Christianity or Churchanity?
And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. (Acts 11:26)."Whether it was given by their enemies in derision, as the names Puritan, Quaker, Methodist, etc., have been; or whether the disciples assumed it themselves, or whether it was given by divine intimation, has been a matter of debate." (Barnes)
I was filling up with gas at a service station and the owner said to me: "Do you know what I'd be if I was not a Baptist?" "No, what?" "Well, I'd be ashamed. " Tacky. I almost decided on the spot to never buy another gallon of gasoline from him. But then I realized he needed help and I would come back and shake his cage. I replied "I am a Baptist until it interferes with my Christianity and then the Baptist thing will have to go." That was forty years ago and I haven't changed my mind. It is strange to me that the greatest competition, even the greatest enemy of Christianity would be the churches that house Christianity.
That's not always the case but people find it easier to associate with their church than to associate with the crucified and risen Christ who bought them and owns them. It is as though they have never heard: What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (20) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. I Corinthians 6:19-20.
I have met many people who will talk freely of their church and its program but if you steer the conversation toward Christ as a living person whom they are supposed to know, they want to change the subject. Jesus said: …when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8)
I am also reminded that Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 29:13) in saying: This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. (Matthew 15:8)
Christians catch a lot of flak today for not being good Christians, for not being very Christ-like and I'm afraid we have earned that criticism. May we continue to be criticized until we decide we are going to imitate the one whose name we bear. Our job is not to be good church members but to walk with God. The two legs of walking with God are the Word of God and prayer and obedience to everything God shows us.
There are millions of people who believe that the great hindrance to church growth is the pitiful display of denominations divided and competing against each other. I do not believe that. Jesus said: By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:35) I've never been able to improve on that.
Togetherness does not press people into the kingdom of God. I have found that people "don't care what you know until they know you care." One of the most powerful things I've ever seen in my life is a tear coursing down the cheek of a man who cares about the lost condition of a friend. Hardened men have no defense against that. But they could care less about the denominations getting together. It is impassioned Christianity and not churchanity that's going to get anybody into the kingdom of God.
We come to the word: Christendom. It means the outward form of Christianity. Christendom is not going to get any better. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:3)
This woman represents the final outward form of the Church – Christendom. Read the whole chapter. She will be devoured by the anti-Christ. Christendom will continue to corrupt itself because it is going to continue its program of pleasing fickle humanity to gain "nickels and noses."
Jesus said He would build his church and God says of His church: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, (23) Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23) The Bible speaks of local, visible churches, but it also speaks of THE CHURCH which is HIS BODY. And we learn from the Bible: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1Corinthians 12:13)
Pastors do not baptize people into the Body of Christ. The Spirit of God does that and I don't get to vote on it. When a Catholic or Methodist or Baptist or Presbyterian or whatever gets truly born again, the Holy Spirit baptizes them into the Body of Chirst. There's nothing you can do about it. We don't work and struggle to get the Body of Christ together. The Holy Spirit does that without our help.
This is a square pill and hard to swallow for those who want to be the only ones in town who know the Lord. Denominations don't know the Lord. Churches do not know the Lord. Individual sinners repent and receive Christ as Savior and Lord and they know the Lord and are in the Body of Christ. regardless of the Christendom label they wear. We could save ourselves a lot of work and worry if we would just let the Holy Spirit take care of His work of putting individuals into THE CHURCH which is THE BODY OF CHRIST.
I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. (Psalm 119:63)
We are born into this world one at a time and we die and leave this world one at a time. We are saved from eternal ruin and set on our way to Heaven one at a time. No church or denomination is going to save your soul or keep you saved. Getting all the denominations together may satisfy your sense of accomplishment but you simply are not going to do it on God's terms. I heard Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. (who founded Bob Jones University) say: "If you could get all the denominations together it would make it much easier for the Devil to swallow the whole thing with one gulp.
" But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble. (Psalm 37:39)
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. (7) So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase (1Corinthians 3:6-7). This puts me in my place. Salvation is of the Lord and we get to help Him a little, but not much.
As to the outward form of Christendom, God has some things to say to us. There are God-fearing churches and there are man-fearing churches that do not fear God. I didn't write it. God wrote it:
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? (2Corinthians 6:14)
If you are a member of a church but you are not joined to the Christ who bought you with His own blood, I urge you to get on your knees this day and submit to Him as Savior and Lord and then love Him supremely and live for Him as the priority of your life. Ω
Vehicles of the Past—Barbara Carr
This week Dan and Jacob (Francis) were talking about cars and trucks. Dan was telling stories of the trucks his father had bought and traded. He told all about the motors and designs and how he loved all these vehicles. I was in the kitchen cooking dinner. Jacob called in to me, "Hey Mrs. Carr what kind of cars did your family have?" My answer was that we didn't have a car. He laughingly said, "Well, I guess you just flicked the whip for the buggy didn't you?" My answer was that we didn't have a horse and buggy either. We walked.
My family didn't have a car until I was fourteen years old in 1951, This was the year Mama was pregnant with Georgia. Daddy wanted Mama to go to the hospital to have Georgia because she was too old to have her at home (36 yrs old). By that time, he had bought a used 48 Chevrolet coupe and we were moving on up!. In 1952, he bought a brand new Chevrolet pickup truck and that began our vehicle story.
Getting back to "we walked." That is just what we did. Daddy walked about four miles one way to the sawmill everyday to work and four miles back after work. Sometimes his boss would let him drive his Jeep back and forth during the week. We walked to church and I walked to school, a stretched quarter mile.
Now, my friend Betty Ann Brazelton was more fortunate than I. Her Daddy was a farmer. He had a tractor. She and I would spend the night with each other as often as our parents would let us. Revivals were very popular back then. I would try to plan a night at her house when a revival was going on in her area. Her Daddy would put some hay in a wagon, hook up the tractor and we were ready to go. Betty had three sisters, so the five of us would load up on the hay wagon. Mr. Brazelton would sit on the tractor seat and Mrs. Brazelton would stand beside him and lean against the fender.
"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD." (Psa 122:1)
We had so much fun sitting on the back of the wagon, swinging our legs out the back; just acting silly, giggling, sometimes singing everything we knew. It never occurred to us that we might be a little messed up by the time we got to church; a little dusty or hay stuck somewhere on our dresses.
The church was usually packed full and people standing outside looking in the windows. We would enter the church, hear a preacher that would walk around the pulpit and up and down the aisles calling sinners to repentance. Many would be saved; some coming inside to be saved. We would sing invitations songs until we almost lost our voices.
Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. (Act 2:47)
These people were generally humble, serious and devoted Christians, who would do anything for you. You didn't have to sign a contract. Your word was your bond. It was the Lord who drew these people to His house, Christian and sinner alike.. And, we children enjoyed every minute of it. We got back in the wagon snuggled in the hay and were usually asleep by the time we got home. Did you ever enjoy anything like this? It was a great adventure every time.Ω
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