Recently I received an inquiry about the caption on the homepage that this site opposes the clergy/laity system. Specifically, the question went as follows:
What are saying in this statement,
"This site opposes the clergy/laity system. You have to seek
the Lord for yourself."?
I am interested in what your response will be.
What follows is a brief reply to this correspondence.
Take heed to the Lord's own word in the book of Revelation:
Re 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Re 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Take heed also to the full revelation of the church contained throughout the rest of the New Testament, particularly in the book of Ephesians:
Eph 4:11-12 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
The work of those members of the Body with the above listed functions is only for the preparation of the "little guys" who are the ones who do the actual building work.
From the time of the formation of the Roman State Church until this very day, the dominant thought among the people, both Christian and non-Christian, is that the church is an organization just like any other human enterprise. Because of this, they designate their leaders according to various methods and create hierarchies of greater or lesser size. These leaders are designated by various names, usually derived from the list of functions in Ephesians 4:11, adding in other functions such as "bishop," "deacon," and "elder," and even inventing prefixes such as "arch-bishop" and "associate-pastor."
The gravest of these consequences is the fact that the saints believe that they are incapable of direct communication with the Lord or that they must rely upon a leader who has some special relationship with Him. Due to the lack of genuine experiences of Christ that results from such thinking, the many members do not function and cannot function. Therefore, the Body is not built. The proper building of the Body is an organic matter of life rather than the operation of a system of organization.
It is commonly recognized among many Christians that the clergy/laity system annuls the function of the many members. The saints become captured and silent in a program of one person speaking and everybody listening, either one or more times a week, and without any alternative. It is the pulpit/pew problem. Some of the recognizing Christians within the system have proposed the use of small-group gatherings as a way to supplement the system without realizing it only serves to add more layers of hierarchy and thus build the system.
We must maintain steadfastly against this thing that the Lord hates, although this degraded condition will exist until the Lord returns. But, it is better to promote the building work than to try to tear that evil system down. No amount of opposition could fully eradicate the negative consequences of the clergy/laity system. Only the pure ministry of Christ in the Word by all the saints can accomplish the building of the Body.
