Are You A Member Of The Universal Church? (Conservative vs. Liberal Churches)

            THE PROBLEM: As we continue to live our lives as Christians, the spiritual deterioration of the church is distressing. On the one hand, there is a church that is conservative in nature, which professes to the Lordship of Christ by worshipping HIM as the God who came to save the lost. This church, for instance, believes that:

            1. The Bible is God’s Word and it’s infallible/trustworthy.

            2. Christ was born of a virgin.

            3. Christ rose again from the grave in bodily form.

            4. Belief in Christ is essential for salvation.

            On the other hand, there is another church that is liberal in nature, which also professes to the Lordship of Christ. The liberal church considers the Lord Jesus as the one who came to help the poor and the oppressed. Salvation [of people] is not the mission of this church. This church believes that:

            1. The Bible is not “God-breathed” and it contains errors.

            2. Christ was not born of a virgin.

            3. Christ did not rise from the grave in bodily form.

            4. Belief in Christ is not essential for salvation - everyone will be saved, even a practicing Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian or an Atheist, Agnostic or a Skeptic.

            Both these churches exist – the conservative and the liberal. Both these churches label themselves as Christian. They profess to the Lordship of Christ.

            But the Jesus whom they worship is not the same. (Either Christ was born of a virgin or HE did not. Either HE rose again from the grave in bodily form or HE did not.)

            Therefore, from a strictly spiritual sense, it is either one of these churches – the conservative or the liberal – that can be Christian. So from the perspective of truth and eternity, the bearer of the truth is either the conservative or the liberal church; not both the conservative and the liberal church.

            The Bible accentuates this problem. The presence of conservative and liberal churches emphasizes the existence of true and false believers in Christianity. The Bible speaks of this fact, which Norman Geisler highlights, “The Bible exhorts us to “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1) so that we can know “the spirit of truth” (v. 6). Paul warned against “deceitful spirits” (1 Tim. 4:1), and Jesus exhorted us to beware of “false prophets” (Mat. 24:11) who are really “wolves” that come “in sheep’s clothing” (Mat. 7:15).”¹

            THE VISIBLE & THE INVISIBLE CHURCH: While discussing the theme of the church, the terms “visible church” and “invisible church” vis-à-vis the terms “local church” and “universal church” should be understood.

            The Greek word “Ekklesia” is commonly translated as church. Etymologically, the word ekklesia means “to call out.” This is used to support the biblical doctrine of the church as a people called out, and separated from the world by God. The New Testament uses ekklesia in the sense of the ‘local church’ and the ‘universal church.’ It is certainly not used for a church building or a particular denomination.

            The Local Church is the local or the visible assembly of all those who profess faith and allegiance to Christ. It could refer to a specific church (1 Thessalonians 1:1) or churches or any nonspecified individual assembly (“every church,” 1 Corinthians 4:17) or a nonspecified number of churches or for all the churches together (“all churches.” 1 Corinthians 7:17).

            The Universal Church is the invisible and the universal fellowship of the believers who meet visibly in local churches. The Universal Church refers to the spiritual unity of all believers in Christ. Ekklesia, in this sense, is not the assembly, but rather those constituting it; they are the church whether assembled or not. Gotquestions.org states, “Sometimes the universal church is called the “invisible church”—invisible in the sense of having no street address, GPS coordinates, or physical building and in the sense that only God can see who is truly saved.”²

            Two important points are to be assimilated:

            (1) The local church consists of the true believers and the false/fake Christians, who think/say that they are Christians, but in reality, they are not.

            (2) The universal church consists of the true believers in Christ. The universal church cannot contain the false/fake Christians.

            A Christian could be a member of a local church, but if his Christianity is fake or untenable, then he/she would not be a part of the universal church. In other words, if you are a member of a liberal church, then you should genuinely be concerned about your eternal destiny.

            HOW TO IDENTIFY A LIBERAL CHURCH? Knowledge of the truth is essential to identify a lie, says Norman Geisler, “Unfortunately, the truth is that one cannot discern what is false unless he is trained in what is true. Government agents who deal in counterfeits spend much of their time in studying genuine currency. The reason is simple:  we cannot recognize a counterfeit unless we know the genuine. Since Barna surveys show that less than ten-percent of evangelical Christians even have a Christian world view, it is no surprise that even the masses of Christians can be fooled by a good counterfeit theology…”³

            The liberal churches preach and proliferate a counterfeit theology. Christian apologetics website, Carm.org has a very helpful note to identify the liberal churches:⁴

Following is a list of basic principles and examples that reveal some aspects of liberalism.  Of course, not all liberals hold to all the points; but as you read through them, you should see that it comes down to one thing--not believing the Bible for what it says.

1. Denial of inspiration, inerrancy, and/or authority of the Bible

     1. Saying that the Bible has errors, is "written by man," is only a guide, or is not absolutely true.

2. Denying historic accuracy of the Bible

1. Denying that Adam, Eve, Moses, Jesus, etc., were real people.

2. Denying that the Exodus happened.

3. Denying that there was an actual Garden of Eden, etc.

3. Denial of particular parts of the Bible as being authentic

1. Denying that Moses wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

2. Denying Paul's letter's as authentic.

3. Denying that the Gospels are accurate, etc.

4. Denial (sic) a basic Christian doctrine

1. Trinity, deity of Christ, resurrection, etc.

2. Salvation by grace.

3. Denying that Jesus is the only way to salvation, the doctrine of hell, etc.

5. Denial of historic understanding of Scripture and substituting new ones

1. Redefining salvation as self-deliverance from oppression.

2. Saying that Jesus' didn't literally rise from the dead and that it is a metaphor for success over trials.

3. "Husband of one wife" is not taken literally.  It is a phrase applied to wives, too.

4. Homosexuality is not a sin; it is an alternative lifestyle.

6. Affirming experience over Scripture

1. A person's feelings supersede biblical revelation.

2. "Feeling" that Jesus isn't the only way to God.

3. As long as you are sincere, God will let you go to heaven.

7. Using outside sources to interpret scripture

1. Use of psychology manuals, self-help books, science books, etc. and subjecting the Bible to their teaching.

8. Saying the Bible is outdated, patriarchal

1. This is an attempt to invalidate scripture by dismissing it as ancient and, therefore, not true.

2. It also negates the inspiration of Scripture because it implies the patriarchal structure is due to cultural influence and not scriptural revelation.

9. Imposing secular ideals upon Scripture

1. Women ordination.

2. Pro homosexuality.

3. Denying moral absolutes.

4. Upholding evolution as how mankind arrived on earth.

5. Defending "abortion rights" from scripture.

10. Gender Neutral wording in reference to God, people, mankind, etc.

1. Referring to God as Mother God or Father-Mother God.

2. Referring to various references of male leaders as people.

        3. Christians who are a part of liberal churches should reject that church. 

            So to conclude, every Christian should be duly concerned about his/her membership in the universal church while maintaining and growing in his/her membership in a local church that preaches conservative Christianity.

Endnotes:

¹http://normangeisler.com/category/postmodernism/ (The Shack: Helpful or Heretical? by Norman L. Geisler and Bill Roach)

²https://www.gotquestions.org/universal-local-church.html

³http://normangeisler.com/category/postmodernism/ (The Shack: Helpful or Heretical? by Norman L. Geisler and Bill Roach)

⁴https://carm.org/elements-liberalism

Websites last accessed on 9^th June 2018.

Reasons You Won’t Believe Why People Attend Church!

I’d Be Hatching, Matching & Dispatching

            Hatching (birth), matching (marriage) and dispatching (death) could be three primary reasons for people to attend church. Membership in a local church fetches baptism, marriage, and a place in the local graveyard.

            Definite worldly needs indeed! But if these are the motivational factors to worship in a church, then we are missing the mark. If the church you are worshiping in does not liberate you from these worldly needs, then your church and your spirituality are equally pitiable.

            The church is the body of Christ and not solely a channel for our material needs.  

I’ll Be Blessed           

            Would attending a worship service render a greater blessing?

            In the past, I diligently attended a church. My body was parked inside the church but my mind was wandering outside consumed with the responsibilities of my work. I was materially blessed, since I fared pretty well at work.

            I did not worship the Lord in the church. But was I blessed because I was diligent in my church attendance? No! The Bible does not say so.

            God blessed me, not because I attended church regularly, but because HE is gracious. Grace of God does not punish at every opportunity, instead it patiently blesses us constantly.

            You may still argue that God blessed me because I diligently attended the church. If so, what about my non-christian boss who was greatly successful (read blessed) but had never attended church?

            There is only one God, so all blessings flow from HIS being. HE blesses both the Christians and non-christians. If God blesses non-christians who do not attend the church, then would it not entail that our mere church attendance amounts to nothing?

            We will not be blessed merely for attending the church worship service.

I’ll Go To Hell

            That I’ll go to hell if I don’t attend church is a fascinating premise, or shall we say, a fearful premise. Many Christian leaders instill fear in the hearts of Christians, so to retain the believer in his church, whereas in reality he is to retain the believer in Christ.  

            Is there a verse in the Bible that posits hell for a believing Christian for his failure to attend the local church? If so, show me that verse please!

            Heaven is guaranteed to those who believe and love the Lord Jesus Christ. Church exists as a means to Christian discipleship and growth, not as a means to hell.

I’m In Trouble

            When in trouble go to church. This seems to be the mantra of quite a few. 

            God is not a doctor whose only objective is to heal us of all our sickness. God is not a magician who magically delivers us from all our perils. We degrade God when we go to church only when we are in trouble.

            God, being gracious, would deliver us from our troubles. It’s then our real intent would be exposed.

            Do we continue attending church after we are delivered from our troubles or do we cease to attend church? If we discontinue church after being delivered from our troubles, then there is no greater hypocrite than you and me.  

It’s A Weekly Ritual

            Church going is a weekly ritual to a few Christians. This is a sad phenomenon. When church attendance is a weekly ritual, then it’s highly possible that these Christians’ love for the Lord Jesus could be lukewarm or absolutely nonexistent.

It’s A Sin If I don’t Attend Church

            Some Christian leaders teach that failure to attend a church is a sin. This need not necessarily be true. The more important question we need to ask is the reason behind not attending.

            Poverty, distance, personal problems etc. could play a genuine role in dissuading some Christians from attending church. Some Christians could have had a bitter experience with the local church so they may not attend church. However, their love and devotion for the Lord could be as good as those who attend church regularly.

            Willful negligence to attend church but indulging in lethargic or sinful pleasures is a sin against the Lord or could lead us to sin against the Lord.

I Should Perform

            We may be gifted in playing music, singing, preaching, teaching and administration. But to attend the church with a sole motive to perform is a dubious reasoning. Spiritual gifts are graciously given by the Triune God.

            There is a critical distinction between performance and offering.

            Performance makes us greater and the Lord lesser. When our mind is set on performing, we would become self-centered. Our focus may be to garner attention upon ourselves.

            God gives good gifts; not to bring glory upon ourselves. But God gives good gifts so that we bring glory to God.

            Primarily, our gifts are to be an offering to God. Our focus ought to be on God, and not on our gift. In other words our question should always be, “Is my offering pleasing and acceptable to God?” When our gifts are an offering to God, the Lord becomes greater and we become lesser.

            In quite a few instances, parents push their children to sing in the choir / worship team or act in a play. If parents fail to instill the concept of our skills being an offering to God, then the child would perform and would be unmindful of worshipping God through the spiritual gifts.

            We don’t go to church to perform, but to offer our gifts as an act of worship.  

I Should Lead

            Some Christians are addicted to leadership and power. From the moment they enter the church, they worm their way to leadership. Leadership as a motive to attend church is deplorable.

            We don’t intend to become anything. We become what God intends us to be. We submit ourselves to God and HE enables us to become who HE wants us to be.  

I Want A Big Church

            Some think that mega churches are better than the smaller churches. There is a reasonable premise behind this need. If a church serves its people well, people flock to it; hence mega churches could be better.

            However, there could be quite a few genuine reasons as to why small churches do not grow in numbers. Their lack of growth need not necessarily imply a deficiency in their ministry.

            Small churches could be as effective as a mega church.

I’d Attend Church Only On Occasions

            Have you wondered why churches overflow during occasions such as New Year, Good Friday, Easter and Christmas? It’s because some Christians attend church only during these occasions.

            This sad phenomenon exposes the presence of nominal Christians. Those who attend church only during occasions display their lack of love for the Lord Jesus.

Conclusion

            Having said these, attending church is a good step into growing as a Christian. It’s better to worship in a church than not.  

            Although our motive to attend church may be nauseatingly revolting, we may be giving ourselves an opportunity to grow in the Lord when we are in the church. While we are at the church, a song or a sermon or a Scripture reading could lead us to love the Lord. It’s the church’s bounden responsibility to disciple its members. 

            We attend church to worship God in the community of fellow Christians. Church should enable our discipleship in our Lord.

            The purpose of the church is “…to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4: 12-13, NIV). May our churches be diligent in this responsibility.

            Just as the Lord went after that one lost sheep, may our churches care for that one member who may be in need so to motivate, encourage and draw him closer to the Lord.