There are many
Scripture verses to choose from, but here are two passages which are
representative of what the central thrust of
the New Testament is for believers. The first passage is from Peter,
and the second is written by Paul.
2 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your
faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control;
and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness,
love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they
will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
… 10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling
and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,
11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For
we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9
People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into
many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people,
eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves
with many griefs.
11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good
fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were
called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. …I
charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the
appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
…17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant
nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope
in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command
them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to
share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation
for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
The New Testament does occasionally speak of God’s blessings
in this life, but far more emphatically on proper preparations for
the next life in the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are to
live a fruitful life pleasing to God here on earth in order to receive
a
rich welcome and to take hold of the life that is truly life. These
things were stressed by the apostles of the Lord nearly two thousand
years ago. How much more relevant are they today on the likely eve
of the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For whom in the Church should we expend our resources?
In Matthew 13 Jesus taught a parable about four types of soil corresponding
to four different kinds of people. One type of person is the Christian
who has received the word of God, but the worries of this life and
the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. Many church
programs are designed for such people to help them deal with the problems
of this life and how to tap into the God who gives us the ability to
produce wealth. But Jesus warns us in advance that these people will
not be fruitful for the Lord. Why do we spend disproportionate resources
on them?
Instead, should we not concentrate more resources on the one who hears
the word and understands it? This is the believer who produces a crop,
yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. This is the
one who hears the central message of the New Testament---the gospel---and
understands it, and then obeys it. This believer will produce good
fruit for the kingdom of God. This is the one who will receive a rich
welcome into the eternal kingdom.
But because of the pressure for numbers in our churches, we waste
valuable resources on the many pew-warmers who will not produce fruit
(but at least they might bring us tithes and offerings). These are
concerned mostly with the things and worries of this life. We can make
far
better use of our limited resources by directing more to those whose
hearts are minds are set on things above, on eternity. They will welcome
the central message of the gospel and will know what to do with it.
They will produce good fruit unto eternal life. This will be to our credit.
False teachings
New Testament epistles also warn us against the false teachings which
have proliferated within the body of Christ. This is the reason why
the Church in the west today is weak and sickly and has thus failed
to impact our society for the gospel.
2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with
sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather
around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears
want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn
aside to myths.
We conclude that in view of the Lord’s appearing, right
believing and right living (which includes good works)
are the central message of the New Testament for the Church. But
this is not the
primary message we hear from pulpits today. There is grave imbalance
in the spiritual diet being fed which has resulted in a malnourished
and feeble Church.
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness
Does God want to provide for our varied and diverse needs in this
life? Yes, He does. We can certainly be more fruitful for God when
we are delivered, healed, and our lives on earth restored. But it
need not be in the way that the Church emphasizes today. In contrast
to
the various seminars and teachings and programs we attend to learn
how to receive God’s blessings and provision here on earth,
Scripture is rather quite succinct.
Matthew 6:31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What
shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For
the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows
that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well.
When God’s kingdom comes into our lives, we will obey His commands.
We will seek to extend His kingdom and His rule on earth. Moreover, “His
righteousness” refers not only to the attributed righteousness
which comes by faith alone, but also to the practical righteousness
through which we actually become holy as He is holy. If we in fact
seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, He will indeed provide
for us as He has promised without our having to immerse ourselves in
the varied teachings so widely available today. The disciples in the
time of Jesus and Acts did not have the benefit of such teachings,
and they served the Lord fruitfully in their time. Could it be that
the Church today, like undisciplined children let loose in a candy
store, has lost sight of her priority before the Lord?
The author of this article and his family are personal witnesses of
God’s faithfulness. For over thirty years, he has ministered
first as a street preacher, then as a foreign missionary in the Third
World, a church planter, a local pastor in the United States, an
evangelist, and now a teacher. The Lord has blessed us in every way
that we have
asked of Him. (We did not ask Him for earthly riches.) We did not
attend conferences and seminars to learn how to acquire these blessings.
We
simply believed Him and obeyed His word. And all these things have
been given to us as well.
If we do not believe His word and do not first seek His kingdom and
His righteousness, then we may have to resort to teachings and methods
not explicitly taught in Scripture for help and encouragement. These
may provide some measure of relief, but the results will be at most
second best.
We are not saying that believers ought not to attend such special
events. But there is a very definite and unhealthy imbalance prevalent
in the Church today which must be redressed. The very central message
of the New Testament has been put on the sidelines. Instead, we have
set our hearts and minds on earthly things.
A church founded by Paul compared to the Church of today
Let’s compare today’s Church with the church founded at
Ephesus through the teaching of the apostle Paul. Paul’s teaching
did not prepare believers to live a “successful and fulfilled
life” on earth. Rather, with great urgency he taught believers
to live in holiness.
Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,
but only what is helpful for building others up according to their
needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the
Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander,
along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one
another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
5:1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly
loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us
and gave himself up for
us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But among you there
must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity,
or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.
4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which
are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be
sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has
any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
In light of what Christ had already done for the Church by God’s
wonderful grace, Paul urged the Ephesian believers to live lives worthy
of the calling they had received. There was little
teaching on what God could do for them on earth. Christ had already
died for their sins. Therefore Paul’s teaching rather focused
on what the believers could do for the Lord on earth by imitating God
and living
holy lives. That is the gist of Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians.
Was the church in Ephesus more pleasing in the sight of God than the
Church today with our focus on God's temporal blessings? We will find
the answer to this. In Revelation, Jesus spoke the following words
to the
Ephesian
church.
Revelation 2:1 “To the angel of the church
in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven
stars in his right
hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your deeds,
your
hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate
wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but
are not,
and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured
hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this
against you:
You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which
you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you
do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from
its place.
6 But you have this in your favor: You
hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to
eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Jesus rebukes this church for forsaking her first love. But he also
commends her for other things, including her stand against the hated
practices of the Nicolaitans. What are these practices? According to
one interpretation, the meaning of the original Greek for this term
is “rulers of the people.” The Nicolaitans taught an unscriptural
division between the priests and the laity. If this interpretation
is correct, Jesus hates the practice of establishing a separate and
professional priesthood who would rule over the people in an unbiblical
way.
The Roman Catholic Church fell into this error. Perhaps the mention
of the Nicolaitans in Revelation was a veiled prophetic reference to
the Roman Catholic Church to appear a few centuries later. Has the
modern Protestant Church today, the offspring and beneficiary of the
great Reformation half a millennium ago, finally free from the error
of the Nicolaitans? No, it is clear that the church today is not. We
still make a clear distinction between full-time professional “clergy” who
are paid for their services and the “laity” who sit in
the pews and are the beneficiaries of the those services. Jesus commended
the church in Ephesus for opposing such practices. In stark contrast,
his subsequent words to the church in Laodicea---which some believe
is representative of the Church today---were very harsh. Later we will
look at what Jesus said to this church.
The Church in Pergamum rebuked for Nicolaitan practices
Not surprisingly, the third church in Revelation, the church in Pergamum,
was openly rebuked by Christ for having tolerated the teaching of the
Nicolaitans.
Revelation 2:12 “To the angel of the church
in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13
I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain
true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the
days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your
city—where Satan lives.
14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there
who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the
Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing
sexual immorality. 15 Likewise you also have those who hold
to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will
soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Jesus hated the teaching of the Nicolaitans. It would behoove us to
understand why this teaching was such an abomination to the Lord.
Let’s
look at the possible effect of this teaching on the Church of Jesus
Christ.
Laodicea: the Church of the last days?
Some believe that the seventh church of Revelation---the church in
Laodicea---refers to the Church of the last days.
Revelation 3:14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the
ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither
cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because
you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit
you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired
wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that
you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you
to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and
white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and
salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Believers in the west today for the most part have lost any consistent
focus on their eternal reward in heaven, preferring instead to concentrate
their resources and attention on what God can do for them on earth.
As a result, material and earthly blessings have indeed come to the
Church in some areas of the world, especially in the west. But although
we may be wealthy here on earth, we are poor and pitiful in the sight
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Since we have largely diminished the central
teaching of the New Testament, we are lukewarm in his sight. We have
shortsightedly set our minds on earthly things, and not on things above
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. How has this come
about?
A class of professional clergymen and women
We can attribute it to the teaching of the Nicolaitans which has created
a class of professional clergymen and clergywomen. Most of these are
called “pastors.” Even the United States government encourages
this by kindly providing special income tax benefits for clergy.
Outwardly, these benefits are a blessing to servants of God in full-time
ministry.
Each pastor leads his own congregation. There will likely be some
pressure on him to grow his congregation in size. In the world, numerical
growth
is an indication of success. The self-esteem of the pastor and the
honor accorded
him
by the community will often be related to the size of his
congregation. Ministering before thousands of adoring people week after
week, for those of us who have attained it, does wonders for one's
ego. (Given our human nature and our celebrity-mad culture, we begin
to think we are actually somebody.) It is
possible
that even
our annual
compensation
is related to the attendance
or membership
of our church.
Taking precedence
over
all these worldly considerations, of course, is the Great Commission
that Christ gave us to fulfill. Because of all these things, pastors
will look for effective ways
of “winning
the lost” and
bringing them into the sheepfold.
The lost must hear the gospel presented in some fashion or another.
Then they are challenged to repent of their sins and to accept Christ
as Lord and Savior. To do this they repeat a “sinners’ prayer,” after
which they are assured that they now have a guaranteed place in heaven.
Then they are encouraged to go to church to be taught by the pastor
or one of his leaders. They join the church as members and worship
there faithfully. They will eventually serve God in some capacity in
the church under the authority of the full-time, professional pastor.
In this way the church will grow in numbers and appear outwardly fruitful.
The “back door” is kept closed. This is what
pastors generally hope for when new believers are added to the flock.
A faulty foundation
However, there are problems with this approach which are symptomatic
of an underlying faulty foundation. First, the message of the gospel
is usually presented with persuasive words of human wisdom and without
a demonstration of the spirit and of power. The lost are told that
God loves them and that He has a wonderful plan for their lives.
God wants to bless them, restore them, and make everything right for
them.
(The pastor of a very large Singaporean Church was even overheard
quoted as saying that he wanted all his people to be millionaires.)
Such
messages are very appealing to desperate and needy people. It’s
a good marketing tool. People will come and the church will grow.
An even greater flaw which is inherent in this approach is that it
is based on the teaching of the Nicolaitans. As we have seen, the performance
and competence of
a pastor
are often judged by his peers---whether unconsciously
or not---in terms of the size of his congregation. Some may even think
that a large
congregation,
like material wealth, is the evidence of God’s approval and blessing
on a pastor. Therefore a pastor will likely be open to various methods
which will result in church growth. Such methods, for example, can
involve “seeker-sensitive” models to make people feel more
comfortable in church. They can involve programs which attempt to satisfy
the “felt needs” of the people. Such methods concentrate
on satisfying people’s earthly needs and wants.
With this approach, the Church enables people to be happy and blessed
and successful on earth. But a moment’s thought will
reveal that we have essentially adopted a business model from the world.
We offer a “product” which
we call the gospel. We have packaged and presented our product in such
a way that people will "buy" it. When they do, our churches grow
and we are considered successful. It’s quite evident that the
Church in North America has perfected this business model. People flock
to our churches to learn to be happy and successful and to have their
dreams fulfilled. As an extreme example of this business model, a large
Pentecostal church
in Australia
recently held an evangelistic fashion show, complete with models and
a catwalk. A woman was seen weeping after the show, testifying that
God had touched
her
deeply.
(We can rightly ask what “god” had touched her.)
Most pastors would likely disagree with holding a fashion show in
their church, even for the purpose of drawing people to the gospel.
But where do we draw the line? How far can we go with this business
model?
How
far
should
we
allow
the
models
of
the
world
to penetrate the holy Church of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Hindus brutally sacrifice 250,000 animals to goddess
In
November 2009 Hindus celebrated their once-in-five-years Festival where
250,000 animals are sacrificed to the goddess Gadhimai, many
by having their heads chopped off. (Click here for
a description.) "The goddess needs blood," explained a Hindu
priest. "Then
that person can make his wishes come true." Manoj Shah, a Nepali
driver who has been attending the event since he was six, explained, "If
we want anything, and we come here with an offering to the goddess, within
five years all our dreams will be fulfilled." Is this very different
from the teaching which prevails in much of the Church today? Regrettably,
it is not. The primary difference is that for Christians, it is Christ's
precious shed blood that makes our "dreams and wishes come true."
It is clear that helping God’s people to be successful on earth
and to see their dreams fulfilled are not the central focus
of
the New Testament. God the Almighty Creator is not to be confused
with Santa Claus. Instead, Scripture
teaches
us to live holy and productive lives on
earth in
light of and in anticipation of our appearing with
the Lord Jesus Christ in glory. This is now especially true in view of
the dark days in which we now live.
Colossians 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set
your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand
of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When
Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him
in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:
sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is
idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used
to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must
rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander,
and filthy language from your lips.
Article: Is
it right to focus our attention on our heavenly reward?
The teaching of the Nicolaitans which creates a separate class of
paid professional clergy has ultimately resulted in a church whose
focus is primarily on earthly things. One might almost say that the
clergy are paid to keep the folks happy. Not surprisingly, this kind
of church bears a resemblance to the Church
in Laodicea,
rebuked
severely
by Jesus for its materialism and spiritual lukewarmness despite its
outward success.
You are not to be called ‘Rabbi’
It may be useful at this point to note what Scripture says about the
practice of servants of God using ecclesiastical titles. Jesus taught
his disciples not to be like the Pharisees and the teachers of the
law who loved to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’
Matthew 23:5 “Everything they do is done for men to see: They
make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;
6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats
in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and
to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’ 8 “But you are not
to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and
you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for
you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for
you have one Teacher, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you will be
your servant. 12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever
humbles himself will be exalted.
The practice of having others address us with an ecclesiastical title
can be a prelude to self-exaltation and pride. Although Christ has
apportioned to the Church the five offices of apostle, prophet, pastor,
evangelist, and teacher, there is no record in the New Testament of
servants
of God being personally addressed by others as “Apostle Paul” or “Prophet
John” or "Pastor Peter" or in some other similar way.
Instead we should consider one another as brothers and should personally
address one another
as
such. The
use
of exclusionary religious titles can create an artificial and unscriptural
distinction between the professional clergy and the laity. It may encourage
the Nicolaitan system.
The link between the teaching of the Nicolaitans and the teaching
of Balaam
The teaching of the Nicolaitans, moreover, can be linked to the teaching
of Balaam found in the Church in Pergamum. Balaam was the prophet of
God who could be hired for his services. What is the connection? We
know that a person’s financial remuneration as an employee
is linked to his job performance. For a paid professional
clergyman, the same rule can apply. Although other factors will be
considered,
his job performance---as we have seen earlier---can be evaluated
in terms of the growth of the church in numbers under his tenure. The
more souls he
can draw
to join
the church, the greater will be the income of the church. And since “the
hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops,” the
salary of the pastor will follow commensurately and be increased by
the church board. If the church is run by the pastor, he can even give
himself a raise if he so desires.
It is not a great leap from this to the teaching of Balaam, where
the love of money overcomes the desire to serve God in sincerity
and in truth. We are not at all saying that a servant of God should
not
be supported financially. We are well aware of Paul’s instruction
to Timothy regarding workers deserving their wages.
1 Timothy 5:17 The elders who direct the affairs
of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose
work is preaching
and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox
while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves
his wages.”
However, giving love offerings to an elder is a far cry from the
formal system of a paid professional class of religious leaders supported
indirectly by the federal government with tax relief benefits (as welcome
as they would appear to be) and where financial reward can be based
on performance and numbers. God's servants no longer live by faith,
trusting in the Lord to provide. They are now under contract to the
local church which hires them and gives them guaranteed salaries. Is
it possible that God's servants have unintentionally become hirelings
under the
Nicolaitan
system?
The intention may appear good---providing enough for a pastor to support
his family. But since the foundation is not scriptural, the outcome
is failure. Such a system has already been
infiltrated by the pernicious teaching of
Balaam
which is based on greed. The pastor of one of the largest and most “successful” churches
in Singapore is young, hip, and charismatic. He reportedly has decided
that he is worth an annual salary of one million Singapore dollars,
equivalent to over US$700,000. He "deserves" it since
his teaching has made many of his members materially wealthy.
Click here for an article on the teaching of Balaam.
Over 450,000 churches in the United States
According to some estimates, there are over 450,000 churches in the
United States. (This does not include the many groups not registered
with the government.) Most of these churches are small. Many are led
by a sincere and well-intentioned pastor who might be struggling financially;
a human being who is subject to the flaws and temptations
of the
Nicolaitan
system. He understands
from
the Great Commission that the Church is to preach the gospel to every
creature and to disciple all nations. But he must deal with
a flock that has daily needs and demands which he is expected to meet.
He quickly learns that realistically speaking his job does not involve
discipling his people with the goal of sending them out to proclaim
the kingdom
of
God, but
rather
to keep them happy and coming to the church. He is to keep the babies
fed and dry; to put out fires and to keep the ship afloat somehow.
That is his real job.
Sunday after Sunday, program after program, special speaker after
special speaker for thirty or forty years until they go home to glory,
the faithful go to church to be fed and to support it with their finances.
It is reasonable to pose the following question: when will they be
allowed to grow up to become responsible adults and leave home to start
their
own families?
When
will they be
ready
to
preach the gospel, heal the sick, and make disciples on their own according
to their calling? The Nicolaitan system which Jesus hates has given
birth to a self-perpetuating institution which limits believers to
a continual
state of infancy
or at most adolescence. It keeps them from growing up in all things
into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. It keeps them dependent
on their
pastor and their local church, thereby justifying their existence.
Could this bear any resemblance to the welfare state which keeps itself
in power by making its citizens dependent on it?
Tithing and the practice of the Nicolaitans
Because churches have expenses to cover, pastors can be under some
financial pressure. We encourage our congregations to tithe using an
Old Testament passage taken from Malachi 3:9-10. If they do not tithe,
they are under
a curse for robbing God. But if they bring their tithe into the storehouse---the
local church where they are fed---God will throw open the floodgates
of heaven to bless them more than abundantly. The choice for a believer
would appear to be very clear. But again, the era of the Old Testament
is over. There is no command in the New Testament for believers to
tithe to their local church.