Breaking The Rules

By Grant Marshall

Before I go into the main thrust of this message, I want to draw our attention to this: Have you ever noticed that in some families, there may be a child among the siblings who brings nothing but trouble to the house? In such scenarios, parents may be lost for some explanation, thinking they have failed in some way in bringing up the child. Guilt comes over them, and they try to compensate by refocusing their attention on the wayward one, thus neglecting the other siblings. Despite their efforts to raise all the children the same way, there is one who seems to be the misfit. Children rebelling in godly homes is common and brings much heartache to the parents who believe they have done their religious duties. However, this said, we must understand that rebellion in the house of God is a constant theme. In Leviticus 10, Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, believe, as priests, that they can break protocol and present to God their own unauthorised offering of fire and incense. God never asked them to do this, and regardless of the fact that they were new to the job, God did not even give them a warning for their misconduct - He killed them instantly.

Further down the road of the priestly line, we read In 1 Samuel.

2:27 Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? 28 I chose your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offerings presented by the Israelites.29 Why do you scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honour your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’

30 “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honour me I will honour, but those who despise me will be disdained. 31 The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age, 32 and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age. 33 Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at my altar I will spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.

34 “‘And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you—they will both die on the same day.

Peter, in his letter to the Asian diaspora, reminds them that they are part of God’s sanctifying work. God has made Israel a kingdom of royal priests, a holy nation, alluding to the level of their consecration to the Lord. In Christ, we are all to become living sacrifices, acceptable to God. Later in the chapter, we are admonished to live ordered and godly lives, to be representatives of God’s kingdom and family, and not to bring shame through acts of hypocrisy.

We must honour God by observing His statutes and not making up those which we think are best. Misunderstandings come because something is misunderstood. When we place ourselves under authority, we often do not discern that what we are being taught is true. Our teachers may themselves be ignorant and in error, that is why we must be like the Bereans;

Acts 17:11Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

I am reminded now, at the time of writing, that an event of some proportion has hit one of the biggest churches in the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation) affiliation. One of the leaders, esteemed for his prophetic voice, has been gleaning his prophecies from the internet and in addition, there has been a series of some sexual allegations. Despite knowing some of these things for some time, the leaders have been severely slack in responding. In this story, I am once again drawn to the shenanigans of Eli’s sons, his lack of leadership and discipline of the Lord. Friends, we cannot be slack in leading God's flock. In today's propensity among the charismatic to accept anything of a prophetic nature, it is easy to propel people into roles that are not sanctioned by God.

Friends, do not be fools but be wise; test everything, even this word. God, according to His promise, that in the latter days as He regathers Israel, He will set in place godly shepherds who will give their lives for His flock and teach the truth. Jeremiah 23:4“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!”declares the Lord. 2Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

Paul, in his letter to the  Corinthian church, responds to the arguments of division that have been reported to him.

He writes on two issues,  v10-17,  I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,[a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household, have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

He approaches the issue by highlighting allegiances through baptism. We are not baptised by the names of our leaders and teachers, we are not baptised into the name of our church, we are only baptised in the name of Jesus and his cross.

On this, we must understand that the gospel message is not so much about drawing people into congregational identities but into Christ. When we look at all the affiliations of the Christian church, it would seem that Paul’s message has been largely ignored; divisions continue among us.

It is also clear that the gospel message has taken a side track. The message of salvation has become its dominant theme, but though it is the truth that we have been saved to receive our salvation, the message is about redemption. There can be no salvation without redemption. To redeem something means that an exchange of something needs to take place. When we were yet sinners, Christ died ‘for ‘us. God gave Himself as the sacrifice that was needed to cover our sin. This is clearly shown and should be understood in the foreshadowing event in the garden; an animal, the precious Lamb of God, was sacrificed at the foundation of the world.

Rev13:8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

When God clothed us in the blood and the skin of the Lamb, He was showing us that, despite our rebellion, He still has us covered. All believers are now in Christ and under Him.

So why do we persist in creating religious coverings and leadership followings? It is what we are taught. Anyone who becomes a believer in Christ generally enters the affiliation that brought them in. We learn their ways and traditions and seldom ask,’ What am I aligning with or to whom?’ And thus we know little of the background of the church or indeed the history of its roots.

And there lies a very big problem. The pattern of restoration shows us that what has become old is being refurbished to its original condition. We can term this the ‘abolition of what is old’. I used to restore antique furniture. When I had finished the work, the piece looked like it was when it was first made. I did not add anything to the piece or reshape it. When we look at the Church, the ecclesia of God’s people, we see that it has taken on a few bumps and chips along the way. God has not chosen to replace it but to mend it, to restore it. This restoration reflects the brokenness and deterioration of the relationship that occurred in the garden, when the glory that covered God’s created beings fell. This is what we look forward to: being with Him again in our restored glory.

In 380 AD, Catholic Christianity became the state religion in Rome. However, up till then, the ecclesia congregated under the pastoral oversight of Bishops and Deacons as set out by Paul, in the book of Acts, Timothy and Titus. These were the apostolic teachings that the new leaders followed. Fundamentally, though these leaders led apostolically, in accordance with the foundations laid by the apostles, they were not apostles.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:20  CJB

‘You have been built on the foundation (apostles) of the emissaries and the prophets, with the cornerstone being Yeshua the Messiah himself.’

1 Corinthians 3:10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

It is clear that the early church was being admonished to observe godly leadership. In addition, they did not recognise a five-fold ministry in this respect. The ministry was left to the bishops who taught and pastored, and to the deacons who would oversee the general running and administration of the church. This is how the church was run and was acknowledged by the very early church bishops. In this respect, and despite some doctrinal beliefs, the Eastern Orthodox Church, away from the Catholic Church, still runs in this way. These early church fathers, in particular Clement of Rome, who was considered a disciple of the apostle  Peter, saw the church as universal. This universality was termed catholic, though it was not the catholic institution. Once that happened, a whole world of confusion began and became exasperated when the great schism of 1517 happened and the protestant church was birthed. We must also realise that the early protestants would have been catholic.

However, the Protestant Church remains fragmented into thousands of denominations, whilst, in general, the Catholic Church remains unified, apart from some doctrinal issues, one of these being headship.

If we are to pursue unity of the faith, then it would be pertinent and wise to understand how the early church was originally formed in accordance with the apostolic teachings and work of the builders, the bishops and deacons who were given the task to maintain the health of the ecclesia. Perhaps, our endeavours should be concerned with this unifying and constructive aspect. Through the blood of Christ, our redemption tells us that we have been bought back so that we can be brought back to our place of origin. If we are to think apostolically, then we must align ourselves to the apostolic teachings; anything else is another foundation and anything built on it is built on sand.

When a builder builds upon his groundwork, it must be established that the concrete base is strong enough to hold the weight of the building. This aspect of the concrete is termed its specific gravity.

Now imagine the architect of a house coming back to assess the building; what would happen if he found that his plans had been ignored and everything, including the groundwork, was substandard and not strong enough to stand the test of time and the weathering over the years?

God’s judgement therefore, begins in His house, especially upon its leaders and teachers. That’s why the responsibility on a teacher of God’s people is great. This is why all the more, we must endeavour, if we have determined a problem, we should address it. This is also the work and job description of all those who are called to leadership.