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Building the Church According to Divine Specifications

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by David E. Moss

When my wife and I were looking for a house to buy, we found one we liked and signed a contract, agreeing to purchase it. Before we took possession, we had the house thoroughly inspected. During the inspection a structural problem was discovered and it was recommended that a structural engineer examine the property. Two engineers made independent inspections and both came to the same conclusion. The materials used to provide support in the house were insufficient to carry the load. There was no guarantee that the house would stand indefinitely. Fortunately, this was enough to nullify our contract and we were released from any obligation to proceed with the purchase but it left the owners with an unsaleable house.

When an engineer designs a building he provides the specifications for the construction. That is, he specifies what type of materials are to be used, what size they are to be, what their weight is to be, what their strength is to be, etc. For example, when deciding what to use between the first and second floors of a building, materials must be selected which will be strong enough to bear the weight that it will be supporting. The engineer specifies what is to be used and it is imperative that the builder use what the engineer specifies, or else the building may not stand.

In a similar way, God has provided some specifications for building the church. If we want our local church to be strong in the Lord and effective in His work, then we must meet God’s specifications as we edify the church. If we do not, then we could suffer serious internal damage and be greatly limited in our effectiveness.

Ephesians 4:12-16 presents this important principle. Jesus Christ gave some gifts to the church. Apostles and prophets laid the foundation. Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers are to add structure to the church. In doing so, they must work at bringing each believer and each local church up to the specifications provided by God.

The Purpose of Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers

In Ephesians 4:12, the word “for” is used three times in the English Bible:

  • FOR the perfecting of the saints,
  • FOR the work of the ministry,
  • FOR the edifying of the body of Christ.

The first of these carries the connotation “for the purpose of,” or “toward.” The second and third of these carry the connotation “with the ultimate goal being,” or “unto.” Expressed with these connotations, the verse says:

  • TOWARD the perfecting of the saints,
  • UNTO the work of the ministry,
  • UNTO the edifying of the body of Christ.

The effect of this is to divide the three statements into two categories, suggesting that the first statement, FOR the perfecting of the saints, refers to the main purpose of Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers; and that the other two, FOR the work of the ministry, FOR the edifying of the body of Christ, refer to two goals for the saints that are to result from the main purpose. In other words, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers are to move the saints toward perfection so that the saints are able to do the work of the ministry and edify the body of Christ.

To perfect something (Strong’s #2677) is to adapt it perfectly to its intended purpose, or to bring something up to its intended specifications. The verb form of the word (Strong’s #2675) is used in Matthew 4:21 to refer to the mending of fishing nets. The nets were damaged in some way and needed to be restored to their proper condition in order to be usable in catching fish. This same verb is used in Galatians 6:1 to refer to restoring believers who are overtaken in faults. Such believers are ineffective in their Christian testimony until the faults are eliminated and the individuals are restored to integrity in their walk with God. Thus in Ephesians 4:12, to perfect the saints is to mold their lives so that they meet the biblical specifications for Christian service.

When the saints are perfected, or brought up to God’s specifications, they will be able to do the work of the ministry and edify the body of Christ effectively just as God intended. Thus the role of Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers and the role of the saints at large is clearly distinguished. Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers are not supposed to do all the work. Their purpose is to perfect the saints. It is the goal of that purpose to equip the saints so that the saints can do the work of the ministry and edify the body of Christ. According to Ephesians 4:16, all saints are supposed to participate in these two things. Concerning the work of the ministry, this verse says: by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part… Concerning the edifying of the body of Christ, it says: maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in love. The fisherman’s purpose was to mend his nets. But the goal of the mending was to make the net able to catch fish. The Evangelist’s, Pastor’s, and Teacher’s purpose is to perfect the saints. But the goal of this perfecting is to make the saints able to do the work of the ministry and edify the body of Christ.

The Specifications For The Perfecting Of The Saints

So what are the specifications unto which the saints are to be perfected? Ephesians 4:13 begins, Till we all come… It then uses three prepositions [each of which have the same connotation from Strong’s #1519], to outline three primary specifications for the saints:

  • IN the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
  • UNTO a perfect man
  • UNTO the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

  1. Specification #1: The unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.

    The word unity means oneness or sameness. This may be a little confusing to some, because the present day popular definition of unity is a feeling of togetherness based upon a mutual tolerance of differences. This specification God has assigned to believers is something far different than that. In saying that saints are to have unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, The LORD is addressing the need for doctrinal unity among believers which consists of sameness in what we believe and know.

    God says that sameness in belief and knowledge is necessary for the saints to be effective in their works of ministry and edification. This imperative of sameness is illustrated by the necessity of a person’s two eyes working together. If one eye sees far away and the other eye sees near, the eyes must be adjusted by corrective lenses or else the person’s vision will cause great annoyances.

    This specification not only requires that all saints believe and know the same things, but that they believe and know the same correct things. Even if both eyes have the same focus, they may be out of focus together. In this case, the same corrective lense is required for each eye in order to provide proper vision. So it is that believers must be brought together unto the same correct doctrinal focus in order to do the work that God intends for them to do.

  2. Specification #2: A perfect man.

    This word perfect (Strong’s #5046) has a slightly different connotation from the word perfect (Strong’s #2677) used in verse 12. It means to finish something, or bring it to its desired completed form. It bears the idea of full maturity.

    Maturity is a significant factor for effectiveness in Christian ministry. 1 Timothy 3:6 specifies that a novice should not be put into the office of bishop or elder because the instability that results from his immaturity bears the potential of pride and makes him susceptible to falling and vulnerable to the condemnation of the devil. 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 specifies that carnal believes are so unstable that they tend to cause envy, strife and divisions. Such immature people should never be let loose in the responsibilities of doing the work of the ministry or edifying the body of Christ. Consider: does the school system assign students to the responsibility of teaching? Does the military assign privates to the responsibility of determining battle strategy? Should the church assign spiritual novices to roles of teaching and leadership? Too many churches make the mistake of assigning important responsibilities to immature Christians simply because they are available and willing. But God says, to be effective in the work, a saint must meet certain specifications.

  3. Specification #3: The measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

    The word measure suggests the idea of a standard by which a thing can be evaluated. The measure, or the standard, is the ultimate desired level of qualification to which a saint is compared in order to determine his progress and suitability for service. That measure is the stature of the fulness of Christ. It is the nature and character of Christ Himself. It only stands to reason that if the saints are the body of Christ, then there ought to be some likeness of Christ in the body. Ephesians 4:15 says that we are to grow up into him in all things… It is the purpose of Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers to bring a person into Christ and then to help him grow up unto Christ’s example. Only when this specification is met can the saints then be effective in their assigned esponsibilities.

The Result Of Not Meeting The Specifications

One of the images that remains with me from my childhood is of a full grown man I saw walking around in his back yard clothed in a diaper. When I asked my mother about this, she informed me that this man’s mind had never developed and he would remain all his life as a 1 to 2 year old child. What a sad picture. Yet this is exactly the spiritual image the Bible gives us of those who do not grow up into Christ in all things. Ephesians 4:14 says, that we henceforth be no more children… When a saint is not brought up to God’s specifications, he remains a spiritual child, needing to feed on the milk of the Word, leaving him unskillful in the use of the Word of righteousness and unable to discern between good and bad (Hebrews 5:12-14). It also makes him vulnerable to the enemy.

Ephesians 4:14 describes this potential consequence of spiritual immaturity. There are enemies of Christ who use sleight, cunning craftiness, and deceit to destabilize immature saints. Sleight is a word associated with throwing dice and symbolizes the idea of cheating. A gambler entices a victim with the prospect of equal opportunity in winning at a game of chance. But the sleight of the gambler rigs the outcome so that the victim is certain to lose. Cunning craftiness is false wisdom. It is the seemingly wise rationale used to convince the victim to play, but is grossly misleading in substance. Deceit is a deliberate plan to lead someone down a wrong
path, to convince them that something false or bad is really true and good. Believers that have not met the specifications of doctrinal unity with the truth, spiritual maturity, and the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ can be easy prey for the enemy. Such saints are tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, rendering them utterly ineffective in any
attempt to serve Christ. Sadly, the deception has been so thorough in present day Christianity, that many believers have fallen headlong into the snare of the enemy, yet have no idea that they have been deceived. They have been led to believe that doctrine does not matter and that experience is more notable than truth. This false wisdom has convinced many to play in a religion which offers no real victory. While they wander aimlessly without an ounce of spiritual conviction, they are kept from finding out the divine specifications and the structure of the church is weakened badly, inching ever more closely to total collapse.

The Result Of Meeting The Specifications

There is another image presented in this text that is more hopeful and encouraging. Ephesians 4:15 says that instead of being spiritual children, saints who speak the truth in love may grow up into Christ in all things. Children at certain stages enjoy dressing up in their mother’s and father’s clothes and pretend to be grown up. We have all seen the pictures of the little girl clopping around in her mother’s high heels, completely enveloped in her mother’s dress and weighed down with multiple layers of jewelry. Beside her stands her little brother, practically disappearing in his father’s large shoes, arms and legs of his fathers clothes flopping this way and that, eyes shielded by a hat that has nearly covered his head. But as that little boy and little girl grow up, those same clothes that looked so humorous and misfitting to their small stature, gradually fit better and eventually seem to look just right on their muturing physiques. So it is when a new believer finds himself in Christ for the first time, the stature of the fullness of Christ is overwhelming. But as he grows up into Christ in all things, the stature of the saint gradually conforms to the stature of Christ, equipping him to serve in the ministry of the church.

This is facilitated by speaking the truth in love. Please note that it does not say speaking love in truth. Someone may say, “I truly love you.” But that is a whole different concept from saying, “I love the truth, and I will tell you the truth and nothing but the truth and I will tell it to you in a loving manner.” Philippians 1:14-17 says that some preach Christ of envy and strife; others preach Christ of contention; and still others preach Christ of love. Note that all of these are preaching Christ. All are speaking the truth. It is not a question of substance, but of manner in which the truth is being preached. Some use this context to suggest that we ought to tolerate the differences in the messages that are being preached today about Christ. But in this Scripture, all preachers were saying the same thing. They were not, however, using the same tone of voice to speak those same words. The truth can be communicated in different ways, but spiritual maturity is facilitated most effectively when the truth is spoken in a loving manner.

When the truth is spoken in love, believers are encouraged to receive the truth with great desire. Then as the truth is received, godly character is developed within and spiritual maturity is expressed without and the perfected saint becomes skillful in the work of the ministry and in edifying the body of Christ.

The Work Of The Ministry And Edifying The Body of Christ

When the saints are brought up to code and meet divine specifications, the body of Christ will function according to God’s design. Ephesians 4:15 says that Christ is the head of the body. Verse 16 says that it is by means of the resources the body receives from the head that the work of the body is rendered productive. The suggestion of the text is that only those believers who meet divine specifications will have the ability to draw from the head the resources that are necessary for effective Christian ministry.

God’s desire is that the whole body draw these resources from the head. If the whole body is not drawing what it needs from the head, the whole body will not be able to contribute to the work of the church. If a person’s arm does not receive messages from his brain, the arm becomes paralyzed and unable to perform even the most simple task. The person then becomes handicapped because part of his body is not able to contribute to the person’s productivity. If the majority of his body stops receiving messages from his brain and paralysis overwhelms most of his body, the person becomes extremely limited in what he can produce. With so much spiritual ignorance and immaturity in the truth plaguing the church today, it is no wonder that much of the church seems lifeless and ineffective. The work of the ministry is hardly being done at all, and the edification of believers is being attempted with such low grade materials, that most outsiders see little reason to enter such a wobbly structure.

But if a local church would get serious about meeting divine specifications, that part of the body of Christ could show signs of real life and be tremendously effective. God says that if each joint is properly connected, and every joint is doing its job, working just like it is supposed to, then the body by the contribution of all its members each of whom is supplied by the head can fortify its own internal structure and add to its effectiveness in the world.

Conclusion

The cry goes out to present day Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers to rediscover their divine purpose. Jesus Christ gave gifts to the church. These gifts consist of Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. To these He gave a purpose, that they would perfect the saints,
equipping them to do the work of the ministry and edify the body of Christ. If the work of the ministry is not being done and the body of Christ is not being edified in the truth, that means the saints are not properly equipped to get the job done. If the saints are not equipped, that means Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers are not fulfilling their purpose. If Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers are not fulfilling their purpose, what are they doing?

We found out that the structurally unsound house we almost bought was built in a township that had no building code in place at the time. There were no specifications for what was required in constructing a home and insuring its soundness. Without the code in place, the builder apparently did not have the wisdom to determine on his own what specifications he should follow in order to build a solid structure.

Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers do not have the same excuse. God has provided all the specifications necessary for building a sound and productive body of Christ. All we have to do is follow the building code He has provided in His Word. Failure to do so is not the result of an unfortunate lack of wisdom, but of an irresponsible neglect of the resources God has made available. This is no time to lay aside the Word of God and make up our own rules in the service of the church. We must return to the book of divine specifications and build the church accordingly.

A Need for Revival

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by David E. Moss

In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, there lives a quaint people called the Amish. They are different from everyone else, dressing in very plain clothing, traveling by horse and buggy instead of motorized vehicles, and living without electricity. Because they are so different, they are also a curiosity. People travel from all over the country to observe these folks and their ways. Tourists look at these people with wondering eyes and ask many questions to try to understand how they can live in such contrast to the world around them. They wonder why they persist in an unchanged culture while everyone else has conformed to the gradual changes that have taken place in civilized human society. From time to time there are individual Amish people who fall away from the old ways and adopt a modern lifestyle. But the faithful continue on, unmoved by all the conveniences and opportunities for change that lie at their finger tips.

Would to God that we could say the same for the evangelical Christian community. If it were unchanged from its biblical foundations, the church too would be a curiosity in this world. People would gaze at it with the same wonder, being puzzled at how Christians could live so differently, believe so dogmatically, and walk so confidently in the midst of such a perverse and crooked generation. They would ask questions and try to understand what keeps Christians focused and unmoved by all the things that stand in contrast to their faith. And there would be more than curiosity. In seeing the difference between Christians and themselves, people in the world would ask how they could escape their culture of darkness and join the Christians in the society of light.

But this is not the way it is. The evangelical Christian community has adopted change as its policy and has assimilated the fads, philosophies, and follies of each new generation to such an extent that the Christian’s vocabulary, wardrobe, music, forms of
entertainment, social mores, and moral values have become a mirror image of the world’s. Now, the world’s only curiosity about the church is its claim to be different.

How did it get to be this way? Is this really what God wants for the church? Can it be changed?

God’s Desire For The Church

In 2 Corinthians 6:4-18, God makes an emphatic statement about the distinction that exists and should be maintained between His people and the people of the world.

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

He says that a yoke between believers and unbelievers is an unequal yoke and should not be entered into. He also says that believers should be separated from unbelievers and should not touch the unclean thing.

  1. God wants the distinction that exists between His people and the people of the world to be maintained.

    There is a profound difference between believers and unbelievers. Believers are characterized by the righteousness of God with which they are clothed in the moment of their salvation. They walk in the light which reveals the way of truth and godliness.
    They are the body of Christ, which is intended to be a reflection of the Savior to the lost world He seeks to redeem. They are people of faith, who believe God implicitly and trust Him for everything from daily provisions to eternal security. Unbelievers could not
    be any more different from believers than they are. Unbelievers walk the path of unrighteousness and do the opposite of everything that pleases God. They walk in darkness and do not the truth, having changed the truth of God into a lie. They are the children of the devil, doing the works of the one who is the enemy of Christ. They are devoid of faith, refusing to glorify God as God, and changing the glory of the incorruptible God into an image of their own imagination. Between these two entities there could not be a stronger contrast. Believers are the temple of God, the place of His residence, housing the very substance of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Unbelievers are idolaters, worshiping themselves, or other creatures, or evil spirits who have rebelled against the true God (Romans 1:18-32).

    God wants this profound difference between believers and unbelievers to be observed and protected by a practice of separation. God does not want believers to fellowship with unbelievers. That is, He does not want believers to participate with unbelievers in common activities, the moral implications of which contradict the righteousness of God. God does not want believers to have communion with unbelievers. That is, He does not want believers to share with unbelievers in anything that by association would dim a believer’s testimony. God does not want believers to have any concord with unbelievers. That is, He does not want believers to make compromises with unbelievers that would devalue a believer’s integrity by making him appear to be similar to an unbeliever. God does not want believers to have any part with an unbeliever. That is, He does not want believers to participate with unbelievers
    in joint ventures that would obscure the distinction between the faithful and the faithless. God insists that there is not nor can be any agreement between believers and unbelievers. Believers are the temple of God. Unbelievers are idolaters. The reality of the distinction is clear. The maintaining of the distinction is the spiritual duty of a child of God.

  2. God wants believers to refrain from touching the unclean thing.

    The obvious thing from this part of God’s directive is that something is unclean and God wants His people to have absolutely no contact with this unclean thing.

    What is the unclean thing? In the Old Testament, God named specific things that were unclean. They consisted of such specific things as the carcasses of unclean animals and the bodies of people who have certain diseases or infirmities. In this New
    Testament context, God makes it equally clear what He considers to be unclean. Unrighteousness, darkness, Belial, infidelity, idolatry, and, by implication, anything associated with these matters clearly constitute the unclean thing to which God refers as taboo for believers. Although these things appear to be of an intangible nature, they have very specific tangible applications.

    What does it mean not to touch the unclean thing? It means to have no contact with those things. Contact would soil or spoil the testimony of a believer and the New Testament is replete with instruction concerning God’s desire for the cleanness of His people. He calls for purity in 1 Timothy 1:5. He calls for holiness in 1 Peter 1:15-16. He calls for sanctification in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4. He calls for chastity in 2 Corinthians 11:2. He calls for a good and pure conscience in 1 Timothy 1:19 and 3:9. He calls for godliness in 1 Timothy 4:7. He calls for righteous living in Titus 2:12. This can only be achieved by a concerted effort to refrain from touching those things in this world that are contaminated with uncleanness.

    God makes it abundantly clear that as His people are delivered from sin by His Son Jesus Christ, they are given a definite distinction from those who have not been delivered. He wants that distinction to be visible and obvious and constantly on display. Let your light so shine before men, Jesus said, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Do not hide it under a bushel basket. Put it in a visible place for all to see (Matthew 5:14-16).

The Crisis

Many believers have rejected this directive from God. Instead of maintaining a distinction between themselves and the people of the world, many Christians have embraced the people of the world and have emulated their appearance, values, activities, etc. Instead of refraining from touching the unclean thing, many Christians have refused even to consider what the unclean thing might be, and have chosen rather to touch everything that is available to them in this world without making moral judgments about doing so.

As a result there is a serious identity crisis in Christianity. The world looks at Christianity and it cannot see a reflection of Jesus Christ, because Christians do not resemble Him. Christians today tend to resemble the world. Consequently, the world looks at Christianity and sees a mirror image of itself. It sees the same moral flaws, the same selfish ambitions, and the same diabolical ethics that characterize its own. As a result, the world is uninterested and unmoved by the message of the church because it is a hollow message being proclaimed by those who by appearance do not seem to have been affected by it.

What are the mistakes that Christians have made that has brought about this crisis of identity?

  1. The Acceptance of the World

    God said that Christians are not to love the world, neither are they to love the things that are in the world (I John 2:15). Yet that is exactly what they do. Christians love the way the world dresses. In spite of God’s insistence that His people dress modestly, skimpy and revealing clothing are typically worn by professing believers. In addition, cries of legalism are cast into the face of any Christian who attempts to define modest guidelines for the clothes Christians choose to wear. Many Christians also love the way the world sings. There is a popular argument that modern styles of music are being used by Christians to help certain groups of people identify with the message of the church. But what really happens is that when Christians adopt the world’s design of musical styles, Christians learn to love them and tend to use them as a means of entertainment and personal gratification and not just as bait for seekers. Many Christians also love other things that are in the world including such things as
    questionable forms of entertainment, unethical choices, and immoral values. For example, on more than one occasion I have been approached by a young couple who wanted to be married, of whom both professed to be believers, yet they were already living together in the same house or apartment and were already sexually active as if they were husband and wife. When confronted with the immoral nature of their living conditions, some of these young people have been literally appalled that I would suggest they were committing sin and living in fornication. They reasoned that since they were engaged and fully committed to be married, their living conditions were completely justified. They had no sense of guilt or remorse for what they were doing and resented that I tried to make them feel guilty. They had no idea that they had succumbed to the influence of the world’s moral values which contradict the Word of God. [The number of unmarried couple households in the USA increased sevenfold from 1970 to 1996. In 1970 there were 523,000 unmarried couple households. In 1996 there were 4 million. The world clearly accepts living together without being married as a legitimate lifestyle. God clearly rejects it (1 Corinthians 7:1-2) yet many Christians accept it right along with the world.] The saddest thing of all is that in each case like this that I know of, the couple was able to find another preacher who was willing to perform a church wedding ceremony for them without confronting the moral implications of their living conditions. Such moral values do not come from the Bible. They come from the world. And many Christians love the world’s low standards, gleefully living by them in spite of the what God has said.

  2. The Indulgence of the Flesh

    The Bible says that the works of the flesh stand in stark contrast to the fruit of the Spirit and that if we walk in the Spirit, we shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16-26). Yet Christians seem to be completely devoid of discernment in distinguishing between the things of the flesh and the things of the Spirit. In their love for the world, Christians have allowed the will of their flesh to rationalize away the immoral connotations of many activities. In the spirit of politically correct speech, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, revellings, and such like (which constitute the works of the flesh – Galatians 19-21) are repackaged in religiously palatable euphemisms, allowing Christians to indulge in them without a sense of guilt. For example, a popular Christian musical artist was discovered to be having an affair with a man in violation of her marriage covenant. Yet she was successfully painted as a victim, allowed to go through an appropriate time of healing and in the process maintained an undiminished level of popularity with her fans. In another case, a nationally known evangelical preacher experienced difficulties in his marriage and made
    a promise to his congregation that if his marriage ever ended in divorce he would resign as pastor; yet when the divorce actually occurred, he was allowed to break his promise to the people and ignore the biblical qualifications for serving as a pastor. In spite of these things, He continues to be heralded as one of America’s great preachers. In other cases, Christians are known to have abortions, live as homosexuals, consult ouji boards, play the lottery, drink alcohol, sow discord among the brethren, lie, cause
    divisions and split churches, yet they still preach in pulpits, serve on church boards, teach Sunday School classes and proudly profess their Christianity. Something is seriously wrong when the flesh can be so readily indulged by those who earnestly align
    themselves with Christ and in spite of it they are still applauded as notable Christians.

  3. The Failure to take the Devil seriously.

    The Bible says that the Devil is our adversary, acting like a roaring lion, determined to devour his prey (1 Peter 5:7). Yet many Christians exert little or no effort in trying to resist him. They seem ignorant of his wiles and his uncanny ability to transform himself into an angel of light. Thus they fall prey to the Devil’s most subtle trick. He infiltrates the very ranks of professing Christians and successfully deceives some of the most well meaning of them. The trick of the Devil has been to create a wide diversity of doctrines within the church, many of which actually contradict each other. Based on this diversity, many Christians are then confused as to which is true and which is not. The diversity of beliefs among professing Christians then is used to convince many that much of the Word of God is irrelevant and should be set aside for the sake of the more important issues of peace and unity. By this means, the Devil successfully prevents much of God’s truth from be taken seriously by those who profess to believe. As a result, Christians who still preach the whole counsel of God are shouted down as legalists, bigots, and promoters of negativism by fellow Christians, while the Devil stands in the corner and laughs. The sad result is a fulfillment of a biblical prediction. In the latter times, the Bible says, some who have been part of the faith will depart because they gave heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils (1 Timothy 4:1).

Conclusion

Because they have loved the things of the world, have given in to the will of the flesh, and have failed to resist the Devil, many professing Christians bear little resemblance to Jesus Christ. Instead, they look pretty much like everyone else. In fact, in many cases they look worse. By professing that Christ has made them to be different from everyone else in the world, yet appearing to be very much the same, Christians often come across as hypocrites. Many unbelievers refuse to attend church services or listen to a gospel witness because they have come to believe that all Christians are hypocrites. While some of the accusations of hypocrisy are merely stereotypical, far too many have legitimate grounds.

God’s intention is that his redeemed people bear a testimony of the Savior to the lost world. This testimony is to consist of both word and deed. It is not enough for us to echo the words of the gospel; our lives must resound with a reflection of the person and
nature of Christ. God said, Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the
gospel (Philippians 1:27).

God appointed all believers to be participants in a holy and royal priesthood, offering up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, and showing forth the praises of him who called them out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:5,9). As priests to the world, it is a Christian’s duty to publicly demonstrate the difference between what is holy and what it is unholy and between what is clean and what is unclean (Leviticus 10:10, 1 Peter 1:15-16).

The same grace of God that brings salvation also teaches redeemed people that ungodliness and worldly lusts are to be denied in the pursuit of living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. The grace of God is intended to make a difference in a person’s life not only for eternity, but for the present experience on earth as well.

It is God’s will that every believer know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor (1 Thessalonians 4:4). This requires abstaining from unclean things that are available in this world. It requires restraint and discipline in faithfully walking in the Spirit so that the works of the flesh will not be fulfilled in the life of a believer (Galatians 5:16).

It is necessary for Christians to be aware of the enemy, to take him seriously, and to resist him diligently. No believer need be intimidated by the Devil. God has promised that when a Christian resists the Devil, he will flee from them (James 4:7). It is necessary, however, for Christians to actively and diligently resist the Devil, or he will not flee.

The world, the flesh, and the Devil have done us in. The Bible says that friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4). The Bible says that he who sows to the flesh reaps corruption (Galatians 6:8M). The Bible says that the snare of the devil brings reproach (1 Timothy 3:7). When a lost world cannot see Christ in Christians because large numbers of them are at enmity with God, are contaminated with corruption and are bearing reproach, there is a serious crisis in Christianity.

What can be done about it? It is because of this crisis that many are calling for revival. They would like to see a passionate movement sweep across Christianity in which masses of professing believers are compelled to fall on their knees and renew
themselves spiritually before God. There have been such revivals in the past, but the results have often been tenuous and short lived. Biblical revival actually works in a reverse of this plan. It begins with the individual and swells as others become personally involved one at a time. Repentance is not corporate, but personal. Sanctification is not corporate, but personal. Each professing Christian must examine himself (2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Corinthians 11:28). Each professing Christian must make himself transparent before God (Psalm 139:23-24). Each professing Christian must personally commit himself to spiritual renewal (Romans 12:1-2). Consider what would happen if many Christians did this. Each individual would be brought into harmony with the image of Christ. Collectively, they would resemble each other because they all individually resemble the same Person. The impact of this collective image of Christ on the lost world would be overwhelming. Christians would become a curiosity to the world, not because they are numbly following a movement, but because each and everyone is equally committed to their Lord and Master. The
people of the world would ask questions and try to understand what keeps Christians focused and unmoved by all the things that stand in contrast to their faith. And in seeing the difference between Christians and themselves, people in the world would begin to ask how they could escape their culture of darkness and join the Christians in the society of light.

It is okay to pray that revival would sweep across Christianity. But too often, those who pray for revival sit passively and wait for it to start someplace else. If revival will ever occur, it is going to have to start with me — and with you. You and I are the key to solving the crisis in Christianity.