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Another Reformation
Foreword
The Protestant Reformation, which had its beginning on October 31, 1517, when the German monk Martin Luther reportedly nailed his “95 Theses” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, was a backlash by Martin Luther against certain traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. Of particular interest to Luther was his recent revelation from reading the Bible that salvation was not a product of indulgences or any “good works.” His epiphany took place while reading Romans 1:16 and 17 when it dawned on him that salvation was in reality a grace-gift of God contingent only upon a decision of genuine faith in (trust in or reliance on) Jesus Christ.
It is understood that as far as salvation was concerned, the four pillars of the Reformation were (1) Sola Scriptura—Scripture Alone, (2) Sola Gratia—Grace Alone, (3) Sola Fide—Faith Alone, and (4) Sola Christo—Christ Alone. Martin Luther apparently had two major concerns. One was that the true salvation message was not being presented by the Church. The other was that the parishioners of the Church were not being taught God’s Word; even more, they had no access to it.
With the exception of having access to God’s written Word, these concerns remain today. It can be asserted that it is now high time for another reformation. The reasons for this assertion is (1) that over the years it appears that a majority of evangelical Christians have succumbed to unbiblical but traditional presentations of the means of acquiring eternal life, and (2) very little doctrinal instruction of God’s Word is being provided in today’s evangelical churches.
As to the first reason, in most cases there is no scriptural violation to the explanation of the deity of Christ, the efficacy of His death on the cross, or His resurrection from the grave. These facts are generally presented suitably and in accord with Scripture. And usually even the passage Ephesians 2:8 and 9 is read or quoted to the lost person with the explanation that salvation is by grace through faith and not works.
But when the Christian attempts to bring the lost person to a decision for Christ, he usually presents to him several unscriptural requirements for the acquisition of God’s grace-gift of salvation, eternal life. Instead of allowing the Bible to be his guide, he parrots a list of steps that have become the traditional norm of the day for bringing a person to Christ. It doesn’t dawn on Him that most of these steps have no scriptural foundation, since “everyone else does the same,” or it was what was presented to him when he was “led to the Lord.”
These “traditional requirements” used to bring a lost person to Christ are referred to in this publication as a “staircase acquisition plan of salvation.” The term “staircase” is used since a staircase is composed of several steps. And each staircase acquisition plan is genuinely different from another, depending on its person of origin. But in all cases, it is definitely not in accord with Scripture.
As to the second reason, today’s evangelical church allots most of its programs and time to “worship” services that provide homilies arranged around several moralizing or socially enhancing points, all neatly outlined and often in rhyme. To these services there are other social affairs scheduled to bring parishioners together for fellowship and to hopefully increase the church’s membership. There are music programs, craft programs, “visitation” programs to name but a few. The emphases within many of these affairs, even in fact in the “worship” services, is on some form of emotional experience that church leaders often and wrongly attribute to the Holy Spirit.
Although many of these activities are fine, they are done to the exclusion of the church’s primary mission of “disciplizing” (Matthew 28:19) believers—the “teaching” of Bible doctrine to its members (Ezekiel 34:2, 3; John 21:15-17; Acts 20:20, 27, 28). Granted, there is Sunday school, which normally offers less than an hour of “programmed” Bible instruction set by individuals high in the “denominational” structure and far from the local church.
This arrangement does not foster Bible teachers who wait upon the Lord for their doctrinal instruction and the presence of the Holy Spirit to present it. And since the sanctification (spiritual growth) of the believer is wholly dependent upon his assimilation of Bible doctrine (John 17:17; Ephesians 5:26), many of today’s churches are composed of a high percentage of immature Christians (Hebrews 5:12-14) who operate strictly in the flesh and who provide an ineffective witness to the outside world.
Fallacy of Staircase Salvation
It is incredible how many dedicated and doctrinally-grounded ministers miss the mark when it comes to presenting the means by which a lost person may obtain eternal life. After vigilantly explaining the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, after detailing how Christ upon the cross paid the penalty-price for sin, and after carefully telling how salvation is not by works but by faith in Christ; the well-intentioned minister then succumbs to traditional unscriptural (“staircase”) steps in instructing the lost person on how to receive God’s grace-gift of eternal life.
This almost always takes the form of what is often labeled the “sinner’s prayer,” which includes a combination of two or more of the following:
Yet, the only step mentioned above authorized by God’s Word is the last one. All the others cannot be substantiated by an honest exegetical study of God’s Word. In the first place, nowhere in Scripture is anyone told to pray and ask for forgiveness to receive eternal life. The parable (Luke 18:9-14) that is used to substantiate praying for mercy as the means whereby one may “seal the deal” with God has nothing to do with the finished propitiated work of Christ. It was specifically meant to teach that trusting in self never leads to justification or favor with God.
The word “mercy” in this passage is actually a mistranslation of the Greek word hilaskomai, which is best translated as “be propitious.” This was a transaction between God and man under the covenant of Law and which took place each time a person offered a blood-sacrifice in the Temple. It was a transaction (appeal) that temporarily “satisfied” God’s holy nature until the next sacrifice. In the Age of Grace God’s holy nature has been permanently propitiated (satisfied), no longer requiring man to appeal for it either in word or deed.
Kenneth S. Wuest in his The New Testament—An Expanded Translation translates Luke 18:13 in this manner.
But the tax collector having come to a stand at a distance, was unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven but kept on beating his breast, saying, O God, justify me the sinner upon the basis of an expiatory sacrifice which satisfies the demands of divine justice and makes possible the just bestowal of righteousness on the basis of justice satisfied.
The fact is that God, at the infinite cost of the death of His Son, is propitious. This accomplished fact is the very heart of the Gospel of Divine Grace. Again, the doctrine of propitiation is an extension of God’s grace. It is not something that must be begged from God. It is an accomplished fact, which took place on an old Roman rugged cross over 2,000 years ago, and no amount of praying, asking or begging will make it other than this and/or more efficacious. It is a fact that needs to be accepted by faith alone.
Nowhere in Scripture is a lost person told to “confess” his sins or ask God to forgive him of his sins in order to be saved. The verse used to support this requirement is 1 John 1:9, which is directed only to believers and is part of the sanctification process that takes place subsequent to salvation. Although the world “repentance” is used in a couple of scriptures to represent the complete salvation step of turning to Christ alone by faith from every other confidence, the term is never explained to the lost individual who generally understands it to be some form of penitence (sorrow for sins).
Granted, when the Holy Spirit convicts a person that he is indeed a sinner, he may experience some form of sorrow for his sinful life, but this is not a requirement for being saved. He only needs to understand and accept the fact that he is a sinner. Although the Kingdom gospel that was presented strictly to the Jew by both John the Baptist and Christ included repentance; in the Age of Grace repentance is nothing more than the step of turning to Christ by faith and from self and every other confidence or means thought to provide eternal life.
The other passage in Acts 8:18-24 that is used to teach that repentance and asking for forgiveness is necessary for salvation is again taken out of context. It is a passage concerning a believer and not a lost person. Indeed, repentance and forgiveness are steps that only a believer may take in the sanctification process.
Nowhere in Scripture is a lost person told to ask “Jesus to come into his heart” in order to be saved. The verse used to convey this misinformation is Revelation 3:20, another verse that is addressed to believers and which applies only to the sanctification process. Jesus will never enter an unregenerate heart, but He will baptize the person into the “Body of Christ” by means of the Holy Spirit upon the individual’s decision of faith in Christ Jesus, which is the “new birth.” It is only then that the person becomes a new creation with a clean heart, which may be occupied by Christ to the glory of God.
Then there is lordship salvation, which essentially means that a person must dedicate or commit himself to God or make Jesus Lord of one’s life in order to receive eternal life. This is something that a lost person who is dead in sin can never accomplish. Even after the new birth and with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the believer, who is in continual combat with his sinful nature, may never be able to completely make Christ Lord of his life. The lordship of Christ in a life is part of the sanctification process that can only apply to a believer, never to the lost.
Then there are those who maintain that Romans 10:9 and 10 require a person to “confess with his mouth the Lord Jesus Christ” in order to be saved. Some mean this to be some form of public confession while others apply it to lordship salvation. In reality it means neither. An exegetical analysis of this passage of Scripture may be found in the topical section of www.bibleone.net, which shows that these verses coined by Paul were specifically directed to his Jewish brethren in which he was informing them that they needed to recognize that Jesus Christ was God-incarnate and the promised Messiah in order to properly place their faith in Him. But even in this passage he made it clear that it was their faith in Christ that obtained their eternal salvation.
The One and Only Step a Person May Take to Obtain Eternal Life
Even as the Scriptures indicate none of the above discussed “steps” as a means of obtaining eternal life, there is ample and clear specification within God’s Word that the only means (or “step” if you please) a lost person may take to obtain eternal life is by placing his genuine faith (trust, confidence, reliance) in Jesus Christ. This is in fact a decision made within his will, not a prayer. Even those who would have a person “pray” for salvation are at a loss to explain where exactly in the prayer the person is transformed from “lost” to “saved” (i.e., given eternal life). If anything, they admit that it is when the person decides to pray that the event occurs.
The truth is that eternal life is a grace-gift from God, which cannot be begged for, asked for, worked for, traded for or obtained by any merit of man. It is a paid-up gift that may only be received by means of one’s unmerited faith in God’s Son. This is declared over and over again throughout God’s Word. This one criterion of obtaining salvation God’s way is made clear in Scripture. Consider the following:
Luke 8:12—Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
John 1:12—But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
John 3:14-18—And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:36—He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
John 6:29—Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
John 6:35—And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes [by faith] to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
John 6:40—And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:47—Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
John 7:38—He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
John 8:24, 58—Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. . . . Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."
John 9:35-38—Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.
John 11:25-27—Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
John 20:31—But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
Acts 8:37—Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Acts 10:43—To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.
Acts 11:17—If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?
Acts 14:23—So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Acts 15:9—And made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Acts 16:31, 34—So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” . . . Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
Acts 18:8—Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.
Acts 19:4—Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”
Acts 20:21—Testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 26:18—To open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.
Romans 1:17—For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (See Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 2:20; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38)
Romans 3:21, 22, 26, 28, 30—But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. . . . to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. . . .Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. . . . since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
Romans 4:3—For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (See Romans 4:9, 11; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23)
Romans 4:5—But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
Romans 5:1, 2—Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Romans 9:30—What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith.
1 Corinthians 1:21—For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
Galatians 2:16—Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
Galatians 2:20—I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (See Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38)
Galatians 3:22—But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Galatians 3:24— Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Ephesians 1:13—In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Ephesians 2:8, 9—For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Philippians 3:9— And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.
1 Timothy 1:16—However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
1 Timothy 3:16—And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.
1 Timothy 4:10—For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.
1 Peter 1:3-5—Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 2:6—Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
1 John 3:23—And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
1 John 5:1, 5—Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. . . . Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
1 John 5:13—These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
Only ‘faith in Christ’ is mentioned. In fact the most prominent verse of all history for soul-winning is found in this book—John 3:16: ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.’ This verse alone is sufficient to bring a lost person to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8, 9)
Being justified freely by His [God’s] grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:24)
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17)
This simple, yet profound, truth is that the gift of eternal life is only achieved by a person who receives it by faith alone in Christ alone. This is an instantaneous decision of faith in Jesus Christ made within one’s will when a person, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, realizes he is a sinner bound for hell, realizes that there is nothing he can do to save himself, realizes that God-incarnate Jesus Christ did everything necessary for man’s salvation, and realizes he must place his total trust (reliance/confidence) in Christ and his sacrifice for his personal salvation.
All the unsaved person then needs to do is simply make a conscious or willful decision to accept (totally trust in) the finished payment made by Jesus Christ on that cross, which inner decision will instantly and permanently makes effectual to him the sacrifice of Christ and thereby gain for and guarantee to him eternal life.
And, this is important, this “decision of faith in Christ” is made apart from any prayer or pleading with God. It is solely based on the knowledge imparted by the Holy Spirit to the unsaved that Christ did everything necessary for the person’s salvation, and it (the decision of faith in Christ) is a conscious decision of will made in an instance of time.
Of course the individual may opt not to make the decision, but if he does he is instantly born again (granted eternal life). Certainly the decision may be followed-up with a prayer of thanksgiving, but the danger in making the prayer or any of the other above unscriptural steps part of obtaining eternal life is that the lost person may believe that these are necessary for it; thereby, making salvation contingent upon his actions in taking such steps. This then transform the process into a procedure of works, which will never save anyone.
This writer realizes that many thousands of persons have come to faith in Christ even though they have been confronted with a “staircase salvation plan” as defined in this article; but, their salvation only happened upon their faith alone in Christ, which came before, during, or after their “prayer of salvation.” Nevertheless, it is always best to inform a lost person that it is his decision of faith that will save him, not a prayer or any of the above discussed “staircase steps.” Salvation is only possible by faith alone in Christ alone.
The Church’s Primary Role is to Make Disciples of Believers
The primary responsibility of the pastor and the local church is to make disciples and not just shallow converts throughout the world, a procedure that is directly proportional to the resolute and intense teaching of systematic and thematic Bible doctrine. Yet many churches and pastors, either through ignorance of God’s Word or by social pressures, are content to maintain a nursery of spiritual infants.
Such pastors and churches relegate instruction in Bible doctrine to a brief session in what is called “Sunday school” each week, usually a period of one hour or less; while scheduling over three times this amount of time for services that feature other, but much less important, spiritually related matters. And even in such “Sunday school” sessions, a believer is fortunate if most of the scheduled hour is truly devoted to methodical Bible study. And those individuals selected to administer doctrinal lessons within Sunday schools may not at times be chosen for their devotion to and knowledge of Bible doctrine, since weekly lessons are provided by a pre-programmed quarterly that obviates these requirements.
Although these weekly lessons may touch on key theological points, most often major doctrines are presented with little depth, such biblical doctrines as Bibliology, Soteriology, Angelology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, Christology, Pneumatology, and more.
The consequence for this lopsided prioritization of time and energy is the proliferation of congregations that are ignorant of the “meat” of God’s Word, excepting only those few individuals who personally take it upon themselves to study Bible doctrine in order to show themselves approved unto God. With such churches composed of believers who are satisfied to gauge their spiritual worth according to their attendance in services that feature moralistic homilies (in some cases no more than psychological pep-talks) each week, is it any wonder that personal carnality, worldliness, and “legalism-spirituality” rules in Christendom today?
Today’s church member may be aware of the “milk” of God’s salvation, i.e., the justification of the spirit based on faith alone in Christ alone; but he is quite ignorant of the “meat” of God’s salvation, i.e., the salvation of the soul (Gk: life) through spiritual perseverance and which will have crucial import at the Judgment Seat of Christ and in the coming Kingdom Age. He may understand that Christ died on the cross, but with no true understanding of what this sacrifice affords the believer, e.g., justification, redemption, imputation, expiation, reconciliation, regeneration, propitiation, sanctification, and glorification.
He understands to some degree the Gospel of Grace but fails to differentiate it from the Gospel of the Kingdom, which leads to flawed interpretations of many passages within God’s Word. He may in fact know that the Bible contains prophecy but has no comprehension that fully one-third of the entire Bible is prophetic, not to mention his lack of any grasp of the prophecies and how they relate to believers and the world in these “last days.” He stands with those of whom the author of Hebrews said:
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:12-14)
This is in fact the case. And it can be attributed directly to the dearth of teaching Bible doctrine, both in the pulpit and in other forums set by pastors and churches today. And surely this should not be, since this concept of spiritual shepherding by both pastors and churches has ample foundation in God’s Word.
The following scriptural passages clearly convey that the primary role of the local church, its pastor, and its members, in addition to bringing lost persons to Christ in faith, is to teach them Bible doctrine and thereby making them true disciples (spiritually mature). All underlining is by this writer.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend [Shepherd] My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.” (John 21:15-17)
And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. (Jeremiah 3:15)
“I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:4)
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.’” (Ezekiel 34:2, 3)
I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. (Ezekiel 34:23)
But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. . . . However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (John 15:26; 16:13)
How I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house. . . . For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. (Acts 20:20, 27, 28)
So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)
Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature. (1 Corinthians 14:20)
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. (Ephesians 1:18)
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-15)
Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. (Colossians 1:28)
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach. (1 Timothy 3:2)
These things command and teach. (1 Timothy 4:11)
Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (2 Timothy 4:2-4)
Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly. (1 Peter 5:2)
The primary responsibility of the pastor and the local church is to systematically and thoroughly teach the Word of God—Bible doctrine. All other church and pastoral activities must take second place to this activity. Yes, worship services are appropriate; although, to truly worship God, which is to express one’s love for Him, one must place priority on the consumption and detailed teaching of His Word. Song festivals are fine and their basis is biblical, but never should they be considered equivalent or as a substitute for teaching Bible doctrine. Prayer meetings and visitation programs are scriptural, but never as necessary as programs of instruction in Bible doctrine.
Conclusion
The Church (Body of Christ) has drifted far from its responsibility of accurately presenting God’s salvation plan, primarily in the matter of the human responsibility in salvation, and in properly teaching God’s Word (Bible doctrine) in order to insure that believers become disciples (spiritually mature) in accordance with our Lord’s clear commission. Both of these failures are a result of its adherence to unscriptural traditions rather than to the clear instruction in God’s Word. In this respect, today’s conditions are not altogether unlike the conditions that existed during Martin Luther’s day. Therefore, it is this writer’s firm conviction that it is now time for the Church to experience another reformation.
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