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A Story Book
Children love stories, especially fairy tales, stories about people they may well know don’t really exist. They pretend to believe at first and as the story develops seem to really believe the characters are alive. Their fertile imaginations bring them to life. Adults are different. The fairy stories they believe must have a more credible connection with reality. The characters must be real people, like those they see walking about every day.
A once highly popular adult fairy tale, the Scofield Bible, was published about a century ago. It combined God’s Word, a King James Bible, with man’s word as explanatory notes adjacent to the text. That might seem today as a rather presumptuous action but at the time it was a roaring success. Millions of copies were purchased, read, believed and highly revered in the English-speaking world.
A huge number of God’s people were very enthused with a ‘Bible’ that had explanatory notes for difficult passages. It was like having a pastor or teacher alongside the reader that explained what God meant. Or, we could say, what Scofield said God meant.
Why, you ask, do I call it a fairy tale? It is because, as fairy tales do, it combined truth with falsehoods. Most of the notes were legitimate explanations but many were gross distortions of God’s truth. For example:
- Scofield said that the Ten Commandments were for Ancient Israel and not for Christians today. They say this even though Jesus said they were in effect forever:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-19)
- Scofield said that God changed His mind and we are now in the last days. Jesus will return very soon and the world will end. All the lost, the great majority of people on earth, will go to hell.
Contrary to this, God says that all the nations will one day be Christian nations:
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.
We see here a future time, one in which the nations still exist and are Christian nations (kingdoms). The world will not end until this is fulfilled. God’s purpose is to save the world, not to send it to hell.
- Scofield said that we need to obey part one of the Great Commission, to save as many as possible before the imminent end. Part two, the conversion of all the nations, is meaningless and impossible in the face of the short time frame we’ve been given.
No, nothing is meaningless or impossible in God’s Word. God gave His chosen people the task of making the world a Christian world. He never rescinded it and never will.
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6)
God will give us all the time we need to complete this assignment but He will not relent and change His mind.
The Bible
There are books, books and more books but only one Bible. It’s different versions reflect the many attempts to capture the original. These, however, vary only slightly from each other and agree well in all but trivial details. They tell a story that begins with God, the Infinite, Eternal Being that created the entire universe and this world in particular. The Bible provides a description of our origins: creation, God’s test of His creatures, their failure to pass His test, and the terrible consequences that flowed from that failure.
Satan’s victory set the stage for almost all that followed until Christ came on the scene. God so loved and cared for His helpless creatures that He sent His Son to take the penalty for our sin. The Second Person of the Creator God took on himself the human nature and became the God-man. He wasn’t just part Gpd and part man. He was fully God and fully man. The creator of all things lowered Himself by taking on the nature of His creatures. He suffered and died a cruel death, paying the penalty we earned and deserved. . He died for the sins of all that believe in Him.
Sadly, no one believed, but God gave the additional gift of faith to all those He chose in eternity past. The sacrifice was necessary because God never changes His mind or goes against His Word. The penalty of sin is death and God the Son died for His sinful creatures. It was the way He chose to rescue us from Satan’s dominion and eternal damnation.
Here are Jesus’ final words of instruction He gave to His disciples and all who would follow Him:
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. (Matthew 28:19,20)
Our Lord assigned His disciples, and assigns all His followers today, two tasks. We are told: 1) spread the Gospel message and make disciples of all that believe. We are told: 2) make the nations Christian nations, nations whose people believe and whose laws reflect God’s Law.[1]
Cod’s people, though, those that should be countering Satan and executing God’s Great Commission today, have been very negligent of this their duty. Instead of working to make this world a Christian world, they have become Satan’s agents, spreading his lies. We are not in the last-days now and won’t be until both of these God-given tasks have been fulfilled.
To think that God changed His mind is both ridiculous and disrespectful. God is infinite, eternal, and omniscient. He knows the end from the beginning and never needs to change His mind:
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6)
For over a century now, as God’s chosen people continue this great neglect, the world is becoming less and less godly. This past year has been especially notable as God’s enemies have asserted themselves in a world-wide takeover attempt.
It may appear that Satan has won but God is always in total control and is employing Satan to discipline His disobedient servants. They were too weak to resist the evil one a century ago and were sorely deceived. They will learn from the test that is about to begin and will soon see how foolish they’ve been. They will repent and weep bitterly as they suffer the consequences of their failure. But God is merciful and all things always work together for good for those that love God.[2]
[1] in the Sixth Century AD, the Roman Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora did just this. They rewrote Roman law to bring it into close agreement with God’s Law.
[2] Romans 8:28
The Christian’s Responsibility
Did God give His people work to do in this world? Yes, He did; He gave His people two tasks that they sadly have reduced to one. It is known as the Great Commission. We, the beneficiaries of His great grace have been given a gift the wealthiest man on earth could not give, eternal life in Paradise. He gave it as a free gift, without price but our Savior also makes a request. Just a request mind you, not a payment for the greatest gift anyone could ever receive. What does He ask?
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. (Matthew 28:18-20)
God asks His highly blessed, chosen people two things. He asks them to, a) spread the good news to everyone they can and He asks them to, b) teach the nations to obey Him. They recognize the first but have utterly ignored the second.
The second request here is not just a repeat of the first. It is nothing less than a request to make the nations of this world Christian nations! It may seem to be too much but it is well within the abilities of God’s people. There is no need to hurry, no time-table is attached. These are not the last days, as so many of God’s people seem to believe. That is one of Satan’s many lies, lies he has promoted and caused to spread.
What has our response to this been? We have believed Satan and ignored God’s Commandment. You cannot say God changed His mind, something He never does. He is God Almighty and never needs to change His mind:
For I am the LORD, I change not: therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6)
Were you told otherwise, told that some of God’s Word is no longer true. Have you been deceived by the great lie known as Dispensationalism? If so, you’re not alone. Satan is the father of lies. He deceived Eve in the Garden and many more since. Also, you now bear a special burden. You must exert effort to right the wrong you believed and propagated. If you have done damage to the faith of others, you must do all you can to correct it.
Great damage has been done by this lie of Satan. A very large number of God’s people have been led to believe this lie. Evil has grown and now dominates this once God-fearing nation. It is late but not too late to correct all the wrongs that have arisen from this terrible error. Were you deceived by it? If so, you can compensate by joining the effort to right the wrong you helped perpetrate. God will forgive and also reward every effort you exert in His name.
Wake up God’s people, You are the only agency that can restore the America that was, the America that trusted God and rejected every form of evil. It’s not too late yet but it won’t be easy. The rich and powerful, solidly in Satan’s camp, have initiated their takeover attempt. They have cheated, lied amd employed every dirty trick to place their puppet in the White House. Socialism is at the door and the despicable evil of communism is not far behind. Time is short but this horrendous evil can still be averted if God’s people will just wake up and obey their Lord.
Godly Work
Did God give His people work to do in this world? Yes, He did; He gave His people two tasks that they sadly have reduced to one. It is known as the Great Commission. We, the beneficiaries of His great grace have been given a gift the wealthiest man on earth could not give, eternal life in Paradise. He gave it as a free gift, without price but our Savior also makes a request. Just a request mind you, not a payment for the greatest gift anyone could ever receive. What does He ask?
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. (Matthew 28:18-20)
God asks His highly blessed, chosen people two things. He asks them to spread the good news to everyone they can and He asks them to teach the nations to obey Him. They recognize the first but have utterly ignored the second.
The second request here is not just a repeat of the first. It is nothing less than a request to make the nations of this world Christian nations! It may seem to be too much but it is well within the abilities of His people. There is no need to hurry, no time-table is attached. These are not the last days, as so many of God’s people seem to believe. That is one of Satan’s many lies, lies he has promoted and caused to spread.
What has our response to this been? We have believed Satan and ignored God’s Commandment. You cannot say God changed His mind, something He never does. He is God Almighty and never needs to change His mind:
For I am the LORD, I change not: therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6)
Were you told otherwise, told that some of God’s Word is no longer true. Have you been deceived by the great lie known as Dispensationalism? If so, you’re not alone. Satan is the father of lies. He deceived Eve in the Garden and many more since. Also, you now bear a special burden. You must exert effort to right the wrong you believed and propagated. If you have done damage to the faith of others, you must do all you can to correct it.
Great damage has been done by this lie of Satan. A very large number of God’s people have been led to believe Satan’s lie. Evil has grown and now dominates this once God-fearing nation. It is late but not too late to correct all the wrongs that have arisen from this terrible error. Were you deceived by it? If so, you can compensate by joining the effort to right the wrong you helped perpetrate. God will forgive and also reward every effort you exert in His name.
Wake up God’s people, You are the only source of help that can restore the America that was, the America that trusted God and rejected every form of evil. It’s not too late yet but it won’t be easy. The rich and powerful, solidly in Satan’s camp, have initiated their takeover attempt. They have cheated, lied amd employed every dirty trick to place their puppet in the White House. Socialism is at the door and the despicable evil of communism is not far behind. Time is short but the horrendous evil can still be averted if God’s people will just wake up and obey Him.
Obedience
Yes, we must obey someone but whom do we obey? The slave must obey his master or be punished. To avoid punishment, he obeys whoever holds the stick or the whip. Today’s slaves obey those that make the laws they abide by. For most, these are the various levels of civil law or what we call government.
What, though, is the highest law, the law that takes precedence above all other laws? For true Christians this is God’s Law, the law God gave to our ancestors and preserved in the Bible to this day. It is not a law that gives eternal salvation but it is the God-given rule for living and prospering in this world.
The question before every American today is, to which law do we give our obedience? Do we obey the force that has illegally and immorally usurped control or do we obey God? We must do both if we can but obedience to God is primary.
In ancient Rome, many early believers died a horrible death rather than deny their faith and swear allegiance to Rome. How many Christians today would be ready to die if necessary, rather than deny their faith? The time when such a test will come may not be too far off. Satan has gained much strength in the last few decades. He has now launched his takeover attempt and thus far has met with much success. Surely, the time to choose death rather than deny our faith may not be too far off.
God’s people, though, those that should be opposing Satan, are soundly asleep. They were duped by the huge Darby/Scofield lie of a century ago. They believe that God actually changed His mind! They believe He has gone back on His Word, that most of the world will be lost, that only a very few will be saved and go to heaven. They deny the truth of God’s promise. Looking at the future that He sees as already accomplished, God says:
“The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15)
This is the future the God who sees the end from the beginning tells us will surely come to pass. God’s people will be victorious, not just at the end of the world but in time and in history. The victory will be their accomplishment. It is the task He assigned them to do. It is not a gift from God to a slovenly and disobedient people.
How, you may ask, can this be possible? The world is now securely in Satan’s hands and he isn’t about to release control. The key is God’s people. They, having believed a lie, are now idly waiting for Jesus’ return. They’ve been waiting almost a century now for what they expected would be His imminent return. Most seem to believe the utterly ridiculous lie that says God changed His mind. God, though, who sees the end from the beginning never needs to change His mind, as we do so often.
For I am the LORD, I change not… (Malachi 3:6)
Dear fellow believer, where do you stand. Are you waiting for Christ’s soon return instead of doing the work he assigned you? If so, the time has come to reject Satan’s lie, roll up your sleeves and get to doing God’s work. A troubled and needy world is waiting for you to do as God commands.
The Christian Life
What should a Christian’s life be like? How should they live as God’s people? We must go to God’s Word to answer this question. What did the apostles do? They formed communities of new believers, instructing them to come out from among the unbelievers of that pagan world and live as God commanded:
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 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. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6: 14-18).
This passage tells us that true Christians are so very different from unbelievers that they cannot live together with them. They cannot totally separate because they must share their faith and make converts. Their private lives, though, must be separate. They and especially their children need a godly environment in which that faith can be nurtured and grow.
They should follow the apostle’s example and live in small communities of true believing families. Personal study and the outgoing proclamation of God’s Word of grace should be exemplified by all. Even the young should spend much time in the study and discussion of God’s Word. It’s study and outward expansion should be the central concern and life-long purpose of the entire community.
This is what the early Christians of Ancient Rome did. It resulted in Christian Europe and eventually Christian America. It happened before and it will happen again, just as God tells us:
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. (Revelation 11:15)
This is the future that lies before us, the future that God saw as already accomplished in His eyes, eyes that see the future as already true. It will be true one day. Perhaps this troubled generation may mark the beginning of its formation.
Recovery
America and much of the Western World is hurting today. Evil forces have taken advantage of her severely weakened state and have effected a political coup. The nation is now in the hands of its enemies who are stripping it of what little good remains in it. Their goal is a godless land in which the Christian faith is outlawed and driven underground.
God’s people, once a very strong supporting force for liberty, are now almost without any ability or even much interest in restoring the huge loss the nation is suffering. The liberty they enjoyed for over two centuries is rapidly dwindling away, and still they do nothing.
Evidently their faith still rests in the false idea that we are now in the last days and the end of the world is near. It is not so near as it was fifty years ago during the “last days rage” that deceived many Christians. They, ignorant of the clear teaching of Scripture, thought that Jesus’ return was imminent and that the world would soon end. They gave up working on the task Jesus assigned them, the salvation of the world:
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. (Matthew 28: 19, 20)
This is nothing less than a command to make this world a Christian world!
The early Christians believed and obeyed these commandments and the nations of the Western World were converted to Christ. Europe became “Christendom,” Christ’s Kingdom! Today, though, they are fast asleep and the world is reverting to the pagan state it was before the time of the Apostles.
One day God’s chosen, born-again people, the beneficiaries of His grace, will wake up. They will shake off the false dream that kept them asleep. They will realize that they have been taken in by Satan’s not so subtle deception and have been disobedient servants. They will see that these are not the last days at all and that they have much work to do.
This rude awakening from the last-days dream will surely come but it appears it will be too late to avoid the loss of freedom that has already begun. The task of teaching the nations will be an uphill battle, one resisted by a power much greater than ancient Rome ever was.
God’s people will wake up one day but will it only be to chains and slavery? Will they remain asleep in their false dream of an effortless rapture until it is too late? Do you believe that Jesus would return to a corrupt and sinful world before we completed the task He assigned us, the task of teaching the nations to obey all His commandments?
The Scofield Bible
Heresy in Disguise
The Scofield Bible,[1] first published in 1908, has the author’s notes adjacent to the biblical text. It was extremely popular for decades after and is still revered by many of its readers. These notes present a unique theological perspective, first expounded by Scofield’s mentor, J. N. Darby.[2]
The change began in the 19th century with an extremely godless, one could say satanically led and perhaps satanically indwelled individual, John Nelson Darby. This man spent his life in a continuous attack on the Christian faith that hugely influenced the Western World. He travelled, it is said, to almost every country in the world, wrote several books, essays and articles. These, disguised as Christian writings surreptitiously, and in places overtly, attacked the Christian faith. Darby held to much of what God gives us in His Word but deviated at enough points to effectively turn the previously widely held faith on its head. Darby, an extremely dedicated, tenacious and powerful individual taught that:
First, Darby rejected the Bible as God’s inspired Word. He wrote:
“I do not receive the Bible, that is, a revelation of God from the hands of men. I receive paper and ink. The revelation I receive of God directly … “They shall all be taught of God.” The revelation is the divinely-wrought conscience, and, I repeat, in the conscience.”[3]
This is an incredibly audacious statement. It says:
The Bible is not a revelation from God. It is just “paper and ink,” the work of men.
God’s communicates to man via his own God-created conscience.
God reveals His will directly into the minds of those that He teaches.
This is God’s means of teaching. It is directly to the heart, not through a book.
So, according to Darby, we can just ignore the Bible; it’s just man’s word. In it God never spoke to His creatures. He just puts within us all we need to know about Him, about sin, righteousness, Christ’s sacrifice for us, repentance, forgiveness, and about how to live in this world.
Darby held that entire portions of Scripture are wholly irrelevant for Christians today. He did not hesitate to deem certain verses ungenuine, and at times reworded verses to support his system. He claimed that God’s Law was limited to ancient Israel and does not apply today.
Second, Darby held to a peculiar system of Bible study:
Open a concordance, pick a word, read all the verses with the word regardless of context, and make a few comments on each verse. This system of context-less “Bible study” occurs frequently in Darby’s writings and teachings.
Third, the theological understanding of Scripture developed over the previous 1800 years was completely rejected as invalid. It was replaced by Darby’s new method of “Bible readings.”
Fourth, Darby was consumed with the idea of an imminent return of Christ:
A strong mark of all Darby’s teaching is an unholy obsession with unfulfilled prophecy. Christians were taught that true Christianity meant waiting to be snatched away any moment; it was vain to do anything constructive for the long-term, because the Lord could return at any moment.
Fifth, He also disparaged the study and practice of all professions: medicine, mathematics, science, business, etc. Darby wrote:
“But meanwhile what are we to do as regarding setting the world right? Nothing, and this the flesh cannot understand.” … “I am anxious about a rumour I heard of your becoming a doctor, and I am sure you will forgive my anxiety for the Lord’s sake and yours.” … “when I set about to learn a profession or trade, it is not merely the time, but Christ, and Christ’s work, is put in a second place, and faith is set aside” [4]
How did God’s people ever fall for this, certainly Satan-inspired pack of lies that so blatantly contradicted everything God’s people believed before? God tells us that Satan is a deceiver and the father of lies.
The situation today:
The consequences of all this are very visible in the turmoil that surrounds us today. The super-rich multi-billionaires have launched a powerful attempt to destroy the centuries of peace that characterized America since its founding. They are extremely wealthy and occupy or control virtually all positions of real power. This includes the Federal Reserve and consequently the money supply on which most citizens are heavily dependent.
This tiny group of individuals, not satisfied with their great wealth, are clearly intent on replacing the Constitution with an evil form of government, one in which they would be absolute masters over the entire population.
Their ability to carry out this treasonous plot depends on the continued inactivity of America’s sleeping Christians. This potentially powerful force, though, has been dormant for several decades. It began with a highly distorted view of God’s Word, the Darby/Scofield bible. Its lies, outlined above, were embedded within God’s truth and deceived many of God’s faithful believers.
They have been under the spell of this “Bible” but finally, after a century of supposedly impending doom, some of God’s people are beginning to see through its deception. As this number grows and God’s people come back to life, resistance to the tyranny will increase and the battle will shift. Whether this will be in time to save the Republic is still uncertain.
[1] For a long list of the errors and falsehoods in the Scofield Bible’s embedded notes, see: https://www.gospeltruth.net/scofield.htm
[2] See also: https://www.gospeltruth.net/scofield.htm.
And: https://www.stempublishing.com/authors/darby/letters/volume-2.html
[3] (http://plymouthbrethren.org/article/11026)
[4] Letter to: Sydney Smith, Barbados, March 9th, 1869. STEM Publishing: J. N. Darby: Letters: Volume 2, number 4; https://www.stempublishing.com/authors/darby/letters/52004E.html
Christmas
Today we celebrate the birth of the most truly unique person that was ever born. It was the birth of Jesus Christ, the God-man who had no human father. He was equal with God the Father but lowered Himself by taking on the human form.
Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phillipians 2: 5-10)
Jesus wasn’t just God in human form; He was fully God and fully man. Why is this significant?
- First, as a man without sin, He died for the sins of all that believe in Him.
- Second, as God, He rules over all things.
- Third, He delegates His authority to all true believers. They are instructed to:
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. (Matthew 28: 18-20)
Cod’s people are here charged with two tasks:
- First, to teach the gospel and baptize those that believe.
- Second, to so instruct the new believers that they are able and become teachers of God’s Law to others.
- The intended result was exponential growth toward an early Christian world.
Sadly, due to much false teaching, the second task here has been seriously neglected for the past century. God’s people have been following false teachers far too long. They need to obey both of these commandments, not just the first one.
Partial obedience is a form of disobedience. We must put this false teaching behind us and get back to true obedience. The world is waiting for God’s people to wake up and get back to the work Jesus assigned them 2,000 years ago. He will not return one day before we’ve completed our work. The generation that does so can celebrate a truly Merry Christmas in a totally Christian world.
Unity In Truth
Christianity today is highly diversified. The present-day lack of unity has weakened the Christian witness to the world and humanism is rapidly taking control of America as it already has in Europe. The apostle Paul told us that this is not God’s intent. He has given us leaders and teachers in order to bring us all into the unity of the faith. This unity, we are told, must be “of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Its purpose is: “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine…” (Eph. 4:11-13).
In other words, it must be a unity in the truth. It cannot be a unity based on a least common denominator in which much of the truth is absent. Such an attempt at unity is bound to fail. It cannot survive because, it ignores the very differences that caused the diversity to begin with. Actually, unity is only possible in the truth; false elements cause dissention and tend to destroy unity.
Unity and Knowledge
So then, how can the many diverse elements now present in Christianity ever be unified? Each group believes that they are the possessors of the whole truth and that their view is the only true truth. They each see their way as the only path to unity. This is the present impasse but Scripture points to a way out.
We read:
For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. (1 Cor. 11: 18,19)
The context is the Lord’s Supper but Paul’s reference here is to the problem of divisions within the church, which is our situation today. So, instead of attempting to solve this difficult problem on our own, lets take our lead from God’s word. We have here a group of Christian assemblies that disagree with one another to such an extent that a large section of a book of Scripture is dedicated to it. Paul says that heresies existed in Corinth and gives a reason for their existence. They existed so that “they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” The heresies were necessary! They were the vehicle through which the truth would become known. All the views needed to be aired and discussed until all the congregations understood the respective teachings. Heresies were not to be ignored but were to die out through exposure, and in the process, leading to widespread understanding of the truth.
The strong implication here is that the exposure is to be general. It cannot be limited to the pastors or elders but must include the members as well as the leaders. History teaches us that heresies do not originate or develop within the general membership but rather among the leaders and teachers. Such individuals often tend to harden in their respective viewpoints and vehemently resist change. Those that have the charismatic skills can often attract many followers to their views and heresy prospers.
Today, heresies abound. Any individual with or without credentials can start a church in his home or a school and, if he has the right charisma, can lead a great many people astray. The problem is not that there are too many such individuals but that the general population is so ignorant and gullible. Sadly, it is not just the unchurched that are susceptible to heretical ideas; church members, even long-time and otherwise very capable church members, often lack sufficient knowledge of Scripture to resist the heretics.
Here we have the underlying root issue responsible for the divisions we find in Christianity. It is the lack of Scriptural understanding in the great majority of Christians and their inability to resist and check heretical teaching. Very few have a good grasp of their own, let alone other denominational, teachings. Too many are easily led astray by charismatic charlatans. A case in point is dispensationalism, promoted by J. N. Darby and C. I. Scofield, which virtually took over the fundamentalist churches. It contributes greatly to the current lack of unity.
Unity and Doctrine
Unity among physically separate groups is dependent on a common purpose, one that separates them from others. Its effectiveness is dependent on the extent to which this purpose governs their thinking and their lives. A loosely held desire or inclination will not do much while a deeply held sense of life-purpose can effect tight bonds between strangers. When these groups are a small minority or face opposition, the sense of unity is further strengthened.
Prior to the 19th century, the majority or at least a substantial minority of Christians in the West were united in the purpose of establishing and strengthening God’s kingdom on earth. They felt that the entire world would one day be Christian and that they should do whatever they could to bring this about. The methodology employed included effecting cultural change as well as evangelism. The typical Christian that sat in a pew on Sunday felt responsibility for what took place within his or her range of influence. Speech or actions that were in violation of God’s law or word, be it by an individual in civil office, a business man, a man on the street or a child, were rebuked or punished accordingly. Individuals that persisted in such behavior found that they were not re-elected, lost business or were otherwise chastised by the community. Christians were strongly united in this kingdom purpose.
The new 19th century theologies (dispensationalism and amillennialism) that were adopted and taught in the churches discouraged this faith in the future of God’s kingdom on earth and in time. They were highly pessimistic toward the future and deferred any victory of Christianity until after Christ’s return. The only work then left for Christians to do was evangelism; “let’s save as many as we can before time runs out.”
The typical Christian, believing these new doctrines, understandably lost interest in any personal involvement in social activity other than evangelism, an activity that most felt lay in the purview of pastors and missionaries. The old purpose is now gone and its replacement (if we can call it that) holds little interest for the average Christian. Humanism has filled the gap that Christianity left behind and is now in control of all but isolated pockets of Christian culture. Having lost their purpose, Christians lost their unity. The unity of a century or two earlier is now but a pale shadow of what it was. Its power, a doctrinal system that instills a real heart-felt purpose among Christians, has been lost.
Unity and the Church
The church leadership, in just about every denomination, has treated their congregations as sheep that need to be spoon-fed the very basic teachings. Most pastors see themselves as shepherds charged to protect their sheep that, in their opinion, would otherwise be at the mercy of heretics or unbelievers. Often, protection is needed but the best form of protection is knowledge. These sheep-children need to grow up and be able and “ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3:15).
A major factor in the sheep-like condition of the great majority of Christians is the two tier structure characteristic of today’s churches. Congregants are not given sufficient reason or incentive to lead them to spend the time and effort needed to acquire an in-depth understanding of Scripture. It entails many hours of reading and study, a commitment that most men would need a good reason to expend. They need to be shown from Scripture that this is something that is required of them and this, the churches do not provide. The few that do demonstrate a significant level of interest (typically younger men) are encouraged to enter a program of study to become pastors. Hence, the development of a two-tier, shepherd-sheep system in which Scriptural knowledge and responsibility are concentrated in the pastor class. This is not the picture of the Body of Christ we see in 1 Corinthians 12. There we see serious participation on the part of the entire congregation, each doing the work the Holy Spirit has equipped them for.
Pastors must stop treating their congregations as children that are unable to deal with doctrine other than on a do this and don’t do that basis. This may be the case today in the majority of typical congregations but even there, a significant number of members are capable of understanding and then teaching many of the others. Christians should be united in the faith and in the knowledge of the faith and must believe with understanding. This process is necessary to achieve the goal of Ephesians 4:13 “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine…”
Unity at the level of pastors and leaders, while desirable, is no substitute for unity among the people. It is the Body of Christ that constitutes His effective force for establishing righteousness and His members cannot do so without a thorough understanding their responsibilities in this regard.
Today’s churches are too top-down oriented. There is too much separation between the leaders and the people and little or no participation by the latter in church affairs. The pastor preaches a sermon; the people listen and then go about their business in life. But their affairs do not include the church; the church is a place they go to be obedient to God and to learn about Him and His word. Christians need to feel that they are not merely spectators but are an integral part of the churches they attend. They should see, for example, that a baptismal ceremony is something they are doing. The pastor is merely the individual designated by the congregation to perform the actions of the ceremony but it is the church body as a whole that is welcoming the new member into its community.
Unity and Freedom
All this is a consequence of a gross misunderstanding of the institution we call the church. It is pictured as a ruling institution that, alongside the state, sits above and rules over the family and the individual. This is a distortion of the biblical picture, where we see the regenerate individual free in Christ and in bondage to no one. He obeys the magistrate “for conscience sake,” because God says he should and then, only when in his opinion, such obedience does not violate God’s commands. This is not subservience it is the free choice of a free individual who sees only Christ, his true Lord and only lawgiver, above him.
The same is true relative to the church. Absolute obedience is only to the Lord and not the pastor or bishop or any other official. He obeys church officials because God tells him to and only when, again in his opinion, the request conforms to God’s word. He is told to “search the Scriptures” to see if what he is being told is true and what he is being asked to do is in conformity with God’s law.
We see here one sense in which Jesus’ saying, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” is true. Freedom is through faith in the truth, the truth that God is God and there is no authority independent of him. All authority is given by God and subject to God’s law and oversight. The Christian, the believer in Christ, while under both church and state is truly free. He obeys the temporal authorities only because his final obedience is to God.
What is more, both church and state are to be the objects of the free man’s dominion work. As God’s prophet, he is to “teach the nations” to obey his Lord (Matt. 28:18-20) and seek “first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matt. 6:33). He does these things as God’s free man in his personal life, his family, and both church and state. This means working, within the means that God permits, to promote God’s law in civil government and God’s truth in the church. In this work he can find unity with others of like persuasion.
Restoring Unity
Unity cannot be achieved through meetings of pastors, seminary professors or other institutionally trained individuals. Most are too set in their views and have too many supposedly right answers to the theological questions. Many, if not most pastors are too concerned with loss of members, especially the older members that provide most of the funding, to take any steps that might offend them. Sadly, for many more, the prestige, power or financial security of their positions override all other considerations. In addition, the peer pressure from fellow pastors prevents many from seriously considering any change in their currently held positions.
Seminary professors have a life-long investment in the many students they have inculcated into what they feel certain are the only truly biblical theological positions. This is true also of older pastors that have taught a particular viewpoint all their lives. For these reasons and others, meetings held for the purpose of increasing unity tend to degrade into totally impotent, least-common-denominator endeavors.
But God is not frustrated by disobedient or self-serving organizations. Most Christians are already very upset with today’s godless society and feel it should be more Biblically oriented. God’s law is truly written in their hearts and their desire is to follow its lead; but because they have never been given a biblical basis to support such action, and many pastors actually discourage it, they have been unable to coordinate and take concerted action. Nevertheless, they know in their hearts that Jesus called them to be salt and light and are beginning to act accordingly. As more and more Christians begin to take action to correct the godlessness in the world around them, a unity based on this purpose will develop. This has already begun and will develop more and more rapidly as the culture continues to degrade.
This movement is developing outside of the seminaries and Bible schools. It is springing from the working of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of His people. There is a tension developing between the teachings of the currently popular theologies and what is going on in the world. Christians are feeling with increasing fervor that they must act to correct the trampling-under of God’s commandments regardless of whether or not such action may be in conflict with the theology they hear from their pulpits. Despite all the teaching to the contrary, they are becoming dominion workers by applying God’s law in society.
A second reformation, one that is centered in and driven by God-fearing family heads, is forming. The first reformation, while correcting much of the error and corruption in the church left church and state as rival institutions and therefore lost its original power very early. It made possible the subsequent rise of humanism and its take-over of the greater part of society. But God in His wisdom knew the effect that that would produce in His saints. They needed to feel the scourge of Satan to wake them up and motivate them to become the soldiers for Christ they were destined to be.
Christians and especially pastors and teachers, that already understand the need for Christians to exercise their God-given, dominion work, should encourage others to get involved in this movement. The Body of Christ must be brought together to be in substantial and not just superficial agreement. All must “know the Lord” in a full sense. Mature Christians should be able to walk into almost any church assembly in the world and feel at home with what is being taught. We must become one as the Father and the Son are one (John 17:21-23). We are a long way from that condition today but it must be our goal, something we keep in view and work toward with due diligence.
Satan, seeing our great weakness, has raised his ugly head this year. We must hold fast to our faith in the face of his evil onslaught. Jesus will not return until we have done the work He assigned to us. He will return but only to a world we have prepared for Him, a godly world, one in which all the nations have declared for Christ and in which His law governs all things. We must roll up our sleeves and get about doing God’s work.