Working out Salvation with Fear and Trembling

One of the most frequently asked questions by unbeliever and believer alike is “why are there so many denominations.” There are simplistic and overly complicated answers to this question. One could take people on a biblical study of the purity of the truth to a historical study of schism and separation. But, can we get so focused on our differences that we do miss the call to be a unified body of Christ?

Many of us, whether we say it or not, often believe that our particular group is the only one that God is using in this age. Coming out of a Fundamentalist background, while I appreciate the focus on the purity of the truth, there is a tendency to have sort of the Elijah complex (1 Kings 19:10) who believe they are the only group still truly faithful to the Gospel. There is a tendency to therefore separate over non-fundamental issues. I would now consider myself more or less part of the Reformed camp (although a solid dispensationalist!). We, in our over zealous state, try to encourage people to embrace the doctrines of grace so fervently, that we often believe that the idea of an Arminian believer is an oxymoron! How quickly do we allow ourselves to become fixated on ourselves or on one particular theological idea that we neglect what unites us together, specifically, the cross work of Christ!

The church is bigger than you think. It is not just Baptists, or Presbyterians, or Methodists, or Pentecostals or such. In fact there would be people in each group that could hardly be called Christians! There are members of the body of Christ in the Anglican church and I would dare say it, some even in the Roman Catholic church. Not all have bowed the knee to Baal.

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one (John 17:21-23)

Jesus’ high priestly prayer was for the unity of the body of Christ. People would know we are followers of Christ by our love for one another. Yet, we divide over petty issues, issues that while important, do not have bearing on the essential core message of the Christian faith. Frankly, I can have fellowship with my brother the covenant theologian, my sister the paedobaptist and not feel like I have compromised the faith. I can have fellowship with one who believes tongues still operate today or who do not believe in unconditional election. These aspects are not fundamental core aspects of the faith.

What then are the core doctrines of the faith? What should be that which we divide over to maintain the purity of the Gospel? Historically there were five major fundamentals of the faith (these have been sub-divided into larger groups, but this should suffice).

(1) The literal inerrancy of the Scriptures.

(2) The virgin birth and deity of Christ.

(3) The substitutionary view of the atonement.

(4) The bodily resurrection of Christ.

(5) The literal return of Christ.

Now, if a brother and sister holds to these core truths, have embraced Jesus Christ as saviour, then we can be united in fellowship together around these core doctrines of the faith. Now, does that mean we can fellowship on the same level in each instance? No. For instance I would not have a paedobaptist come into my church and do a baptismal service! But, I would have him come in and preach in a regular service perhaps. This thinking about levels of fellowship is important as we seek to apply practically our theology to those of different positions yet together in faith.

So, my point? The church is bigger than you think. Just as Elijah thought he was the only one, the Lord reminded him there were 7000 that did not bow the knee to Baal. There are many of our brothers and sisters in the faith around the world that we can rejoice with in our shared salvation. We should not back ourselves in little corners thinking we are the only bastions of the faith, but should embrace those who too are not bowing the knee to Baal! They will know we are Christians by our love! Do you love the brethren in all its forms?

See Bob Hayton’s “Minimizing the Gospel through Excessive Separation” for a helpful discussion of the problem of excessive separation.

Our director at SGA, Allan Vincent, shared with me an illustration regarding the state of the church today. A farmer in St. Jacobs, ON once told him that not all potatoes labeled Yukon Gold are actually Yukon Gold. You see, with all the genetic changes being made to food, there are a number of things that are labeled one thing, but in reality are something different. A bag of Yukon Gold potatoes that you pick up at the grocery store may in fact not be Yukon Gold! Scary stuff indeed.

Now what does this have to do with the church? In reality, much of what is called “church” nowadays is really in fact not church. What we see today with our consumer, marketing, program driven approach to church is really, a genetically altered form of the church. It was designed to “sell” the church even though it was no longer the church. We see a watered down form of the church. Most believers today are really looking at churches with a consumeristic attitude (does this church meet my needs, does it have what my kids need, will I get what I want out of it). The attitude of “you get what you put in” is foreign to most church goers today. And the churches have changed their genetic make-up in order to appeal to these church goers today.

What then does the mapping of the DNA of a New Testament Church look like? Well, in reality the Word of God gives us a clear understanding of what the local church did in New Testament times. Acts 4:42-47 reads,

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

There are some very key points here which can show what the focus of the church was. Essentially, the focus of the church was 1) preaching and teaching the Word, 2) prayer, 3) fellowship of the saints, and 4) partaking in ordinances of the church.

Clearly, one important aspect of their time was devoted to the Apostle’s teachings. They yearned to hear the Word of God preached and taught and applied to their lives. They knew that a Word saturated ministry is a life changing ministry. Only through the power of the Word which revealed the Word, that is Christ, could they hope to attain the promise of life eternal. The Word changed hearts and brought people to Christ, and it changed lives as people were becoming more like Christ.

The second item was prayer. They devoted themselves to prayer. Prayer is that divine work where we communicate with the Sovereign God of the universe. We have the privilege of being agents of His divine will through prayer. God accomplishes His will through our prayers. We are the ordained means to the end. Plus, we grow in our relationship and fellowship with the Triune God through prayer. It is our lifeline to our life giver! Without prayer, we will wither and die!

A third thing the church was committed to was fellowship. While we might not embrace the communal living they did, we can appreciate the close relationships these beleivers had with each other. We live in a segregated world where we know of nor care about our neighbours let alone our church family. These people though faithfully met together and cared and loved for each other in such a way that they met each other’s needs. Imagine what churches would look like today with this kind of level of fellowship!

Finally, they devoted themselves to the ordinances of the Lord. There is debate here, but I believe at least a part of what is being referred to here is the Lord’s Supper. The church regularly “broke bread” together as they celebrated the finished work of Christ that united them together and looked forward to the glorious return of Christ when they would celebrate the meal with Him! They also of course took part in the other ordinace of baptism which served as the initiatory placement of the person into the community of faith. Therefore, when the church came together, they added those to their number through baptism, and they fellowshipped around the Lord’s Table.

This is the DNA of a New Testament Church. This is how the churched looked then, this is how it should look now. How far have we gotten off the beaten path through our programs and our marketing and everything else. The church was simple. United around the preaching and teaching of the Word, prayer, fellowship, and the ordinances. If more of our churches today focused on these aspects and less on “meeting needs” we would live in a world of greater conformity to Christ in our churches. We would be a close knit family united around Christ.

What a privilege it is to be a part of the body of Christ. May we pray for our churches to better reflect the New Testament picture of the church. Let’s remove the genetic engineering that has happened to the church and get back to the simplicity of it all!