The contemporary Church is in various stages of confusion. The end-time contemporary Local Church is in crisis and most believers are not committed disciples or committed christians. Many are "Sunday Church goers" with "a form of godliness" (2 Timothy 3:5). These are the Church members who walk in the flesh and led by spirit of the world. I addressed this problem in my previous postings, "The Spirit of God and the flesh" and "The Spirit of God and the spirit of the World".
Elders, ministers, pastors, leaders everywhere are looking for methods from the secular world and try to make them work in the Body of Christ. Bible teachers are making statements like, "The Church needs a Paradigm Shift to succeed" and "The Local Church needs new methods in making disciples of all Church members".
I believe true Christians must heed Paul's warning:
"Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ" (Colossians 2:8. NKJV, emphasis added).
"Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world ...." (Colossians 2:20, emphasis added).
In other words, spiritually, true christians are not living in kingdom of the world, but in the Kingdom of God. The "basic principles of the world" are contrary to the higher principles of the Kingdom of God. If there is any "paradigm shift" for the Local Church to follow, a "backward paradigm shift" is more needful. The Church needs to seek the Scripture so as to discover what actually went wrong.
I think the Local Church needs to go back to basic principles of discipleship and the basic principles of of how the Body of Christ can grow in maturity. God-fearing christians must get answers only from the Scripture and nowhere else or they will be under a curse.
"Cursed is the man who trust in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord"(Jeremiah 17:5).
Biblical Discipleship
Our Lord Jesus Christ commissioned His followers (disciples) to carry the message of the gospel to all nations:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19,20, emphasis added).
The God-given proper divine order is very important:
1. First make disciples - teach people how to be disciples and make known to them what God requires of a disciple of Christ - for example, the cost of discipleship.
2. Before a disciple is eligible to be water baptised he must repent, believe and have a good conscience.
3. The disciple is to be water baptised.
4. Come into the fellowship of the Body of Christ in the Local Church.
5. The disciple needs to receive more thorough and extensive teaching that he may become a true disciple and a true committed christian.
Ask yourself, is there any Local Church following exactly the Lord's pattern of Discipleship? As far as I know, none!
A likely scenario is, a sinner is led to say the "sinner's prayer". He is asked to join a Local Church and subsequently water baptised. Follow-up ministry is seldom given; he is asked to attend church worship services regularly. Who is to be blamed if he becomes a "Sunday church goer"?
The Ephesian disciples followed the divine order of discipleship. Key Scripture verses are Acts 19:1 to 8.
Paul said the disciples in Ephesian had not heard of the Holy Spirit, let alone receiving it (V. 2). They were baptised into John's baptism of repentance (V. 4). Paul ministered to them and they believed and immediately baptised in water as well as baptised in the Holy Spirit (V. 5,6). Then Paul followed-up by preaching in the synagogue for three months so that the disciples could be taught more fully about the Kingdom of God (V. 8).
Paul's method of making true disciples (1 Thessalonians 1:5 to 10)
1. Paul preached the Gospel to the Thessalonian Church. The Word was proclaimed with power. It was accompanied by the Holy Spirit, and the result was that the disciples who came to Christ with much assurance of faith (V. 5).
2. They became true disciples (christians) - followers of Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy and Christ. This is the basic principle of making disciples - People learn how to follow the Lord by following the Lord's people (V. 6). Paul and his companions were able to disciple the Thessalonians because they were willing to follow them. Because Paul's life was consistent with the Scriptures and the leading of God, the Thessalonians became followers of the Lord as well. Notice that Paul used the group ministry of making disciple and not like many contemporary Church where unbiblical "disciple-pair" ministry is often used.
3. The disciples became pacesetters (so to speak). They became examples to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia (V. 7).
4. The disciple ministry is a reproduction ministry (V. 8).
5. The disciples were committed christians (V. 9,10).
"Discipleship pair" or "Friendship pair" is not biblical
There is an unblibical teaching in the contemprorary Local Church to convince and to urge Church members to form "Discipleship or Friendship pairs" in their "discipleship program". Someone said Jesus used the same method, with reference to Mark 6:7, where Jesus sent out His 12 disciples in pairs. Another reference is Luke 10:1, where Jesus sent out 70 disciples in pairs. It is also said that the pairing of Moses and Joshua, Eli and Samuel, David and Jonathan, Elijah and Elisha, Paul and Barnabas, Peter and John and so on are examples of "pairs". But, these Scriptures are misquoted and the example given are not at all "Friendship pairs". The truth is these pairs are without exception "ministry pairs". You may refer to any good Bible commentary. They went out for evangelistic, mission purposes, prophetic or mobile teaching ministry. They need mutual support in counselling, in prayer, in companionship and in encouragement. It is not wise to go out on long journeys alone. A person can easily fall sick or fall into temptation. Do not be deceived; their going out in pairs has nothing to do with discipleship! You simple cannot find an example of "Friendship pair" in the entire Word of God!
An important point to note is that these "ministry pairs" are for mobile ministry only. For Churchgoers who are having a secular profession all they need is a prayer partner or partners. Within the same Local Church congregation there are "Cell Groups" to cater for all their other needs if the Local Church congregation is becoming too large in numbers for personal ministry. Luke described the life in the early New Testament Local Church in this way:
"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayers" (Acts 2:42).
Paul did not suggest or even hinted there this a need of any "friendship pair" in any of his Epistles. The concept of "friendship pair" can be made workable with even some "good" and "helpfull" results, but certainly not biblical. It is good for the Local Church leadership to seek spiritual discernment regarding what is a workable human method and what is a true biblical method - one comes from the will and effort of men, and the other is the will of God.
Paradigm Shift for the Body of Christ is not BiblicalThe word "paradigm" describes a man-made model of something that is found workable or pragmatic. In the Local Church we do not follow what is workable; we follow the move of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God's Word. Any Bible teacher who suggests the Church needs a Paradigm Shift has insulted the Head of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ. God's way in making the Church mature in Christ does not depend on man's futile pragmatic methods.
A divine "blueprint" of maturing the Church is given in Ephesians Chapter 4.
Spiritual Gifts are given to the Church for growth and maturity so that all disciples "come to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (V.13).
The gifts are the five-fold ministry Gifts - Apostle, prophets, evangelist, pastors and teachers. The purpose is to equip disciples (christians) for "the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (V. 11,12). Notice that the divine principle is unity in Spirit (V. 4) but diversity in ministries. As long there is no unity of faith the Church still needs the five-fold ministry. Denomination differences are enemies to unity of faith in the Body of Christ. This five-fold ministry Gifts are meant for the Universal Church - the whole Body of Christ.
In the Local Church we have ministry gifts listed in 1 Cor. 12. and other gifts listed in other Epistles of Paul. It is the job of the elders and pastors in a Local Church to discern and to discover the gifts of individuals in the congregation that are made available by the Head of the Church. Every individual in the Local Church is chosen by God and does not simple appear there by chance. All these gifts must function in the Church meetings in an orderly manner and in perfect harmony. Without the functions of these gifts in operation in the Church, disciples will be like "children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting" (Eph. 4:14, emphasis added).
Elders and ministers of the Local Church are accountable to the Lord if the flock of believers under their care, not only become "Sunday christians" but being deceived as well.
The Local Church must ensure every church goer becomes a true christian and true disciple. Never listen to man's doctrine unless his doctrine is under the Authority of the Word of God. "Paradigm Shift for the Body of Christ" has no biblical basis and therefore does not come under the Authority of the Scripture. It is a deception of the highest degree and must be rejected
Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27).
In other words, to be a true christian and a true disciple is both very simple, precise and very practical. All He wants from His people is to hear His voice and to do what He says. Therefore, it is very clear that a believer who does not hear the voice of the Lord and does not do what He says cannot be classified as a Christian - he does not belong to His fold, he is not His sheep!
No comments:
Post a Comment