The Lord Jesus gave everything for His people, including His life. He didn’t do this so the majority of Christians could reject His model and go their own way.

THE NATURE OF SPIRITUAL REBELLION

The state of American Christianity in general has continued to dwindle ever farther downward into a veritable puddle of nonchalance and dissidence. For all those who claim orthodoxy and demand an attribution to tradition while concurrently effectively thumbing their nose in the Lord’s face by refusing His actual curriculum is far beyond the pale. One may wonder how we got here.

Here’s a clue: Deviation from the original. Why have so many Christians over the many centuries since the Lord’s time deviated from His original teachings? Why do Christians in general not only accept the presence of multitudinous denominations and a veritable plethora of various beliefs among so-called independent churches but also demand such especially as it pertains to their own chosen denomination or belief? This attitude is entirely inconsistent with the Lord’s original teachings regarding the overall unity of His flock, which brings us to yet another sad departure resulting in our current state:

IT IS HIS FLOCK.

Or it isn’t.

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? [Luke 6:46]

Of course, the sad fact and the main reason for such deviations from the Lord’s original is due to simple rebellion in that the perpetrators of such do not want the Lord Jesus to be in charge. Instead, they themselves want to be in charge. By being in charge they can have their own way, the way that “feels right” to them, which also allows them to take control over people and set up their own personal fiefdoms. Whoever they get to buy into their program only adds to their ability to build their enterprise. Such sycophants, whether they be fellow “ministers” (trusted ones) or simply insignificant pew warmers who never question anything, provide support and stature to the kingpin running the show.

If this sounds overly harsh let us remember that the Lord Jesus started ONE Community. He still has only ONE Community. In the Hebrew it was called the Qahal קָהָל (kaw-hawl’). In our English translations it is called the Church. The word “church” is from the Greek Ekklēsía ἐκκλησία (ek-klay-see’-ah). Both Qahal and Ekklesia always refer to a group of PEOPLE and never refer to a building or religious construct. Yet most Christians believe a “church” is a building and will forever be a building. This is absolutely false but the vast majority of Christians believe it is true.

One may wonder how this happened. How was the focus removed from the people and transferred to the building in which the people meet? Must we always be reminded that the Lord Jesus never built a meeting house or ever instructed His disciples or anyone else to build meeting houses? Why is the vast majority of Christians completely unaware that the Early Church of the first century AD never had such specialized meeting structures and that such buildings did not even exist for three hundred years? And yet somehow, in all their unchurched primitive backwoods crudeness meeting only in private residences in relatively small groups the original Christians managed to overcome incessant persecution and mockery and convert the entire Roman Empire. Compare that with America and all its constitutional freedoms (which the originals never had) rarely achieving the same overall level of success in this country.

Hence, the root of all this building-oriented church folly at the expense of the Lord’s spiritual Community of PEOPLE (Qahal, Ekklesia) does not go back to the Lord’s original ministry or the Book of Acts but only to the fourth century AD when the first great organized quasi-Christian rebellion against Him reared its ugly head. This was when the Roman Empire threw in the towel, so to speak, and surrendered to Christianity. Yet instead of surrendering to the Lord Jesus, the emperor, his ecclesiastical leadership clan, and all the weak-kneed fearful unaware supporters thereof decided to co-opt Christianity and use it for their own purposes. In this process they began converting large Roman public buildings to “churches” and mandated attendance upon such “churches” and forced everyone to adhere to all their new “laws and bylaws” which included the veritable worship of a small class of trussed up “leaders.”

By this process Christianity became recast into a two-class society, something the Lord Jesus had never created. The clergy class garnered all the power, influence, and speech. As a result the magnificent and powerful voice of the people, comprised of strong resolute individuals dedicated to the Lord, was removed and silenced. A brand new enterprise was created in which a small few possessed all the authority to do anything they wished as allowed by the emperor, including the formulation of false doctrines designed for mass forced obedience which otherwise obviously opposed the Lord’s original teachings. And of course, their authority also included the power of the purse in that a money pyramid was created that went in only one direction, from the people to the few in power. The entire structure of this new fake Christian creation made an absolute mockery of the Lord Jesus and His original curriculum. 

And to add a final insult to such terrible injury, THE REAL CHRISTIANITY OF THE LORD JESUS WAS OUTLAWED. This meant every real Christian and all those in the generations before them responsible with the Lord for converting the empire had suddenly become criminals in the very place they created. This was the worst form of Christian persecution that ever was and has continued to exist ever since over the last seventeen centuries. It is the persecution of “Christians” against Christians, or that of fake Christians against the real guys. It was and remains the triumph of Unreal Christianity, the adverse effects of which we still experience to a very great degree today.

Thus, every single recognized Christian denomination that exists or has ever existed is in violation of the Lord’s original teachings and practices in some way, otherwise they would not be at odds with His curriculum. Some are obviously worse than others but degree of rebellion matters little as long as the rebellion in existence is not dealt with. In other words, Christian groups that agree completely with the Lord’s teachings and honor Him as sole authority have no need for a distinguishing appellative. In this regard, it is generally understood though incorrectly that the worldwide Body of Christ is composed of all denominations regardless of differences and departures from the Lord’s original but this is not only untrue but inherently silly. All it really means is that each recognizes the existence of the others to qualify its own existence. 

THE NATURE OF SPIRITUAL OBEDIENCE

“Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.” [Luke 6:47-49] [1]

Remember, anything Christian that deviates from the absolute authority of the Lord Jesus and His perfect curriculum is rebellion. The only possible exception is if sincere though immature Christians seeking the fullness of the Lord’s truth continue seeking Him, studying and researching His Word, applying newly discovered truths in His teachings, stop adhering to incorrect teachings and remove such from one’s belief system, and striving to be members in good standing in the Lord’s actual spiritual Community. In this process one proves himself or herself to be a genuine dedicated disciple intent on getting it right and pleasing the Lord. This is usually only possible by individuals or possibly relatively small groups because larger groups, including vast denominations, are far too invested and likely indoctrinated to make the required wholesale changes. They also include hierarchical leadership figures which often dilute the authority of the Lord and resist such reformation because they have too much to lose.

Regarding actual authority, the Lord said He had ALL authority in both heaven and earth which means the New Covenant authority of the believer only derives from Him which further means all real Christians must be under His full authority in order to have any by delegated extension.

Only the Lord Jesus is the Rock. He is the Chief, Choice, and Precious Corner Stone. There is only one forever Foundation which will never falter. Some foundations are weak and fail quickly. Others fail over time. A few foundations last relatively long far beyond individual lives but will eventually crumble. The Lord said as much. One must therefore approach his or her Christian discipleship and walk with God with the utmost respect and attention. Those who do have an excellent chance of fulfilling one’s calling and also hearing the following wonderful words from a kind and loving Savior:

“Well done, you upright (honorable, admirable) and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy (the delight, the blessedness) which your master enjoys.” [Matthew 25:2] [2]

© 2025 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.   

[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

[2] Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

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