Let God Be True and Every Man a Liar: Are We the Structural Church?

Chapter 1

ARE WE HYPOCRITES?

Let’s establish a well-known fact—we Christians as a group are looked at by the lost world as a bunch of hypocrites. Webster’s Dictionary defines hypocrite as one who dissembles his real nature; a pretender to virtue or piety; a deceiver.

Now let’s see what the definitions of dissemble, pretender and deceiver are. Dissemble means to hide under a false semblance, to disguise; to ignore, to give an erroneous impression, to assume a false appearance (Webster’s Dictionary). Pretender means a person who claims or aspires to a title or position (Webster’s Dictionary), and deceiver is defined as someone who leads you to believe something that is not true (Webster’s Dictionary).

Another incredible fact is that many in the Christian community look at each other as hypocrites; this is truly a sad state of affairs. One final fact to bring this matter into perspective is that the early Christians in the book of Acts were never looked on as hypocrites. The first century Christians were labeled as saints by the authors of the Bible.

Now, let’s look into the matter of why the lost world views Christians as hypocrites and see if there is any evidence to substantiate this fact.

We Christians calling ourselves the church have peddled, distorted, negated, changed and watered down the Word of God to meet whatever we think is important. Voltaire once said, God created man in his image and man returned the favor. A truer statement could not have been made.

Humanity has turned God into an idol of its own liking, and this process has gone on for centuries. What’s totally pathetic about this fact is that people have created many versions of who they think God is, and then we argue amongst ourselves which god is best.

We have become so radical in our debate over which god to believe in that killing each other has become a means of proving this fact. This behavior and mindset has started many religions all over the world. And in the case of Christianity, the church took the steps to create denominationalism through division.

The different steps these denominations have come up with are simply their doctrines and theological beliefs that are meant to grow their churches. Our way of presenting the gospel is better than your way seems to be the message we choose to evangelize to the world.

One truth the entire church world cannot distance itself from is that all denominations are at fault; none can say this hasn’t been their mindset. One important fact we fail to understand is that God expects all of us to know that we are all his children. That has been his plan from the beginning, and he won’t change his mind anytime soon!

We peddle our beliefs, hoping to lure people into our way of thinking, and in the process, make them members of our denominations. In many churches today, membership is absolutely mandatory before you can be considered as part of the denomination. And after you have accepted membership, you then take the denominational name as your new identity—you become a Baptist, a Methodist, etc.

In most cases, being identified with this new denominational name is far more important than being called the body of Christ; we wear these new names with pride. In Christian meetings and conferences held all over this country, you see people with tags that flaunt their denominational names. I have yet to see a tag that identifies anyone as a child of God or part of the body of Christ.

Nowhere in the entire Word of God are we commanded to become members of a church, much less a denomination. Yet churches all over this country use this membership process as a major part of their criteria for growing their denominations.

As far as I can tell in the Word of God, accepting Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior is the only requirement needed to become a member of the body of Christ—the only true church. In the process, a person becomes a child of God.

Denominations never existed in the early church, yet we have made them far more important than what the Word of God commands us; to be united or one.

What we have created with this mindset are believers who hop around from church to church, until they find the one that gives them the fuzzies and tickles their fancy the most. If the church they currently attend does anything to offend them in any way, they know they can either start their own church or go around the corner and find new ones.

The sad thing is that these people who come to these new churches will be accepted with no questions asked. Because of the no-questions-asked policy, they bring all their negative attitudes and mindsets into this new scenario, and in time, the cycle will start all over again.

Another very popular option that seems to be picking up steam is to just leave the church altogether. A startling statistic came to light recently that stated as of 2008, all over the United States, 3,500 people leave the Christian church daily from all denominations (simplechurchathome.com). Unfortunately, these people are now going to other religions to find whatever it is they think they need.

A question that needs to be answered here is this: where in the Word of God does it mention that the early Christians hopped around from church to church because they became disgruntled? We have forgotten that we were chosen by the Lord Jesus; we did not choose the Lord. The Lord isn’t lost or in need of salvation—we are!

Here are three scriptures that prove without a doubt that we were chosen by the Father. John 15:16 (NIV), You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.

John 17:9 (NIV), I pray for them, I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

And John 17:24 (NIV), Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me before the creation of the world.

Could it be the present-day church has created an adult child care center for a bunch of grown-up religious brats, and in the process, is not teaching Christians about the body of Christ in order to make responsible Christians?

It seems there is so much arrogance today amongst churches as to which church or denomination is best that they use the size of the buildings and the number of people in their congregations as measuring sticks of success. I don’t believe the Lord Jesus is impressed by either! My wife made a comment that just because a bar is crowded with people, doesn’t mean it’s a good business. Just because a church is crowded with people on any given day, doesn’t mean it is a good church!

One fact that holds true in the Word of God: denominations are not and will never be the Lord’s plan for his body. All denominations were created by division, not love. What we as the church have forgotten is God’s character God’s personality is love; therefore, every single thing God creates will always be created in love.

First John 4:7-8 (NIV) gives a clear explanation of this truth: Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

The body of Christ was established solely through God’s love. Somewhere along the way, this profound truth was eliminated, and denominationalism was its replacement.

First Corinthians 13:1-4 (NIV) gives us a very special look at what the Father’s love looks like: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

This was the blueprint the Father expected the body of Christ to follow in creating the church. Over the centuries, humanity has failed miserably. What we have done is substituted denominationalism for God’s plan through love, and we haven’t given a second thought to our actions.

All throughout church history, whenever there were differences in doctrine or theology, the end result was always division, which in turn led to forming new denominations. What this division created was a lack of respect (which I will explain in detail later) for other believers because of our differences in beliefs.

We all want the lost world to believe that we get along just fine despite our differences, but our constant backbiting, bickering and criticisms of each other says something totally different. Backbiting, bickering and criticism are symptoms that the Enemy has created division amongst us, and we refuse to admit this fact.

We must remember that pride is Satan’s answer to God’s love and is also his mode of operation. He will always use pride to negate all of God’s truths. If we don’t believe all of God’s truths and follow them to the letter, Satan will rob us of all the benefits of that truth.

The sad thing is that the church hasn’t given this behavior a second thought. If we thought about this, denominationalism would not exist today in the body of Christ in any capacity.

First Peter 4:8 (NIV) convicts us of this fact: Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. When you’re having a problem loving someone you have to take the love you know the Lord has for the both of you, mix it with the love you are supposed to have for that person and the love he or she is supposed to have for you, and the three bonded together will cover a multitude of sins.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (KJV) tells us why this truth is so powerful: And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Chapter 2

HOW DID DENOMINATIONALISM START IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Denominationalism is not showing the true love Christ Jesus has for his bride or the love and respect we should have for each other. Now we have to ask ourselves: how in the world did denominationalism start in the first place? I’ll give what I think is the answer using scripture to prove my point.

We’ll start with the Pharisees. The Pharisees had a problem; their problem was they had an agenda. Their agenda was their interpretation of the scriptures. Their interpretation of the scriptures caused pain, suffering and condemnation for all the people.

Also, because of their legal status and religious mindset, they refused to accept Christ Jesus as the Messiah. John 1:11 (Amplified) says, He came to that which belonged to him—to his own (domain, creation, things, world)—and they who were his own did not receive him and did not welcome him.

This whole scenario caused one other horrible result. It’s explained in First Corinthians 2:8 (NIV), None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Now let’s proceed to the present. The church also has a problem and they have had it for centuries; their problem is they also have an agenda. Their agenda is their interpretation of the scriptures. This agenda has caused pain, suffering, condemnation and another horrible problem—denominationalism.

Two questions I would like to pose at this time: 1) What is the reason, the foundation of why the Lord Jesus was crucified? 2) What is the reason, the foundation of why the body of Christ was created?

The answer is found in the most famous scripture of all time, John 3:16 (NIV) which says, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Our Lord’s death, the body of Christ being created, everything we possess, everything that exists in the world today, is because of God’s love.

Now I’m going to go in a different direction to continue my explanation. One of the most significant things the Lord Jesus did while on earth was he chose 12 men to be his apostles. All 12 men were different in personality and character. These men shared every part of the Lord’s three years of ministry on earth, including the altercations he had with the Pharisees.

On one occasion our Lord Jesus gave one of the most profound warnings to the Pharisees in front of the apostles. I believe the reason this warning was given while the apostles were present was because they were to become the leaders of his body (what we call the church). So what was the warning?

Mark 3:22-26 (NIV) gives us our answer: And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.’ So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.’

As the future leaders of what would become the church, the apostles were given a warning from the Lord by these parables to never allow division in the body of Christ. Paul also preached against division for this reason; a house divided against itself cannot stand!

Nowhere in all the Word of God do we find division being allowed in the body of Christ; yet that’s the way the current church operates. Since the inception of the church, Satan has mounted an endless campaign to cause division in the body of Christ and denominationalism is the proof that he finally succeeded.

I have heard many pastors say that all these different denominations are necessary because we were all created different; therefore, the diversity is needed so that all believers can have a place to feel comfortable in their beliefs. We are also told we need different denominational churches in order for us to be able to express ourselves to the Lord in our own special way.

Nowhere in the entire Word of God are we told that becoming a Christian would be comfortable, not to mention that the early Christians never had the luxury of expressing themselves publicly to the Lord in a personal way! Expressing themselves to Christ Jesus in any way brought hatred, persecution, and ultimately death.

What we as the present day church have never experienced was the constant persecution and hatred these early saints had to endure. And because of this fact, we have become totally complacent in the way we have structured our churches. I have to add the definition of complacent in order to show how far we have come in distorting what the Lord Jesus intended for his bride—unity. Complacent means showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements (Webster’s Dictionary).

By allowing diversity and being comfortable in our church’s mindset, we have shown the world what our smug and uncritical satisfaction has achieved; the fact that we think the Word of God condones what we have created.

I believe the most important message all pastors should be required to give to their congregations, is a detailed assessment of why they believe denominationalism is condoned by the Word of God. They need to give book, chapter and verse to prove their point.

It would be very interesting to see if their messages would agree on the subject of denominationalism. Probably not; they would all be divided as is the church!

One question all pastors have to ask themselves is this: why don’t we meet with the church down the street or the church around the corner; wouldn’t it make more sense, be far more economical?

The most common answers given are: we have different beliefs. The only belief we have is our way is better than yours! Another answer is we are of different faiths. This is totally unscriptural, there is only one faith!

Ephesians 4:4-6 (NIV) totally negates these comments: There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Let’s be truthful here; the only reason we have for not meeting with each other is because we are from different denominations, and we refuse to change this fact!

Now many will say that there have been great men of God who have done incredible things over the centuries for the Lord Jesus and the movements they started (which eventually became denominations), advanced the kingdom of God. If this is so, then what became of their movement? Did it change the world, or did it become just another of the many movements or denominations that have been created over the centuries?

This is what I call a spiritual hiccup—something that went just as fast as it came. As far as I can tell there is only one movement that has changed the world—the gospel of Jesus Christ!

In all these movements I’m referring to here, the Lord Jesus was simply revealing more of himself and his Word to the body of Christ, not the church or a denomination. This distinction has to be made because it is crucial for us to know the difference between what humanity calls the church and what the Lord calls the body of Christ! The Lord’s intent will always be to advance the entire body of Christ, not just fragments of it!

Also, we carelessly call all these men who started these movements great, yet someone called Christ Jesus good and he rebuked him for it. Matthew 19:16-17 (KJV) reads, And behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, God.

Also, there is nowhere in the entire Word of God where any of the authors called themselves great; and the best Paul would call himself was the worst of sinners. First Timothy 1:15 (NIV) says, Here is trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of which I am the worst. Let us not forget that Paul made this statement long after the Lord Jesus called him to be an apostle.

What is happening in the body of Christ is that we are becoming incredibly careless with our words. All these men who we call great were simply doing what God called them to do. And remember, all that they accomplished was by the power within them—the Holy Spirit!

If there is one thing we should commend these men for is that they were being obedient to what the Lord Jesus commanded them to do! We all need to simply do what God has commanded us to do and give him all the glory, honor and praise for using us.

In the world today there are two distinctly different versions of the body of Christ, God’s version and man’s version.

God’s version of the body of Christ consists of all those that have called on Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Man’s version of the body of Christ consists of all those that belong to different denominations. If there are those that disagree with this statement, then please tell me why we don’t meet with the church down the street, or the church around the corner?

One way of looking at the division that exists in the church today is this: whenever a denominational church service is held in a building, the only unity you will achieve is the unity of that body of believers alone. For instance, if the church having the service is of the Baptist persuasion, the only people present are Baptists.

Another way of looking at this problem is if you were to somehow have a worldwide convention of Baptists, you would only have Baptists present; all other denominations would be excluded.

This analogy pertains to all denominations! What the institutional church has to admit is unity in the body of Christ does not exist in any shape or fashion, and we have to come clean on this matter.

One fact I would like to make here to prove a point. I believe we would all agree that Billy Graham has led more people to the Lord Jesus Christ (all over the world), than any other human being on earth. He is currently in his 90’s and will be remembered as one of the most beloved evangelists of all-time.

The point I want to make is Billy Graham never started a movement that eventually became a church or denomination, and yet the numbers of people that have accepted the Lord at his crusades is staggering.

When asked why he did only two crusades a year, especially when thousands upon thousands of people were accepting Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior at these crusades, he replied: I don’t want to wear out my welcome.

I believe the institutional church, because of their denominational mentality and mindset, has finally worn out its welcome. Its time we come to our senses