Keeping your Focus Clean is an essay about distinguishing between bad and good people in the church setting.
Let me introduce myself. I am a pastor and missionary of some 40 years experience in Mexico City Mexico. I am a Fundamental Baptist by identification.
I do not have any problem with God’s people who want to congregate and do God’s work here on earth. But I have “been around the block a time or two”. This post is about my perceptions and experiences.
Contents
“Church” is a Social Club
Whether our churches should be a club or not, I am not addressing that issue here. What I am saying is that in fact most churches are social clubs. Religious social clubs. What happens is that in any “club” some people want control and others are ignorant about this until they are left out in the cold.
In some churches the deciding factor is a democratic vote. That is not really what the New Testament teaches, although the will of the people is seen or detected in some verses. In a democratic vote system, everything is going to basically go good unless the majority have a bad heart. This is seen when the majority are either unsaved or not very spiritual.
I would suggest that this is not really a good way to “run a church.” That is not how God has set things up for us of the New Testament. Rather, we are under the principles and commands of God, and under that superstructure we should recognize the will of the people present.
First of all, “church” is a voluntary situation, and in all aspects church depends on its members 1) showing up voluntarily, 2) participating voluntarily, and 3) giving voluntarily. Because of this reality, the way a church is governed needs to have member participation (or it is dead or will die shortly).
Secondly, “church” is not something we humans invented, nor can we “do church” as we think best. We have to recognize that our church was invented by God for His purposes, and we are not really God’s church unless we submit to God’s rules, commands, instructions, etc.
The Primary Purpose of the Church
“THE” primary purpose of the church can be divided into two thrusts, or missions. The first mission of the church is to reproduce the church itself through God direct evangelism. “We the church” have to evangelize the unsaved. That is not an evangelism assistant pastor, but every one of us, including all the church staff.
The second mission of the church is to edify and train saved church members in order to train them to do their jobs as God’s church. This means developing spiritual maturity in them. A person is not truly an adult unless they have the capacity to reproduce.
If you notice, I have left no place for entertainment, fun, or enjoyment. We are a work oriented organization. We are not here to feel good about ourselves, or have others serve us. These dedicated people do serve all in a good church, but being served is not the church’s focus. Reaching people and incorporating them into God’s work, purpose and mission for us is what the church is about.
Governing the Church
Most people just don’t understand how the church should work according to the Bible. We are not a democracy but a theocracy. God rules in the church, so what we do and how we do it should be controlled by passages of Scripture. We have to do the mission God gave us, and it is invalid to take a vote on that. Our standards and norms are what God sets them to be, not what is popular or convenient, nor what works in the short run. The principles and commands of God are to be followed no matter if they apparent to work or not.
The pastor is there to make that happen. Some pastors think they are who make the rules. They are not. God is who makes the rules. People who tend sheep (animals) are rarely if ever the owners of those sheep. Moreover, only a crazy shepherd would slaughter his own sheep or do detrimental things to his sheep. It is just not done except when people are crazy.
Church as a Social Club
When I say social club, I mean that there are those in charge, and then there are those who are ladder climbers. They want to control things, but unfortunately they are not of the type of people that can organize, start, sacrifice to make things work, and then keep people.
1 Timothy 3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
The word “patient” also means friendly, easy to get along with.
There are always people in your church group who want to control things, and they do so by befriending the pastor and his wife, and giving them gifts or large donations (giving directly to the pastor instead of in the offering plate so that the pastor knows who is doing the giving). They then want the pastor to not preach against their personal sins, although they will never say this. They just get mad and don’t give anymore or leave. But as they try to win the pastor over to their favor, they can basically give gifts to persuade him. I have had people actually tell me that I actually needed to run off other people from the church because THEY SEE these people as threats. The threat that they present are threats to their control of the church.
In the past I have pointed out that church is voluntary, so when we open the doors, I cannot make people come nor leave. If somebody is sinning, I can preach against that sin, but in such a way that I do not name these people’s names. But the extreme biblical permission give to us is to discipline a sinner who is not repentant, and treat him or her as being unsaved, but I see no biblical permission to carry things any further than that. Most of the time, the “offending parties” will voice some token of repentance if they have offended, but that is never enough.
My rule for pastors stands unchallenged over 40 years.
When two parties in your church are fighting, just wait a while and both will leave.
I have gone through a lot of such situations, and it is never good to take one side or another. Neither are going to be satisfied, and both parties will blame you in the end.
My standard treatment of this is
1 John 3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
The love that you have for your Christian brethren is evidence that you are saved. No love, you are not saved.
I know that some people are really hard TO LOVE, but we are to love our enemies, so how is it that we cannot love those who are redeemed like we are? I tell my people. If you just cannot get along with a brother or sister, be careful. God will probably put your house in heaven exactly next to their house, and God will be coming to check that you love each other every day for the rest of eternity. That you will have caused because you could not talk civil with them here on earth.
1 John 3:17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
This last two verses mean that wrapped up in salvation is the concept of love. In order to be saved, you have to understand that God loves you, and that he sacrificed his only Son on the cross in order to save you. That means unless you submit to the love of God for you, you accept it in order to be saved, you moreover LIVE THAT SAME LOVE IN YOUR LIFE, you are not really saved. I have a hard time understanding this.
We are not saved by works, but by faith. That faith is here defined as believing in the love of God for us. That is “a thing”. Love is a moral characteristic that is essential for salvation. Yet is not a work. It is a belief. You believe in God’s love and its essential nature in salvation so much that you love others.
Love is not dominance. Dominance (enslaving others) is what Satan wants over you, and he will do it with force. God never forces us into his home. We have to desire it and enter willingly.
1 John 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
These passages are very hard to understand. There is an essential and necessary element of love BEFORE or IF a person is saved. That love is demanded by God, but the environment of that love is WITH YOUR BRETHREN and IN THE CHURCH.
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
1 John 4:21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
1 John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
1 John 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1 John 5:2 puts the matter very clearly. We love our brethren because God commands us to love them, not because they are “loveable”.
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
Psalms 122:1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
So the proof that you are saved is that you love your brethren in Christ, and that is because you are obeying God, and it is not a “grievous” task you are doing, but actually, to go to church with your brethren is a joyous task. You enjoy them, and they enjoy you.
Instead of controlling the rest of the church, pressuring to do what you think best, you serve them, enjoying their fellowship and friendship.
Friendly to all, but never let anyone influence you to evil or control you.
Keeping your Focus Clean