Schismatics
Art Nelson
I have been
teaching a series on the Book of Revelation and we just finished the section on
the Seven Churches of Asia described in the first three chapters of the book.
This lead to discussion and thinking about the Church and what it means to be a
“lampstand” church, which is what the seven are called in Revelation. Jesus
makes it clear to the church of Ephesus that He can remove their “lampstand”,
indicating that they would no longer be a church if He did so.
The Church in
Ephesus was a great “defender of the faith”. As the original Apostles died, many
heresies from false teachers and false apostles began coming into the Church.
Jesus does not condemn them for exposing the darkness. He even says that they
worked hard at doing that. What He does have against them is that they lost
their primary focus—they left their first love and no longer did the deeds that
they did previously. In other words, they concentrated so much on defending the
faith and exposing the false that they neglected their primary directive or
work. This was serious enough that Jesus said that if they didn't get back into
balance and re-focus on their primary work, He would remove their lampstand;
that is, they would cease to be a Church before Him.
Since this is so
serious and has application to us, we should ask ourselves, “what does it mean
to leave our first love and what type of deeds should we be doing?” This is
actually quite simple; but, we have complicated the simplicity of Christ with
too much activity. What did Jesus give us as our primary directive?
Matthew 28:19-20 NASB
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
(20) teaching
them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age."
We call this “the
Great Commission” but we have forced our understanding of this into too small of
a mold. We are not to make “converts” but we are to make “disciples”. That is
our primary objective, our “first” work—evangelism and discipleship.
According to Jesus'
commission, making disciples involves two things: baptizing and teaching, We are
to teach them to observe all the commands of the Lord. This continues to the end
of the age.
What is the primary
commandment of the Lord? He called it a new commandment—that we love one another
as He has loved us. If we are out of balance in our defending the faith, we have
lost the love that we should have for one another and this was the problem of
the Church of Ephesus.
It is when we are
contending for the faith, arguing over doctrine that we produce division and
schisms among the believers. I am not saying that we should ignore false
teaching because we shouldn't; however, we should be able to examine the
scriptures and by the leading of the Holy Spirit come to mutual understanding of
doctrine.
We have the
erroneous idea that “unity” is something that we create by compromising our
beliefs or doctrines so that we can all get along. That is far from the truth.
Paul makes it clear.
Ephesians 4:1-3 NASB Therefore I, the prisoner of
the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you
have been called, (2) with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,
(3) being diligent to preserve the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace.
We already have
unity of the Spirit. We received unity when we received the Holy Spirit.
However, we must be diligent to preserve it, to keep it. The natural man does
not walk in the Spirit and cannot keep the unity of the Spirit. As long as we
operate from the natural man we will create schisms and divisions. And that is
where the problem is with the modern church.
Paul went on to
mention seven areas of unity that we should preserve in the Spirit.
Ephesians 4:4-6 NASB There
is one body and one Spirit,
just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;
(5)
one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
(6)
one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
I believe that
every schism that we have in the church has come about because of a doctrinal
argument dealing with some element of one of these seven areas of unity.
In the book of Acts
we see the Enemy immediately begin to try to disrupt the unity of the early
believers in three primary ways:
-
Over
doctrine—whether circumcision was a requirement or not
-
Over
care/ministry—the widow's supply and prejudiced distribution
-
Over
personalities—I am of Peter, of Apollos, of Paul, etc.
We have continued
to divide over these same three areas until we have the thousands of
denominations that exist today.
This raises a very
important question. Since the Lord has given us these seven areas of unity and
we are consistently dividing and dividing rather than unifying, does the Lord
consider anything that we have today to be a “lampstand” church? Then the
follow-up question, if you are not a lampstand church are you a church at all?
These are serious
questions that I believe we are going to have to answer.
The history of the
people of God is a history of division. Paul labeled this “carnal or soulish”
thinking.
1 Corinthians
1:10-13 NASB
(10)
Now I
exhort you, brethren,
by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and
that there be no
divisions among you,
but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.
(11)
For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's
people,
that there are quarrels among you.
(12)
Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of
Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ."
(13)
Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you
baptized in the name of Paul?
1 Corinthians 3:4-5 NASB (4)
For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you
not mere men?
(5) What then is Apollos? And what is Paul?
Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave
opportunity to each one.
We have done the
same thing with our natural carnal thinking. Only we say, “I am a Baptist”, “I
am a Methodist”, I am a Presbyterian”, “I am Church of Christ”. What is the
difference between what we are saying and what the Corinthians were saying?
The people of God
have become “schismatics” and it seems to be continually getting worse. Here is
how Webster's Dictionary defines the word”
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Schismatic
\Schis*mat"ic\ adj -- Of or pertaining to schism; implying schism;
partaking of the nature of schism; tending to schism; as, schismatic
opinions or proposals.
Schismatic
\Schis*mat"ic\ n.-- One who creates or takes part in schism; one who
separates from an established church or religious communion on account
of a difference of opinion.
From
this definition it appears to me that the people who formed their various
denominations were all schismatic in nature. The question is “where is the
original church?” Have the divisions proliferated to the point the we can't
locate the original?
Even
during the days of the Apostles there were the beginnings of divisions and
schisms. However, the real church with Christ as the Head continued to grow.
through the work of the Holy Spirit. The turning point seems to be about the
time of Constantine when the church became an official state sponsored religion.
For all practical purposes the Emperor Constantine became the head of the
“official church”, immediately making it a false church. He called together
councils to decide doctrinal disputes which made him the judge to determine
doctrine and structure.
The
resulting Catholic Church-State had little resemblance to the true Church of the
Lord. making it a false system of religion. The Protestant Reformation caused
many to split off of the Catholic Church-State system and attempt to restore
some lost truths. However, if you divide from a false system and yet still
maintain the basic foundational structure of the false and do not return to the
original, you are a false system yourself. This is what has happened as schism
after schism has occurred.
It is my opinion
that this Catholic Church-State is referred to as “Mystery Babylon” in the Book
of Revelation and she is the “Mother of Harlots” which appears to me to be the
various denominations of the protestant reformation. That is why God says “come
out of her My people”. Many of the people of God are held captive within the
harlot system; however, the harlot system is NOT the Church.
So, where is the
Church, the real Church? Where are the “lampstands” in our cities? I must say
that in my little town of about fifteen thousand people with over 70 “churches”
there is not any assembly that appears to be a “lampstand” church. Each one is a
division, a schism from the original or from a schism of a schism.
The Lord who is the
Head of His Church, who is the one who is building His Church, establishes
“lampstands” or removes “lampstands”. I don't think that the Lord will make any
group of believers a “lampstand” if they don't operate under His Lordship or on
the basis of the whole Body. The Lord will not allow sectarianism. When the Lord
looks at my little town, He doesn't see 70 “churches”; He only sees His Church.
At least, I hope He sees His Church. While there may be quite a number of
believers here, they may not have been built into His Church. They may only be
piles of living stones rather than a built together Temple of the Lord.
We need to give
some serious thought to this and what it means to us and to the Lord. Have we
allowed traditions to frustrate the work of the Lord? Have we fallen for a
religious system, a structure with a form of religion but denying the power of
the Spirit? Do we need to repent of our divisions, our sectarianism? Do we need
to cry out to the Lord to build us together; make us the real thing?
©
2003-2010 by Art Nelson and
Lifestream Teaching
Ministries
Previous issues of Present Truth are on the website: www.Lifestreamteaching.com
For comments or questions contact Art Nelson at this address:
artnelson@lifestreamteaching.com
You have
permission to copy and distribute these materials provided:
1) no changes are made to the content, and, 2) they are not sold.
Removal instructions:
This is a free
teaching letter, without cost or obligation.
If you have received this teaching letter in error
or if you desire not to receive
"Present Truth" teaching letter please
reply with "remove" in the subject area. | 
