|
|
By: Michael Tao
The foundation of Christian church should be built upon the pure Word of God, but unfortunately it is not always the case. There are many "churches" that carry the name of Christ, preach the Gospel that salvation is by Grace from God, but with some other extras. One of the examples is , "...a saved person will lose his salvation, if he sins a big sin; or if he sins a sin and does not repent, or a saved can walk out his salvation if he so chooses". Although this teaching can be absolutely sincere, and the church has no intention to mislead anyone, this is heretic.
Bible does not teach the saved can lose his salvation, instead, it teaches," And I (Christ) give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John 10:28 ), " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? ... For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35-39 ), "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:5 ), " Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." (Jude 1:24 ).
God chastened his disobedient children, he does not send them to hell, Hebrews 12:6-11 say, "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth... Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."
The unbiblical teaching of loss of salvation, turns their religion into a heresy and their church into an ungodly place. I was basically shocked by the prevalence of churches that hold this false doctrine in the western society. This heretic position makes them equal with all cults, such as Buddhism, Taoism, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormonism, Muslim, Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, etc.
To understand what exactly a professed Christian church really believes, the first approach is to study their statement of faith and constitution. Sometimes the statement of faith is included in the constitution. Tthese documents list the church's main doctrines, and its operation which includes leadership, authorities, administration, membership, finance, activities, etc.
Any member, including the pastor, if his belief or behavior does not line up with this statement of faith or constitution, and refuses to change after being pointed out to him, then he will be discharged from the church. This works from another direction, that is, if a member discovers his church is teaching heresies; or certain practice that he has a biblical reason to reject, he should leave that church and join a Bible-believing church. I will not join a church that refuses to teach the whole counsel of God. It is not what they teach is evil, but the moitvation of avoiding the hard subjects in the Bible is evil.
The constitution, with the statement of faith included, is also recognized as a legal document, which can provide protection if it is prepared properly.
As the editor of the 7000MEN, I have been asked by churches and Christians to send in the statement of faith of the church I belong to. My ministry is under and supervised by this particular local church, so what this church believes represents what I believe(if not, why should I stay there as a member?).The motivation of these enquires is obvious, which is: " if we are not standing on the same Rock and believe the same belief, I do not want to have anything to do with you and your magazine." I am quite pleased with this action of scrutiny. Not because I said I am a Christian, or an editor of a Christian magazine that make me your Brother in Christ, it is only what I believe that counts. With the same token, I also do not want to have any fellowship with any heretics (2 Corinthinas 6:14), even they carry big names and big title, even they are very familiar with the knowledge in the Bible, even they can cast out the devils in the name of Christ (Matthew 7:21-23),
The next practical way to clarify the stand of any person or church, is by asking questions, 1 Peter 3:15 says, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear". Answers should be given accordingly, even with meekness and fear. There is no use to claim one's public recognition, merits, authorities among churches etc, because this would not help others to understand one's biblical stand. The above verse also teaches us that the answer should be given by the person that questions are directed to, and not from a third party. To decline giving an answer by calling it an offence is rebellious to God's instruction. As long as one can understand the question, and the approach is sincere and polite; a Christian should, and should be able to answer questions about his faith. Christian should not react in flesh, but should act according to the Bible.
The third method is to go to that person or church and see how exactly the Word of God is taught and acted upon. Although this is not always practical, however most reliable; and essential before joining a church.
