REBELLION, REVOLUTION, REFORMATION
or
RESTORATION?
So, when the Church no longer mirrors the image of Jesus, what are we to do?
REBELLION?: an act of violent or open resistance to an established government or ruler; Rebellion is also a feeling of strong disagreement with an organization or with people in authority
REVOLUTION?: a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due to perceived oppression
REFORMATION?: the action or process of reforming an institution or practice; the act of making an improvement, especially by changing a person’s behavior or the structure of something
RESTORATION?: the action of returning something to a former owner, place, or condition; to bring back to or put back into a former or original state; a restoring or being restored; reinstatement in a former position, rank; restitution for loss, damage; a putting or bringing back into a former, normal, or unimpaired state or condition.
God has already given us the perfect model:
JESUS
So why do churches rebel?
I have read and heard it said that Jesus was a ‘revolutionary’. Some religious-socialist groups who identify as “Christian socialists” or “Christian communists”, like to describe Jesus’ ministry as Socialism or Communism in action, which is neither accurate nor honest. It is counterfeit. It is a deliberate misrepresentation of Jesus’ ministry and message, crafted to fit a humanist rebellion against God and the Bible. It is a revolt against Christianity.
https://socialistworker.org/2011/12/14/jesus-the-revolutionary
https://truthout.org/articles/the-historical-jesus-was-crucified-for-being-a-revolutionary/#
“The reality of a ruling God topples Communism’s man-centered, predictable-circumstance-based sandcastle; so the Socialist and the Communist say the idea of God must go”
Valdimir Lenin, a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1922 and of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924. Under his administration, Russia and then the wider Soviet Union became a one-party communist state governed by the Russian Communist Party. Ideologically a communist, he developed a variant of Marxism known as Leninism; his ideas were posthumously codified as
Lenin once said, “Atheism is a natural and inseparable portion of Marxism, of the theory and practice of Scientific Socialism.” 2 Where there is a supreme God, there is a less supreme man who is necessarily under subjection to the supreme God. Therefore, where there is a supreme God, man has limited power, especially since the supreme God may “interfere” at any time and take charge–unpredictably, according to His own counsel. In other words, as the anti-Communism expert, Dr. Fred C. Schwarz, put it, “If God exists and is in supreme command of the universe, He possesses discretionary power, and His actions cannot always be calculated accurately in advance.” 3 The reality of a ruling God topples Communism’s man-centered, predictable-circumstance-based sandcastle; so the idea of God must go–as a “law.”
http://www.aggressivechristianity.net/articles/means.htm
Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel. The term “Christian Socialism” is used in this sense by organizations such as the Christian Socialist Movement (CSM), a specifically Christian grouping affiliated with the British Labour Party.
Christian socialists draw parallels between what some have characterized as the egalitarian and anti-establishment message of Jesus, who — according to Christian Gospel — spoke against the religious authorities of his time, and the egalitarian, anti-establishment, and sometimes anti-clerical message of most contemporary socialisms. Some Christian Socialists have gone as far as to become active Communists (see Christian communism).
Rebellion and Revolution are not the answer.
The best known of the religious reformers is Martin Luther. His, and others like him, are credited with the great Reformation of the Catholic Church. The effects of this movement are still felt today, some five hundred years later. Yet, there are those who are calling for a new Reformation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation
Reformation has not been the answer.
But, what does Jesus and the Bible say about the changing the Church? Does the Bible mention rebellion, revolution, reformation or restoration?
We have to go to Jesus’ ministry and teaching to get a clear model and method of ministry and His Church.
https://www.whitestone2014.com/the-jesus-model-for-ministry
https://www.whitestone2014.com/the-cycle-of-ministry-jesus-model
Jesus calls the Church His Body and His Bride. He is both intimate with and jealous of His Church.
Misusing or mistreating God’s Church would seem foolish, foolhardy and perhaps, even dangerous. Jesus drive the money changers out of the Temple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6FYLZouuMY
So, when our religious leaders have forgotten Jesus’ model and the Church no longer mirrors His image, what are we to do?
The answer is not rebellion or revolution, nor is it reformation. The answer is that God will Restore His Church. The Bible repeatedly tells us to RETURN TO HIM and to HIS WAYS and live.
God is coming back to get His Bride, which is His Church, and we must be ready.
Deuteronomy 30:1 “So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you, 2 and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, 3 then the LORD your God will restore you.
The LORD your God will restore
Zechariah 1:3 says “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.
Isaiah 61:4 says, “Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, They will raise up the former devastations; And they will repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations.”
The clear call of God is for us – His Church – to RETURN TO HIM and HIS WAYS, NOW, TODAY, and He will restore us.
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
Whitestone Fellowship 