THE CHURCH

By
Ann Blaha

On the day of Pentecost, 33 AD, the Church of Jesus Christ was born. "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance"  (Acts 2:1-4).

What a glorious event took place, as the sons of Adam became sons of God. How marvelous was the impact upon the world. "Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born"  (Acts 2:6-8).

There were Jews present, which spoke sixteen different languages, that said, " . . . we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine"  (Acts 2:11-13).

Peter stood and boldly conducted the first service, as he preached under the anointing of the Spirit, relating the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning this mighty outpouring of the Holy Ghost, and telling of the coming of Jesus Christ our Lord and His death, burial, and resurrection. He preached baptism and repentance unto them, and about three thousand souls repented and were added to the Kingdom of God on that first day.

"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common: and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved"  (Acts 2:42-47).

THE TRUE CHURCH

The true Church is a body of the holy saints of God that come together to edify and build one another up in the most holy faith. It is not a meeting place for the unsaved in hopes that they will be saved.

The word "saint" means undefiled from the world. The words "saint" and "holy" are translated from the same Greek word, "hagios," meaning: (an awful thing ): sacred, physically pure, morally blameless, consecrated; most holy one or most holy thing; saint, clean, innocent, modest, perfect, chaste, pure. (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, No.'s 40 and 53).

God has designed His plan of salvation by the preaching of the Word. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, [t]he just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness"  (Romans 1:16-18).

SAINTS OF GOD

The saints are called to be witnesses. "But ye shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth"  (Acts 1:8). The words "witness" and "martyr" are translated from the same Greek words, "martus" or "martureo," meaning: To be a witness, i.e., testify: charge, give evidence, bear record, have good honest report; a witness, (literally [judicially] or figuratively [genitive]); by analogy a "martyr": martyr, record, witness (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, No.'s 3140, 3144).

The holy saints of God are called to be martyrs - to return good for evil and lay down their lives for righteousness sake, not fighting back or defending themselves.

THE HOLY GHOST

The Holy Ghost has been given to the saints to lead and guide in all truth  (John 16:13). The gifts of the Spirit are supernatural gifts, given for the perfecting of the saints.

"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will"  (I Corinthians 12:7-11).

It should be obvious to everyone that we are not all led by the Holy Ghost, because there are as many opinions as there are people, and rarely do those opinions change regardless of what the Holy Word of God states. The gifts of the Spirit are not in operation, nor does there seem to be any desire for them. The Scripture states, "But covet earnestly the best gifts . . ."  (I Corinthians 12:31). Most people do not seem to see a need for miracles until they themselves need a miracle. Nevertheless, if we have compassion and concern for the oppressed and afflicted, we will be seeking the manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit for ministering to those in spiritual and/or physical need.

God gave the fivefold ministry to be in operation in the true Church.

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ"  (Ephesians 4:11-15).

And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues"  (I Corinthians 12:28).

A WORLDLY CHURCH

Enticing the world into the Church by appealing to their carnal, fleshly desires instead of God's method - preaching of the Word - can only cause havoc in the Church. If the world is brought into the Church, who gets converted? The Church does - to more worldliness! When the Church starts recruiting the unsaved into the Church, it becomes a social club and the majority of the people in the Church are not saved - and they take over. They sing all the songs of praise and they claim salvation, but if they have not repented of their sins and been washed in the blood of the Lamb, and have not been born of the Holy Spirit, walking in newness of life, they are not saved. That is the Word of God! Then unrepentant sinners are a majority of the congregation and the preaching is done to patronize these impostors. The truth is not preached because of fear of driving people away.

Democratic rule has destroyed the true Church, because "popular opinion" rules instead of the pure Word of God. The fear of the possibility of a "church split" causes compromise with a watered-down gospel. Satan orchestrates this, using the souls of mankind as pawns. Satan is bringing together his one-world church by destroying from within. However, Jesus said, " . . . and the sheep follow him [Jesus]: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers"  (John 10:4-5).

Bringing people into the church building is not the issue; getting them converted and conformed to the image of Christ is the divine commission. The Word of God instructs us, " . . . Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nether with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth"  (I Corinthians 5:6-8). In this Scripture, leaven is used as a type of sin. This Scripture is instructing the Church to put those out of the Church who will not repent of their sins and walk in newness of life. The man, in particular, in this instance in the Corinthian Church was a fornicator. After he repented, he was received back into the Church  (II Corinthians 2:6-10).

TRUE SAINTS

When the true saints assemble in the Church, and the pure Word of God is preached with the manifested gifts in operation, the power of God will be demonstrated in such great and glorious ways that people will be drawn into the Church by the drawing power of the Spirit. When the preaching of the Word convicts the sinners of their sins, they will be uncomfortable, and if they are not willing to repent, they will leave. God has a powerful way of keeping His Church pure.

CONVICTION OF THE SPIRIT

Today, people think that conviction of the Spirit is the devil placing condemnation on them. However, they are not condemned unless they resist the convicting power of the Spirit and refuse to repent. If they refuse to repent, they are under condemnation until they repent.

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death"  (Romans 8:1-2).

KINGDOM OF GOD

The Church of the living God is the manifested Kingdom of God on earth completing the work of Jesus Christ with all the power He promised, and that was manifested on the first day that the Church was born. " . . . as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you"  (John 20:21). "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation . . . for behold, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21). Paul said, "I will come to you shortly . . . and will know, not the speech of them . . . but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power"  (I Corinthians 4:19-20). 

ALL SCRIPTURE IS DOCTRINE

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works"  (II Timothy 3:16).

Although the churches claim to believe the Scriptures, they fail to use all New Testament Scriptures for doctrine.

"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; and be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables"  (II Timothy 4:1-4).

The leaders of the churches do not abide by the Word of God; they do not reprove, rebuke, or exhort - and fulfillment of this Scripture has become full-blown in our day.

" . . . because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness"  (II Thessalonians 2:10-12).

As noted in the above text, those that refuse to believe and walk in the truth will receive a delusion and be condemned to hell.

THE WORD OF GOD

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do"  (Hebrews 4:12-13).

The Word of God separates and divides the flesh from the Spirit. Contrary to most people's opinion, God is stricter under the New Covenant than He was under the Old Covenant. Under the Old Covenant (Old Testament), God gave the Law that the Israelites were required to obey, but the Law could not change their hearts. Under the New Covenant (New Testament), we have been given the Holy Ghost that changes our hearts and gives us the strength and love to follow the Lord with all our being. " . . . because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us"  (Romans 5:5).

In the Book of Acts, it is recorded that Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying. They were under grace even as we are. We are not seeing God's wrath demonstrated in like manner because His mercy holds back His wrath. The Holy Ghost is not manifested today as it was in the early Church and many lies are being propagated. The whole Church is in a sinful condition, and if God manifested His wrath as He did in the beginning of the Church era, He would, of necessity, strike nearly everyone dead.

Everyone desires all of the promises of God - salvation, healing, protection, provision, love, peace, joy, and all the manifold blessings promised in the Word. However, they desire to live a life of self-will, ignoring the conditions set forth for receiving these blessings.

DOCTRINES AND COMMANDMENTS OF MEN

Our precious Lord Jesus said, "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them . . .he is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock  [the rock Jesus Christ] . . ."  (Luke 6:46-48). "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines and commandments of men"  (Matthew 15:8-9).

The foolish and compromising preachers that fail to preach God's pure Word are committing evil even as the priests and kings of the Old Testament did. One day they will stand before the great Judge and hear Him pronounce their sad eternal sentence. Half-truths are lies and only produce liars. All truth means separation from sin and worldliness, and accepting and enduring persecutions, scoffing, and mocking for His Name's sake. All truth means taking up the cross of Christ and following Him unto death.

When evil-doers can sit in Church, listen to the preaching, and go home feeling good about themselves and feel they are in good standing with God, the preacher is not preaching the whole counsel of God and a false message is being brought forth.

When people can sit in Church, year in and year out, without change, without spiritual growth, content with their spiritual condition, the message is empty. When the spiritually hungry ones are brought low, and the cold and lukewarm ones are exalted, the message is contemptible.

When the preacher says that no one is closer to God than anyone else - we are all the same in the eyes of God - he does not know what he is talking about. A person that is seeking a closer walk with God does not need to know personal things about others to know whether they are hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and whether they are striving to live a holy life - because their manner, actions, and words reveal their desires and spiritual condition.

When people of false religions can find no reason to be offended with the message, it is laced with lies. "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as [Jesus] is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil"  (I John 3:7-8).

When the love of God is taught so that people have no fear of God, they are in a dangerous position with nothing to restrain from sin. God is a jealous God - a God of wrath and vengeance towards all unrepentant sinners. "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him"  (Psalm 89:7). " . . . he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him"  (John 3:36).

The only way of salvation is through the strait gate and narrow way that Jesus taught. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it"  (Matthew 7:13-14).

APOSTASY

Apostasy of the Church, as prophesied in the Word of God, is fulfilled in our day. The holy Word of God forewarns us, "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him . . . the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away [apostasy] first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition . . ."  (II Thessalonians 2:1-3).

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God: having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away"  (II Timothy 3:1-5).

We need to examine this Scripture, defining each word, and examine ourselves to determine if we are guilty of any of these sins - and not assume we are free of guilt and that the words apply to someone else. If we are guilty, we need to turn from our wicked ways and be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

When we get serious with God, He will get serious with us. Eternal life is the only thing of importance in this world. We must have a determination to enter the strait gate above all else. Our eternal destiny depends on it!

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; [eternal damnation] but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting"  (Galatians 6:7-8).

_________________________________________________________________