I Am Of Paul

 Today's Christians are more divided and divisive than ever.  During the first centuries of the history of the church it was basically universal or catholic until the 1054 Schism and the Reformation of 1517. There is now a sect or denomination for every niche or group and doctrine. Some have a fetish with a favorite doctrine much like the Pharisees did with the Sabbath command. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he chided them for saying and grouping into factions: I am of Paul, I am of Cephas, I am of Apollos, or even I am of Jesus (as if the latter trumped all others and its followers were especially holy or righteous).  

CAVEAT: when you think your denomination or sect has a monopoly on truth or you cannot get along or fellowship with "outsiders" or other faiths,  your church is on the verge of being a cult, especially when you think you are the only ones and see your mission statement as one of proselytizing, not evangelizing. 

Does it really matter to you what a believer relates to, Paul is admonishing us to not divide or judge another by their affiliations.  I'm not saying all Christians should forget doctrine and just get together and sing kumbaya. Even Paul separated from Barnabas and had a dispute and Peter from Mark but I believe they were not petty or nitpicking on doctrine or splitting hairs. But Paul didn't preach about why he did it nor try to justify it.  

God condemns us for being divisive and especially for causing division between brothers or disharmony or discord.  That is one of the sins that God hates as mentioned in Proverbs.  Satan likes to divide and conquer! We are not to be ignorant of his schemes and wiles.  We are to leave room and space for people and make allowance for differences of opinion and disputable matters. But each should be convinced fully in their own minds and have a clear conscience. 

What is God concerned with? He will not ask us at the Judgment Seat what kind of church we went or whether we were this or that type of theological school of thought at all. Did we love our brother? We will be measured as to our righteousness, faithfulness, obedience, and love, and our walk with the Lord. And the works done in the flesh will amount to nil. We are accountable for our orthopraxy or ethics as much as our orthodoxy of doctrine. 

 What doctrine is meant to do is strengthen our faith, not divide us!  And we are rewarded according to our works, not our faith, which is a gift of God.  Only what's done for Christ in His name and to His glory in the Spirit can be rewarded and last. 

There will be no appraisal of the orthodoxy of our doctrines except the basic ones (we are to contend for the common faith we share as Christians).  We are not commended then because we were impeccably right in our doctrines. Doctrine is important for faith to grow and we are to resist heresy and expose it, but there are many disputable ones that sincere and strong believers can disagree on.  We shouldn't wage war against them because they disagree with us nor be on a mission or agenda to make everyone believe as we do. We must rather practice what we believe and put our faith into action, turning creeds into deeds. 

Therefore, someone is not a good Christian because he doesn't or does affiliate with some denomination or identify with a theological interpretation such as Calvinism which is so controversial now that they renamed themselves "Reformed" or "Covenant." This is like many churches including mine that have taken the name "Baptist" off and renamed it some non-denominational sounding one. Some so-called Evangelical churches are close to what my church stands for and we do not promote unique doctrines in order not to divide the brethren.  

But Baptists get a bad rap and some people associate them with backsliders, predestination, legalism, or eternal security and therefore people already have a preconceived notion of any believer who belongs to such a church. Did you know that Billy Graham was a Southern Baptist but he didn't propagate or preach it in his evangelism. He learned to cooperate even with Catholics in evangelistic outreaches.  For sure, note that God will not ask you what church you attended but whether you found a way to serve and were faithful.  

Now, the question arises as to our fellowship with others. We are not only to be in fellowship with our church family but strive to be at peace with all men and love the brotherhood everywhere. Jesus said we would be known by our love, not our branding.  It really doesn't matter what you label yourself, you are not holier for doing it and God condemns any "holier than thou" attitude.  We are to observe the weightier matters of the Law like "justice, mercy, and faithfulness."  

Anyone can call themselves a Christian but some are nominal believers or Christians in name only.  The church is really composed of all true believers worldwide, not just our own fellowship or circle of friends and family. If someone is of another sect or denomination or school of theology, it should not matter to you; to his own Lord he stands or falls.  We should determine in the end who serves God and knows God and who doesn't. We must heed Christ's words that they will know we are Christians by our love for one another.  

In the final analysis, we ought to celebrate our common faith and commonalities, not resent differences.  Fellowship happens when we stop judging or even labeling each other and commence accepting and loving one another in the Lord.   Soli Deo Gloria! 

Promoting Our Brand Of Christianity

"... You are always on their lips but far from their hearts," (cf. Jer. 12:2, NIV). 


Many believers err in being converted to the program, not to Christ!  Those who fail at seeing the light in service within the church don't do Him justice as servants--we are here to grow up into a mature person able to serve Christ within the capacity of our spiritual gifting.  While others love Christ and are anti-establishment, fearing and disrespecting any organization.  The church is not an institution or organization so much as an organism, a living body of believers learning to interact and connect with others, serving Christ in concert and set up for its purpose of fulfilling with a great commitment to the Great Commission.

But there are believers who push their brand of Christianity as if they are right and everyone else is wrong by default.  That's what defines a cult!  No church has a monopoly on the truth and we are all in this together as one church in Christ though there are many local bodies of believers.  Many churches are too involved in programs such as charity or relief efforts and not in spreading the good news of Christ.  We must turn stones into bread but not at the expense of the Great Commission or the sharing of the gospel message--some don't even know it.

We all have a place in the church body and we must seek to find a church not only that we can agree with but where we can feel at home and even serve in the body; after all, the Great Commission was given to the church at large as well as the believer--we must not shirk our duty in either capacity.  Being a member of a church and not an attendee who has no commitment is also vital for growth.  Just as we are dedicated to Christ we must not avoid dedication and service to our church.  Belonging to a church fulfills us in the sense of feeling a sense of belonging that may take away our desire to belong to the world and its entities.  The divine order is to believe, then belong, and then to become.

Finally, we bear Christ's image and become a living and serving member in the body doing His will.  We must never forget that our paramount belonging is to Christ and we must never compromise our faith.  It is the duty of the church to prepare the body for service and application of the faith within their spheres of influence. A genuine believer can worship in any authentic Bible-believing church, but that doesn't mean we are to become interdenominational or come to the conviction that doctrine doesn't matter in the church's teaching--we must adhere to sound teaching and always fight heresy that can creep in. But for cooperation purposes, it's not wrong to be nondenominational and some churches label themselves that because they only want to be known as Evangelicals that are not necessarily affiliated. But note that we are not trying to impress a church or advertise and promote it, but must keep our eyes on promoting Christ and promulgating the gospel message in its purity.

Sometimes churches can become dysfunctional!  Some members are in rebellion and refuse God's will and go astray and disobey the gospel.  We should never be offensive believers, neither in the body or without. We must remember that Satan fosters rebellion and desires to split the fellowship into factions or parties.  This can happen when zealous believers (but not according to knowledge) favor their own agendas and hobbyhorses and don't seek God's will but only ask God to bless their wills.  We must realize that there is authority in the body for a reason and Christ commands the respect of authority as well as purity of doctrine.

So then, we must refrain from playing church and even doing church or our version of it and submit to all authority, even in the body.  All of us contribute and are meant for a purpose in Christ, He has a place for us in His body and can give us purpose, meaning, and dignity within it.  One's church ought to be known by its message, fruit, and mission.  "For lack of vision, the people perish," (cf. Prov. 29:18).  Churchgoing isn't a passive activity,  but being involved and a chance to connect and take a spiritual checkup or workout and to examine our fruit!

Christ is perfect as the head and we must all remember that we are imperfect, we still can be used by God, but also that God has chosen to use us as vessels of honor to do His will and we can do everything to the glory of Christ and in His name--that's why we are known by how we exalt our Lord and give Him preeminence. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!  (cf. 2 Cor. 3:17). We shouldn't be known by our doctrines or distinguishing teachings as much as how we are obedient to the Great Commission and provide a place for the members to fit in and grow together as a functioning body. 

So what is Churchianity?  

Some Christians "play" church and go through the motions of worship and never go for the right reason--to worship God--they say, "I didn't get much out of worship today!" (maybe they should concentrate on what they put into it). God condemns us for having worship without our heart in it or hypocritical worship, this is just "memorizing the Dance of the Pious." A real hypocrite (hypocrite means wearing a mask, or acting in a play) is not one who falls short of his ideals, but one who uses religion as a cover-up and knows he is insincere.

The theme of Psalms is Ps. 29:2, "Ascribe the Lord the glory due to His name, worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness." Deut. 17 condemns insincere and dishonest worship or sacrifice. Amaziah (cf. 2 Chron. 25:2) was known for doing the will of the Lord, but not with a true heart. Malachi condemned the lip service of his day. Jer. 12:2 and Isaiah 29:13 also bemoan lip service and insincere worship not from the heart.

Someone has said that there are four persons that we show: The one God sees; the one you see; the one the world sees; and the one your intimate friends see. Let's be careful not to just have a "public persona" and parade our spirituality or piety. Worship should be a delight and our feelings should be in it (or we are blaspheming God, which is like doing it as a "duty" not because we want to) as the command "Delight yourself in the Lord..." says.

In summary: Psa. 84:1 says, "My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the Lord" and Psa. 122:1 says, "I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go into the house of the Lord.'"  "Blessed are those who hear the joyful shout," (cf. Psalm 89:15).

We can worship or be edified in a "crowd," but we need to function in a local body of believers with our spiritual gift. Rick Warren says that there is no "one-size-fits-all" for worship and there are many ways to worship.  We are to be committed to our church as a token of our commitment to Christ--they go hand in hand--and then we will grow and be accountable.

I  denounce and disapprove the legalistic crowd that goes to church thinking that will make them a Christian, like going into a garage will make you a car, or eating a donut will make you a cop. They are called the "nod-to-God" crowd, which thinks it is fulfilling its obligation by a short visit to the local church, just out of guilt. The true Christian wants to worship God fellowship with other believers with whom he is a "fellow on the same ship."

I think some megachurches miss the boat in worship, they don't know the preacher nor each other (and is the worship in the Spirit and in the truth?). But different people are at different stages and God has a purpose for their existence--megachurches aren't where I'm at though.

Some think their religious performance is enough to save them. To some, it's only a formality and not a relationship. John MacArthur says, "We can't enter through our religious emotion or our sanctified feelings...Lip service is no good--there must be obedience...You don't get into the kingdom by sincerity, by religiosity, by reformation, by kindness, by service to the church, not even by simply naming the name of Christ; you get there only by personal trust and faith in [the person and work of] Christ." We can have a form of godliness and be empty. The church at Sardis had a reputation that it was alive, yet it was dead (see Rev. 3:1). We can even have "sanctimonious emotions" and be sentimental and not know Christ. There is a difference between knowing the Word and knowing the Author of the Word.

We can have many experiences in church and everyone has a different one, but I believe we should test our experiences by the Word of God and not the Word of God by our experiences. That's an important concept--we are not to become either rationalists nor empiricists (going by reason or experience only), but belief in the Bible (revelation) and anchored in sound teaching or doctrine (cf. Titus 2:1).

The more we learn, the more we realize where the wiggle room is and what is not worth fighting about--they generate more heat than light and are not worth the adrenaline.  We are to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," (cf. Eph. 4:30).  Sectarianism is a sin according to 1 Cor. 1, and we shouldn't divide into factions if we can help it. As Augustine said, "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."

In sum, we must not major on minors and be certain to keep the main thing the main thing; they will know we are Christians by our love. Soli Deo Gloria!

Wolves In Sheep's Clothing

"Enter by the narrow gate.  For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few"  (Matt. 7:13-14, ESV).  

Jesus initiated His ministry the right way, by being baptized by John in order to identify Himself with the common Jews and to fulfill all righteousness, though John demurred--He did things the right way and didn't go against the order of the day.  If Jesus could humble Himself, how much ought we?  There likewise comes a day of reckoning and decision for believers, where they express solidarity with the body publicly in order to be accepted publicly.  

We are to beware of pseudo-believers or false brethren (for even the devils may seek to become accepted, if possible!) and those that sneak into the fellowship disapproved, who may "creep in unnoticed," as Jude writes, and are "marked out for condemnation" as "wolves in sheep's clothing," masquerading as angles of light (cf. 2'Cor. 11:4), as it were, and fooling even the elect, if possible (they come to "steal, to kill, and to destroy").  Who is he but one who doesn't enter by the door of the shepherd, but seeks his own way, door, or rules, for he seeks to "climb up some other way" (cf. John 10:1), and "he is a thief [proselytizer or even an apostate] and a robber."

If there's some initiation ceremony (e.g., baptism, testimony, classroom training, et al.) that the church has established, and a seeker or false brother rejects it, then he is going rogue and following his own whims or "inner voice", and not that of Christ. For in God's economy, the way up is down, and we must all humble ourselves in the sight of God first if we expect to be exalted in His eyes--you don't carry rank and privilege with you as you transfer from church to church, but must start at the bottom and work your way up all over again, respecting all in authority and seniority.

In order to get the "right hand of fellowship," and to be accepted as a member of the family of God one must show some fruit!  First we believe and works result and this comes by hearing of the Word of God, then we belong to the family in fellowship, and finally, we become what God intends by participation with the family and recognition of our charisma or gift and sharing it with others. Rick Warren describes our spiritual journey:  "believing (through worship), belonging (through fellowship), and becoming (through discipleship)."  We are always to be congenial and extend our good faith and love to all, regardless of where they are in the Lord, but there comes a day of reckoning when one must decide for or against the fellowship one is associated with and whether or not to endorse it and become a full-fledged member.  They are to "choose this day whom they will serve" per Joshua 24:15.

Our mission is to be "eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" per Ephesians 4:3, ESV.  Remember the slogan:  "No perfect people need to apply!"  God wants real people, not ideal people and unity, not uniformity.  We don't find shortcuts to the top of the spiritual chain of command, or pecking order, as it were, but must admit our spiritual frailty!  We never "assume" someone is a believer or earnest in his motives, by mere virtue of regular attendance--some people are just "playing church" or are guilty of "Churchianity," not Christianity.

Pseudo-Christian cults and churches do not seek out souls to save, but to steal, they go where Christ is already named and say they have something to add to the truth or have a new and improved Christianity to offer.  These wolves spare not the flock and have no qualms to lead to false doctrine and are thirsty for power (David Koresh, and Jim Jones, et al.).  They are really not members of the church, but mock it and set out to go by their own tradition or belief, that is antithetical to the churches.  They are pushing something secret and claim to be in the know and privileged to be privy to this so-called false knowledge.

In contradistinction to a true shepherd, one ordained and called by God, one who enters by the door--not some secret way (i.e., by way of secret pledge, friendship, reference, handshake, vow, ordination service, et al.), the false teacher, who isn't always a teacher, but just seeks a following and to make a name for himself!

The sheep do not listen to the "voice of a stranger" and know their shepherd, according to John 10:5, and they follow the Lord through His shepherds and they listen to the truth because they are of the truth.  The danger is that factions in the church and party spirit can cause church splits, and nothing ruins a church more than sectarian spirit or a conflict over leadership and loyalty issues--"I am of Apollos!"  The reason we have heresy is so that the teachers approved by God can be made manifest, the church and body of Christ can be cleansed of evil, and it can be renewed in the image of Christ as its head and cornerstone.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Do You Belong?

Many believers or nominal believers attend or go to churches and think that is all there is.  God wants you to belong, not just attend, and there is more than a subtle difference!  Members, not just attendees (people committed to the body and having taken the leap of faith publicly).  You must realize first that the church is a family and must have committed members who need and rely on each other as a family who is there for each other.  Actually, our church family should be closer than our physical family, if they don't believe it.  I, myself, never felt that I belonged (though I did feel I belonged to my former church as the church greeter) until I was inducted into my church and went through the initiation process (accepting the authority of the leadership, even giving my personal testimony to the body. (I think of Paul telling Timothy that he gave a good testimony in the presence of  many witnesses).   I was given the "right hand of fellowship" and felt an acceptance that I couldn't express in those words before.

Many people go to a mega-church which is more of a "crowd" than a church--you can be invisible (not what is meant by the "invisible church")  in that kind of church and nobody knows you are there or not  (how can you make an impact like this?) if you don't make some extra effort to make friends, that is. It is more difficult, if not impossible to have the sort of "family orientation" or feelings that should represent the body of Christ.

Many mega-churches are that way because of the reputation of a preacher (ironic since Christ was more interested in quality than quantity)  and the church can be, but isn't always mind you, a personality cult, that will fade away after the preacher passes on.   The church I go is not dependent on the preacher to hold it together--it is the fourth or fifth oldest church in Minnesota and has withstood six church splits and has survived, even as a Baptist church, which has a lot of negative connotations to us Minnesotans--those legalists and backsliders!

You must ask yourself, "Do you just attend?" or "Do you belong?" because there is a difference.  The church is an organism, not an organization and that means it should be alive and interactive, and not just people following the leader or taking orders like in a corporation or military outfit.  The church is not a dictatorship but a union of believers who need each other and work together as a body with Christ as the head, not any one person (Christ is in all believers!).  Try to think of the progression as follows: believe, belong, become!  If you want to become what Christ wants you to be, you must first be a believer, then you must belong.

To sum it up in a sentence:  Only in a family can you have what the church aims to do:  Have accountability, intimacy, unity, common goals, growth, and bonding or fellowship.  Soli Deo Gloria!

What Is A Healthy Church? Are You A Happy Camper?...

Rationale:  Other teachers have taught on this subject and I am not ignoring them, but my purpose is to tell my own personal insights after having been in many churches during my life.  First of all, let's tell my story, we have a choice to go to a church where we can be of service and God can use us, or we can go to a church where we feel we can fellowship and most importantly grow with others of similar doctrinal persuasion--just how important are our beliefs?  I had a sudden awakening where I realized that what I believed was important and I couldn't compromise that anymore.

I went to a church that had a motto of "a place for you."  I felt needed there and God gave me an opportunity to serve, but eventually I woke up and couldn't tolerate the church government and the doctrines of the church that I couldn't approve of any longer--specifically the watering down of the gospel message and the so-called agenda of the pastor who didn't seem to know the Lord any better than me--though I don't deny he was Spirit-filled and put a lot of fire into his sermons and he should've put more of his sermons in the fire!  I would fall asleep during his sermons because I heard it all before--he repeated himself as a methodology.  I was ready for greener pastures.

I now know that God can speak to me through a pastor who doesn't necessarily get that worked up, but is more the one that God wants me to listen to and I can relate to.  I firmly believe that we go through spiritual stages, that there is a right church for us at a certain level of maturity.  I started out as a Lutheran, and I am glad I didn't remain loyal to that denomination, seeing how liberal most of them have gotten.  We are not to be faithful to a church, but to Jesus Christ--there may come a time that we have to take a stand and decide where we want to be and what God wants us to do, and knowing who we are in Christ is vital, i.e., knowing our spiritual gift or calling (cf. 2 Pet. 1:10). 

We are not to look down on our brethren in other churches or to become sectarian (1 Cor. 1:10ff), which is a sin according to Paul who rebuked the Corinthians for saying they were of Paul, Peter, Apollos, or Jesus himself!  We don't take pride in our labels; in fact, we shouldn't label other believers at all and we are not called to straighten the church because we disagree and think they are wrong.  Who wrote the book on comparing ourselves?   God condemns those who cause division among the brethren or who are divisive, quarrelsome, or schismatic, and we should warn them to "strive for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (cf. Eph. 4:3).

A healthy church is a serving church that is involved and has opportunities to reach out and minister.  A healthy church must have a vision ("Where there is no vision, the people perish," cf. Prov. 29:18).  But some people will end up being converted to the program, not to Christ!  The pastor has to know where he wants to lead the flock and be one step ahead of them and not be a one-man show but is involved in the body, realizing that he needs them as much as they need him (for all parts of the body are necessary).  There should be no doubt that it is the Lord who is the head of the church and not an individual who is a control freak or power-hungry and likes to be number one like Diotrephes. 

Choirs are fine, but they are not necessary, because the goal is to get us to worship--worship is not vicarious, but involved--the question should not be "What did you get out of the worship today?" but "Did you give God the glory and worship Him adequately?"  Soli Deo Gloria!  Worship is giving one his due!  The church service is not a show where we see people perform but sincere heartfelt worship that involves us personally.  Worship leaders should not draw attention to themselves, but focus the glory on Christ--and this is a calling and gifting to be able to lead in worship. 

A healthy church is not a crowd but a family of interacting and fellowshipping believers or called out ones as the term, ekklesia, from the Greek implies.  Some churches give no opportunity to get to know the members and one can get lost in the crowd or lost in the shuffle--nothing against so-called mega-churches if they have interacting "mini-churches" or subunits that give the members the opportunity to reach out individually and exercise their spiritual gift.  Each member has a ministry to the church members and a mission to the unsaved.  Most of all the church is an organism, not an organization.  Many people are rightly against the institutional church because it smacks too much of institutionalism.  Jesus himself was anti-establishment and a revolutionary in his own right--turning the world upside down.

Many people are turned off by the church because it is too much like the establishment--we need to get away from that image and tailor the church to the needs of the members and not all churches are at the same level spiritually; but we should not think we are the only church in town doing God's will(a sect or cult thinks they are right and everyone else is wrong, being the only show in town), or have cornered the market on truth and have a sort of Bible-club mentality.  No church has a monopoly on truth or has the right to judge other churches--they are there for God's glory and He has a purpose for them and the people in them. 

We don't want to be a dead orthodoxy (it must preach the Word, as Paul taught the "whole counsel of God," and not just pet doctrines or passages, as commanded, and not be content just to be doctrinally correct) but a vibrant interacting fellowship that members can call their home church.  It should be their second home and the body of believers should be their second family.  The members are in solidarity with each other and don't feel someone is not needed or isn't useful to the body.  A healthy church recognizes elders and deacons among candidates who desire the office, it doesn't make or elect elders and deacons but recognize them--this is a gift and a calling and like teaching one exercises it and sees if God blesses him and given him the gift.

Harmony and unity (not uniformity) are essential in the church and discipline must be done to divisive brethren that cause division over nonessential doctrines.  St. Augustine's dictum was right:  "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."  The early church was known for four elements:  the Apostles' doctrine, fellowship, prayer, and the breaking of bread or communion (cf. Acts 2:42).  The sign of a powerful church is what Jesus said, quoting Isa. 56:7, "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." As they say:  The church is not a hotel for saints, but a hospital for sinners--no perfect people need to apply!

In conclusion:   If you think you have found the perfect church don't join it (remembering that the Reformers called the church semper reformanda, or always reforming) because it will no longer be perfect!  Soli Deo Gloria!