Neither the church or this country

are meant to be Israel

Now that the election has come and gone, I do not want to get into politics. However, it is vital for Christians to see the necessity of the separation of church and state. Many religious people want the United States to become like Israel of old. An examination of the New Testament leaves us with a necessary conclusion though – we will not succeed in creating a religious nation like the Israel was.

Genesis 12:1-3 contains the promises given to Abraham. One stated that a great nation (Israel) would be created out of his seed. They were promised a land, which was fulfilled during the time of Joshua (Josh. 23:14).  This nation of God’s people eventually had their own kings to rule over them – God was not pleased with this (I Sam. 8:4-7).

The ultimate purpose of these promises was revealed in the third one. Namely, someone great (Christ) would come from the seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:10-29). Our Savior was not coming to build a physical nation like Israel. As a matter of fact, Jesus fled when people tried to take Him by force to make Him their king (John 6:15).  Nor was it His plan for the church to become a government for the people.

Few religious people today want the church to become an earthly government for all people, but many want the government to be religiously-based like Israel’s was.  Remember, Israel was guided by the Old Law and was expected to enforce it to the letter. Those who broke that law were punished. Is this viable today?

On the surface, this might seem like a good thing. If all government leaders including the President were Christians, we could do away with abortions and homosexual marriages as the Bible calls for. Great! However, we could not stop there. To be consistent, we would have to enact laws to punish every kind of sin. Would we arrest those who buy and sell liquor? All those who gamble? All those who commit fornication and adultery? Would pornographers be thrown in prison? What about those who curse, dress immodestly, lie, gossip, hate, and envy – do we throw them in jail too?

Do not get me wrong – abortion is murder, and murder is sin (Gal. 5:21). I would like for it to stop. As a matter of fact, I want everyone to stop all sin because of the consequences (Rom. 6:23). If our government were tasked with punishing sin though, this government would not work. If we follow the idea to its logical conclusion, this government would ultimately be tasked with trying to read people’s hearts. Only God can do this (1 Sam. 16:7, Prov. 21:2 Heb. 10:30).

Furthermore, who would decide how to correctly interpret and apply Bible verses? The religious division around us clearly shows that a single, centralized, earthly religious organization is unworkable.

If a forcibly “Christian government” is not workable, then what should Christians seek in government? To start, some nations give more earthly freedoms and rights than others. As Christians, we should want people in all 195 countries around the world to be able to worship God and live lives pleasing to Him.

There is a purpose of government. We are to respect it just like Christ did (Matt. 22:21).  As law-abiding citizens, we can expect to generally live quiet and peaceable lives (I Tim. 2:1-2). There may be times when we will suffer for being Christians (I Pet. 4:16), but this does not mean that we should seek to overthrow the government. Let us recognize the value in keeping Christ’s church out of the government, so to speak, and instead focus on serving the Lord directly.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Chuck

What church would Christ attend?

Although the title’s question is hypothetical, our Lord is present when His followers gather to worship Him (Matt. 18:20). Moreover, we know that Christ dwells within the hearts of the faithful (Eph. 3:17). Knowing these things, the Scriptures provide enough information for us to answer the question.

If Jesus were to walk the face of this earth, where would He go to worship on Sunday? The answer can be found in Eph. 2:19, which describes God’s people as being part of a household. Christians belong to the family of God. When someone goes away on a trip and comes back, which family will he spend time with? That might seem like a silly question, but it will help us understand which church Jesus would worship with. Logically, He would spend time with His family and thus worship with His church.

Jesus said He was going to build His church (Matt. 16:18). This happened when He died on the cross and purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). When someone is covered by His blood and becomes a Christian, the Lord adds them to His body – the church (Acts 2:38, 41, 47; Rev. 1:5). This is why Christ calls them His own special people (I Pet. 2:9).

If Jesus returned to earth, would He assemble with the church that He is the head of (Col. 1:18) or some manmade religious organization? The answer might seem obvious. But would Christ show His love by visiting every denomination? This is an interesting question.

This should cause us to ponder a few things. I expect that Christ would visit every religious sect. He would not visit to worship though – He would visit to correct and admonish, telling them they need to abide only in His doctrine (II John 9) and that there is only one gospel (Gal. 1:6-9). Consider Revelation chapters two and three – the deeds of every congregation were recognized, but they were not all praised.

Let us return to the original question; which church would Christ attend? It would be His. We should not expect Christ to choose to worship with us if we designed worship for our own preferences rather than for His (John 4:24). Furthermore, why would anyone think that Christ would gather where He is not recognized as the head? Paul called the faithful who gathered in certain cities as churches of Christ (Rom. 16:16) because they belong to Christ.

Would Christ be pleased and willing to worship at any place that called themselves a church that is Christ?  Not at all. Again, He may go there to rebuke and admonish them to repent, just as He did with the seven churches of Asia in Revelation chapters two and three. Five of those churches were told to repent or else their candlestick would be removed. Jesus could say these churches belong to Him!

Let me make this perfectly clear – Jesus is not coming back to live on the earth again. But He is coming back, and everyone will be judged (II Cor. 5:10). It will be at a time when not expected (II Pet. 3:9-10). It is therefore important to be found faithful. If Christ would not be found worshipping at a manmade church, why would He be pleased to find you at one?

People who claim it does not matter which church we go to should look to the Scriptures and see how Jesus addressed His church. Remember, there will be many in the last day who will think they are going to be received into heaven but will instead hear the Lord say, “I don’t know you” (Matt. 7:21-23). Which church will you belong to?

                                                                                              Chuck

The church is not a franchise 

In last week’s bulletin, we discussed the subject of church funds and examined what you can and cannot use these funds for. What we need to discuss further is the relationship between churches. After all, some religious groups are organized like a fast food franchise. In other words, you might own a local McDonalds, but as a franchise you send money to the corporate head to cover licensing costs, advertising, etc.

Churches of our Lord that you read about in the bible are not franchises. They did not send money to a centralized organization in charge of erecting church buildings, advertising, placing preachers, printing teaching material, etc. Instead, the local churches are self-governing and autonomous. With Christ being the head of the church (Col. 1:18), every local congregation takes care of its own business.

To be clear, God recognizes no universal church of Christ “organization”. There is no pattern or authority for this in the Bible.  The New Testament contains no faithful religious organization larger than the local church. Consider why seven letters were written to seven different churches of Christ in Asia (Rev. 2-3). There was no “head church” to filter a message through. Instead, a letter was written to each independent church.

Of course, this system of organization is very different from most denominations today. Most groups have an earthly headquarters, appoint people to various centralized leadership positions and devise their own bylaws for the organization. These rules are enforced, and those who do not abide by them might be ousted.

As for the Lord’s church as described in the New Testament, a local group that wanders away from following Christ will not have a direct impact on any other church that is His. Why? They take care of their own business and have Christ as their head. A local church may stray, but this will not drag down the “universal” church belonging to Christ. Contrast this with the denominational model described earlier. If the “head church” strays from Christ, then the entire organization will stray (and because they are using a non-Biblical organization model, they are already straying).

Because the churches of Christ are independent, each local group decides what they can afford to do – TV programs, radio shows, paying for a preacher full time, owning a building to meet within, etc.  These are all local decisions – no other church of Christ can interfere with the decision-making.

This does not mean that local churches have nothing to do with each other. In New Testament times, brethren had fellowship with one another. Paul visited many churches and even sent greetings from churches (Rom. 16:16). While Christians are encouraged to visit and worship with faithful congregations when travelling, they do not have a right to interfere with their affairs.

If two local, independent churches are both faithfully following the head – Christ – there should be no doctrinal differences. This makes sense because to abide in Christ’s doctrine of Christ means we are right with our God (II John 9). If you visit a place that teaches different things than where you have been going, that means they do not have the same doctrine. One group might be right while the other is wrong, or they might both wrong. If they differ on doctrinal matters, though, they both cannot be right (I Cor. 1:10)!

As you seek for the truth (Matt. 7:7), keep in mind that the denominational/franchise concept many religious groups use today is not found in the Bible. Instead, there is the church Jesus built (Matt. 16:16; Acts 20:28). Make sure you seek that one.

                                                                                             Chuck 

Church of Scientology

L. Ron Hubbard (born 1911, died 1986) was the founder of the church of Scientology. He devoted much of his life to a study of what he thought the soul did to the body. The cores of his teachings are found in the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. The church of Scientology began in the 1950’s.  Why write about this?

I have often stated that the concept of the Biblical term “church” is widely misunderstood. Nothing demonstrates this more than learning about sects that call themselves “churches”. How can a group call itself a church when has nothing to do with the word of God? The group’s teachings have nothing to do with what God has commanded, or the e Savior who died for the world (Rom. 5:6-11).

It is bad enough when people are not united regarding the scriptures (I Cor. 1:10). How could we possibly be united with a “church” that seeks “truth” when that truth comes from the mind of man and not God? The answer is simple – you cannot. Listening to lectures and digesting the writings of L. Ron Hubbard is not going to teach you where man came from, what man’s purpose in life is, nor what lies beyond the grave. Obviously, this did not stop Hubbard from teaching his theories (such as the teaching that when you die, you can come back in another body to live on this earth).

This should not surprise us. As long as man expands his imagination, there will be people who want to believe it as fact. This is nothing new (Acts 5:36-37). Once you reject the Bible as the only inspired writing that we have (II Tim. 3:16), then the floodgate opens and the world will be filled with all sorts of false teachings.

Now do not misunderstand me. If Mr. Hubbard imparted some medical information, like we have in many medical journals today, that information could be factual. But it is one thing to impart knowledge. It is something different altogether to share information as if it is divine in its source. Only the Bible can make that claim!

                                                                                        Chuck

Do not believe everything you read

A couple of weeks ago, I taught a lesson about the life of Saul of Tarsus (later as Paul the apostle). The study pointed out how Saul left Judaism and began preaching the gospel of Christ (Acts 26:1-11). During Paul’s missionary journeys, people were being converted to Christ and local churches were established (Acts 15:36).

Pretend that you once practiced Judaism with Saul. How would you react if you heard that he started teaching the things he previously spoke against (Acts 9:1-2)? Unless you were willing to leave Judaism yourself, you would not have much good to say about him anymore. You would likely do what you could to discredit him. After all, you would not tell people, “Saul found the truth and left us.”

In the sermon, I asked the audience to imagine what people (especially Jews) would say about Saul online if the Internet existed in the first century. People would call him a false teacher. There would be all kinds of false accusations flying around. People would claim that Paul taught things not lawful (Acts 16:21), that he attempted to profane the temple (Acts 24:6) and that he spoke against the law and Caesar (Acts 25:8).

All these accusations against Paul are not true. Too many people are quick to believe lies though, especially concerning religious matters. If all these things were circulated over the Internet, Paul would find himself saying something modern Christians often have to say – do not believe everything you read!

When you search for “the beginning of the church of Christ” online, you will read over and over that Alexander Campbell started the church. Alexander Campbell left the Baptist church and his father, Thomas Campbell, left the Presbyterian church. Obviously, both denominations will be critical of these men, so we must be mindful of what we read. Like Saul leaving the Jews to teach the gospel of Christ, no Baptist or Presbyterian will say, “Those Campbells left because they found the truth.”

When Paul left Judaism, he did not start his own church. The same is true of the Campbell’s – they were not seeking to start their own church. I am not suggesting that nobody has ever left a denomination with the intent to start their own. That has absolutely happened in the past and continues to happen today. Just like Paul though, people can leave a false group and begin following the Lord without any manmade creeds or teachings. This is what the Campbells sought.

When teachers preach the truth, people can be converted to Christ (Acts 9:19-20; 18:1-8). When this happens, local churches can be established. But whose churches are these? They must be the church that Christ built with His own blood, the church that the Lord’s people belong to (Matt. 16:18; Acts 20:28; Acts 2:47). Anything else is a denomination. A church only belongs to Christ if it teaches the doctrine of Christ and recognizes Him as its head (II John 9; Col. 1:18).

Over the last few hundred years, some people who attended faithful churches of Christ were called Campbellites. This label is wrong because Christians do not follow Campbell, only Christ. Sadly, this is not a new problem. Consider the example found in 1 Corinthians. Some converts called themselves after Paul (verse 12). Whether a person called themselves a “Paul-ite” or was labeled a “Paul-ite” by others, Paul clearly taught that this was wrong (verse 13). Everyone Paul converted in the first century was converted to Christ, just as Campbell’s converts were in the 1800s or modern converts are today.

With so much false information floating around online, Christians must encourage people to open their Bibles and verify claims they hear. Confusion can be cleared up! Let’s compare what we have discussed with the origins of other denominations.

In the year 1536 AD, John Calvin began the Presbyterian church. In 1607, John Smythe started the Baptist church. Did these men get back to the gospel and encourage people to simply be Christians in the Lord’s church like we read about in the New Testament? If this was their intent, something went wrong.

Were there Presbyterians before 1536 AD? Were there any Baptists prior to 1607 AD? Most importantly, where do you read of those groups in the Bible? Both denominations were started by men, meaning they are man-made religions. They taught some Biblical truth, but they also mixed in many of their own doctrines. Recall how Paul consciously avoided creating his own sect. He did this because Christ had already established His church. This why Paul called them churches of Christ (Rom. 16:16).

Could a church of Christ become a man-made church? Of course! The group’s name might be scriptural, but they could still teach man-made doctrines. Consider the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). Joseph Smith started that group in 1830 AD. The Lord’s church was started in approximately 33 AD. Any group claiming origins after that year has a fundamental problem.

When you read the New Testament, you will find letters written to churches of our Lord. Some of these letters describe improper things the churches were doing and needed to repent of (Rev. 2-3). This shows that just having a scriptural name is not enough – your religious group must recognize that Christ has ALL the authority and that all of His doctrine must be followed (II John 9).  If your group does not have a scriptural name though, something is wrong from the start – think about it!

Chuck