Faithful in Famine (3)
"My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.
"For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction – because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty. But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi," says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 2:5-8)
Even when the economy is poor, we must continue to support our churches and other organizations that promote the cause of Christ. This leads to the question of which churches we ought to support, or whether all churches deserve our support. Based on my own judgment, and on testimonies from brothers around the world, it would seem that it is no exaggeration to say that most churches should die. The world would be a better place, it would seem, if nine out of ten churches would perish today, and there are those who consider my estimate too charitable.
However, since there is no actual tabulation, let us say "many" instead of "most." That is, the cause of the Lord Jesus and the welfare of his people would be better served if many churches would perish. This is, of course, a statement about appearance, since the Lord himself controls and sustains all things, and designs the exact proportion of good and evil to advance his own plan. Thus it is a statement made relative to his precepts and not his decrees. His precepts are what we should consult to guide our daily thinking and behavior.
When resources are scarce, good churches suffer as well as bad churches. Even if you are unaffected by dismal economic conditions, many other people are affected, and whether due to their actual inability or to their fearful and selfish attitude, this translates into a withdrawal of support, and thus financial problems for churches. So it is more important than ever for you to withdraw support from churches that are indeed unfaithful and ineffective, and to redirect it to churches that are fulfilling the Christian mission.
Now is the time to decide if the church that you attend is a good church, and if it deserves the support that you give to it. Of course, it should go without saying that no church is perfect, and you will almost always find something to complain about. If your complaints are petty and personal, then the problem is with you and not the church. You are the one who needs to repent and change. But if the church compromises the gospel of Jesus Christ, or fails to live up to what is required of it in significant ways, and especially if it is confronted with this and fails to repent, then this is a church that deserves to die, and you should consider withdrawing support from it and join yourself to one that truly honors the Lord.
Our passage tells us what God requires from spiritual leaders, and thus from the church, since the church consists of people. They must revere God and stand in awe of his name. This alone might disqualify all of the leaders in your church. True instruction must be in their mouths – they must teach sound doctrines. And "nothing false" must be found on their lips. This is said in contrast to "true instruction," so that it refers to false doctrines or heresies. Thus spiritual leaders must teach sound doctrines, and no false doctrines. This disqualifies not only heretics, but also those who teach nothing at all, or who are not diligent in the ministry of teaching, since it is said that "true instruction" must be found in their mouths.
God commands every person in every place to repent and to believe in Jesus Christ. He requires all men and women to become Christians, and then to grow as Christians, and to serve and worship as Christians. Those whom he has chosen for salvation will obey this command, but those whom he has actively chosen and created for damnation will reject the gospel. It is written of Eli's sons, who sinned against the Lord, that they "did not listen to their father's rebuke, for it was the LORD's will to put them to death" (1 Samuel 2:25). In other words, the Lord does not forgive or punish because of men's response; rather, men embrace or reject the Lord Jesus because of God's foreordination, or God's predetermined plan concerning them. In any case, it is the church's mission to declare the doctrines of the Christian faith to every person and in every place, and then to shepherd and educate those that God adds to the church.
If any church or ministry does not make specific and explicit effort at pursuing this purpose, then it is nothing more than a show of godliness, if even that, and a camouflage for negligence and rebellion. There is no legitimate reason for its existence as a Christian organization. Unless the leadership and the people repent and wholeheartedly commit to the propagation and the establishment of the Christian faith, that church or ministry must die without mercy. It is a waste and a drain on the resources of God's people. It should perish without delay. Anyone who helps it survive shares in its sin, and also incurs the guilt of failing to support faithful churches and ministries.
A church that honors the Lord is one that teaches sound doctrines, and also applies and enforces them. God, by the mouth of Malachi, defines the qualities of a spiritual leader, even one who serves before him as priest. And he states that he is one who walks in peace and uprightness. A Christian minister must exhibit personal holiness and integrity. He must live up to the gospel that he preaches. Then, he must also apply and enforce it when it comes to other people's lives. In the words of our passage, a good minister of Jesus Christ is one who turns many from sin.
A minister who turns people from sin needs to do a number of things. He needs to explain the nature of God, that he is holy and righteous, and that he does not tolerate transgressions. He needs to talk about judgment and hellfire. He needs to talk about sin, and to tell people that they are sinners. Then he needs to talk about God's forgiveness, and that it is found only through faith in Jesus Christ. And if it is found only there, then it is not found anywhere else. Thus all non-Christians remain condemned, without forgiveness, for their many sins, and God will forever punish them in hellfire that cannot be quenched.
Again, to turn someone away from sin, you need to define sin. And sin can be defined only in relation to God and his commandments. Then, you need to explain the evil of sin, of transgressing the laws of God, and the consequences of sin, that of everlasting suffering in hell. Moreover, a true church must enforce what it teaches about sin. It must practice church discipline. This means that it must directly confront those who have sinned, and demand their repentance. If they refuse to repent, they must be expelled from the church. It is again crucial to define sin, so that the private preferences of the leaders are not enforced, but rather the holy precepts of God. Sin must be defined also because so that nothing will be missed. For example, to affirm and spread heresy, to adore images, and to use God's name in vain are sins just as much as murder and adultery.
If the above paragraph alone speaks more clearly and abundantly about sin than your church does over an entire year, if not longer, yours is not a Christian church, but a gathering of demons. You need to confront your church and call the leadership to repent, or you need to take your support to another church, which is not another, since yours is not a church in the first place. You must not support a church that refuses to turn people away from sin, since that should be one of its chief duties. This is not an insignificant difference of opinion – revolt or leave, but do not share in its guilt.
If your church is not founded on the perfection of the Bible, its inerrancy and infallibility, it should die. If your church denies the sovereignty of God, that God is God, it should die. If your church shuns the penal atonement of Christ, that he died a bloody death at the hands of the Jews to pay for the sins of his people, it should die. If your church shrinks from the doctrine of hell, a place that punishes all unbelievers with acute and extreme agony forever, it should die. If your church does not practice church discipline, calling out sinners for their sins, imploring, admonishing, rebuking, threatening them, and expelling those who refuse to repent, it should die.
And if your church endorses abominations like abortion, homosexuality, divorce and remarriage, and other such things, it should die. If your church holds yoga classes, palmistry workshops, and astrology seminars, it should die. Churches are called to fight these things, not to teach and applaud them. Churches are called to confront sinners, and to shame those who refuse to repent, and not to glorify them, or to make them into heroes. God's wrath is poured out upon all those who practice evil, and also on those who approve of these people.
These are only some of the necessary characteristics of a true church, and to fulfill them makes one nothing more than a minimally faithful congregation. It is a description of a normal church. It is how every church should begin and continue, and not some extraordinary spiritual height to be aspired to and attained after many years, if ever. Yes, most churches should probably die. Today. Let it not be your fault that they live one moment longer. Whether any given church survives is God's hands, but your duty is to support those that are good and oppose those that are evil.
Good churches suffer partly because bad churches thrive. Bad churches thrive because people are gullible and rebellious. And people are gullible and rebellious because most of them are not even Christians. They support leaders and churches that tell them what they wish to hear, so that they may appear to seek God, but still believe and behave the same as before. And they are able to get away with this because Christians have failed to declare God's inflexible standard with clarity and boldness.
What you sow, you will also reap. If you support unfaithful churches, they will grow stronger, and you will reap destruction. If you sow fear and compromise, sins and heresies will increase. But if you support faithful churches, those that preach, apply, and enforce the doctrines of Jesus Christ, and if you join them in doing these things, then the Christian faith will thrive and take root, and the harvest will be peace, righteousness, and prosperity.