The mixed multitude in the church has reached an alarming stage. Therefore, it is time we separated the church from churchians.
The church is an assemblage of God’s people, doing God’s will. The church comprises Christ-like people. Invariably, therefore, any person who fails to manifest this Christ-like quality but claims to be a Christian is a fake. Churchians on the other hand are people masquerading as God’s people but doing their own will with intent to deceive and defraud. Nevertheless, like a clanging cymbal, their noises ring out far beyond the environs and many are drawn to it.
Daily, we are inundated with crazy tales of the activities of churchians. Sadly, out of naivety or mischief, people attribute these to the church of Christ.
Just a couple of weeks back, one self-announced prophet prophesied the end of the world by April 25, 2024, and many believed him. Despite the Bible expressly stating that nobody knows the time rapture would take place, some churchian went on social media in a viral video, claiming that God told him clearly twice that the world would end on the said date.
Of course, the world is still here and the same shameless ‘prophet’, instead of repenting from his folly, is telling us that his prophecy failed because of his intervention after he completed a 21-day fasting and prayer period with his followers.
Not long ago, another churchian had camped 77 people in the basement of a ‘church’ in the Valentino area of Ondo, in Ondo State, claiming that God instructed him to keep the people in there and wait for his second coming. Among these people were 52 adults. We all know that rapture would take place suddenly; or did these people’s Bible tell them of a transit camp to heaven?
It may be true that these ‘prophets’ heard satanic voices and because they lacked the spirit of discernment they mistook the voice to be God’s. If you cannot discern the voice of Satan, how can you lead people to heaven? Can the blind lead the blind? However, that is the state of churchians.
There are several unsavoury news about ‘pastors’, including rape, adultery and fornication, murder, fraud, occultism and diverse ills that should not be mentioned among believers. These reports are celebrated with glee by enemies of the church, thinking that the church is decadent. This is not true because the church of Christ is marching on strong and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. Of course, the expectations are high in the camp of the enemy, wishing the church ill. Unfortunately, these things are neither strange nor new for the true church. Perhaps, what is new is the manner they are amplified.
These fake men and women have always been there. They may have increased in number. The Lord Jesus talked about the wolves who would do diverse miracles in His name but whom He would deny on the last day and send to hell. He even flogged those who made God’s House of Prayer a den of thieves and drove merchants out of the temple. I only pity the misguided followers of these men who had made up their minds to end up in hell but are also determined to take some souls along with them.
Others have milked the people so much before seeing the light and began attacking other churches and seeing everything wrong in them. They now condemn tithing, which is a controversial practice in most churches. However, now that they have realised that “tithing is wrong” and having collected tithes in the past, which they used to build their wealth, they tactfully forgot what the Bible also teaches about restitution. Churchians indeed!
That somebody arrogates a high-sounding clerical title to himself does not make him a man of God. There are several ‘dog of man’ out there. Only the unwary gets deceived. They get deceived because they are lazy and distracted by their blind quest for miracles. They don’t read their Bible but would rather hire prayer contractors to do miracles for them.
Indeed, the miracle is good but as I have often said, you don’t need more than one miracle (Matthew 6:33). Salvation is the only miracle that unlocks everything you need in life. Once you are saved, all those other ‘miracles’ you seek come flooding to you freely.
Unfortunately, many have come to grief in the hands of spurious merchants behind devilish pulpits while searching for miracles where there are none.
The pulpit is a place of power from where decrees are issued. The altar is a powerful place where divinity meets humanity, where proclamations are made. Sadly, there are pulpits, which instead of pulling men out of the pits of hell pull them down into damnation. There are evil altars where destinies are scarred or maimed. However, men flock there because of the varnishing razzmatazz, the ‘modernity’, and the miracles.
Of course, broad is the way that leads to destruction. So, let nobody be deceived by the soulless crowd in the noisy cathedrals.
A church that does not reconcile men with God is not one. Reconciliation with God means teaching and preaching the unadulterated word of God so that sinners would repent and turn away from their evil deeds. A church that pampers sinners and calls sin by euphemisms is not one. You cannot fail to condemn sin and claim to be a church. You cannot be encouraging harlotry and loose living and claim to be a church. You cannot be tolerant of sleazy politicians and fraudsters and feed fat on their wormy envelopes and claim to be a church. You cannot fix your eyes on the teeming number of your church members and claim to be a church when you cannot gauge their spiritual attainment. Many have starved and lean spirit but are obese in carnality. This is not a church.
You are not a Christian because you go to church or because your parents called you Christian. Many objects live and sleep inside the church 24/7 but are dead. The pew, the fans, and other furnishings in the church, are they Christians? Don’t be an inanimate thing in the church. You are alive because of God. So, be a lively stone and use your life to praise Him. God created you for His pleasure; do you think He would spare you on the last day after you have used your life to grieve Him while pleasuring the devil?
As for the trumpeters, lurking in the corner to publicise whatever ‘evil’ they notice in the church, beware. The devil has made you a watchman and you think you can run the church of Christ down? You would be hitting your feet against the bricks because the church of Christ is indestructible. Of course, it comprises fallible humans. Don’t be too quick to celebrate their fall because what makes it unique is that even if they fall, they spring up better and get going. Be careful lest you land in hell with your trumpet in your mouth.
However, the church should remain alive to its calling of pointing the way of salvation to perishing humanity. The church should not be distracted or discouraged by the activities of carnal men. They have always been there and will remain there until the blast of the trumpet when the roll call shall be taken.
The church is the light the world needs to see; shine it. The church should not mingle with the world. The Psalmist instructs us not to consent when sinners entice us; not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly; and not to fraternise with sinners because we get contaminated and lose our identity when we do so.
Churchians can be likened to a flourishing fig tree without any fruit to show. They are full of noise, glam, and worldly dash but lacking in all qualities of the heavenly mandate. The axe is laid already and every evil tree that the Lord did not plant shall be hewed down (Matthew 3:10). So, of such keep away or be ready to go down with it.
However, the church is thriving still. Though the road is narrow and burdensome and regardless of the impostors, trials, the gates of hell cannot prevail because Christ is the builder.