Human Trafficking in the Church — Part 22
Recognizing the Six Characteristics of the Religious Spirit of Babylon
They said, “Come, let us build a city for ourselves, and a tower whose top will reach into the heavens, and let us make a [famous] name for ourselves, so that we will not be scattered [into separate groups] and be dispersed over the surface of the entire earth [as the Lord instructed].”—Genesis 11:4 (AMP)
5. Making a Name for Ourselves (continued)
When a Christian organization has a primary goal of making a name for itself, rather than exalting the name of Jesus, the organization and its leadership fall into the dangerous snare of seeking the praise of men, rather than the praise of God. This inevitably leads to compromises. These compromises can lead the organization into error and can cloud the decision-making of the leaders, making it harder to hear the voice of God. It is doubtful that an organization with these priorities will ever fulfill the purpose that God had planned for it.
In Jesus’ time, many leaders missed out on opportunities to personally follow Him as disciples simply because they valued their reputations more. The Son of the Living God was walking among them, and they chose not to align themselves with Him because of what people might think.
**“**Nevertheless, even many of the leading men believed in Him [as Savior and Messiah], but because of the Pharisees they would not confess it, for fear that [if they acknowledged Him openly] they would be put out of the synagogue (excommunicated); for they loved the approval of men more than the approval of God.”—John 12:42-43 (AMP)
“No, a person is a Jew only if they are a Jew on the inside. And true circumcision means that the heart has been circumcised by the Holy Spirit. The person whose heart has been circumcised does more than obey the written law. The praise that matters for that kind of person does not come from other people. It comes from God.”—Romans 2:29 (NIRV)
Jesus warned us that it is a very bad sign when everyone thinks highly of us and only says good things about us.
“Woe to you when all the people speak well of you and praise you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”—Luke 6:26 (AMP)
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”—Matthew 5:11-12 (NIV)
The Greatest Title of All
Disciples in the New Testament never seemed to address each other as we often address ministry leaders today. Today it is very common for ministers to introduce themselves as “Pastor Jim,” or “Bishop Terry,” or “Apostle Pat.”
Sometimes it can be helpful to know what a person’s function is in an organization, and job titles can help to give us that information. But if a person insists on being addressed with a title of honor, is it still a matter of sharing useful information, or is it being done in order to seek honor from people and be seen in an exalted position above the common believers?
If we all introduced ourselves that way, it would sound ridiculous. Can you imagine?
“Hi, I’m IT Consultant Sherry!”
“It’s nice to meet you, IT Consultant Sherry. I’m Customer Relations Specialist Joan. We were about to go to get coffee with Real Estate Agent Mary Ann and Part-Time Receptionist/Part-Time Personal Trainer Monique. Would you like to join us?”
“Sure! That sounds great! Can I also invite Web Developer Pat?”
“Of course! Web Developer Pat will be more than welcome to join us.”
Ridiculous.
But in Christian organizations influenced by the religious spirit of Babylon, personal names, titles, and reputations are highly valued.
What that tends to do, when religious leaders insist on attaching ministry titles to their names, is that it perpetuates a false religious practice of exalting the clergy above the laity. Jesus rarely expressed hatred, but He expressed absolute hatred for this practice.
In a message to the church in Ephesus, Jesus told John to write,
“But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”—Revelation 2:6 (NIV)
Jesus didn’t give any more explanation about why He hated what these people were doing, but if we break down the meaning of the word “Nicolaitan,” we may begin to understand why they incited Jesus’ hatred.
The first part of the word comes from “nike,” like the popular brand of athletic shoes, and it means “victory” or “to conquer.”
The latter part of the word comes from “laos,” which speaks of the common people—the laity.
Putting them together, the Nicolaitans are the people who conquer the laity. These are the religious leaders who separate themselves from the common people in the church, ruling over them and perpetuating the idea that clergy is somehow better or higher than the common believers who do not carry professional ministry titles.
These are spiritual human traffickers.
In the church in Pergamos, these practices of the Nicolaitans had already become a doctrine that was being taught. In His letter to this church, Jesus again expressed His hatred for this deception and warned the church that He would personally come and deliver swift justice if they did not repent of this.
**“**Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.”—Revelation 2:15-16 (NKJV)
Titles are sometimes helpful to identify a particular person’s function within an organization, but titles become problematic when they are used to put people on a higher plane of honor in a Christian organization.
Paul made it clear that no one in the Church should ever be made to feel lower than another believer.
“And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor.”—1 Corinthians 12:23 (NKJV)
James was even more emphatic:
“My dear brothers, you are believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. So never think that some people are more important than others. Suppose someone comes into your church meeting wearing very nice clothes and a gold ring. At the same time a poor man comes in wearing old, dirty clothes. You show special attention to the one wearing nice clothes. You say, ‘Please, sit here in this good seat.’ But you say to the poor man, ‘Stand over there,’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet!’ What are you doing? You are making some people more important than others. With evil thoughts you are deciding which person is better… .
“One law rules over all other laws. This royal law is found in the Scriptures: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ If you obey this law, then you are doing right. But if you are treating one person as if he were more important than another, then you are sinning. That royal law proves that you are guilty of breaking God’s law.”—James 2:1-9 (ICB)
Leaders in Bible times sometimes addressed themselves as apostles or prophets, but it didn’t seem like they were bragging about these titles, but simply informing people about their particular functions in the Church.
“nor did we seek glory and honor from people, neither from you nor from anyone else, though as apostles of Christ we had the power to assert our authority.”—1 Thessalonians 2:6 (AMP)
Just in case anyone had an exalted view of the apostles, Paul brought things back down into proper perspective in 1 Corinthians 4:1:
“So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries.” (NLT)
The great prophets of God, with whom God shared His secrets, are referred to more than once as mere servants.
“God told his secret plans to his servants the prophets, and it will all happen by the time the seventh angel sounds his trumpet.”—Revelation 10:7 (CEV)
“And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”— Revelation 11:18 (NASB)
Even the great leader Moses, who was with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself on the mount of transfiguration, is spoken of primarily as a faithful servant.
**“**And Moses certainly was faithful in the administration of all God’s house [but it was only] as a ministering servant.”—Hebrews 3:5 (AMPC)
“And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God…”— Revelation 15:3 (AMP)
Today, many Christian leaders insist on titles, however, when the leaders of the early Church wrote their epistles, the most common title they used for themselves was bond servant of Jesus Christ. Whatever their functions were in the Church, when they introduced themselves, they often identified themselves first as servants.
“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God”—Romans 1:1 (NKJV)
“Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:”—Philippians 1:1 (NKJV)
“Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”—Colossians 4:12 (NKJV)
“Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ …”—Titus 1:1 (NKJV)
“James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ …”—James 1:1 (NKJV)
**“**Simon Peter, **a bondservant **and apostle of Jesus Christ …”—2 Peter 1:1 (NKJV)
**“**Jude, **a bondservant of Jesus Christ,**and brother of James …”—Jude 1:1 (NKJV)
This is why these early Church leaders could be entrusted with the secrets of God.
There are many, many Christians who do not understand the extraordinary mysteries that are contained within the book of Revelation. The reason for that is shown to us clearly in the very first verse. God does not reveal His deepest mysteries to every believer. The mysteries contained in this book will never be understood by those within the church who seek the praise of men and exalt themselves with impressive titles. These mysteries are only revealed to those who have humbly committed themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ as His bond servants.
“[This is] the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries]. God gave it to Him **to disclose and make known to His bond servants **certain things which must shortly and speedily come to pass in their entirety. And He sent and communicated it through His angel (messenger) to His bond servant John”—Revelation 1:1 (AMPC)
In their immaturity, the early disciples disputed about who would be the greatest among them, clamoring for the best seats and the best titles. With maturity, they came to understand the truth that those who want to be considered great in the Kingdom of Heaven must become servants. It seems that many of our leaders today have yet to learn that basic lesson of Jesus’ teaching.
Jesus told us that anyone who wants to be great in the Kingdom of God must become the servant of all. I’ve seen a lot of Christians’ business cards with impressive titles, but to this day, I’ve never seen a Christian’s business card with the title of “Servant.”
I’ve heard Christians introduce themselves as Pastor, Apostle, Prophet, Bishop, … but as far as I can remember, I have never heard a Christian leader introduce himself as “Servant.” Never.
That position of “greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” may still be available. Are there any believers willing to humble themselves enough to receive that level of honor from God?
“And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”—Matthew 23:12 (NKJV)
Lay Down Your Reputation
Rather than pursuing the goals of making a name for himself and building a personal empire, Jesus instead became our example by completely laying down His titles and His reputation and humbling himself to become a bond servant.
His purpose in life was not to serve Himself and His own goals, but to do the will of His Father.
“Then I said, Behold, here I am, coming to do Your will, O God—[to fulfill] what is written of Me in the volume of the Book.”—Hebrews 10:7 (AMPC)
In doing this, Jesus demonstrated for us the true path to greatness.
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”—Philippians 2:5-11 (NKJV)