“Trouble At The Top Pt. 2”

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

(This post is a follow-up to “Trouble At The Top”)

First of all, I wanted to thank you for the answer to a recent question about the doctrinal problem I was having in the church I attend.  But because of the answer, I have other questions I would like to ask.  They are:

1. Why is this truth of Acts 20:17 not taught?
2. All the churches in the area that I know of have a pastor, two to three elders, and deacons.  Where is this type of church government found in the Word?
3. If it is not, why is it so popular and allowed?

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Skeptical

Dear Skeptical,

There is a constant battle in the religious world between doctrinal purity and ecumenicalism.  Ecumenicalism is the teaching that we should accept anyone and everything just as they are.  It is impossible to accept everyone as they are and still remain true to the teachings of Jesus Christ.  As people move toward tolerance of all, they move away from Christ.  Sadly, most churches in America flourish under the banner of total acceptance… this is why Acts 20:17 (among other simple but unpopular biblical teachings) isn’t taught.

The Bible even warns us that such things would happen.  Paul told Timothy that most churches would eventually stop teaching truth and start preaching whatever peoples’ ears itched to hear (2 Tim 4:3-4).  Whenever the main goal of preaching becomes to make people happy, false teaching abounds.  Paul also warned that there would be a “falling away” in the years following the Bible’s completion (2 Thess 2:3).  Every time a church shoves the Bible to the side and begins to do what is popular instead of what is faithful (faith comes by hearing and applying God’s Word – Rom 10:17), it falls away.  That is what began to happen to the Galatian church.  Paul warned them that they were misusing the Bible.  The Galatians were warping and twisting the Word, and that is just as bad as not using the Bible at all (Gal 1:6-9).  Many churches do exactly what the Galatian church did; they add or subtract from the Bible whenever it suits them, and consequently, they stop being a faithful church (Rev 22:18-19).

The biblical pattern for a congregation is for a plurality of elders to lead the church (1 Pet 5:1-2).  Those elders must meet the qualifications of 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9.  If there are men qualified to be deacons, they should be appointed to serve as helpers for the elders (‘deacon’ means ‘servant’).  Deacons must meet the qualifications found in 1 Tim 3:8-13.  There is no example in the Bible of a leadership structure other than that.  The single-pastor system is totally manmade… popular, to be sure, but still manmade.  We’ve all seen that many things in this life that are popular are also wrong.  The Bible is God’s tool to bring us salvation (Rom 1:16-17)… if we want that salvation, we must stand firm and not let Satan delude its influence.  The only way to stay doctrinally pure and pleasing to God is to test every church practice against the Bible (1 Jn 4:1).

Share