching in many evangelical churches. It effectively places God at man’s mercy. He is pictured seated in heaven, having sent His Son to die for sinful man, wringing His hands and hoping His beloved creatures will accept His salvation. God makes salvation available but it is man who decides to accept the offer or not. In this scenario, the final determiner of who is saved and who is lost is sovereign man.
Sadly, the concept that God is the only sovereign has been all but lost. Today, virtually everyone, even Christians, have accepted the premise that nations are sovereign and can formulate their own laws independent of God. This has led to a great expansion of rules and regulations and much loss of individual freedom throughout the world. The removal of this obstacle to sovereignty cleared the way for the rich and powerful to take control of governments, converting republics and democracies into their personal, self-serving oligarchies. As a consequence, freedom— around the world and especially in America—is now evaporating at an accelerating rate.
The concept of God as the only sovereign power, the only final source of law, must be restored before we can make any real progress toward establishing a Christian culture and regaining the liberty we once enjoyed.
* Taken from: “Faith on Earth?” pp. 82-84
Salt And Light
Jesus, speaking to those that would believe and follow Him, said:
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matt. 5:13-16)
This short passage, like many of the sayings of our Lord, says so much; it speaks volumes, instructing God’s people of their duties. He would soon give His life as a substitutionary atonement for their sins and is here informing them of what He expects of His chosen beneficiaries.
Salt, of course, prior to refrigeration, was the common means of preserving meat. It was a preservative. God’s people are the salt of the earth; they are the preservative, the agency that preserves the good and keeps the world from falling into utter and complete moral corruption.
Light is necessary for sight; we cannot see in the dark. There is physical sight that requires physical light and the eye; likewise, there is intellectual sight that requires an understanding mind. God’s people have vision the world lacks; only they can see the kingdom of God:
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)
They can demonstrate to the unbelieving world by example and by word, the meaning and nature of the perfect environment God provided for His creatures, the kingdom of God.
Also, please note: Christians are not just one of many possible sources of salt and light; Jesus said that they are THE salt and THE light. There are no other sources of salt and light. As the guardians of God’s truth, they are the sole preservers of what is good and the sole dispensers of true knowledge.
Most Christians do not have a proper appreciation of the awesome responsibilities Christ placed on their shoulders in this seemingly simple but actually very deep statement.
Make America Great Again – One Christian at a Time
Why is America’s greatness the task of Christians and why one at a time? It is their task because God gave it to them:
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 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. (Matt. 28:18-20)
The greatness of America that was lost and is now in need of renewal was due entirely to its faith in God and its obedience to God. It’s not that Christians are anything special in themselves but that they, however imperfectly, teach obedience to God’s commandments. The greatness of America was a product of this obedience. When they obeyed God and did what was right from their hearts, there was no need for the strict government regulations and enforcement agencies we see growing year by year today. The people were free and the nation was great because they believed and obeyed God.
The problem with America today is that its Christians are on vacation. They have been on vacation for over a century and, instead of championing their faith, have surrendered the land to the opposition. The battle we’re involved in is not political; it is religious. It is not the conservatives versus the liberals; it is God’s law versus man’s law. Obedience to God’s law, though, the only law that can possibly bring freedom to the land, requires faith in God. Unbelievers do not obey the law of a God they don’t believe in. So, to the extent the Christian faith has declined, to that extent freedom and America’s greatness with it have become things of the past.
Hopefully, as this decline progresses, and progress it will, America’s Christians will begin to realize how much this decline is on their hands. Hopefully they will respond in faith, do the work God has given them, and lead the nation back to its former greatness. This is only possible one Christian at a time because Christianity is not, and cannot succeed, as a mass movement. The nation can only come to the faith, one person at a time and it is the task of each believer to convince, through word and example, the people around them, why it is God’s truth.
The Clergy-Laity Church System
Why is it that virtually every advance of Christianity throughout history was not sustained but faltered at some point? Is there a common cause for this? Why does the early enthusiasm fade away so soon? To a great extent it is due to an attitude typical of lay Christians, one that sees kingdom work as short-term and temporary. They get involved, gain some victories, feel that the battle has been won, and then go back to sleep, leaving the bulk of the work to others. The lay Christian in this class-structured environment doesn’t see himself as personally involved in a life-long, never-ending struggle. Rather, he sees long-term kingdom-building activity as the minister’s life-work and not his own. He sees his role as financial support and perhaps being ready to step in and give a hand when it’s needed. Instead of taking an ongoing, active part himself, he leaves the bulk of the work of building God’s kingdom to the clergy: pastors, missionaries, and others in “full time Christian service.” He fails to realize that full time service is required of all God’s people: full time, that is, in the sense that defending and building God’s kingdom should always be a concern. This responsibility should be so present in mind that the believer is always ready to speak up and take appropriate action whenever and wherever it is needed. This ever-present readiness of all Christians to defend and build God’s kingdom everywhere and anywhere is what is lost in the divided, clergy-laity church system. This is an extremely great loss. It boggles the mind to think of how much more progress might have been realized and how different the world might be today had all Christians remained the full-time workers they were to begin with.
Christ commands all Christians to participate in the teaching of the nations (Matt. 28: 18-20). How are they to do this? Why, through communicating to everyone they can in any way they can the nature of their faith and why it’s so important to obey and live by The Ten Commandments. This task is far too great, and is in fact impossible for a small cadre of clergymen. It requires the active participation of all believers. Yes, of course some will be able to focus on the task a greater percentage of their time but the task cannot be left entirely in their hands. When it is—well, we see the result.
When Christians are part-timers, the total effort put forth in support of Christianity is eventually reduced to only a small fraction of what it could and should be. The typical Christian ends up spending almost all his time on personal matters and little or no time in activity that bears on the building of God’s kingdom.
But the issue isn’t just the lack of time spent; part time Christians often fail to speak up or take action, even when very little time is involved. They tend to leave the defense of the faith to a small cadre of clergymen that they see as God’s chosen, responsible, and much more capable agents for such work. The problem with this is that the action typically cannot be delayed; an immediate response to a question or a challenge is normally required and, when it isn’t forthcoming the damage is done. When God’s law is impugned or ignored and nothing is said by God’s people, all that observe it go away with a lower opinion of Christianity. Such events continually demean the faith; they take place in the culture at large. outside the influence of the clergy.
The message of the kingdom, instead of being defended and supported by all Christians everywhere in the culture is restricted to the elite few and limited to the houses of worship. The Gospel in its broad sense, instead of being proclaimed throughout the population and ringing from the rafters of every public place is restricted to the few churches that preach it and where few of those that most need to hear the message are ever to be seen. The faith cannot prosper and grow when its development is left to an elite and the great majority of Christians are only minimally involved in promoting and defending it.
When Christians understand and then feel and act in accord with their God-given responsibilities, they are rewarded by a sense of knowing that they are doing what they were created to do. They sense an affinity with their Lord and know they are an essential part of His plan to save the world. In every circumstance they face, they see themselves as God’s redeemed servants, His emissaries, chartered to do their part in the teaching of the nations. Every experience is a challenge and an opportunity to serve the Lord that rescued them, remade them, and assigned them to represent Him in this world. They see that their work is significant and, to please Him, they do it as well as they can. The result is that much is accomplished and God’s kingdom progresses and grows by leaps and bounds.
When they abdicate and delegate this task to the clergy (as they have done for over a thousand years) this sense of purpose fades away. The believers may know they should be doing more but the sharp incentive isn’t there; they rationalize their responsibility away, transferring it to the full-time Christians, the clergy. They view themselves as part-timers; some will usually respond to calls for help temporarily but when the crisis passes, they relax, return to their other interests and leave the long-term work to the clergy.
The mere presence of a clergy class is sufficient to so demotivate most lay believers that their contribution to the furtherance of the kingdom dwindles to a tiny fraction of what it could and should be. The almost universal disposition of lay Christians when they see the need for the expression of the Christian perspective on a particular issue is to leave it to the pastor or an elder. After all, they rationalize, this is their duty; they have the proper stature and are clearly so much more knowledgeable and capable. As a consequence, the appropriate and sometimes very much needed, words or actions are rarely invoked.
This two-layer church system, consisting of clergy and lay persons, now pervades the entire Christian world. Because of it, lay Christians for centuries, have generally not paid much heed to Christ’s command to seek His kingdom as their first priority in life (Matt. 6:33).
This two-tier church system is incapable of producing the kind of Christians needed to defeat the forces of Satan. All this stems from an inadequate understanding of the nature and purpose of the body of Christ. It is the future of the world. Like it or not, because his work is the fundamental factor in whether God’s kingdom advances or declines, the future of Christianity is in the hands of the lay Christian. The ecclesia system recognizes this and is the only route to a successful future.
To be successful, God’s work must be done God’s way and that way is through individual believers meeting together in the ecclesia environment and “seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” whenever and wherever the need or opportunity arises. When the ecclesia is obedient and abandons the follow-the-leader, clergy-laity system, each individual believer becomes an independent force working for God’s righteousness, involved in tearing down the gates of Hell and building the kingdom.
As independently governed agents, the people of God cannot be misdirected by false or inept leaders and in the aggregate they become a truly irresistible force. They, governed by the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of every individual, are thereby made virtually impervious to subversion, misguided direction and the foibles of sinful leadership. Yes, some will go in the wrong direction but as they mature in the faith more and more will do what is right. What will not happen is what has happened repeatedly throughout history, great segments of the Christian population being led in a direction contrary to God’s word. Men may think they have the ultimate solution to advancement or to dealing with problems but God’s way is always the best and really the only way.
The overwhelming Scriptural support for the classless ecclesia system that shows it is truly God’s way will be the subject of future articles.
The Christian Mission
Two Tasks
After His resurrection, Jesus, speaking to His disciples said:
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 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. (Matt. 28:18-20)
These words hark back to the commission given to Adam and Eve to take dominion over the earth and raise up a godly progeny that would fill it to God’s glory (Gen. 1:28). Jesus says that He now has all power in heaven and earth. Heaven and earth denotes that His power is over men and angels, both spiritual and earthly; it is not limited, as some seem to believe, to the spiritual only. He has been given all power over the nations of the world. He is now the rightful ruler of all peoples and all nations.
Christ commissions His divinely empowered delegates to announce the good news, the Gospel message that He is now the King of kings and Lord of lords. His majesty is over all things, both spiritual and physical. All things are subject to Him; all people, all governments and all man’s institutions, both religious and civil, are under Him and must obey Him.
It is one commission and one Gospel but there are two tasks:
- Make disciples (learners) of all the nations and baptize them in the name of the Tirune God.
- Teach the nations, His nations, the nations now under His rule and authority, that His word is the law above all laws and that He requires that their laws be brought into conformity with His commandments (as expressed in God’s Law—Matt. 5: 17-18).
The first task is simply the truncated gospel of God’s gracious forgiveness. It recruits God’s elect and builds the body of Christ.
But what is this second task? Is it limited to expounding the law so that all can know God’s requirements? Is it just to warn the nations of the consequences of disobedience? No, just as a tutor of children is expected to continue teach the children until they actually learn their lessons and cannot cease teaching until they do learn, so the nations are to be taught until they actually come to know and obey all Christ’s commandments! The charge to all God’s people in this commission is to bring the laws of the nations into conformity to every detail of God’s law. This is nothing less than a requirement to make the nations of the world Christian nations and to make the world a Christian world.
We see here that King Jesus brings with Him a complete salvation, one that encompasses both heaven and earth. It isn’t just a rescue operation that saves a few from a perishing world. This is exactly what God commanded Adam and Eve to do and what they failed to do because of sin (Gen. 1:28). God’s intentions, though, are never frustrated; He sent His Son, the second Adam, into the world to do what the first Adam failed to do. This Christ did on the Cross by paying the sin-debt of every believer and thereby creating His body, the new Eve. Here, in this commission, Christ commands His Bride, all the faithful, to give birth to a wholly new world, the very world Adam and Eve failed to produce. Christ succeeds where Adam failed, producing a world that glorifies God. God’s people are charged, not just to communicate a message, they are charged with the task of rebuilding the world.
The true Gospel includes both grace and law. Both are necessary aspects of this commission. God’s grace reaches into the hearts of the people and awakens the elect to their calling as the Seed of the Woman and God’s servants. God’s Law awakens and teaches the nations how they must rule as Christ’s subordinates.
The Audience
An important question here is: to whom are these words addressed? It cannot be limited to the eleven disciples that were physically present for a) they would not be here to the end of the age and b) they were clearly incapable of teaching all the nations in their lifetimes. Some say it is only directed to the pastors and missionaries that have undergone specific training in the presentation of the Gospel message. This, however, is not supported in Scripture, nor does it begin to address the second requirement of teaching the nations to obey God’s law, a societal and political task involving every aspect of life. It can only be a command to undo the damage Satan introduced and do what Adam failed to do, make this world a Christian world. This is a task requiring the full effort of Christians in every walk of life. Clearly, it is every true, born-again believer that Jesus speaks to in this Great Commission. Only they, working as the salt of the earth and the light of the world, are adequate to fulfill this commission (Matt. 5:13-16).
Christ promises to be with His chosen people continually, until the end of the world. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, so this presence is not in bodily form but is the presence of the Holy Spirit that indwells all believers. This factor should not be trivialized; the presence of the third Person of the Holy Trinity within the believer is a source of power that can overcome every obstacle. It can make giants of the lowest and weakest of men and can empower them to conquer every enemy that attempts to impede this commission.
The Goal
Christ came to undo the damage caused by the Fall; He came to save the world, the entire world, not just a few sinners:
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (John 3: 17).
The Great Commission is His command to put into effect the consequences of the victory He won at the Cross. It cannot be limited in any way, such as by reducing it to a call to evangelism. Every aspect of man’s existence on earth is affected. Jesus instructs us to baptize the nations, not just the people of the nations. How, though, is a nation to be baptized? It can’t be dipped in water, can it? No, but baptism is a symbol of cleansing and a nation is baptized by cleansing its laws and its culture. God is a holy God and cannot abide sin in any form. Every aspect of man’s life on earth must be cleansed of every trace of sin and all must gleam in perfect shining whiteness before He will be satisfied.
God created man in His image and expects much from him. He has placed on him the responsibility for his own future. Adam and Eve were told that their lives depended on their obedience to God’s commandments. This was true for Adam and Eve and is still true today. We see from history that when God’s commandments are obeyed, man has respect for his neighbors, there is peace and prosperity abounds. When God’s laws are cast aside, selfishness reigns and society degenerates into lawless anarchy, inevitably followed by oppressive totalitarian rule. We have never seen the extremes but the end points of these two alternatives are life and death, respectively. Man is given a choice: he can obey God and live or disobey and die. It’s as simple as that but without Christ he is unable to make the right choice. He, in Satan’s bondage, blindly insists on being his own master and living according to his own wishes. It is only the true Christian that can obey God and God can use to bring the nations of the world into obedience. Their involvement is critical to the work of the Great Commission.
This is the task Christ has set before His chosen followers, one that needs to be taken seriously. The goal is nothing less than perfection. It may seem impossible! How can sinful man ever realize such a lofty goal? On his own he cannot but he is not alone; the Holy Spirit is within and for Him nothing is impossible. We must put aside our fears and stop worrying about our inadequacies. We are not alone; God is with us and will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5)
The law aspect of the commission, which is vital to the growth and vigor of the faith, has been grossly neglected in recent history. This has led to a truncated commission, restated as:
“And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, but I am not going to exercise much of it for a long time. For now, therefore, just go and make a few disciples of each nationality, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe a select few of the things I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you, kind of, until to the end of the age, when I shall come back, and do it all myself.” [1]
We can see how detrimental to progress this has been. Europe, once known as “Christendom,” has essentially left the faith. America still has many Christians but its laws, its schools and its culture have been stripped of their formerly Christian character; it is no longer a Christian nation. Why is this so? How did this once solidly Christian nation fall so low? It is because the law aspect of the Great Commission has been neglected and unbelief has been permitted to fester. At first it was hidden in the shadows but gradually it grew and gained in numbers, power and influence, until now it commands the national government, its schools and every aspect of public life. These are the consequences of partial obedience (which is disobedience) to God.
[1] By Joel McDurmon as cited by Sye ten Bruggencate at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0gRqTTbKfM&feature=youtu.be
Clericalism In Our Churches
Clericalism, the division of the body of Christ into two classes: the priests or pastors that preside and the laity that sit in the pews, is a long-time tradition within Christianity. It is prevalent in the denominations and in the independent assemblies as well.
The desire to meet together with fellow members of the body is both natural and biblical. The desire to surrender one’s God-given responsibility to another may be natural but it is not biblical; it is sinful. Whether elect or reprobate, man must stand alone before his Maker. The rise of the clericalism that pervades today’s churches was a consequence of the sin of Christians, the sin of surrendering their Christ-given authority and choosing to be led by men, rather than their Lord in heaven. The above is an opinion but what does God say?
The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. (1 Pet. 5:1-3)
This passage has been used in support of the clerical-laity structuring of the body of Christ. We should notice, though, that the reference is to elders that were elected by the body to represent them. As was the case in the synagogues, they were typically the more senior members that were recognized as capable individuals that the family heads respected and trusted. They presided over and coordinated the activities of the assembly; they functioned as judges that adjudicated between differences and disputes but were not, as the text indicates, lords over God’s heritage.
They served with the continued concurrence of the people they shepherded. Clearly, they were teachers, not rulers and remained so only at the behest of the congregation. To take oversight does not mean to rule over, but to be concerned with the overall welfare and conduct of the body. They were to do so, not because they were forced to (by constraint) or for pay, but willingly. The apparent assumption here is that being a shepherd was a tedious task and not generally desirable. This must be understood in relation to the teaching of Scripture with regard to the role of the natural leaders and teachers in the congregation. Consider the words of the Lord:
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: (Matt. 20:27)
And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. (Mark 10:44)
The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. . (Luke 22:25-26)
So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. (John 13: 12-17)
We see from these passages that the kingdom of God is very different from the kingdoms and nations of this world. In it there are to be no rulers. The most capable individuals among them are to see themselves as servants whose task is to build up the weaker members of the body of Christ. They are not to take the lead and use the weaker members as followers that do their bidding; nor can they attempt to do all the work themselves, a task far to great for them and utterly beyond their ability to fulfil. Their task is to build up and prepare the entire body to carry out the great work of rebuilding and renewing the world, the work God has assigned it (Matt. 28:18-20). They all, even the least of them, are to see themselves as individuals that receive their marching orders from Christ and Christ alone.
Such an army is extremely powerful and resilient. Its strength is dispersed throughout the world and operates precisely where it is needed, as it is needed and without delay. It is effected by each believer applying God’s law in whatever situation he finds himself in. Since Christ is its leader, it is impervious to leadership subversion and corruption, a common occurrence in many Christian programs. It will build the kingdom that we read of in God’s word:
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev. 11:15)
Unequal Yoking
Christians are called to avoid associations with unbelievers:
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty (2 Cor. 6:14-18).
The Apostle Paul cites here several reasons for separation, all of which stress the extreme differences between believers and unbelievers. His words bring us back to God’s statement to Adam, Eve and the Serpent just after the Fall where He said that He would put enmity between these two seeds (Gen. 3:15). Christians should see the worldly as their enemies! This should not surprise us; one group belongs to Christ, the other to Satan. Are not Satan and Christ enemies? Shouldn’t their followers also be enemies? What do we call a soldier that associates with the enemy? Are Christians that associate with unbelievers traitors to Christ?
Christians know that some of these enemies will become Christian converts and change sides. They also know that they have some responsibility in this. In addition, there is a built-in desire to end controversy, to seek a middle ground, one that can bring peace. These factors tend to temper the enmity but they always involve some give and take, some compromise. This, though, is the very thing God hates and is the reason for the enmity He put in place. His first concern is for the purity of His children; they must become holy as He is holy, which means no compromise, none whatever, with the world. The children are not holy yet and actually are a long way from it; but it must be their goal, a goal they continually work toward. God knows us, His wayward children; He knows that we are still sinners and tells us we must separate ourselves from Satan’s children so that we can become pure as He is pure.
Albert Barnes cogently describes the meaning of unequal yoking:
It is implied in the use of the word that there is a dissimilarity between believers and unbelievers so great that it is as improper for them to mingle together as it is to yoke animals of different kinds and species. The ground of the injunction is, that there is a difference between Christians and those who are not, so great as to render such unions improper and injurious. The direction here refers doubtless to all kinds of improper connections with those who were unbelievers. It has been usually supposed by commentators to refer particularly to marriage. But there is no reason for confining it to marriage. It doubtless includes that, but it may as well refer to any other intimate connection, or to intimate friendships, or to participation in their amusements and employments, as to marriage. The radical idea is, that they were to abstain from all connections with unbelievers – with infidels, and pagans, and those who were not Christians, which would identify them with them; or they were to have no connection with them in anything as unbelievers, pagans, or infidels; they were to partake with them in nothing that was special to them as such.[1]
The expression, “touch not the unclean thing,” harks back to the many Old Testament warnings against contamination by physical or moral disease (Lev. 5:2, 3; 7:19, 21; Deut 14:8; Isa. 52:11). Sin is a disease of sorts, one we all have; it’s not contracted, but is still affected by association with unbelief. For Christians, the presence of the Holy Spirit is a healing influence but, as we see here, the unclean thing is a corrupting influence, one that hinders the work of the Spirit. We too often think too highly of our ability to resist evil influences and fail to give proper heed to such warnings. But God’s words are never idle; they are given for a purpose and, instead of acting as brash fools, we should humble ourselves and just obey. “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18).
It’s really very simple, Christianity is true, therefore unbelief is a lie. Truth and lies cannot coexist without contaminating each other. It is a poor choice to attempt to evangelize by association with unbelievers. We quarantine contagious disease and must do so also with unbelief. We cannot help the sick by exposing ourselves to their diseases. The doctor that must touch, wears gloves and a mask if necessary; others must keep away.
[1] Barnes, Albert. “Commentary on 2 Corinthians 6:14”. “Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament”. “//www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/2-corinthians-6.html. 1870.
God, Man And Change
God never changes; “For I am the LORD, I change not” (Mal. 3:6). He never deals in contingency planning, nor does He replace failed plans with new approaches. His plans never fail. He designed His plan for the world in eternity past; that plan is still in place today and is working itself out in history. Man’s failures do not require changes to God’s eternal plan; their failures have already been incorporated into the plan.. It may seem to us that the extended time frames and new conditions require a change in the plan but not so to God. He sees the end from the beginning and has always known, not just the end date, but the exact course of events that will transpire in the process.
Man, on the other hand, does change; at times he obeys God and His kingdom makes progress toward its goal; at other times he disobeys and there is regress instead of progress. There was good progress in the early centuries, followed by a long period of sporadic progress, and then significant regress in the last century or two. All this intermittent, up and down behavior is due to man’s inconsistency; it is not an inevitable consequence of God’s having predestined it from the beginning. God is greater than we may think; He is able to predestine the exact course of events, even when His creatures are given complete freedom of action and can obey or disobey as they wish.
The bottom line is that, even though God ordains all things, man, particularly regenerate man, is still responsible for what happens in this world. The kingdom of God advances and declines because of what Christians do or don’t do. The Great Commission really is a commission and it is great; it places the nations of the world in the hands of God’s people:
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 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. (Matt. 28:18-20)
God’s eternal kingdom will only advance to the extent His people understand and obey His commandments and will reach its final goals and objectives only when that obedience is total. Kingdom progress then depends on two things: first, the Christian’s knowledge of God’s commandments and second, their obedience to them. To a greater or lesser degree, we have been slack in both areas. We need to do much better than we have in the past before we can expect to see any real progress.
Is Christ Your Leader?
There is a tendency for a pastor or leader to become a substitute for Christ. Many godly individuals have been discouraged and some utterly devastated by well-meaning Christian leaders that, perhaps unknowingly, placed themselves between their followers and Christ. Good leaders can be an asset but they need to be viewed as resources that can be employed to facilitate the work of the believer. Christians need see that Christ is their personal Lord and it is He alone that they must follow. Their attitude should always be one of expediency: How can I best serve the Lord? Should I join this or that group or would I be more effective working alone?
What should the believer’s goal be? Is it to end abortion, to accomplish some other great advancement of the faith in the nation, or should it rather be to stand for God’s righteousness in any and every situation he finds himself? When Jesus said “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” which attitude did He have in mind? How many Christians today donate and otherwise support the great movements but fail to speak out against the many violations of God’s law they encounter every day, even among family and friends? Yes, this must be done carefully but not with so much care that nothing is said. We should take our lead from Jesus; what did He do? He dealt with each situation that arose as it appeared, without delay and forthrightly. He didn’t mince or carefully guard His words but spoke the truth in love. Jesus was a light in the darkness of this world and we are to be reflectors of His light, not just useless onlookers that stand by and say nothing as God’s law is trampled underfoot day after day before our very eyes.
Humanism is prospering and the world is growing more and more wicked because most of today’s Christians are not serious workers for Christ. They lack this sense of personal responsibility to Christ and need to see that Jesus really has put the world in their hands. As more Christians become aware and feel the weight of this responsibility, they will begin to speak out as God’s representatives to a sinful world and we will see some real changes taking place. The nation will change but we also will see ourselves change. We will gain confidence and take satisfaction in the knowledge that we are engaged in the work that God has given us, His faithful servants.