This is a subject that has come up many times in recent years and has caused many questions to be asked on a number of different passages of Scripture.                               

Can a woman hold a position of authority in the Church of God?                                                                                                                                                                             

Head Coverings: What Is God’s View On Head Coverings?                                                                                                                                                                                  Speaking In Tongues: What Does God Teach About Speaking In Tongues?  

These three questions have caused great controversy in modern Evangelical Churches, so the question is, why is this the case? I have found that the answer is very simple.

False doctrine

Important Note: Doctrine means (The official Teachings of a Religious Group)

False Doctrine is being taught in a great many Evangelical Churches today.

Over the years, I have visited a large number of different Evangelical Churches in my search to find a Church to fellowship in. In the Process of my search, I have gained a large amount of knowledge about the doctrines and practices of many different Churches.

It is important to state clearly at this point that my next statement is made solely in regard to the Leaders/Elders/Pastors of these Churches and in no way in regard to the congregation in general.

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.  Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Mattew 7:13-20

This entire passage is talking about those leaders, elders and pastors. False prophets who are actively today leading people away from God and not closer to God. These leaders, elders and pastors are guilty of teaching false doctrine, they are guilty of allowing those who believe in false doctrine to be actively involved in teaching Sunday school, and to serve as part of the worship team, and be involved in other areas as well. These privileges are strictly for true believers and not for unbelievers.

Given this, the question that must be asked before we address the three main questions of this teaching is, How do we know who is a true Born-Again Christian and who is not?

The answer is in the above passage, in verses 16 and 20. In verse 16 we read, You will know them by their fruits.  And in verse 20 we read, Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

This whole passage is primarily talking about those who teach or propagate false doctrine, whether they are members of the congregation or in a leadership role.

So the answer is quite simple, we must judge by the doctrines that a person believes in, to know if they are truly saved, Born-Again Christians or not. Let us read the following passages together, Galatians 5:19-21. Ephesians 4:25-32- 5:1-11.  

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  Galatians 5:19-21. 25 Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbour," for we are members of one another.  26 Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labour, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:25-32. 

You should not get angry with those who claim to be Brothers or sisters in Christ, because they do not want to hear the truth of God’s Word, which you are trying to share with them. In fact, you shouldn’t get angry with anyone who does not want to hear God’s Word. But with kindness and grace, you should pray for their enlightenment, so that they can come to a true understanding of God’s Holy Word. If you are attending a Church who are guilty of teaching false doctrine, then you should leave and try to find a Church that is doctrinally correct.

Now I know that many are thinking at this point, but there is no such thing as the perfect Church. But it is not right to say it or to even think it, simply because it is not true. This statement is generally made inappropriately and incorrectly. There are two types of people who make this statement, that there is no such thing as the perfect Church, those who do not want to hear the truth, and those who do not want to teach the truth. This is their go to statement to try and get out of admitting that they are wrong. Because if they admit that they are wrong then they have to do something about it, so they look for a point of escape to avoid having to deal with the issue.

To say that there is no such thing as the perfect Church is only correct, if you are referring to the people who attend the Church, because people are most definitely not perfect. But just because the people are not perfect, does not mean that the doctrine cannot be perfect. The Doctrine of God is perfect, therefore any Church that teaches the doctrine of God, just as it was written by God, is a doctrinally perfect Church.

In the book of Revelation chapters two and three we find the seven Churches of Asia Minor. Out of these seven Churches, there was only two which Jesus commended, Smyrna and Philadelphia. Jesus commended them for their faith, and their works which they did because of their faith. All of the other five Churches had a number of things that they were guilty of against them.

The Church of Ephesus; were guilty of leaving their first love, this had to be some form of disobedience, and Jesus warns them to repent, or He would come to them quickly and remove their lampstand from its place. This means that the believers would be scattered, and that group of believers would cease to exist as a Church, and their testimony to the world for Christ would be lost.

The Church of Pergamos; were guilty of allowing those who believed in and taught false doctrine to continue to be part of the Church. The doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, this doctrine allowed the eating of things sacrificed to idols, and sexual immorality. True believers are called on to repent, and if they do repent, they would not allow those who teach or hold to such false doctrines to stay in the Church. If they continued to allow such things then the warning is clear, the Lord Himself will fight against them with the sword of His mouth.

The Church of Thyatira; this Church was also guilty of tolerating false doctrine, with the result that immorality and idolatry were practiced unchallenged. They also permitted a woman named Jezebel, who proclaimed herself to be a prophetess and was not, to teach and lead the Church into sin unchallenged. The Lord Himself called these doctrines, the depts of Satan. Jesus said that He would cast her and those who follow her false doctrines, into a sick bed and into great tribulation.      The warning is clear, we must not allow those who believe in and teach false doctrine into our Churches to continue to do so. When we become aware of them, we must encourage them to repent and embrace the true doctrine of Scripture, and if they will not, then we must ask them to leave.

The Church of Sardis; this Church had a name in the public eye of being a Christian Church, but for the most part they were not true believers at all, Jesus said of them, you have a name of being alive, but you are dead. They were going through the weekly routine of meeting and having fellowship, but they were not doing the Lord’s work, they were not reaching out to the lost for the Lord. They were just a dead Church. Jesus warned them of the pending judgment that would come upon them if they did not repent of their deadness. We also see that there were a few true believers in the Church of Sardis who were faithful and true believers, and Jesus promised them that they would walk with Him in white, because they were worthy.

The Church of Laodicea; Jesus called this Church the lukewarm Church, which means the they were neither for the Lord or against the Lord to any great note. This Church thought that they had it made; they were wealthy and had need of nothing. But they were so self-blinded that they could not see, that they actually had nothing. Jesus said to them, You do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. It seems no one in this Churcher were saved, you will not find any reference in this passage to the faithful few, as we see in previous passages. Jesus gives a wonderful invitation to the members of this Church. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20. All they had to do was to open their hearts and invite Jesus in. To invite Jesus into your heart means that you have made a Covenant or agreement with God to give your whole life to God. This means that you have accepted the complete word of God in its entirety, as it was written by God. You have surrendered your will for God’s will. To reject even one part of God’s word, because of the pride or stubbornness of your heart, is to reject all of it.  

The next question is, How can a congregation believe in the pure Word of God, if they are not being taught the pure Word of God?   

Let us read this next passage of Scripture together,

1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. 3  But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;   4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.  5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.  6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. Ephesians 5:1-11.

We are called upon by God to expose false doctrine and to challenge those who are living immoral, sinful lives. We are called upon to encourage them to change and fully give their lives to God in every area. If they will not, then we must ask them to leave, because we are responsible for protecting the congregation from false doctrine. To leave those who believe in false doctrine and those who are living sinful lives in the Church, means that we are actually condoning false doctrine and sinful living. What we should be doing is standing for Christ our Saviour and teaching against such things from the perfect Word of God.

The following is a list of Scriptures that God has given us, warning us of false prophets or false teachers that teach false doctrines. These are serious warnings that we need to take very seriously.                                                                                                                                         

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. Matthew 7:15.

How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? --but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Matthew 16:11-12. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Mathew 24:11.

For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Matthew 24:24.         

Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. John 7:14-17.

But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 2Peter 2:1-2.

All Churches have leaders/elders/pastors but not all of these leaders, elders and pastors are truly saved Christians. The truth is not many are saved at all, and you can know this by simply comparing the doctrines that they teach with the Word of God. If any leaders, elders or pastors take anything away from or add anything to Gods Holy Word the Bible, then they are beyond doubt not saved Christians. No truly Born-Again Christian should attend a Church that teaches false Doctrine.

We are called upon by God to obey all of His Holy Word, the Bible, and not to discard even a single word. To do so brings eternal punishment and torment in Hell.

Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying. These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honour Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.    And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. Matthew 15:7-9.  

If you love Me, keep My commandments. John 14:15.

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. John 14:21.

Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. 1Corinthians 7:19.

If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. 1Corinthians 14:37.

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 1John 2:3-5.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 1John 5:2-3.

Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. Revelation 22:13-14.

 

On the following website you will find the answers to the following three questions.

https://www.biblicalchristianity.irish 

Positions of authority in the Church of God?

Click this link for full teaching :

Head Coverings: What Is God’s View On Head Coverings?

Click this link for full teaching :

The Truth About Speaking In Tongues?

Click this link for full teaching: