Giuseppe Guarino

Please, bear with me. I am Italian, I wrote this article, I know it contains mistakes.

Watch the video, or read the article. Or do both. God bless you.

THE PERFECT CHURCH

 

There is nothing like “the perfect church.” And we know. In theory. Yet, in practice we are easily upset when imperfections become manifest in the local church we attend.

I really liked my brother Russell when he addressed first timers: “If you are looking for the perfect church… Well, you found it. But now, since you came in., it is not perfect anymore.”

We usually tend to look back to the origin of Christianity for perfection.

Though they were following Jesus, the apostles were nothing but perfect.

Look at Peter. He was supposed the one who had it all figured out. He was the only to make the first public confession of Jesus being the promised Messiah.

“He (Jesus) saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:15-17)

To the same man who Jesus said that the Father had made a revelation, not much later, he will say:

“From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matthew 16:21-23)

Not to mention the fact that Peter would deny Jesus when he was arrested.

“Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.” But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.”” (Matthew 20:20-22)

Can you imagine how the other disciples would look at these two after this episode? They do not dare ask themselves, they go with their mother to sponsor their cause. What would be your feelings on a situation like this?

One more example.

But let me ask you a question first: would you have given your money for the cause of Jesus?

Well, how would you feel if you had given your money to the apostles only to discover that Judas was a thief?

“Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. 4Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, 5Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? 6This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.” (John 12:3-6)

 Some will say: that was before the Holy Spirit was sent.

Good point.

But, let us see what the Scripture says.

The first sermon of Peter at Pentecost was still echoing in the air when this happened:

“But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,  2.  And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.  3.  But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?  4.  Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.  5.  And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.  6.  And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.  7.  And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.  8.  And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.  9.  Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.  10.  Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.  11.  And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.” (Acts 5:1-11).

Wasn’t it supposed to be the perfect church?

Well, we see a different Peter now, don’t we? He is changed, he is not the impulsive guy who struck the soldier with his sword.

Yet, he was still human.

“But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.  12.  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.  13.  And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.  14.  But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?” (Galatians 2:11-14)

Peter and Barnabas hypocrits? Who are you supposed to be looking at to have the perfect example of how a Christian should actually be?

(Jesus! Not men.)

Wasn’t that early Spirit-filled Church supposed to be perfect? Evidently, not.

No-one like separation. No-one sees it as a good thing in the church. This is what pastors hate the most, even what scares them the most: when some people decide to leave the local church to start a new ministry.  Yet, it happens. The church I attend now and that I have attended for over thirty years now, was born because some brothers decided to leave their church because of disagreements with the pastor and start a new ministry. In time, it turned out to be a blessing for both churches and more people saved. If only we understood that we are not in competition!!!

Paul and Barnabas were good friends. They started their ministry together. Then something happens.

“And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.  37.  And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.  38.  But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.  39.  And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;  40.  And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.  41.  And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.” (Acts 15:36-41)

“The contention was so sharp” says the Bible. Wow! In the early Church. Between two pillars? Yes. They were still humans and ultimately, their time to serve God together had come to an end.  Some sided with Paul: “That Barnabas character should submit to Paul’s apostolic authority. I doubt he is saved at all.” Others with Barnabas: “This Paul has not changed a bit, he is still the same guy who persecuted us.”

Do you actually believe that your local church is the first to have gone through the pains of conflicts and eventually division?  Do you actually believe that your pastor and deacons are the first in the history of Christianity to fight, even bitterly, over doctrine or morals?

That is what I love about the Bible. It is quite unique in literature, showing all the weaknesses of the people he talks about, telling the story the way it actually took place. There is no room for idealization of characters. Their merits and their faults are told faithfully, events are not misrepresented but described as  they actually took place. This is why the Bible can help us in our daily walk, because it is real! Not a myth, but actual facts.

Some people look at the churches today and are scandalized by the situations some church members actually live in. Well, it did not happen in the churches founded by the apostles. Are you sure?

Paul cried: “O foolish Galatians?” (Galatians 3:1).  He was tired of them: “From henceforth let no man trouble me” (Galatians 6:17).

We could read the letters to the seven churches in Revelation, but that would be a more complicated matter. Yet, making a long story short we see how early apostolic churches had been polluted by false doctrines and low moral standards.

To Ephesus: “you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4). That was the church of the apostle John.

The situation was even worse with the church in Pergamum.

“But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.  15.  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.” (Revelation 2:14-15)

But the most terrible situation is that of the church in Laodicea. The Lord has strong words for them.

“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:16)

As we see, there was nothing like a perfect church. There never was, there never will be.

NOW we have set the problem, we have asked the questions. But what about the solutions and the answers?

Let us look up to the same Word to find them.

• “Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?  8.  Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.” (1 Corinthians 6:7-8).  This was going on in the church at Corinth! We need to bear with one another! Try to support one another! Be kind to one another! As a principle, as an attitude and not as a reaction to other people’s behavior. Easier said than done. Truth is, we are quick in condemning others and absolving ourselves.
• “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” (Matthew 7:2). This word has always led me to be kind and gracious to others. Because I know God has so much patience with me, so I think I’d better have the same attitude towards others, especially – but not only – in the church. Ghoete, the famous German writer, wrote something that really impressed me: “Misunderstandings and neglect create more confusion in this world than trickery and malice. At any rate, the last two are certainly much less frequent.” It is better to believe in other people’s good faith, in the power of misunderstanding, than quickly judge them wrong.
• We have a tendency to overestimate ourselves. All of us. Well,  Jesus settled the matter very easily. “But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.  But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:  And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.  For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45). Do you really think you are better than your brother or sister? Are you more spiritual? Well, then serve them! Be understanding in their wrong doing – or whatever you think it is that they are doing wrong. Be kind. Show your superiority in loving them any way, in any circumstance. If you are not able to do so, sorry, but your spirituality can be questioned, and all you can do is hope others will not judge you the same way you judge others.
• “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22). It is a lot of times. So, do it and try to keep the count. In that same chapter of Matthew Jesus tells a story, go read it. It is well summarized in the Lord’s Prayer though: ” And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12). And since the Lord knows us, he made it clear at the end of this wonderful model of prayer: “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15).
• We know the Bible teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves, but Jesus gave us, his Church, a New Commandment, which is even greater: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35). He commands us to love each other, our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, not as ourselves, but more, the same way he loved us. The love of Jesus for us was the greatest love imaginable, beyond the love of self. “If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,  2.  Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.  3.  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.  4.  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.  5.  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  6.  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  7.  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  8.  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.  9.  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  10.  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;  11.  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:1-11).

We are the Church and our personal behavior determines the spiritual level, effectiveness and social impact of the local assembly, group, church, congregation in which we are called to serve God.  We must choose to be a blessing or a hinderance.