“And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;” I Thessalonians 5:12.
There are some things that are easy to believe, but difficult to prove. In fact, most things in the spirit world are that way to the carnal mind. It is the intent of this short article to draw attention to the folly of New Testament church existence by evolution. Please think for a moment with me.
Most Baptists readily agree that a New Testament church cannot be divorced from its membership. Therefore, the qualifications of each church member become all important to the spiritual status of the local body to which he belongs. As the members go, so goes the church for better or worse.
It is equally agreed among non-Protestant Baptist churches that the new birth experience, and deep water baptism by the authority of the church is essential, constituting the prerequisites necessary for church membership. By these things, and the fulfillment of the other parts of the Great Commission, churches are kept separate from the world, from false religion, and in an acceptable state to enjoy the blessings of the Almighty in word, and in deed.
With all this being said, it is recognized that there are a lot of “Speckled Bird” churches in Baptist ranks today. Some are “planted” by men who care little for the fundamentals of the faith once delivered to the saints. Some are socio-religious gatherings that “evolve” into a “church.”
This method was used by the Wesley brothers, but their production was not a New Testament church.
Then there are those who pick no bones about their disdain for the Baptist heritage. They refuse to use the Baptist name, and think to create a church by some sort of deception, deception I say because they still want to claim scriptural Baptist status. Humm. Does that not sound much like so many who call themselves “non-denominational” or “Usta-Wazer” Baptists? That former title is an oxymoron simply because non-denomination is a denomination with reference to type or kind.
So, the questions remain. Might a group of people, two or three or more, achieve a non-profit charter to claim tax exemption, engage in religious activity, and grow into a bona fide New Testament church regardless of their prerequisites? More precisely stated, may a group of religious minded people evolve into a New Testament church?
When the Word is followed, only those who are endowed with the new birth, and scriptural, deep water baptism administered by a bona fide church of the Lord, may constitute a church that is recognized and blessed of heaven. Such is the perpetuation of the baptism of John (heavensent baptism). There may be many ceremonial washings and dips, but there is only one baptism of John. So, a church by evolution? That is biblically unknown, and in the end worthless.
FOR THOUGHT: Do you believe anyone who wants many formulate themselves into a church, especially, if they have a non-profit charter from the state? Well, to be sure, there are many of them just that way. Do you think the righteous God of heaven and earth will accept such when He formulated His own and died to purchase it?
CHURCH KINGDOM-BUILDING MAY MISS THE KINGDOM BUILT
Long, long ago, God forged a mighty nation of Hebrew people enslaved in Egypt. He delivered them, blessed them, and brought them to the Promised Land. Extraordinary victories, great miracles, and provisions attributable only to God’s blessings were embedded into their minds and hearts, but Judges tells the repetitious story of the propensity of men to follow the flesh instead of God. A new generation arose that knew not God. “. . . every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25. Sadly, men have not changed!
Fast forward! Out of the deadly fires of persecution in the Inquisition, God delivered His people by opening up the Western Hemisphere in general and America in particular for their unparalleled freedom and growth. Through famine, wars, and civil turmoil, God blessed His churches in this new land. It was then that the god of this world laid plans to inundate the nation with material things far removed from the support of its Gross National Product by printing baseless script to direct faith toward Caesar. Misled churches hailed this as blessings from above.
Simply put, it is easier, and highly tempting, to follow the dictates of the flesh. Soon, churches, which flourished briefly in inflated abundance, found unwittingly that materialism had substituted God. Youth then failed to follow the faith of their fathers. Pulpits became filled with stand-up comedians and CEO’s of social clubs. Services were scaled down. Revivals ceased.
God was removed from public prayers and schools. Innocent lives were butchered on demand by the millions. Churches became even more moderate, bowing to a social agenda in an ever-losing battle for the attention of the masses.
At last, some have awakened to ask why the rolls are full, but the pews are empty? It is the continuing last state of churches whose members are detached from the spirit and mission of the church. Oh, but those roll members are indeed attached. They are attached to their detachment, and few are open to change. Churches previously offering men spiritual salvation and truth, sank in their deluded dream of individual kingdom-building, and panic of material debts.
So gravitating to social programs to compete, they ultimately found themselves inadequate to compete materially in a God forsaken religious world, or able to deal properly and spiritually with people who are minus an ear for spiritual things, not unlike the society of Lot's day. Church-house padlocks are now becoming common. What a crazy course of history! What foolish decisions by spiritual institutions! Caring ministers and churches now cry and preach to a people firmly attached. . . to spiritual detachment! Evermore then is the cry heard: “Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.”
FOR THOUGHT: Have you ever asked yourself just where in the Bible is it written that the will of God is for local churches to build great monuments to themselves, and revel in their material riches? Have you read the message to Laodicea in Revelation Chapter Three?
CINDERELLA AND THE LORD’S BRIDE
“Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them al .” Prov. 31:29
Is there anyone, especially in the English speaking world, who is not well versed in the classic fairytale of Cinderella? Here are the highlights: her mother had died; her father remarried a mean woman with two ugly daughters who received all of her attention and gifts.
Cinderella must work hard, and had little more than rags for clothing, but in them she was beautiful. However, at the king’s bal , Cinderella was magically prepared for a meeting with the prince of the kingdom. Then departing at the midnight hour, she lost one glass slipper.
The love that the prince felt for her led to a search of the kingdom to find her by a perfect fit of the slipper. Of course, only Cinderella could be a perfect fit for the slipper, although others including her ugly, mean stepsisters tried in vain. Thus was Cinderella united with the prince of the kingdom and lived happily ever after.
Perhaps this analogy is a little crude, but the Prince of the Kingdom of the Heavens has a bride. Currently it is subjected to a world with evil as its god. It has not been treated well during the age, but there is a marriage supper coming. Many who have supplanted themselves as the bride cannot and will not be accepted simply because they do not fit the criteria of the Prince. That criterion is not the awesome edifices of towers and stained glass or of systems by which men act religiously within their own sinful creations. His bride will fit the marvelous slipper of His bridal creation, and succession, tenaciously holding to the faith once delivered to the saints, and trench work of carrying out the Great Commission. She shall thus be gloriously accepted, and shown to be just who she really is as she rules and reigns with the Prince of the Universe, her creator and glorious Savior and King.
It seems inescapably logical then that the most important thing anyone can do with his time on earth is to search out that criteria, know it, and put his life into it by consistently yielding to the leadership of the Holy Spirit as presented in the Holy Word. It is never the will of men that shall be accepted, as so vividly underscored in Matthew 7:21-23. Rather, it is the stated will of God alone that shall be accepted. The good news is that His acceptable will for men may be grasped and employed by everyone while it is cal ed “Today.” But, everyone must be wise enough to know that “Today” is coming to an end, and sooner for some than others. What on earth could be more worthy than this for one’s time and energies???
What??? . . . What???
FOR THOUGHT: Does the analogy drawn here make sense to you? Are you preparing yourself to be a part of the glorious bride of Christ through obedience to the faith once delivered to the saints? Can you read the analogy without identifying with Cinderella?
CLIPPED-WING CHICKENS STILL FLY!
From the memory vaults of decades long gone comes a story of a lesson learned as a child in the country. Most families back then had all the trappings of basic life support, including a large number of chickens. Breakfast and Sunday dinner tables were completed with their contribution and sacrifice. One day several of the chickens began to fly up and over the six-foot fence of their penned area. Mom gave a pair of scissors to my older brother with instructions to clip a small amount of feather from their wing. Later, she noticed the chickens still flying out of the pen, and asked if he had done as she instructed. He answered in the affirmative, but upon questioning it was learned that he had clipped both wings of each chicken instead of just one.
Of course, that did not work. The whole idea of keeping the chickens earthbound was to create imbalance by clipping only one wing. Thus came the old saying of someone deemed to be too haughty or “uppity” he or she needed their wing clipped. My brother’s action failed to achieve the objective because it allowed the chickens to maintain the necessary balance to fly.
It is also true that to fly in spiritual matters one must also have balance. Such balance is denied natural man due to his sinful nature which does not harmonize or balance with the spiritual things of God and His righteousness. So, he remains “earthbound” by his sinful condition even while he seeks to be spiritual in religious affairs. He is desperately in need of the balance to fly, but it is beyond his ability, or reach, naturally. So, what, if anything, can be done to achieve spiritual balance and flying status? The answer is not complicated. The ancient prophet said it in a verse of scripture that has become the favorite to many: “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:30-31. Here then is God’s way for mankind: wait upon the Lord. Such waiting denotes looking to; trusting, depending upon. Those who are tired of being “earthbound” by a nature that is not spiritual should allow God to clip the wings, imparting the balance of a right relationship with Him; spiritual knowledge by which he may mount up with wings as eagles.
FOR THOUGHT: Do you see the parallel here? A lot of religious folk can’t fly except in the arena of iniquitous practice that claims His name, but denies His power. Only God can change that and He will do it only if they are reconciled to Him in faith.