Local churches are made up of Christians working together for the cause of Christ. However, not every congregation will be judged favorably by the Lord. When the Lord addressed the seven churches of Asia, two of them were commended for their faithfulness – Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11) and Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13). The rest were in danger of having their “lampstand” removed (Revelation 2:5), which was a symbol of the Lord’s approval. He knew that they did not measure up to His standard. Though they may have had “a name that [they were] alive,” He knew if they were “dead” (Revelation 3:1).
A congregation develops a reputation based upon what they do. However, this reputation does not always match the Lord’s judgment of His people in that place.
On different occasions, I have heard brethren comment that the church should be known more for what it is for than what it is against. Generally, those who make comments like this have introduced doctrines or practices into the local church (or would like to do so) and do not want to respond to challenges from other brethren about whether such teachings are in harmony with the Scriptures or their proposed practices are authorized by God’s word. So they attempt to turn the tables against those who raise questions about doctrinal correctness and Scriptural authority, exempting themselves from having to defend what they say and do.
The Wrong Standard
While every congregation will develop a reputation, that reputation is not the standard of faithfulness. Jesus warned, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way” (Luke 6:26). A congregation may be known for many wonderful things and be viewed by others in a positive light. However, that does not necessarily mean they are faithful to Christ.
At the same time, a congregation can stand for the truth, perfectly carry out the Lord’s work, and speak the truth in love. Yet those who reject the Lord and hate the truth will oppose the church and criticize the brethren for all the things they are against (this is what the proponents of sins like homosexuality, abortion, and more will do). Jesus warned His disciples about this: “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).
Jesus said, “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day” (John 12:48). We will be judged by His word, not what others say about us.
What We Must Stand Against
While some are critical of churches that are known for what they stand against, there are some things we must oppose. Paul spoke of the need to “[destroy] speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5). When false teachers attempt to introduce error, we must respond like Paul and “not yield in subjection to them for even an hour” (Galatians 2:5). One of the responsibilities of elders in a local church is to silence false teachers (Titus 1:10-11). They do this by opposing their teaching.*
Not just error, but local churches must oppose sin as well. Paul wrote, “Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them” (Ephesians 5:11). The church in Corinth was told that one of their members who refused to repent of sin was to be “removed from [their] midst” (1 Corinthians 5:2).
The church in Ephesus was the first of the seven addressed by the Lord in the book of Revelation. He had something “against” them (Revelation 2:4-5), yet He also commended them for something: “Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate” (Revelation 2:6). Perhaps the Nicolaitans and their sympathizers could have criticized the church in Ephesus over what they were “against,” but Jesus also hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans and praised these brethren for opposing them.
What We Stand For
Of course, the message the Lord has given us to proclaim is not only about what we are against. We are for certain things as well.
- We must be FOR Christ – Paul told the brethren in Corinth, “We preach Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23). Later, he wrote, “For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). However, not everyone would be happy with this message. Paul said this message was a “stumbling block” to the Jews and “foolishness” to the Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:23). Yet his teaching was for Christ.
- We must be FOR the truth – Paul wrote, “For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth” (2 Corinthians 13:8). The word of God is truth (Psalm 119:160; John 17:17), and we must proclaim it to all who will listen. We do this “in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2), or when they want to listen and when they do not.
- We must be FOR salvation – The gospel is “the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16), and the Lord commissioned His apostles to “go to all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). He wants all “to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4), so this is the message we must continue to preach.
- We must be FOR good works – God’s people are to be “zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14), so we are to encourage brethren to work in the Lord’s service. “And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24).
- We must be FOR unity – It is “good” and “pleasant…for brothers to dwell together in unity” (Psalm 133:1), and we must be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 3:4). This is not done by fellowshipping those in sin and error (Ephesians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 5:11; 2 John 10-11), but by working to maintain unity with those who are faithfully serving the Lord.
There is more we could add to that list. The point is that we need to proclaim what is good, true, and right, while opposing evil and falsehood.
The Need for Bible Authority
As I mentioned earlier, it seems that some have attacked brethren for challenging whether certain doctrines or practices are in harmony with the Scriptures. Rather than attacking those who raise legitimate questions, we need to be “ready to make a defense” (1 Peter 3:15) for what we say and do. Consider the following passages:
- “Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God…” (1 Peter 4:11). Anyone who speaks on spiritual matters has an obligation to speak in a way that is in harmony with His word. Those who search the Scriptures to make sure what we say is true, like the Bereans did with Paul (Acts 17:11), are to be commended, not criticized.
- “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If the Scriptures equip us for every good work, that means we should be able to go to the word of God and cite book, chapter, and verse for the things we do. Of course, we must also be careful to “accurately [handle] the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). It is good to be “zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14), but we must also be “careful to engage in good deeds” (Titus 3:8). In our zeal to do what we think is good, we must not ignore what God has commanded and authorized in His word.
- “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23). Jesus explained that it is not enough to claim to do something in His name. Whatever we do must be in harmony with the Father’s will (cf. Colossians 3:17). Many people do things they think will please the Lord when Jesus labels their practices as “lawlessness.” In other words, despite what we assume are good intentions, they have no authority for what they are doing.
Conclusion
We hope that our local congregations develop a positive reputation. When the church was first established in Jerusalem, the brethren enjoyed “favor with all the people” (Acts 2:47). Through the work done by the church in Thessalonica, their “faith toward God has gone forth, so that [Paul had] no need to say anything” about them (1 Thessalonians 1:8).
However, our primary concern must be how the Lord views us. We do not want to be like the church in Sardis, which had “a name that [they] are alive, but…are dead” (Revelation 3:1). Being known by those around us for a host of positive things means nothing if we are not faithfully serving the Lord. Similarly, we can tolerate being viewed negatively by others due to our stand against sin and error because we know that “there is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy” (James 4:12).
No matter what others think of us, good or bad, we are striving to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10).
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* For more on this point, see the article, How to Silence False Teachers.
