Preacher, Why Does New Testament Christianity Scare You So?
by Floyd Chappelear
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 4, December 1994
The enemy was formidable, so a sizeable army needed to be assembled to ensure victory. Even so, how could an army of 32,000 conquer the host of Midian, Amalek, and the other eastern peoples whose number exceeded 120,000? Although one would wonder, the Lord was concerned that by a victory, the people’s hearts would be stirred up to boast that they had done it of themselves, so the legions were whittled down to a few who lapped with their hands (Judges 7:1-6). Although others of Naphtali, Ephraim, Asher, and Manasseh came out to the slaughter, the initial rout was accomplished by the three hundred with the pots, the jars, the lamps, and the swords (Judges 7:22-25). A lesson should be learned from all this: God’s strength does not depend on human ability. Isn’t this the lesson that Paul taught us when he declared, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (II Corinthians 12:9)?
Let us restate that truth: God does not need human power or human accomplishment to achieve His goals!
New Testament Christianity will succeed where there is no organization beyond that of the local church. When a church, or several, sent a man out to proclaim Christ as Antioch did (Acts 13:3), the result was that the whole world had occasion to hear it (Colossians 1:23). No super organization, such as a missionary society or combination of independent churches, was necessary to accomplish this end. It succeeded because God was with the disciples and they had a mind to work the work of God.
When one church was in danger of having its candlestick removed, as was Ephesus, God felt no need to instruct Smyrna to take any action concerning the matter (see Revelation 2:1-7; 2:8-11). These were independent congregations - not tied together by any alliance or inter-congregational fellowship. They were not part of any denomination and did not behave as if they were!
Brethren fear true non-denominational Christianity because we need the comfort afforded by something larger than a local church. After all, being truly independent suggests smallness and weakness, which are intolerable. Brethren, there are two things we need to know:
- With God, all things are possible, and
- When He is with us, nothing can truly be against us.
Therefore, let us not be frightened by New Testament Christianity, but let us glory in it as we see the power of God winning souls to Christ and success surrounding us everywhere!
