The Church: Reforming or Deforming?
As an ordained Presbyterian, we share and uphold reformed traditions and have the popular saying, Once reformed, always reforming which means a Reformed Church must always be reforming. To reform means to change; change is constant and continuing. From the genesis of life, God forms and Satan deforms, Christ transforms and the Holy Spirit conforms. We were made by an unchangeable God who changes mankind, universe and circumstances of life. He created mankind in His image and likeness and granted us freewill to make choices and be responsible for the choices we make. Unfortunately human beings love the freewill but hate the corresponding responsibility; we hate being held accountable. In life we have good and bad options as well as good and bad changes. As human beings advanced in education, technology, communications and discoveries as well as exposure in life, we are faced with challenges to produce modern equipments that replace the old [manual]: such as fast moving, durable and user friendly machineries, vehicles, airplanes and jets as well as computers. Others are digital and home-care equipments, etc. These modern innovations are designed to meet the needs of our age; remain competitive and enjoy the benefits of our technological advancements. These improvements we consider good changes.
As good as changes are, we like them and hold the myth that all changes are good. However not all changes are good; some are good while others are bad. Human beings love whatever is current, new and invoke. For example: new cars have greater safety gadgets and rich in fuel efficiency; are faster and built with super designs and components but riskier. Newer computers are powerful and user friendly with better storage capacities but could clash and you loose all information. Again, new drugs may look appealing and faster in dealing with the related illnesses but could have same disturbing adverse effects on the body. Little wonder in recent times, we have greater number of recalls in cars, drugs and baby-care equipments and gadgets, etc.
A recent release dated May 10, 2011 from the Associate Press informed that the Presbyterian Church [USA] had formally decided to ordain gay clergy by rectifying a proposal that removes the celibacy requirement for unmarried clergy in the latest mainline protestant move towards accepting gay relationships. Informed sources confirmed the measure approved on Tuesday after decades of debate, eliminates language in the Church constitution requiring the clergy live infidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness. The new provision instead requires ministers to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspect of life. Among the reason deduced for the decision are the assumed changes in broader American society towards accepting same-sex relationships, weariness of the debate and the withdrawal of some conservative mega Churches from the Presbyteries which changed the balance of votes in some regions.
We could change the design of the physical structure of a Church building but we cant change God, His Church or her tenets. We could redraft the constitution of a denomination or change her name but cant reform the word of God, morality and faith. A pastor may teach heresy or another gospel; that does not make it right. One may avoid preaching or teaching certain faith related topics; that does not mean his /her stance is right. Others may decide to be politically correct just like the Pharisees even that are incorrect and false. We are in default in what we say, think and avoid doing. We cannot deny the influence of education/learning and exposures to occults and other Eastern religions. Some have embraced the feminist and women liberation movements and the acceptance of alternative lifestyles as normal. The alternative lifestyle is fundamentally against the traditional marriage system created by God and supported by the scriptures. Yet some Reformed Church denominations have not only accepted alternative lifestyles as normal but have ordained ministers/ pastors in that state.
It was in similar state of absurdity in the early Church that caused a German Reformer Martin Luther to call for changes in many beliefs, faith and conduct that ushered in Protestant movement. Other Reformers such as John Calvin, John Knox, Ulrich Zwingh and others joined Luther and made reforms that affected the lives of millions of people and Churches for better. They protested against norms and practices that continuously distance us from God, our Maker.
In a sermon on Reforming or Deforming, the Radio Pulpit wrote, The Reformers didnt want change for the sake of change; they wanted change for the sake of Christ. The Reformers didnt try to invent some brand new approach to faith and morality, instead they tried to recover the timeless truth of the gospel revealed in the bible and preached by the early Church fathers ..They were trying to go back many centuries to recover and restore the faith proclaimed by Jesus Christ and His apostles. In effect, as human beings in a changing world we should hold highly the message of the scriptures without compromising the truth. We should not be static but effect changes that draw us closer to Christ, the Head of the Church.
In todays world, people invent changes that are contrary to the scriptures and embrace changes that are deforming. In recent past, more reformed Churches have challenged the basic teachings and beliefs of the scriptures. They acted in this manner to stay popular and not loose membership as well as financial commitments. They have interpreted always reforming to mean adopting new ideas and doctrines that the scriptures prohibit. Some have denied that Jesus is the only way to God while others boldly disbelieve the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and His resurrection. A couple of the evangelicals have blatantly disbelieved that Jesus Christ is God. They have also accepted alternative lifestyle as a way of life, supported and adopted the ordination of Gay/lesbian Ministers/Bishops. What a shame!
These groups of so-called progressive liberal Christians are contemptible because they disbelieve the bible in its entirety as the word of God, honor Jesus as God, hold the notion that Jesus had no virgin birth and was not raised from death. Funny enough they still call themselves Christians. How dare you answer Christian yet disbelieve the bed rock of Christianity and deny the core values of Christian faith? These people who claim and parade themselves as reformers are indeed deformers. Little wonder in his book Loving God, Charles Colson affirmed, So Christianity is not just a high-sounding ritual we perform on Sunday morning. Christianity is abiding by biblical standards of personal holiness and in turn seeking to bring holiness into the society in which we live.
In reforming, the bible changes us; in deforming, we change the bible. Some scholars and Church leaders because of their inglorious learnings think they can change the Jesus of the bible. These groups of learning madness accept certain portion of the scriptures and reject other portions. They practice dip and skip approach; dip where it suits them and skip where it challenge them. They gang up and vote to deform areas that they consider as unfavorable. They do not believe anyone can have a personal, firm and experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ. They do not accept the bible as the truth definitive authoritative revelation word of God instead they hold the belief that the bible was written by people who were not even as knowledgeable and had as much learning as they have; so they can rewrite it to suit their lifestyles and circumstances. Charles Colson further affirmed, The Bibles power rests upon the fact that it is the reliable, errorless and infallible word of God. And if that is true as the scriptures claim it is then it has authority over the life of every believer. On this assertion the Christian faith stands or fails, for if the bible is faulty, so is our faith.
Many of them run faith-based enterprises that receive regular government subsidies and they strive to remain politically correct. They subscribe to the plurality of religion, run cultural-based mega Churches that accept all opinion except the ones that promote and support the superiority of Jesus Christ. They think its insensitive and arrogant to insist that Jesus is the only begotten son of God and the only way to salvation. Their mind set denies objective truth and moral absolutes, all in the name of humility. Unfortunately, this action is not new, its simply re-occurring. It is true that the Bible plainly commands Christians to obey the civil laws and to be subject to civil authority. However, government is biblically ordained to preserve order and provide amenities to the people. Francis Schaeffer wrote, God has ordained the state as a delegated authority; it is not autonomous. So when government violates Gods commandment, it exceeds its authority. At that point a Christian is not longer bound to be in submission but can be compelled to open and active disobedience. – Charles Colson. He further upheld Dr Carl Henrys opinion on Christian duty, If a government puts itself above the norms of civilized society, it can be disobeyed and challenged in view of the revealed will of God. Also, the great Puritan pastor Cotton Mather said, it is a Christian duty to see that Gods standards of righteousness are upheld to the governing process.
Recently Joel Osteen, the Pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston was aired in Channel 13 Television. He was confronted with his opinion of the homosexuals. This man of God asserted that homosexual behavior is sinful just like any other sin, fornication, murder, gossip, greed, etc. He affirmed that is the position of the bible. Pastor Osteen said everybody is a sinner and the Church welcomes them to repent and accept the love of Jesus Christ. The Church should share the love of Christ with them; help and guide them to refrain from homosexual activities. They should repent and get married to opposite sex. Thank God for the life and courage of the Lakewood pastor for standing sentinel to absolute truth despite the allured persecution and sensitivity of the issue. We are in an era where many pastors would ask to be excused from the question or topic. From the genesis of life, God created male and female differently for a purpose. Both male and female reflects the image of God but in different ways; however they are complementary to each other. Male bodies and female bodies fit together; they become a whole person when they become one. God created us that way for a purpose Rev.Fr Larry Richards. He went further to say that the problem with too many in the Church these past years is that many of the men have become more feminine and the women have become more masculine. Looking backward, did we foresee that coming when we started wearing unisex dresses many years ago?
The purpose God created man and woman differently was for them to fit into each other and enjoy intimacy and their wholesomeness; be fruitful, multiply and replenish the earth [Genesis 1:31]. And God saw what He made and for the first time, He said it was very good. The main purpose of sex is mutual love and procreation. God created sex and only He decides what it is about, its goal and function. Human being neither designs, nor creates himself nor any human organs or parts nor has right or power to determine the original purpose and use. Even though scientific discoveries could help man design and model artificial body parts after the pattern of the original but there are made to replace and fulfill the purpose of the original as created by God. The question that remains unanswered is: why do those who live alternative lifestyles adopt children born through the traditional marriage lifestyles? Why cant they give birth naturally after their kinds or perhaps through binary or asexual reproduction? ..for refusal to accept God and His ways He gave them up to vile passions they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, He gave them over to a debased mind . [Romans 1:26-28].
The Radio Pulpit opined, The Church has often failed to convey the love of Christ for homosexual persons, failed to be gracious towards those who repent of same-sex acts, and failed to encourage and support those who strive to resist their same-sex longings. This is one of the many areas where the Church must always be reforming. For example: An author, choosing to remain anonymous bluntly admits that, for the authors of scripture, homosexuality is sin but by the world experiential reality, it is a way of life. The bible is not, therefore, a necessary condition for knowing what good and evil is. He concludes, There is every reason to remove the homosexuality issue from the Church agenda as a moral and religious problem. This is not reforming but deforming. Has their much learning made them mad? If the Church of Christ cannot reform her followers and change the society, then the purpose of her existence is questionable. In this terrible times and era, more than ever before is the call to stand sentinel to the truth of the gospel. This time we must fan into flame the gift of God; to present ourselves to God as approved workmen who do not need to be ashamed and correctly handle the word of truth [2 Timothy 1:6; 2:16]. The Church must not conform to or compromise with the state.
We are charged to preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. In this perilous, people are not willing to put up with sound doctrine. Instead to suit their desires, they gather around them teachers who will teach what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths [2 Timothy 4:2-7]. So teach and preach all scripture is God breathed and useful to teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness [2 Timothy 3:16]. I stand now to herald the Church against deforming Christ and His ways and begin to reform towards God and purity of His Church. Charles Dickens was quoted to have once said, There is a great difference between wisdom of the head and wisdom of the heart. The wisdom of the head or the world is obtained through education and book reading. The wisdom of the heart tells us the way to live. It is also called wise discretion or sound judgment. For similar reason that Apostle Paul wrote to the Saints in Corinth saying we do not speak a message of wisdom among the mature, not the wisdom of this age or of the ruler of this age that is worth nothing. No we speak of Gods secret wisdom, a mystery, a wisdom that has been hidden which God ordained even before the world unto our glory .[1 Corinthians 2:6-7].
The bible praises God and denounces sin; deformers praise sin and denounce the Lord God. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter [Isaiah 5:20]. The Radio Pulpit opined, When a belief or behavior clashes with the bible, the reformer rejects that belief or behavior; the deformers reject the bible. A deformer wants what is new; a reformer wants what is true. A deformer claims there are many ways to God; a reformer knows Jesus is the only way to God. The scriptures say by their fruit we shall know them. How are you known a reformer or a deformer?
Reach: Evangelist Ogbonnaya, Godswill @weefreeministries.org or P.O. Box 720035, Houston, Texas, 77272.