My Journey of Faith
John 16:13, "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth;"
Colossians 1:18, "He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything."
Galatians 1:1, "Paul, an apostle (not [sent] from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead)."
God's Way or Man's with the option is man's
Humanly speaking, we have two options for the direction of the Church: God's way or man's. I say humanly speaking because in the flesh, even regenerate believers can take matters into their own hands and make decisions that are sinful and not pleasing to God. However, so far as God's will is concerned, there are no options; as Colossians 1:18 says, Jesus Christ, God's Son, is the head of the body. The head tells the body everything, and only the head directs the body; no other part does.
When men call someone to be the pastoral head of their local congregation with little to no prayer or fasting, it is men and the agency of men that do the calling. If many people join the church, it is called a blessing of God. When church planting becomes the calling of all believers with no special education, God's calling will not be defined by man-made requirements.
God's Way or Man's, if God's in whose eyes
When writing to the churches in Galatia, the Apostle Paul declared he was an Apostle, but he was not sent from men nor through the agency of man. Paul meant he did not receive his instructions from men as if men were in charge of the church. If anyone in a church today should say such a thing, they will receive a tough time from leadership. I know a dear brother who is experiencing such a problem at a church where he has been a faithful member for seven years.
Here's the problem. A church is formed and declared to be part of such a denomination or convention of churches but independent and self-governing. May I ask where the church receives the authority to make its decisions? Everyone will say from the word of God. Yet, churches differ on many choices, and all, in their own eyes, are faithful to God's Word.
For the person willing to hear it, Paul discouraged all such thinking from above when writing to the church in Corinth by saying, "Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ." Has Christ been divided?" 1 Corinthians 1:12-13. No person's opinion matters, no matter how well they speak, teach, or lead from the flesh if they are in opposition to God's will. Wherever there is division, someone is in opposition to God's will. Both infant baptism by sprinkling and adult baptism by immersion cannot be correct.
God's Way or Man's, if man's at what cost?
Early this morning, I received a call from a dear brother, and his wife was coming to spend time with us unless his brother passed. He said he would not be coming because his brother died the evening before. He was emotionally distraught, as would be expected, and the main problem was that he did not believe his brother to be saved. In the late seventies, we attended school together, and I know he has a sincere heart for God. When he made the following statement, I could hear sadness and disapproval in his voice. "They are going to have a Celebration of Life Service."
Jesus said, "He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters [them]. "[He flees] because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep." John 10:12-13.
Our responsibility is to know God's word well enough to disapprove of what is against the Gospel and what will hurt the sheep. No man has the right to take matters into their hands. King David was not willing to side-step God, so He was called a man after God's own heart. Some services should celebrate life when they know that they belong to Christ. However, no one who officiates at a service has the authority to make people feel good at the expense of the truth. "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart." Ecclesiastes 7:2)
God's Way or Man's, can no one opt out and make disciples?
One man gives authority to another, and they confirm one another and call this God's calling upon their lives. Anyone who questions their authority is said to have rebelled against God.
Jesus said, "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth;" Christ is head of the church (Ekklesia, gathering of regenerate believers), and He directs through the work of the Holy Spirit. For the Holy Spirit to lead, at least two things must occur. One, believers must die to their self-will, pride, and desire to control, and two, they must decide through unanimity of decision-making. There can be no place in the church for division. Majority rule is not in the Bible.
Why do I believe as I do? The Ekklesia morphed into its present condition, which we call the church 300 years after Pentecost, but from the beginning, it was not so. The Reformation restored the Gospel but not the church. We are divided, led essentially by men who do not pray and are filled with their own talents and human abilities. If the tribulation starts tomorrow, how many Christians in the West will be prepared to give their head for Christ? I want to be ready! Do you?
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