The Equality Of All Believers

The Equality of ALL Believers BY Patricia Backora One of my favorite places in our area is a historical theme park which takes you back through time to show you how people lived a couple of centuries ago. One section is a village of farm buildings and cottages typical of the period when mass emigration took place to America. I’m only 5 foot 4 in shoes, but my head barely cleared the ceiling rafters of the old cottages. I could sense the sheer hardship of the period as I saw the hard-packed dirt floors and my hand felt the hard lumpiness of the crude beds stuffed with hay. I was shocked at the narrowness of one rocking chair, which warned visitors not to sit on the furniture. It reminded me that earlier generations were poorly nourished and much smaller than modern people. In another section of the park a typical American town of the same period was reproduced, and admittedly, it appeared much more prosperous than the Irish village. Lots of antique goods were on display and there was a much more cheery feel to the place. One unforgettable attraction was a replica of a sailing ship bound for the New World. No luxury cruise was enjoyed by Irish immigrants as they slept below in cramped bunks and subsisted on coarse, meager rations. In the park’s museum were many exhibits depicting the stark misery and poverty suffered by Irish immigrants once their storm-tossed voyage finally ended with their arrival in the New World. Even then the lot of the poor Irish was hardly improved. A room in a typical boarding house was depicted, where Irish laborers slept on the floor packed like sardines after their days of toil. In the “Old World” village we toured an old church building which resembled many meeting houses in the early American period. I was struck by the grim atmosphere of the place. Narrow, unpadded benches were partitioned into walled-off, gated compartments. Worshippers were seated according to their social status. Each section had four benches facing each other so a particular family or social clique could face one another and worship together as a separate unit.

I tried to open one pew gate but it wouldn’t budge. Evidently, these could even be locked! I bet many preachers of today wish they could lock their parishioners in their pews to keep them from slipping away to catch a ball game on TV! In the olden days families would sit together in their own pew, literally sectioned off from all other worshippers by low wooden walls. Talk about division in the Body of Christ! Ephesians 2:14 speaks of how Christ has abolished the wall of partition between Hebrew and Gentile believers in Christ. Did the learned clergymen of that day overlook this vital scriptural principle in their study? More likely, they turned a blind eye to it and simply bowed to social pressure to keep earthly social classes separate in the assembly, contrary to the Word of God. A whole section of the church was walled off to segregate the poorest churchgoers from the rest of the assembly, contrary to Scriptural teaching. Sort of like keeping wild horses in their own corral. Their seating consisted of narrow, backless benches with little leg room. Economy seating didn’t start with modern airlines! James 2:1: My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. Verse 2: For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; Verse 3: And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Verse 4: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Verse 5: Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? Verse 6: But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? 8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. It is a clear violation of scriptural command, a SIN, to assign church seating on the basis of wealth or lack of it. It is a violation of the Royal Law not to treat your poor neighbor with the same consideration

you’d desire for yourself. Even today many preachers forget Jesus was born to a POOR peasant couple in Galilee, and his foster dad toiled for a living with his own hands! I’m reminded of one particular teacher I had in the fourth grade. Mrs. S. would have a sudden burst of temper whenever one of her students did something which irked her. She wouldn’t hit anybody, she’d just humiliate a kid in front of the whole class to drive home her point. Back then teachers were insensitive toward “special needs” children and thought they were just being lazy for being unable to keep up with the rest of the class. One girl was “poor” in academic ability. OR, she might have been autistic, which meant she was “living in a world of her own”, unable to relate to or interact with, the reality of the classroom. She got little compassion from Mrs. S. The teacher started yelling at the poor girl, who looked sad but confused while she was being scolded. Angrily Mrs. S. shoved the girl’s desk to a far corner of the room and told her she was to stay over there, AWAY FROM all the other students who were willing to work. Fallen human nature loves segregation because it’s just another form of self-exaltation and reassurance that I’m better than the other guy. I remember the segregation of the late 1950’s. Buses were segregated. Blacks were barred from most restaurants. Even gas station restrooms were segregated. Just sitting in the “poor pews” must have made poor parishioners think they were second-class citizens in the Kingdom of God. Perhaps they wondered whether there would also be class division up in heaven, after they died. The richest parishioners sat in the best section of the church, close to the pulpit. Their seating was a bit more luxurious, and they even had nice niches where they could put their hymnbooks and Bibles. Maybe they were tempted to think their proximity to the preacher brought them closer to God. What stood out the most was the pulpit, highly exalted above the rest of the furniture. The parishioners could see the robed parson high and lifted up above everybody else, preaching his eloquent sermon from his lofty pulpit. He would enter a little booth which led to a curving staircase which led up to it. There he stood, staring down at his flock, separated from ordinary men. Where is this exemplified in the New

Testament? The apostles ministered AMONG the flock of God, not high above them (I Thes.2:10; 5:12). The old meeting house had a stale, musty smell. The whole scene looked drab and dark, and there was a chill in the air. Musty old traditions of men have obscured God’s original purpose for His church, which is to be a close-knit expression of the life and love of Christ, with all His children relating to one another as humble brethren (Matt.23:8). Instead of the fragrance of the Living Christ and the warmth of His love, you can spiritually discern in dead, cold churches a dreary darkness and a cold absence of the Spirit of God. Where Christ wants unity and brotherhood in His church, the old flesh nature still craves division and hierarchy, and the devil looks for ways to sneak it in. Carnal believers want a clear-cut pecking order with themselves in the “inner circle” and “those on the outside looking in” kept in their place. Matt.23:8: But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. Verse 9: And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Verse 10: Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. Verse 11: But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. Verse 12: And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. Nothing here about Christ exalting some in His Body to be called “Reverend”, “Father”, or “Cardinal”. Jesus gave no command concerning elevated pulpits, segregated pews, baptismal robes, offering bags or backwards collars. My, but the devil loves religion, plain or fancy. No matter how religion is packaged, it’s essentially the same old prideful power struggle. For many centuries black-robed clergy have terrified God’s people with threats of hellfire for non-tithing or for exercising their God-given right to examine manmade traditions in the light of God’s Word (I Thes.5:21). Just the act of being positioned in the pulpit ABOVE “pew Christians” paints a picture of subservience to authority of MEN. Many who found they could no longer bear the tyranny of traditional ecclesiastical structures sought the answer in small, informal church gatherings. Surely friendly folding chairs are less scary than the partitioned pews of long ago! Surely electric guitars are warmer and fuzzier than musty old organs! Surely we’re all on a more level

playing field now, since the pastor has come down to earth a little more! At least he’s only doing his climbing exercises at home on his Stairmaster now! Sure, it’s much easier to flee a bad sermon from a folding chair than a locked pew booth, but in many congregations there remains a feeling of SPIRITUAL imprisonment to the dead doctrines of men. Free punch and cookies for the kids doesn’t soften the punch to their parents’ pocket book when the preacher scares money out of them with hairraising sermons out of Malachi chapter 3. I remember the church where I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. In the beginning, there were less than ten “regulars”. The “sanctuary” wasn’t finished yet, so we’d all meet together in the back room, sitting in folding chairs, in a circle. My heart was warmed by the close-knit feeling. I got a bit wistful when the sanctuary was finished and we sat in a more traditional way, with us on benches and the pastor behind a pulpit at the front. As the church grew, the pastor began to talk about how we should want to be “in the inner circle”, and “not on the outside looking in”. The more traditional seating had little, if anything, to do with this about-face in attitude. That’s comparing apples with oranges. Over time, our church added a couple of youthful “elders” who wanted their ideas recognized. Souls out in the community weren’t being saved fast enough. Miracles were few and far between. Maybe the leadership needed to generate more zeal by appealing to the desire of the saints to be like John, who lay in the bosom of the Master. Oh, Jesus had other disciples, but they weren’t quite as close as John. A sermon was preached about the wayward sheep who wandered off. The Master found him and tenderly received him back, but first broke his legs so he couldn’t run off again. It was then that the sheep had to be carried by the shepherd and was closer to him than any of the rest of the flock. There was joy in that sermon as in others, but it was tinged with a bit of bitterness, so unlike the earliest days when we enjoyed continual joy and singing in the Lord. The whole flavor of the church changed, little by little. Input from the 20-something “elders” was incorporated into church doctrine, just to please them. THEY decided that our few members would, from here on out, run a 24-hour “prayer chain” (chains bind!) which changed shifts every hour. This guilt-based giving worked a hardship on young families and strained marriages. You’ve heard the old expression: “Too many cooks spoiling the pot”. All eyes should have remained on “Christ in you, the Hope of Glory”, rather than thinking the solution to

church fruitfulness might lie in some type of segregation of the assembly into “inner circle” and “outer court” members. Sheep follow those they trust. Even if their “shepherds” are only grinning faces on TV. Even if they’re “pastors” who will never get the chance to know their flock (Acts 20:31; IThes.5:12). Trusting, naïve sheep are strung along with promises that if they keep “proving God” with “vows of faith” your big blowout blessing will eventually come. Many are sailing through rough, choppy seas of trial, hoping to make it safely to the preacher’s promised land of financial blessing. They see the preacher and his “inner circle” chums already safe on the other shore, living like “king’s kids”. If only they can hang on and ride out the rough waves of financial adversity just a little longer, surely they’ll make it…or WILL they? Not only are storm-tossed Christians being gently guided through troubled waters by the “carrot approach”, but behind them is the pastor’s stick, whipping them into submission to “authority” (whose?) In the airy-fairy fantasyland of “faith theology”, confession is possession. In the dark battlefield of spiritual discernment, satan’s most sinister landmines are covered over with pristine truth. Preachers will present their pitch somewhat like this: Old Testament scripture is profitable for instruction in righteousness, because many of the OT characters made terrible mistakes we can all learn from (I Cor.10:6-12). That much is true. But satan’s subtle trick is to sneak the lie down your throat on the coat tails of the truth just quoted. I’m reminded of one lady I knew who had a problem getting her dog to swallow his medicine. So she coated the pill with his favorite food. Presto! Down went the hated pill and the dog wasn’t even aware he’d swallowed it! Hot on the heels of that awesome truth, the preacher will say something like: “Just like God punished wicked King Saul for disobedience, He’ll surely punish YOU for withholding His tithe.” Aside from stripping the believer of his righteous standing in Christ, this statement ignores the fact that not even King Saul owed any tithes, unless he was raising crops or livestock when he sat on his throne. Conveniently ignored is the fact the tithe consisted only of EDIBLE agricultural products (Deut.12:17). The stipulations of the Biblical tithing law were clearly laid out by God as to what was to be tithed on and who was to benefit from it! This law was given ONLY to ancient Israel from Mt. Sinai by Moses (Lev.27:30-34). If anybody will get punished by God in connection with monetary tithing, it won’t be the poor widow who withheld fifty cents to buy a loaf of day-old bread. It

will be those who KNEW monetary tithing is a false doctrine but preached it anyway to scare God’s people. God isn’t impressed by the smoke and mirror tricks preachers pull to confuse the issue. He outranks every imposter on the face of the earth. All greedy liars, whether in the “pews” or the “pulpit” must answer to God for sin and rebellion if they refuse to consider their ways and repent! Sadly, very few ever reach the promised land of huge financial blessings earned through tithing or generous donations to rich preachers. Instead of safely landing in their desired harbor, their ship sinks. Broken bits of it wash ashore on the “other side” in the form of ruined lives, dashed hopes, strained marriages, and families driven deeper into poverty. And instead of tender-hearted concern and sharing from the “king’s kids” who have strung them along, they get only cold-shouldering and rebukes like “Your faith isn’t working because there’s sin in your life” and “It’s not God’s fault, it’s YOUR fault! Sure it’s not God’s fault, but it’s SOMEBODY’S fault! Like the disillusioned Irish immigrants who discovered that the streets of the New World weren’t paved with gold, many in the Prosperity Movement have gotten a rude awakening. Things didn’t work out because they labored under a curse. Only at your peril do you change the terms of your relationship with God from “grace through faith in Jesus Christ” to a slick slot machine theology whereby ten dollars in donations gets you a hundred. The very idea of trying to earn God’s blessings by pampering preachers sickens Him. God has promised only poverty to those who give to the rich (Prov.22:16). Believe me, I found out that’s true after falling for the pitch preachers made in junk mail I received many years ago! I believe that people who are persuaded by preachers to make “faith covenants” with God are gambling with their own salvation. Why? Because making a works-based covenant with God displaces the New Covenant of grace through faith in Jesus. He is the ONLY door through which we can enter in to God’s favor (John 10:7,9). When we spend hours, days, weeks, obsessing on “I gave God a hundred bucks, hallelujah, I expect ten thousand!”, then Jesus and His finished work on Calvary is no longer our focus. Human effort and works-for-wages takes center stage until very little else of our relationship with God remains. God Word warns that the best of our works done in the flesh are as filthy rags in His sight (Isa.64:6). Giving out of the love of Christ to TRUE NEEDS merits a reward from God, but being brainwashed into giving as a result of flawed doctrine is a work of the flesh God cannot honor. He cannot violate His own Word by

endorsing slot machine theology with a big reward. Going back to the Law or any part of it carries a curse, not a blessing (Gal.3:10). Far from ordaining luxury for “pulpit ministries” and poverty for pew Christians, it is God’s desire to bring about an EQUALITY of well-being in the Body of Christ (sounds a bit socialist, doesn’t it)?. Jesus wants church members to share loving concern one for another (2 Cor.8:14). I have NEVER heard the following scripture preached at any “prosperity church”. 2 Cor.8:12:For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.* * *So much for “borrow the rent money and make a vow of faith to prove God.” Baloney! Verse 13: For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: Verse 14: But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:* * *Sounds too “liberal” for a lot of conservative preachers who want to conserve their hold on your pocket book! Verse 15: As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.* * *Some would shout “that ain’t fair! I need to have a bunch left over so I can show others how my cup is overflowing! Some Christians feel they can no longer afford to stay in a moneyoriented church, but are afraid to leave an abusive church for fear of losing social contacts or falling under God’s judgment. They are warned that if they get out from under the “covering” (a doctrine found nowhere in the NT) of “God’s anointed shepherds” the big bad wolf will gobble them up. But my, what big teeth those hungry “shepherds” have! Christians who stay in an abusive church situation are ALREADY being gobbled up and are similar to wives afraid to leave abusive husbands who are destroying them. Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). The Holy Spirit brings people together to fellowship, but no man should come between the individual believer and His Lord. Some preachers dictate every iota of a believer’s lifestyle, at least they control all his major decisions. That’s cultism and the usurping of the Holy Spirit’s position as being the guide of the believer (John 16:13).

When believers learn to love one another as Christ loved them (John 13:35), the world around them will finally awaken to an awareness of Christ’s reality. The love of Christ expresses itself in humility. The elder must become as the younger (Luke 22:26). Today’s so-called “super-apostles” would do well to remember that the greatest in Christ’s Kingdom serve, they don’t sit on thrones of judgment (yet). The true servant of Christ feeds His flock (I Pet.5:2). A true minister of Christ is humble and doesn’t heap honors on himself (Luke 14:8-11). Those “in the ministry” should remember that ALL true believers have a ministry, however humble it may be (I Cor.14:26). Preachers should remember that ALL believers in Christ are priests (I Pet.2:5,9; Rev.5:9-10). They should remember that ALL overcomers, not just “ordained” preachers, are promised a place seated in Christ’s own Throne (Rev.3:21). ***** http://kingdomage.tripod.com http://banpreachergreed.tripod.com