There is a difference between exposing what is false and stoning the Bride of Christ.

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Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. - Ephesians 5: 25-27 (ESV)

Those who follow my ministry know that I am not shy about chronicling the abuses in the church system today. I believe and demonstrate nearly every day that the majority of the church today is heading down the broad path that leads to destruction. Purpose driven church models, seeker friendly gospels, prosperity heresies, greasy grace antinomianism, CEO pastor models, false authority and tithing systems, and false prophetic models all combine to mislead so many people. Fake sinners prayers, fake altar calls, and fake purposes all lead goats to believe they are sheep. Going to church every week but never in relationship with God. This is why so many will say "Lord Lord" on the last day. I think sometimes we gloss past crucial Scriptures too easily:

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. - Matthew 7: 13-14 (ESV)

I know we all know the part that says "narrow is the way" but we tend to stop reading before we get to the part that says "those who find it are few." Do we get that? Few. Not mega church numbers of people beloved. Few.

That said, I need to be clearer about something that has been weighing on my Spirit. I do not hate the church. I love the church. The church is the Bride of Christ. He gave His life for His church. We need to be very careful about throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Of being so righteously angry at false teachers that we start to think the entire institution is somehow evil. It is not. There are real sheep of God sitting in every church across this country. There are real shepherds of God leading churches across this country. I point out what is false so they can come out from among them. Not to tell them church as a whole is beyond redemption. I couldn't say that because it is biblically untrue. Just look at the key verses. Christ loved the church. He gave Himself up for her. He wants to sanctify her by the washing of His Word. He wants to present the church to Himself in splendor! And He will beloved. Make no mistake about it. We need to be very careful about what we say about the bride of our Lord and Savior. Our place is never to tear down what God has raised up. The Bible speaks to exposing false teaching, not being rebellious against the church as a whole. I would tread very carefully.

That leads us to the next logical question. Well what was the church supposed to be? I have watched recently a lot of people who appear to be wounded from their church experiences and more sympathetic I could not be. Yet their defensiveness now seems targeted against anything in the church. It is a very dangerous spirit to be around because it is not the Spirit of the Lord. They point to Acts 2, where the church was established and claim it was met in homes. Let's see what the verses actually say:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. - Acts 2: 42-47 (ESV)

They broke bread in their homes and met corporately at the temple, reminding us that these first believers had come out of the Jewish culture. Beloved, God does not want us alone, Satan does. Being with other believers by the way, does not include Facebook either. Ecclesiastes teaches us this principle:

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him--a threefold cord is not quickly broken. - Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12 (ESV)

Can a church simple be a small gathering of believers? Absolutely. Do they have to meet in a big steepled building? Absolutely not. That does not mean however that they should not meet in big steepled buildings. In fact the Word of God seems to lean towards the public gatherings. There is also supposed to be an order to the church. The Bible makes things clear if we are willing to put aside our personal issues and admit it:

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. - James 3: 1 (ESV)

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 1Timothy 5: 17 (ESV)

These first two Scriptures cannot be any plainer. For those who think everything is even in the church here is some unsettling news. It is not. We are all even in the eyes of God in that we are all sinners covered by the blood of Jesus but that does not mean everyone is even in terms of what call and gifts they have. I am sure we all know people who fancy themselves teachers/preachers/pastors but cannot tell why the Message Bible is not fit for use. Or they readily dismiss centuries worth of solid Christian exposition under the guise of false piety. The truth according to the Word of God is that while everyone is charged with doing the work of a Berean, not everyone is called to divide the Word of Truth for the sheep. Not everyone is called to pastor, teach, or preach and those who are should receive double honor. The James verse actually says not many of us should even try to take on these roles because they then are held to a much higher standard. What standard? Let us turn to the Word:

Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. - 1Timothy 4: 16 (ESV)

Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all,for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. - Acts 20: 26-27 (ESV)

The first verse is Paul speaking to his protege Timothy as he prepares him for his role of pastor at Ephesus. I have heard people try to even say that fact, accepted for centuries, is also wrong. The pastoral letters are clear. Paul does not write to people telling them how to run a church for no particular reason. Hermeneutics does not mean you check your brain at the door. In this verse, he explicitly tells Timothy that the very salvation of his listeners is at stake when it comes to his preaching. That is why the standard is so high. That is why it is so disheartening to see false pastors today who do not care about the sheep entrusted to them by the Great Shepherd. They will be held to account for every sheep. The Acts verse is when Paul is saying goodbye to the Ephesian elders and he basically admits here that if he had not preached the whole counsel of God then those that would not be saved would be counted against him! Their blood, he would be responsible for! Think about that Mr. seeker friendly pastor! Before you go watering down the Gospel, you better beware. We have established scripturally that there are in fact leaders in the church. There is no question. It does not make them better. They should never lord their leadership over the sheep. I cringe when I see the modern church's obsession with chasing secular leadership principles when we have Christ! Jesus showed us that leadership is all about servanthood and humility. As Paul said; follow me as I follow Christ. There is a reason for this plan God has for organizing His church:

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. - Ephesians 4: 11-14 (ESV)

God wants us to come to unity of the true faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. He does not want us to be tossed about by every whim of doctrine that comes along. That is why there are overseers. That is why there are pastors. People charged with shepherding the flock and make sure none wander off. I have heard people recently say the entire role of pastor is unbiblical because the word never appears in Scripture. We cannot be this dense beloved. The word pastor comes from the Latin meaning shepherd. There is much human cunning, craftiness and deceitful schemes in the world and in the church. Too many are falling for this self-righteous trick of the devil where the very thing Christ died for has become the enemy. Are there gifts involved in these roles? Of course so but the usage of the word "the" before apostles, prophets, evangelists and teachers indicates these are roles people are expected to hold. We turn to Gills Exposition of the Entire Bible for more insight:

and some pastors and teachers, or doctors; these may be thought to differ, but not so much on account of the place where they perform their work, the one in the church, the other in the school; nor on account of the different subject of their ministry, the one attending to practical, the other to doctrinal points; but whereas the pastors are the shepherds of the flock, the overseers of it, and the same with the bishops and elders, and the teachers may be the gifted brethren in the church, assistants to the pastors, bare ministers of the word; so the difference lies here, that the one has the oversight, and care, and charge of the church, and the other not; the one can administer all ordinances, the other not; the one is fixed and tied to some certain church, the other not: though I rather think they intend one and the same office, and that the word "teachers" is only explanative of the figurative word "pastors" or shepherds; and the rather because if the apostle had designed distinct officers, he would have used the same form of speaking as before; and have expressed himself thus, "and some pastors, and some teachers"; whereas he does not make such a distribution here as there - Gills Exposition of the Entire Bible

The reality is the New Testament is loaded with instruction for how the church should be organized and the separation of roles within it. That may chafe against us but it is only our flesh which rebels. I am not speaking about blindly following any man but if my pastor preaches and lives a life that says follow me as I follow Christ; count me in.

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." - 1Peter 5: 1-5 (ESV)

That sure sounds a lot like order beloved. Shepherd the flock. Exercise oversight willingly. Not for shameful gain, which disqualifies many today. Not domineering over those in your charge; that disqualifies even more. Being what to the flock? An equal? No, an example. Clothe yourself in humility. It is not about being different but not everyone is called to do the same thing. Christ wants His Bride to grow in maturity; not be tossed around by every new wave of doctrine because they have no leader. Without the shepherd/pastor/teacher we become a rudderless boat, drifting this way and that. I have seen it too. I have seen the result of false teaching that drives Christians into these walled communities where they just cast stones at the church while rummaging through Scriptures they do not understand. Does the Holy Spirit lead us into all truth? Of course but sometimes we do not see the truth for what it is. Sometimes God can give different revelations and sometimes we may not see at all. There is no shame in knowing people who know more than you. I have people I can email and ask a question about Scripture that might be tripping me up and I do not mean people who will tell me what I want to hear. The day we think we are beyond that is the day we are no longer teachable.

Beloved, there is much wrong in the church today. It should come as no surprise since God warned us about this throughout the New Testament. Yet even in these churches are the real sheep of God. It is so disappointing sometimes to listen to people who have been clearly hurt but refuse to acknowledge it. Dismiss thousands of years of biblical interpretation and research because they think they have the only revelation that matters. People who seem to react in glee whenever something goes wrong in the church. People who seem to root for things to go wrong in the church. Yesterday we saw the Acts 29 Network disassociate themselves from Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church. It was long overdue. I have documented the abuses of Driscoll for years now. But this was not a happy day. When someone who started out trying to serve God loses his way over a period of ten years we should not be rejoicing. I am happy for the sheep because maybe now they can get a pastor who will stick to the Gospel alone. But I weep for the church because she is the Bride of Christ and she suffered yesterday. I pray Mark Driscoll genuinely repents and seeks forgiveness. Christ forgave us. We ought to be waiting to forgive people; not waiting to cast that first stone.

I say that because it becomes real easy to do nothing but complain. It becomes real easy to sit behind a computer screen and hurl rocks at the church. They make an easy target; no doubt. It has to transcend that because there is no mercy in it. Now hear me out. I have no mercy for the wolves who are attacking the flock of God. I will expose them with every breath within me because they are killing the sheep - whether they intend to or not. Wrath is when we only look at the wolves though. Anger, bitterness, even righteous indignation - all when our eyes are fixed on the wolf. The problem is that there are still the sheep to consider. When we focus on them we find mercy; or at least we should. I have heard many Christians essentially say to hell with them. If they are too stupid to sit under false teaching there is nothing we can do about it. That is simply not how I interpret the parable of the 99 and 1. All sheep are precious to God. We preach the Word without compromise, expose what is false, and mercifully keep our eyes on His sheep.

Because whether we like it or not, the church is His Bride. So many Christians today stand around the Bride of Christ with rocks in their hands and call her a whore. They feel perfectly justified in casting the first stone. They think that all of Christendom for centuries have been wrong but they have it all figured out. The arrogance is staggering in its sinfulness. I openly admit I do not have it all figured out at all. I am a wretch telling people about a God that saves wretches. Drop the stones beloved and realize that the church we look upon with such disdain is still His bride. He still is sanctifying it. He still wants to wash it clean with His Word and present it unto Himself. Be very careful what you hold in such contempt, lest it becomes an idol unto you. Be very careful indeed.

Reverend Anthony Wade - August 9, 2014

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.