Texas-Sized Tortilla

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By David Block

I have often heard people complain about the disunity of the church. They are perplexed as to why she is so fragmented and fail to understand why we all just can't “get together.” “After all,” they say, “we believe in God and Jesus Christ as our personal savior. What else is there?” Unfortunately, they fail to see that this attitude is the cause of the problem. I am a firm believer in the idea that we must have unity in the basics of the the faith and allow liberty in all else, but the problem is when the basics are relegated to the “all else” category. When truth and clear statements of the Bible are treated as topics for debate, there is a problem.

Granted, there are many things that are debatable in the church. For instance, whether or not the ushers enter the center or side aisles to receive the offering or if the choir should wear robes are all up to a matter of opinion and practicality. Yet, there are many topics that should not, must not, and cannot be debated or questioned.

It is extremely important that the church takes a hard line on the truth of biblical doctrine. The church needs to take seriously its duty in disciplining its members. We, as individual believers, need to be daily working out our faith in repentance and mortification of our sin. Why must these things be? Let's look at an analogy that the apostle Paul used on several occasions.

Galatians 5:7-10 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.

1 Corinthians 5:6-13 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. "Purge the evil person from among you."

Paul applies his analogy to the church as a whole and to the individual, but the message remains the same: sin, no matter how small, corrupts thoroughly. Letting a little sin in here or there, is like adding a pinch of yeast to your tortilla recipe. Now if you don't want a tortilla the size of Texas then you ought not add yeast, because as we all know, that little bacteria can do some big things. But if you want to actually eat the thing, and have a real tortilla, you don't add yeast. No matter how good the rest of the dough is, even if if its your world famous flat bread, the dough is ruined by all the yeast. The church has missed the warning of Paul and has taken a dump truck of leaven to their dough. There are many churches that have some great people with great gifts but they have allowed sin into their church and left it unchecked and now they meet together on Saturday night and three times on Sunday worshiping a god of their own invention. “Cleanse out the old leaven.”

These churches have also failed to listen to the apostle Peter. He says that “false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1). False teachers have crept, begged, and, most inexcusably, have been ushered into the church, “for the time is coming [is here] when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3,4). I guess it should be no surprise to us that there are so many churches today that have teachers teaching blatant heresies, for Peter and Paul both have made it clear why this is happening: the allowance and tolerance of sin, the desire for entertainment and the false feel-good gospel.

As grave a situation the church is in these days, there is something that still can be done. However, we must get to work. The way for us to chase the false teachers from their dens of iniquity, to flush the vipers from their broods and to unleaven our lump is for us to, “try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10). How are we to do this? The answer is found in the word of God. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). How does the renewal of the mind come about? What are we to test things by? Not by the latest abomination of Hollywood or by the pollution of our postmodern society, that's for sure. Only through diligent study of the Bible may our minds be renewed so that we might test and discern. As growing Christians our abilities of discernment are expected to grow for the author of Hebrews says, “ But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil,” (Hebrews 5:14).

Through the constant study of the word our ability to judge good from evil will grow. What are we to judge? Actually, the first question we need to ask is who. For many Christians the idea of judging anyone seems like a worldly idea. “We don't judge anyone because the Bible says 'judge not lest thee be judged.'” This verse is true in its context, but if you recall the 1 Corinthians passage I quoted earlier it said, “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. 'Purge the evil person from among you.'” We are not to judge unbelievers but all those that claim the name Christian. We are to judge our brothers and sisters. We need to judge whether or not their actions, words and thoughts are good according to the Biblical standard and not according to what we feel or what we think. Our guide is the word alone.

So, why is this so important? It is because, over time if we lapse in one area our whole belief will collapse. Take the doctrine of God's exhaustive sovereignty for example. Over the years, people have continually denied the omnipotence and providence of God by instituting man-centered theology into the church. Many churches have accepted this idea into their midst and we are now paying the price. The straying from one truth has caused a host of theological and practical problems today. Some churches have embraced the “speaking in tongues” movement where utterances are uncontrolled and an interpreter is no where to be found. Yet, the Bible makes clear that true speaking in tongues is controllable and must be interpreted in public. Many churches have music that is not only theologically incorrect but glorifies and worships the god of Self. We have had churches that incorporated practices that have no true biblical warrant or are antithetical to Scripture like the Roman Catholic church's indulgences or the revivalism churches and their invention of the altar call. Why has this happened? It is because these churches have strayed, maybe in just a seemingly insignificant area at first, but over time the leaven has worked its way through the entire church, practice, doctrine, theology and all.

Why is the church fragmented? I'm undaunted to say that I will not worship in a church that espouses heresy. I will not attend a church that directly offends the commands of the perfect word of God. Therefore, I need a different church from these. I need the catholic church of God not the manifestation of the debased minds of the false teachers. I need the body of Christ, not a multi-million dollar organization. I need the fellowship of the saints not the gathering of delusional pagans.

Is the church fragmented? The true church is not. It has always been unified. The visible church may divide, schism, fight and in some places, collapse but the true body of Christ is one and will always be one through the very power of Christ himself. We are His, bought with His blood, not our own.

John 17:20-23 I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Did Christ ask the Father for something that would not happen? Did God say no to God? Has Christ's glory faded? Has the world ceased to believe in Christ? Is this unity only to come in the next life? Does God not love Christ? Is the church fragmented?

All those that serve the Almighty God feel the same way that I do. We are united under one head, Christ, in one baptism and are empowered by one Spirit. But now is the time for us to be united against sin. Now is the time to remove the leaven. Now is the time!