Introduction
to the Church History
To preface this introduction, I feel very uneasy about
what I have to say in this introduction, but Pastor
Jim Cymbala's words in his book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire compel me to write
this. Here is what he had to say about the current
present-day body of Christ in the USA. "Meanwhile,
Christian researcher George Barna reports that 64
percent of "born-again" Americans and 40 percent of
"evangelical" Americans say there is no such thing
as absolute truth. In other words, the Ten Commandments
may or may not be valid, Jesus Christ isn't necessarily
the only way to God, and so forth. With this kind
of sloppy thinking, what does "born-again" even mean
anymore? In the rush for "success" and "growth" we
have revised and distorted the very essence of the
gospel.Yet everyone agrees that the culture is becoming
more promiscuous, more violent, and more hateful by
the day. So what has happened to the church as light
and salt in the earth? What do the spin doctors in
the body of Christ make of these things? (p.90, par.
3&5)" "Whenever the Body of Christ gets into
trouble--whether through its own negligence, as in
Loadocea, or through some special attack of Satan--strong
action is required. We cannot merely sit by and hope the
problem will resolve itself." (p. 92, par. 2, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire.) And God doesn't just sit idly by hoping the problem will resolve itself.
Here we will see historically that the Holy Spirit
often stepped in to shake things up, by creating a new revival.
There are three defining points, reasons, that major
revivals start or have started within the body of
Christ. Each revival, which can lead to the formation
of a new denomination, has one or more of the following
reasons for it's beginning and existence. God is
behind each and every of these categories, empowering,
leading and inspiring key individuals and groups to
step out in faith. I will list these three reasons
or points, and list along with them some of the major
revivals and/or denominations that sprang up as a
result of this defining reason or point. As you will
see, some revivals have come from a blend of the stated
reasons below.
1.
An individual Christian or group of Christians felt compelled to come out of an existing church or denomination because this church or denomination
"allowed practicing sinners"--unrepentant sinners--to
become "baptized members" of the church and it's congregations. Examples:
a.
The early Separatists in England during the 1600s felt they had to "separate"
themselves out of the Church of England. Merging
with the Puritans, they became the Congregationalist
churches now in America.
b.
John Wesley's Methodists came out of the Church of England during the
1800s, becoming the Methodist denomination. In the
early 1900s a new group felt they must separate out
of the Methodist denomination, the Church of the Nazarene,
in order to maintain the original principles laid
down by John Wesley.
c.
Martin Luther came out of the Catholic Church, creating the Protestant
Reformation and the Lutheran Church, a denomination.
2.
A move of the Holy Spirit to bring the gospel of salvation into another
ethnic/racial group, thus helping to bring to pass
Jesus Christ's imperative command found in Matthew
28:18-20 and Acts 1:6-8. Examples:
a.
The gospel being brought to the Gentiles via Paul in the early church
age, first to Asia Minor where it was in a Judeo-Christian
form, or the Quartodeciman churches.
b.
The gospel being brought to the Gentiles in the Greco-Roman areas of the
world, adapting to their specific cultures (by Paul
again, in the beginning).
c.
The gospel being brought to the various parts of the Gentile world and
their differing ethnic groups by missionary organizations,
both past and present. Some major modern-day examples:
The JESUS Film Project;
Gospel for Asia; Samaritans Purse; Roger Doriot's
missionary family to the Irian Jaya's (UFM).
d.
And finally, the gospel of salvation re-adapting itself and going back
into the Jewish ethnic/cultural group from which it
originally came out of in 31-32AD, now going back
into the Israeli nation and to all Jews worldwide.
This is the Messianic Jewish-Christian movement.
One key missionary group in this sub-section is The
Jews for Jesus organization, and another is MESSIAH FOR
ISRAEL MINISTRIES.
3.
A
move of the Holy Spirit to create a church or denomination
which adheres more closely to the Word of God as the
sole authority to set Christian living standards and
practices of belief. Examples:
a.
Martin Luther, starting the Lutherans,
b.
The Baptists, starting out in the 1600s by Roger Williams,
c.
John Wesley, starting the Methodists,
d.
Chuck Smith and the Calvary Chapels now spreading around the world.
4.
There is a fourth category of the body of Christ which has survived down through
the ages in tiny groups, basically going through a
number of tiny "revivals" of its own, while maintaining
its peculiar belief system--the Sabbatarians. Among
both early 1st century and present day
Messianic Jewish Christians this category also exists
as well. They are called "Torah-observant (non-derogatorily)
Messianic Jews". But this 4th category
also exists amongst the Gentile part of the body of
Christ as the Sabbatarian branch of Christianity--and
they're called (derogatorily) "legalists".
During
the first century the early Messianic Jewish Christians,
labeled by the Jews as “the sect of the Nazarenes”,
migrated during the various persecutions (Roman-Jewish
wars, and Roman persecutions) into Asia Minor (under
first John, then Polycarp and then Policrates). The
Sabbataians believe their various revivals may
have originated from these early Messianic
Jews, each revival bringing these Sabbatarians into
a different region of the world---from the land
of Israel to Asia Minor, then from Asia Minor to
the Balkans, then from the Balkans to Europe, then
from Europe to England, and then from England to
the United States. (This is a Sabbatarian
interpretation of the historic facts not shared
by many other Christian historians. To read
a Sabbatarian view of their revival history titled “Sabbatarian
Revivals from Jerusalem to Oregon, click on http://www.unityinchrist.com/history/revivals.htm .)
Also as Paul brought the gospel to Asia Minor he preached first in all the synagogues.
Many of the churches that arose in Asia Minor were
Judeo-Christian in nature and practice--called historically
Quartodeciman churches. These churches kept the Sabbath,
Holy Day observances, and kept the Quartodeciman Passover
(Christian Passover) observance on the 13th/14th
Nisan (once a year with a foot-washing ceremony and
partaking of the bread and wine, mirroring the last
Passover Jesus observed with his disciples just prior
to his crucifixion)(the primary example of this is
that of the apostle John and his disciple Polycarp,
and Polycarp's disciple, Policrates--who set the pace
or doctrinal tone for these Quartodeciman churches
in Asia Minor). (To get a good picture of these Quartodeciman
churches in early church history log onto http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/history2/index3.htm
.)
The basic cornerstone of the belief system of this 4th category (both
for the Torah-observant Messianic Jewish Christians
and the Sabbatarian Gentile part of the body of Christ)
is their literal interpretation of Matthew 5:17-19,
which leads to their subsequent belief that the whole
10 Commandment Law of God is still in force for Christians--including
and especially the 4th Commandment or the
Sabbath Commandment. This includes for some Sabbatarian
branches the Holy Day observances as well (seeing
that the Sabbath command is the first commanded Holy
Day listed in Leviticus 23 {vs. 1-3}, where all the
Holy Day commands are found {Leviticus 23:1-44}.)
New covenant Christians (Gentile) believe that as
a part of being in the new covenant, the whole Old
Testament Law, or Torah, has been superceded by the
new covenant, and that the Sabbath Commands and Holy
Days have been transformed to their higher spiritual
intent with this spiritual intent being lived in us
by the Holy Spirit, as brought out in Hebrews 4 and
8 by Paul (for an explanation of this log onto http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/lamb/markintro_5.htm
and http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/lamb/holyday.htm
) so that their physical observance was deemed no
longer necessary. But to many of those in this 4th
category, the Sabbath and Holy Day commands are inseparable,
and deemed very necessary as an integral part of observing
God's 10 Commandment Law. These churches, both Torah-observant
Messianic and Sabbatarian--unless they do not
believe in Jesus as being God in the flesh, and very
God even before his human birth--are bonafide
Christian in whom the Holy Spirit indwells. Their
peculiar secondary (often labeled "legalistic") belief
structure is totally permissible and allowed for,
legislated into the terms of the new covenant by God
directly through the apostle Paul in Romans 14. Let
me explain, because this is important. [Incredibly,
the Law of Christ that the new covenant Gentile Christian
observes and the 10 Commandment Law of God the Sabbatarian
and Torah observant Messianic Jewish believer observe
differ in only one way, literal observance of Sabbath
(and for some Holy Days), verses keeping of the spiritual
intent of 9 out of those 10 Commandments. And Paul
says both groups are covered by the blood of Christ
in Romans 14!]
The apostle Paul was faced with a unique situation in the early Roman congregation,
one in which the congregation was divided into two
major discernable groups (along with sub-groups of
each of these two groups). And these two groups were
chaffing and battling each other over secondary religious
practices. The two major groups were the Greco-Roman
Gentile Christians (who felt they were under no constraints
to keep "Jewish" Sabbath and Holy Days or dietary
practices), and the other group was that of the Torah-observant
Jewish Christians (who thought it mandatory for them
to observe Sabbath/Holy Days and dietary laws as prescribed
in the Torah). A thorough reading of Romans 14 will
prove this, but Paul basically cut this legislation
which allows each group to believe and practice the
customs which their Christian conscience dictates
to them as important. This legislation is spelled
out in Romans 14:5-6, 22-23, which states, "One man
esteemeth one day above another [as a worship day];
another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man
be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth
the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth
not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He
that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God
thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth
not, and giveth God thanks.Hast thou faith? Have
it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth
not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And
he that doubteth is damned if he eat [i.e. a Jewish
believer eating pork], because he eateth not of faith:
for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." A key point
to observe in this legislation is this: If your Christian
conscience dictates that you should follow the Old
Testament Ten Commandment Law of God strictly and
literally in the observance of Sabbath/Holy Days and
dietary laws--you'd better do so. One
other point Paul makes, probably the most important
point, is that each group--Torah-observant Jewish
(and by extension Sabbatarians) and Greco-Roman Gentiles
alike--both groups are covered by the blood of Christ
(vs. 15). Both groups are filled with the Holy Spirit.
And yes, for you Christians who like to throw doctrinal
stones at Sabbatarians, calling them "legalists" and
legalistic, back off. You're on really shaky ground
spiritually, condemning your Christian brother groups
within this 4th category. Paul is mainly
addressing the Gentile Greco-Roman Christians commanding
them to show greater love and give leeway to the Jewish-Christians
whose Christian conscience wouldn't allow them to
eat certain things according to Old Testament dietary
law or felt compelled to maintain Sabbath and Holy
Days.
One thing I wish to point out. Most Sabbatarians believe their historic
roots go back to the Torah-observant Messianic
Jewish Christians. Other Christian historians disagree
because insufficient connective history exists (which
is true). One thing is for sure, the ideological
connection between these tiny revivals is there
for sure, indicating perhaps a definite expunging
of the historic records (by the major Greco-Roman
church). The Sabbatarians which make up this 4th
category, are a very small part of the overall
body of Christ. But they are a distinct group or
category and deserve mentioning, and in my opinion,
their version of their historic roots deserve a platform
(which I give it in "Sabbatarian Christian Revivals").
Now to clarify some of the points I have made. These points have been painted
with a broad brush to help simplify a very complex
history down to a few basic important points.
In
the first point, although John Wesley and Martin Luther
never willingly left either the Church of England
or the Catholic Church (Luther was kicked out, excommunicated),
neither personally renounced their membership in those
churches--but the movement the Holy Spirit started
through each man did indeed come out of and became
totally separate from the Church of England and the
Catholic Church. Most, if not all of John
Wesley's pastors and ministers were entirely Methodist,
and held no rank or membership within the Church of
England when the movement really got going during
Wesley's life.
The
history articles in this section are all about a
movement's beginnings--when they're hot and on
fire spiritually--filled with the Holy Spirit.
The purpose of these histories is to cause you to
think and make an evaluation about the spiritual road
you're going down and perhaps make personal changes
so you end up where you really want to end up (for
Christians that would be in that Holy city Abraham
longed for, spoken of in Hebrews 11:8-10 and Revelation
21:1-17). When I show in this first point that the
Separatist's came out of the Church
of England, and the movement of the Holy Spirit through
Martin Luther came out of the Catholic
Church, and ditto for the movement of the Holy Spirit
through John Wesley, and that yet a smaller group
within the Methodists later (1900s) came out
of the Methodist church (the Church of the
Nazarenes), don't think I am trying to say that if
you're dissatisfied with your church you should immediately
go out and start a new one. First and foremost, understand
it is God who really starts new churches or
denominations by a direct move of the Holy Spirit.
He does it through a man or men he chooses, usually
well-trained, Holy Spirit filled and led persons who
are used to serving unselfishly. History does show
that the revivals of the Holy Spirit that turn into
churches and denominations go through a sort of life-cycle.
They start out hot and on fire spiritually. Then
as time goes by their spiritual fervor cools, and
the fire often grows dim or even out. Such life-cycles
are listed in Revelation chapters 1 through 3. An
excellent passage in Revelation 3:1-3,6, makes this
very clear when held up against what some denominations
have become. "Jesus is saying today, as he said to
the church at Sardis, "You have a reputation of being
alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what
remains and is about to die, for I have not found
your deeds complete in the sight of my God.But if
you do not wake up, I will come like a thief..He who
has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches" (Rev. 3:1-3, 6)." [p. 139, par. 4, Fresh
Wind, Fresh Fire.] There are those who theologically
believe each of these seven churches of Revelation
2-3 represent the major church eras. The Philadelphia
and Laodocia churches would be the two era's that
are existent near the 2nd coming, if that
is so. But Sardis could very well be referring to
the by-gone era of the church who's remnants are hanging
around as the present day denominations, which had
their beginnings in real revivals of the Holy Spirit
one hundred, two hundred, and three hundred years
ago. That's quite a serious thought to ponder. More
like, if the shoe fits, then wear it. As we see from
these histories, some denominations let in sin or
the standards of this evil world. When this happens
within a denomination the Holy Spirit may actually
inspire a man or people within that denomination to
start an offshoot branch of that group to maintain
the high Spirit-led standards the movement originally
started with. Other holy men are inspired by the
Holy Spirit to actually start a new movement. Luther,
the Separatists of England, Wesley are strong examples
of this. One other important thing about the life-cycle
of a denomination is that the original members early
on in a movement of the Holy Spirit are actually called-out-ones,
actual born-again Christians, filled with and actively
being led by the Holy Spirit. As the denomination
ages their churches fill with people who instead of
being born-again, are ones who have been 'born into'
the denomination. Charles Stanley found this out
early on in his ministry when he made a tour of some
of his first assigned congregations to meet all the
members. They were good Baptists, as the saying goes,
but his estimation upon meeting them all in person
was that most of them were no more converted or born-again
than a jack-rabbit. This isn't to say there aren't
a lot of real born-again Christians in the Baptist
denomination, because there are. I'm just using Charles
Stanley's experience to illustrate my point.
Now,
what should you do about this information?
If upon personal examination, you find or come to
the conclusion that the denomination you're in has
indeed cooled spiritually, then it is up to you and
no one else to decide what you should do. One of
the central re-occurring themes found in Proverbs
is that to be wise you must hang around wise men.
Inversely to be a fool, hang around with fools. The
point is, you will end up being like the company you
keep or hang around with. If you associate with an
on-fire Christian group or church, it will rub off
(if you are actually a born-again Christian, and if
you're not, it may lead you to call on the name of
Jesus and receive salvation--and that's not a bad
thing either!). Christians, especially in the United
States, have the ability to directly apply Solomon's
words and principle, and chose to dwell and associate
with the spiritually wise and on fire, or to chose
to associate with the spiritually slumbering. Jesus
warns us in Matthew 25 that the end-time church is
likened to 10 bridesmaids waiting for a wedding, they
all slumbered. But five made sure they had plenty
of oil for their lamps. The oil in this parable of
Jesus is symbolic of having and being filled with
the Holy Spirit. The group you fellowship with can
either have a lot of people who have the Holy Spirit,
or it can have very little of His presence left, very
few left in it that are truly born-again, Holy Spirit
filled Christians. In a sense, Christians have a
unique opportunity in the United States to vote
with their feet by whether they choose to remain
within the denomination they're in (and try to light
spiritual fires there), or go to a more spiritually
active and alive segment of that denomination, or
even to another entirely different denomination where
the spiritual fires burn more brightly. In the past,
making such a decision could cost you your life (doubt
this?--read "Foxes Book of Martyrs"). The
overall effect of such "voting" will strengthen the
whole body of Christ by further enlivening the hotter
parts while allowing the dead or dying parts to sleep
on (Revelation 3:14-20). The effects of such "voting"
may also sufficiently "wake up" a denomination's leadership,
forcing them to face tough spiritual issues where
they've been letting this evil world dictate their
agenda's, such as allowing "political correctness"
and the A.C.L.U. to govern instead of the standards
of God's Word (read 1 Corinthians and Romans 1).
In each case where holy men of God were inspired to
come out of another group (Luther, Wesley, the Separatists),
it was to come out of a denomination that was letting
the sinful standards of the world into the church.
So
to recap, what should we learn from the histories
in this history section of this website? 1. How they
started out, hot and on fire spiritually. 2. What
happened to cool them down. a. letting in the standards
of the world. b. born-again members replaced by 'born-into'
the church members. (There is a "c." level of development
that usually contributes to the fire going dim or
out in a denomination as well. It is the establishment
of a bureaucratic governmental structure within a
denomination.) By reviewing the early history of
the denomination you're a part of you can apply the
instructions of Paul to you and yes also to the
group you spiritually associate with. All too
often we apply this to ourselves but not to the Christian
group we associate with. Paul said in 2 Corinthians
13:5, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith;
prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves,
how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates."
Solomon's words combined with these would indicate
that if you want to be spiritually alive, associate,
hang around with the spiritually alive, not the spiritually
slumbering or dead. Also ask yourself these questions:
1. Am I in the part of the body of Christ that will
spiritually benefit me and my family the most? 2.
Am I in the part of the body of Christ that will benefit
the overall goals of Jesus for the body found in Matthew
28:18-20 and Acts 1:6-8. These questions can only
be properly answered by each and every individual.
God should be included in this examination process
as well, for he sees the spiritual things that we
are so often blind to. Ask yourself: "Is your life,
your presence where you are, are your tithes and offerings,
benefiting the whole body of Christ and the goals
of Jesus to its fullest?" As you read these histories,
keep these questions in mind. They're not just nice
stories about how your denomination got started.
History has a purpose, a God given purpose and reason.
Both history and prophecy are intended as a warning
to the individual. Sir Winston Churchill, mindful
of German history, prepared himself and England to
endure the worst. The poor Jews in Europe ignored
these lessons, and weren't able to heed in time to
escape. We are in the end-times, since August of
1945 we've been in the end times. Matthew 10:17-23
is being fulfilled by Messianic believers in Yeshua
at this very moment. That prophecy of Jesus shows
they will not have gone to every city in Israel when
the Messiah comes (Jesus Christ's 2nd coming!).
It's tine to fill your lamp chambers with the oil
of the Holy Spirit (cf. Matthew 25). What group you
fellowship with can have a direct bearing on how successfully
you are able to do that. [You don't think we're
in the end times? Log onto http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/prophecies/2ndcoming_1.htm
and do some serious study of end-time prophecy and
see just where we're at in time-sequence, and then
get back to this section. It'll mean more to you
then.]
Please
understand, I am not favoring any one denomination
over another on this website. The purpose of this
site is to encourage spiritual growth within the body
of Christ as a whole, thus bringing about a spiritual
unity within the body--at it's most fundamental level.
Secondarily this site has the purpose of trying to
muster support for three or four of the most effective
non-denominational Christian international evangelistic
organizations. I hope this short introduction helps
bring some focus and understanding into the following
articles in this church history section.
And
I almost forgot, we should not be ignorant of the
start of the whole Christian church, the Church of
God in Jerusalem (and this was a Messianic Jewish
Christian church, believe it or not). I have a whole
section titled "early Church history" with three sub-sections
in it:
1.
The Church's Birth
2.
Early Church History
3.
Choosing a Church
All
the studies in this church history section are meant
to give you spiritual perspective of where the denominations
came from. The very word "revival" means to stir
up, make something come back to life that was dying
out. A denomination can be--but not always--the corpse
of a dead or dying revival. How a revival first starts
out, full of spiritual fire and proper understanding
of God's Word, and what it is 150, 200 or 300 years
later can be two entirely different things. Again,
let me use Pastor Cymbala's words to make a point
about what some churches in our modern times can be
like now, what they've devolved to. "Imagine a basketball
court with hoops five feet off the ground. The free-throw
line is three feet away. I've just made 884 free
throws in a row. My wife walks out to watch and says,
'What are you doing?' 'I'm playing basketball. See,
here's the ball, and there's the hoop on a backboard.
The lines are all marked and everything.' Carol would
say, 'No, the hoop is supposed to be ten feet high,
and the line is supposed to be fifteen feet away.
That is basketball. What you're doing is nothing
more than a charade.'
[In many of the different denominations] We have a lot of markings
that look like Christianity these days, but we have
drastically revised the parameters. People have lowered
the standards in a vain attempt to make churches look
more successful than they really are. Sermons have
to be uniformly positive, and the services can't go
longer than 60 minutes.The message of the cross will
always be foolishness to some, a stumbling block to
others. But if our attention is on the market reaction,
we move away from the power of the gospel.(Fresh
Wind, Fresh Fire, p131, par. 5, p. 132, par. 1-3.)
"The apostles realized that without a bold, aggressive
attitude in proclaiming God's Word, they would not
build the church Jesus intended.The apostles weren't
trying to finesse people. Their communication wasn't
supposed to be "cool" or soothing. They aimed for
a piercing of the heart, for conviction of sin. They
had not the faintest intention of asking, "What do
people want to hear? How can we draw more people
to church on Sunday?" That was the last thing in
their minds. Such an approach would have been foreign
to the whole New Testament.The Bible does not say
we should aim at numbers but rather urges us faithfully
to proclaim God's message in the boldness of the Holy
Spirit. This will build God's church God's way."
(Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire p. 124, par. 2-4.)
That last sentence is just exactly what each holy
person God used to start a revival did, he proclaimed
God's message, the gospel, in the boldness of the
Holy Spirit.
We
shouldn't neglect a good look at how it all got started.
So you might want to start your study at http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/history2/index4.htm
. And after reading the various histories in this section, if you feel led
to look around to find a more Spirit-filled church
or denomination, log onto http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/history2/choosingachurch.htm
, it may give you some ideas of where to look and
what to look for. Remember, most of the major denominations
were started by a person on fire for God, who was
directly inspired by the Holy Spirit to lead a people
to worship God according to a better understanding
of God's Word, which at the time of this founding
person had fallen from proper understanding and application
by those calling themselves Christians. To search
out a more recent and on-fire revival of Christianity
is definitely not wrong, in light of the times we
live in. It's your spiritual future we're talking
about here, in the final analysis. And God gives
you total freedom of choice in where and with whom
to fellowship within the body of Christ, where to
seek out your spiritual nourishment. What these studies
show, is what the revivals were like when they first
started, when the participants were close to God,
understood and lived by His Word, and understood what
His Word was teaching. In these end times, these
dangerous times, it is spiritually dangerous not to
be worshipping in a group such as they did. So let
us all take a good look at what "they" and "their
churches" were like. Let's take a journey back in
time.
Elder
William Brewster’s Advice to Christians
Living in the United States
If
Elder Brewster were alive right now, what advice would
he have for Christians today, living in this country
his Plymouth Plantation was a foundation of? This
article titled Saga of the Pilgrims will answer that
question by showing you how the Separatist Christians
reacted to very similar circumstances they were living
through. First, William Brewster, upon taking stock
of the condition of the Christian churches in the
United States, would realize that many of these churches
have become what the Church of England was like in
the late 1500s to early 1600s. The very reason these
Pilgrims were called Separatists was because they
believed one had to separate himself or herself out
from the Church of England in order to more ensure
one’s salvation. Why did they feel so strongly
about this issue? It was because the Church of England
was baptizing and allowing known sinners to become
members of the Church of England. The Bible, as they
could plainly read in 1 Corinthians, commands believers
to have no fellowship with sinners that are in the
church, and to put them out of the church. Well these
Separatists couldn’t very well remove the “sinners”
the Church of England was admitting into their fellowship
out of that church, so they felt compelled to break
off from that church, even though that put their lives
in peril of the monarchy of England, the government.
William Brewster would take one good look at what
is going on within the Christian churches here in
the United States, and judging by the same biblical
standards they had lived by, advise all Christians
living in this land of ours to separate out from any
Christian church which baptized and/or admitted known
sinners to their membership rolls. Now that sounds
pretty reactionary. But understand, Mr. Brewster was
a very pronounced reactionary of his day. King James
I of England had a price on Mr. Brewster’s head
because he had actually dared to publish a book that
went against the kings wishes.
The other thing the Separatists and Mr. Brewster were
known for whilst living in the midlands of England
was this. They would search diligently for those parishes
and churches that had a real preacher that preached
the Word of God powerfully and in a way that would
spiritually nourish the congregation. He and they
would search out for Holy Spirit led and inspired
preachers, and go to their services. They set the
prime example of going out in search of churches that
were alive spiritually, and leaving ones that weren’t.
Now that may ruffle a few pastoral feathers, but these
people were willing to risk their lives and die so
that we in this land of ours could have that freedom
without risk to life and limb.
So If Elder Brewster were alive today he would be
just as reactionary in his advice to Christians as
he was back in 1620. He would advise all Christians
living in this land he loved so much to separate themselves
out from any church they might be attending if
that church or denomination was now in the habit of
baptizing or admitting to its membership rolls known
sinners. He would go on to advise these
same Christians to find for themselves doctrinally
sound, solid churches who have preachers in them that
expound the whole Word of God without distortion,
in a spiritually nourishing manner.
Now let’s define sin. The Bible says sin is
the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). Which law?
Christians follow the law of Christ (which is based
on, but not quite the same as the Law of Moses). The
law of Christ is defined by Jesus in Matthew 5:17-48,
and by Paul in Romans 1. Churches that admit as members
people who are knowingly and willingly living by lifestyles
defined in these two passages are what Mr. Brewster
would advise we “separate” ourselves out
from and cease attending.
As a direct descendant of William Brewster, and in
a tiny way following in his footsteps in gospel publishing
using the most modern media (the Internet), just as
he did in the 1600s (the printing press), I feel compelled
to tell you what advice my ancestor would desire have
me pass on to you. Do you think this advice is too
reactionary? Then read about the man who would give
you this same advice if he were alive today--read
about the man who lived the very advice he would give
you in Saga of the Pilgrims.
The editor.
Post Script: Church history also shows us that when a major revival of the Holy
Spirit takes place, take the Great Awakening for example,
Satan always likes to create counterfeit or false
revivals alongside or in close proximity to the real
one that is taking place. This is done to bring public
discredit to the real revival of God's Holy Spirit
which is taking place. On the outskirts of the Great
Awakening, Pentecostal groups that were going to extremes
in manifestations of the "spirit"--such as "slaying
in the spirit", "Holy Spirit glue", "extreme drunkenness
in the spirit", barking like dogs, holy laughter.
In his book Counterfeit Revival author and Christian
apologist Hank Hanegraaff documents those individuals
and their counterfeit revivals that are currently
taking place, as well as giving them their proper
historic context in church history. The real danger
these groups bring into the Christian church is that
they spawn what appear to be very real Christian churches
and congregations, and these churches teach doctrines
that are very close to being Christian--but all they
teach are in some way perversions of the truth of
the Bible, God's Word. They promote doctrines such
as "Health and Wealth", which are taught by taking
Scripture passages on healing and wealth out of Biblical
context. They tend to overemphasize what God has
to say about healing, health and prosperity to the
exclusion of the very gospel of salvation itself.
Often the clear expository teaching of God's Word
is abandoned in preference to teaching their "pet"
doctrines. The real danger is when "watered
down" variations of these doctrinal "understandings"
slip into genuine Christian churches as a result of
interchurch fellowship, and now even
more so via the television programs and revival films
of those in this counterfeit revival impacting individual
Christians sitting in their own living rooms watching
their televisions. Also, because these groups
are Pentecostal in nature other genuine Pentecostal
Christian churches can innocently buy into
the "Christian resources" and literature of these
counterfeit groups, totally unaware of what they're
buying into. Mr. Hanegraaff mentions Kenneth
Copeland, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Hagin, The Toronto Blessing
and groups associated with it, the Orlando Christian
Center, just to name a few, as being a major
part of this counterfeit revival movement. If
you have sincere doubts or questions about this, be
sure to order a copy of Hank Hanegraaff's book Counterfeit
Revival and read for yourself what he has
carefully documented about this subject. Log onto
either http://www.amazon.com
or http://www.christianbook.com
to order this book online. I believe the soft-cover
goes for about $10.00.
