A Citizen of the Kingdom

One of the most common subjects that I hear from the mouths of Christians is that the Church is broken in some way or another. I’ll begin by making this statement: The true Church is not broken!

One thing that sickens me in my spirit and heart is that the most common reply I get when I ask someone if they are a believer, is that they respond by relating to a denomination rather than being a Christian. I can’t count how many times I have heard, “I’m a Baptist,” “I’m a Pentecostal,” or whichever denominational gathering they attend.

For reference, I will say this: I am a reformist. I firmly believe in Sola Scriptura, Scripture alone! And Salvation Sola Fide, Faith alone!

Today there are over a thousand different so-called Christian denominations in the United States alone. Christianity is the most divided religious belief system in the world. Why???? For me there is no legitimate excuse for such separations.

It could easily and accurately be stated that modern Christianity is indeed a house divided! I will describe the current status this way: think of the separate denominations as a cube and God as the perfect sphere.

The Church is supposed to look like Christ and what Jesus established the day when He asked Peter, “Who do you say I am?” and Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” Christ Jesus then said, “On that rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” 

I came up with this illustration to help explain what is going on: imagine God as the absolute perfect sphere, and the separate denominations as cubes. The Church is supposed to resemble the Lord as closely as possible.

These denominational cubes may have relatively the proper cores, but to functionally become the proper Church that Christ Jesus established, there are a lot of sharp edges that need to be ground away. To establish the Church that Christ spoke into existence we must as individuals first change our identity from some misguided recognition of denomination to being a true follower of Christ Jesus.

All these other pseudo-monikers and identifiers only serve to separate the body of Christ and fail miserably at uniting. The fact is Protestant denominations did not begin to appear until a thousand years after Christ had risen.

The intent of the Church Christ established is nowhere more evident than in Revelation 2. Christ, speaking to John, spoke of the seven lamp stands representing the seven churches. If you pay attention, you will notice Christ speaks of them as the church at a location, not as a denominational differentiator. It was “the Church at” !Not the Presbyterian church or the Baptist church, etc., but “the Church at”! For me the message is clear: One Church!

Let’s get to ourselves as individuals. I have addressed the issue of how we identify ourselves; now let me address another vastly important quality we need to become serving citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. Preparedness! I have often asked myself why does it seem that churchgoers appeared more like bags of dried bones than lovers and servants of our Lord Jesus.

After many years of maturity and observation, I realize that there is no preparing before we attend our gathering service. I don’t call it church because when people gather only out of habit or for any reason other than to worship our Lord or without a deep desire to seek God and feel the Holy Spirit move, then it is in fact NOT church!

Folks can say what they will and it has become blatantly obvious that some will outright lie to themselves and others and say those are the reasons that they attend a gathering, but the proof is in the pudding. The scripture states “you will know them by their fruit”, and fruitless people either have never been saved and have no idea how to serve God or have so little faith that there is no desire to serve. This is the lukewarm heart spoken of in Revelation concerning the Church at Laodicea.

The questions I have had in my heart for years are why do folks that claim to be believers and followers of Christ Jesus not prepare their hearts to worship before they gather, and why is there such a desire to separate from other believers? I have a good idea of what the answers are but no understanding of legitimate reasons behind such behavior or lack thereof.

I’m not saying that attending denominational gatherings is wrong. What I am saying, and feel very adamant about, is that focusing on denominational differences is wrong because it separates the true Church and the body of Christ becomes dismembered.

Denominational stalwarts have no place in the church Christ Jesus established, and in my understanding of the Scripture are nothing less than false teachers! When our identity as Christians strays from anything other than being Christian, then we have left the faith spoken of in the Word. Our identity must remain steadfast in Christ Jesus and the doctrine of Scripture and not the denominational doctrines of man.

It doesn’t matter if your place of gathering convenes on Sunday or Saturday. What does matter is the condition of your heart when entering the place of worship. You should enter with a desire to praise and worship the Savior, understanding the majesty of the Lord God and the meager comparison of yourself in relationship to Him! If you have not the heart of a servant, then who are you in the Kingdom of God? Not having a humble heart and a servant’s heart is a state of pridefulness and must be addressed in prayer until it is resolved.

Don’t bring your troubles into the gathering. Our troubles should be addressed on our knees in private, pleading with our Lord for His intervention. Don’t take your troubles, complaints, or needs to the preacher. This is a key factor to maintaining worship in our gatherings and allowing the preacher to serve in his calling as he is directed in Scripture.

It is great for our preachers to have a shepherd’s heart, but they were called to preach not shepherd. Your preacher is not an establishment wet nurse or spiritual diaper changer. It is the duty of the deacons to serve the people and to address the issues in the gathering so that the preacher can be allowed time to study and prepare the proclamation to the people.

Years ago the Jackson Five sang a song that said, “One bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch”, but that is not true. One bad apple will spoil the entire bunch and bad attitudes and hearts can, will, and do contaminate our places of worship, our gatherings, and the activities of our groups. This is why church discipline must be practiced and used when needed, in accordance with the directions of the Word of God.

Adherence to the Word and becoming sold out to God will indeed overwhelm denominational needs. While speaking and fielding questions in a panel of theologians, one theologian once put the best methodology into a profound and simple statement when he said, “Read your Bible, then become biblical and be reformed.” This is the way of a true Christian.

I recently experienced a great blessing in my life. I attended a true church—it was Hill Country Bible Church in San Saba, Texas, and I will say that was the first time that I have attended a gathering in my life where it was apparent that everyone there had gathered to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I have never felt love and worship as I felt there. There was no big band or orchestra. Just an out of tune guitar and two ladies singing praises. There was no theatrical production, no fanfare or big show, just many souls praising and worshiping, and without doubt the Spirit of God was in that place. This is what I wish for all Christians to experience every time they gather!

May the Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ fall upon your life and gatherings in abundance, and may your hearts be hearts of service. Amen

“The higher purpose of the cross was that the Father would be glorified by the satisfaction of His justice.”.  - Charles Spurgeon

Kenneth Kellar
A Man Called by God to Teach and Disciple