There
seems to be a bit of confusion around today concerning so called
para-churches and that they aren’t Biblical.
Well,
that’s correct isn’t it?
No.
The word ‘para-church’ is a made up word with a made up definition. The word
‘para-church’ can’t be found in the Bible. Paul the apostle would put
‘para-churches’ into the doctrine category.
What
do you mean?
If
you will read the following
“Now
I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary
to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” (Rom
16:17) and “A man that is an heretic after the first and second
admonition reject; Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth,
being condemned of himself.” (Titus
3:10-11)
So
what?
Paul’s
concern was for those who were not “singing off the same page” – those who
didn’t have the same doctrine as him.
He
states in no uncertain terms:
“For
the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their
own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” (2
Tim 4:3) and “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one
wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach”
(1Tim
3:2) and “But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:”
(Titus 2:1) and “…they teach no other doctrine” (1Tim
1:3)
“Till
I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” (1Tim
4:13).
You
see, Paul’s big thing was about the importance of doctrine, and, in fact
mentions the word 16 times in 1&2 Timothy and Titus.
What’s
your point?
Paul
couldn’t care less whether or not someone, or some body, were a para-church or
not. What he cared about was that people had the same doctrine as he did.
So?
The
vast majority of churches around today, by Paul’s criteria, would be classed as
para-churches, as they don’t have the same doctrine as he outlines in his
epistles to the churches.
For
example?
1.
Some believe
people in the OT got saved the same way they do in the NT.
2.
Some believe
we are under the new covenant now.
3.
Some believe
in the Gap Theory.
4.
Some don’t
believe in an imminent rapture.
5.
Some place an overemphasis on water baptism (would Paul call himself a
Baptist in the light of 1Cor 1:17. I think not.)
6.
Some churches
refer to their constitution rather than their Bibles to sort out matters and so
on.
7.
Some believe that Hebrews is doctrinal for the Tribulation.
8.
Some
completely misunderstand the meaning of the Song of Solomon.
9.
Some get their
doctrine out of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
10.
Some
misunderstand the meaning of the Lord’s supper and use inappropriate scriptures to
accompany this.
11.
Some churches
are trying to get back to the early church found in the book of Acts.
12.
Some believe
that we are chosen into Christ before the foundation of the world.
13.
Some don’t understand the difference between “the kingdom of heaven”
and ‘the
kingdom of God”.
14.
Some prefer
the Greek
and Hebrew “originals” (although no-one has a clue where they are or what
they say) to the plain English of the King James Bible.
15.
Some
misunderstand the difference between “the day of Christ” and “the day of the
Lord”.
16.
Some
misunderstand the difference between “the Son of God” and “the Son of man”.
17.
Some still
preach about tithes being for today.
18.
Some believe
in the gospel being written in the stars.
19.
Some believe
that a pastor should be a husband only once.
20.
Some believe
in Calvinism.
So?
However
we don’t reject these people as many of them are brothers in the Lord, but we
receive them as having weaker faith.
Are
you saying then that most pastors shouldn’t be pastors?
Put
it this way, a pastor has to be a shepherd not just a herder of sheep.
Unfortunately today, many fall into this category. Many are become “brutish”
(Jer
10:21). They control, drive and dominate but they do little shepherding.
Well
should a pastor be a pastor if he doesn’t teach correct doctrine?
Should
a shepherd be a shepherd if he feeds his sheep the wrong food? You see, to
those who would use the para-church label about others, they first need to get
their own backyard in order.
Aren’t
we under the great commission?
Of
course not. We can see what they are trying to say when they preach the great
commission, but Paul clearly outlines his “great commission” and his ministry
is as follows “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself
by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit,
that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of
reconciliation.” (2Cor
5:18-19) The great commission of Mark was given to the apostles by Jesus
before Paul came along.
But
aren’t we to preach the gospel?
Yes,
but Paul’s gospel is not the great commission and the latter is misconstrued as
Paul’s. Furthermore, you will notice that for those that will preach this
gospel, there would be certain things that would happen as well. To wit: “And
these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast
out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents;
and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay
hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” (Mark
16:17-18)
What’s
your point?
For
those who preach this gospel, they will have signs and wonders following them
ie casting devils, tongues speaking, serpent handling, drinking poison and
physical healing. And so for those who would congregate under the banner of the
preaching Mark 16 gospel, they can fully expect to have signs following them.
But they must be more than a little disappointed when the attendant signs don’t
manifest.
I
don’t follow you.
Look
it’s this simple. God uses everyone who goes out and preaches about Jesus
according to the gospel of Paul. Correct doctrine has never been the hallmark
for people getting saved. If people want to use the great commission to rally
others to preaching so be it. The end result is the same but they didn’t have
correct doctrine. Has God cast them aside for not having Pauline doctrine? No.
If people are under Mark’s great commission, where are their following signs?
Answer? There are no signs so therefore something must be wrong. Haven’t they
got enough faith? Aren’t they trying hard enough? Is there sin in their lives?
What’s
the blockage then?
None.
The gospel that Jesus gave to the apostles to preach is not the gospel given to
Paul. While they are presumably preaching Paul’s gospel, they are innocently
doing it under another banner. No problem. But this only goes to show that
these people who are promoting the ‘evils’ of people undertaking para-church
activities, are themselves guilty of wrong doctrine, because they don’t know
the difference.
So,
what’s the solution?
Paul
says that if you don’t have correct doctrine, you are a heretic and are to be
avoided and rejected. Do we do this then? No. They are hopefully brothers in
the Lord and are to be encouraged to preach Paul’s gospel.
You
sound a bit superior don’t you?
Look,
some people are doing a great work for the Lord in their churches – getting
kids to Sunday school and teaching them about the Lord and getting the little
kids saved and that is absolutely tremendous because we all know what the Lord
thinks about those who would hurt and destroy little children. However when it
comes to correct doctrine, there are a few serious foundational cracks that
appear.
Where
is all this leading?
Quite
simply we wouldn’t call these people para-church organizations just because
they don’t have the doctrine of Paul. No, we pray that God will bless their
efforts and we get out of the way. As Paul would say “Some indeed
preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one
preach Christ of contention …” (Phil
1:15-16).
Look
people preach Christ with wrong motives, wrong doctrine, wrong denominational
attachments and most without the doctrine of Paul. Are we to be upset? No. We
pray the Lord will use them for his glory and as he sees fit to get people
saved. We must remember that we are in the very last of the very last of times
and that many churches are part of the “falling away” (2Thess
2:3)
As
someone once said “It’s better to be a para-church than a para-lysed church.”
Harley Hitchcock
www.
AustralianBibleMinistries
.com
