Pastor Bola Bello
[biblegateway passage=”1 Corinthians 12:35″ display=”1 Corinthians 12:35″]
Last week, we discussed the concept of schism. When one part of the body suffers, it affects all others. We must never give attention to one ministry gift over and above another. It is the Wisdom of God to apportion some to be Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. Everyone cannot function in these offices. No gift is superior to another, but because of the nature of the office of the Apostle for example, one might think He is more important or superior to the others- not so.
[biblegateway passage=”1 Corinthians 12:7″ display=”1 Corinthians 12:7″]
Members of the body tend to be drawn to those five-fold ministry gifts. One of the reasons for this is because of our background. Historically, people flock around herbalists or witch doctors (“Babalawos”) whenever they have one challenge or the other.
Apostasy results due to the pressure mounted on ministers of the gospel. Prophets, for example, are sought to share some special message from God.
[biblegateway passage=”Hebrews 6:1-6 ” display=”Hebrews 6:1-6 “]
Verse 3 shows an intriguing juxtaposition of the words “will” and “we”. They are placed in an unusual order. “Will” comes before “we” not by coincidence. There are certain truths that were handed over to Church, in which every one of her members must be firmly rooted. They are not itemized in order of importance, nevertheless, they should be taught. The doctrine of Christ as stated in the above portion of scripture refers to those things which Christ Himself taught. These instructions must become a pivotal part of the teachings we hear.
This is the major function of the fivefold ministry- reminding the Church of these things. Anything taught that does not align with the focus given in Hebrews 6 is heretic and erroneous.
In the course of teaching these things, God might indeed raise people financially but that does not mean that God can call a man “to raise millionaires”. Apostasy involves a falling away, a departure or deflection from the Truth to something else that might resemble the Truth, but is in fact mixed with lies. It is first a gradual shifting away from the Truth, until a complete abandonment (for another doctrine) occurs.
In the military, the reason why a lot of lives are lost is because of the failure to follow instructions. No matter the number of people you can boast about bringing into the Kingdom, if it is not “according to the manual”, it does not amount to anything before God. The doctrine of Christ is not His own doctrine. It was gotten from His Father.
There are four types of faith- Natural, Faith of God, Faith toward God, Faith of the Son of God.
[biblegateway passage=”Romans 3:3″ display=”Romans 3:3″]; [biblegateway passage=”John 12:32 ” display=”John 12:32 “]
[biblegateway passage=”Galatians 2:20″ display=”Galatians 2:20″] describes the kind of life we should begin to live. The faith of God is the same as the faith of the Son of God. Likewise, it is the faith of God that serves as the basis for all the others.
Apostasy is the same as backsliding or being bewitched.[biblegateway passage=” Acts 8:9-11″ display=” Acts 8:9-11″] shows a similar instance. Yes, power to work wonders in the Church exists. However, if you see any of these without the Word of God, you must begin to query such acts. These days, there are magicians in the Church. From these ones you see miracles and signs to which multitudes gather, but at the end of the day Christ is not formed in them. The truth remains- neither the congregation nor the minister will be spared.
In [biblegateway passage=”Acts 21:21″ display=”Acts 21:21″], Paul himself was charged with apostasy. He was accused of teaching the Jews to forsake (that is, depart from the way of) Moses. From this we can deduce that one other way we can characterize apostasy is departing from a previously accepted and practiced way of life.
The major cause of apostasy in the Church is a lack of knowledge. This is however not an acceptable excuse in the event that we fall into deception. We need the grace, enablement and capacity from God to seek after knowledge and at the same time, come to a place of balance.