The Blindfolded Church

Barry L Nehls

• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781638143796
• eBook ISBN: 9781638143802
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Some are blind from birth, while others, like Helen Keller, are blinded by illness. Still others lose sight through accidents or progressive disease. I submit no one would choose to go through life without sight. And yet the church today is certainly blindfolded.

I do not believe the blindness of the church happened suddenly. There have been brilliant moves of God in the church since the Lord's ascension. However, it has been a slow, methodical process whereby a blindfold has slipped over the eyes of discernment, and the church chooses to remain in the dark.

Why would anyone choose to remain blind? Think of it this way. A child born blind cannot describe the experience of seeing a beautiful rose, the glow of a sunset, the majesty of snowcapped mountains, or a crashing waterfall. There is no desire for sight, having never experienced the sensation. For those that see, we would never choose to be blind and remain so.

A blindfold suggests that something has willfully been placed over the eyes to prevent sight. The enemy has not only pulled the blindfold over the spiritual eyes of the church but deceived her into thinking she can still see.

Jesus Christ was sent to heal the brokenhearted, preach deliverance to the captives, and recover sight to the blind. May we, the church of the living God, remove the blindfold and once again charge forth with the gospel to a lost and dying world.

Chapter 1

Hirelings in the Pulpit

But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

—John 10:12

It starts at the top. Harry S. Truman, thirty-third president of the US, recognized the responsibility that accompanied his authority as president when he famously remarked, “The buck stops here!” President Truman served from 1945 to 1953, succeeding upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt after serving as his vice president. Following the end of WWII, he implemented the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy of Western Europe, established the Truman Doctrine and NATO. Not bad for a president with only a high school diploma (a fact our Harvard political professor continually reminded the class).

President Truman also made the decision for the first use of nuclear weapons. Hiroshima, Japan, was bombed on August 6, 1945, and the city of Nagasaki three days later, leaving over 105,000 dead. According to his memoirs, it was a prayerful decision that he believed was justified by bringing a swift end to the war with Japan. Though controversial to this day, Truman clearly believed his duty as commander and chief of the United States military obligated him to shoulder the responsibility of that grave decision.

Clearly the presidency of the United States is a powerful office with great and grave responsibilities for the outcome of decisions made each day. Likewise, corporations, both large and small, are structured with executive officers that implement policy and operating decisions. For small companies, these positions are generally held by owners, while larger corporations have a board of directors and elect operating officers.

To pull back the blindfold on the church, we must understand the origins and developments that led to the slipping of the covering over her spiritual eyes. It has been a slow process. The enemy of your soul and mine, Satan, although operating on borrowed time, craftily and subtly has moved both government and business to press into the church, especially when it comes to leadership. After all, every organization needs someone to be in charge, right? There must be a person responsible for the oversight of the activities and business dealings of the congregation. Marketing strategies, branding, messaging, and image building are essential. And the church must become and remain relevant.

The apostle Luke wrote of the early development of church in the Acts of the Apostles. Before ascending to heaven, Jesus gave instructions to His disciples for starting the process of building His church:

Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but “wait for the promise of the Father, which,” saith he, “ye have heard of me: for John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” (Acts 1:2–5)

So important was this first step in organizing and building His church that Jesus gave these specific instructions to His disciples. These are men who followed Him for over three years. They heard messages like the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) firsthand; they saw miracles of healing, powerful displays of Jesus’s authority over wickedness and even death. Matthew chapter 10 records they were sent two by two into villages and communities, witnessing power and authority as they preached the kingdom of God and the gospel. Regardless, they were commanded to wait until they received the power to launch the church of the Lord Jesus Christ:

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

The apostles, along with several women, including Mary, the mother of Jesus, waited in prayer for this promise of power, understanding, and direction. Gathered were approximately one hundred twenty devoted followers of Christ. Recorded in Acts chapter 2, on the day of Pentecost the baptism of fire swept over them as promised. Originally, Pentecost was the celebration of the beginning of the early wheat harvest, sometime during the middle of the month of May or early June. For the Jewish community, it was celebrated fifty days after the feast of the Passover. Today it is a celebration held seven Sundays following Easter.

After this enduement of power, the apostle Peter preached a sermon to all those gathered in Jerusalem that day. The Bible records that nearly three thousand souls were saved as the emergence of the church began. In the second chapter of Acts, we can read about the formation of this first church:

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. (Acts 2:43–47)

The church was born. While they used the temple for corporate gatherings, there was no building or meeting place constructed; rather, they simply went house to house for meals, fellowship, and study. The activities even sound a bit communal with one exception. These people’s primary focus was not on each other but on the Lord Jesus Christ and the Scriptures. Repentance and sharing God’s plan for salvation were the focus and goal of their meeting together.

Soon, this first church grew to very large numbers. Organization and leadership would prove to be just as demanding for the apostles as it was for Moses as he led the children of Israel out of Egypt’s bondage. Jesus had essentially placed the apostle Peter in charge of building His church:

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elijah; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, “But whom say ye that I am?” And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jo`na: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13–19)

Because of this declaration by Jesus, Peter’s authority to lead the church became widely accepted. The Roman Catholic Church believes these scriptures reveal that Jesus appointed Peter the head or first pope, establishing his authority to make decisions for the church. The pope (Latin papa from Greek πάππας [pappas], “father”) is also known as the supreme pontiff (pontifex maximus), or the Roman pontiff (Romanus pontifex), the Bishop of Rome, and head of state or sovereign of the Vatican City State. From this Cephas (Peter) authority, all successor popes are thus infallible in decisions and policies regarding the practice of faith as the “chief pastor” of the worldwide Catholic Church.

As the disciples continued to teach daily in the temple and in believers’ houses, the church grew. As with any large, repetitive gathering, there arose a need for leadership and organization. In Acts chapter 6, we find the appointment of elders to oversee some of these daily needs:

And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. (Acts 6:1–8, emphasis mine)

While Peter and the other apostles remained in Jerusalem, God called upon Saul of Tarsus to minister to the Gentile nations of the day. His miraculous encounter with the Lord is recorded in Acts chapter 9. The balance of the book of Acts is filled with numerous accounts of the growth of the church in Jerusalem as well as the spread of the gospel to Macedonia, Greece, Galatia, and numerous Gentile nations. Paul, original name Saul of Tarsus, became the father of church planting.

As Paul traveled with Silas, Timothy, Barnabas, John Mark, and others, he started numerous churches on each of his three missionary journeys. It was important for these fledgling churches that the apostle Paul was able to leave these works in the hands of called, able leaders. Most of the epistles Paul went on to pen were letters of instruction and correction to these new Christian congregations. He recognized that without serious commitment to the truth of the gospel, these newly formed churches could easily fall into apostasy or false teachings.

Written during Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome, from his house arrest he wrote to the church in Ephesus in the year 62 AD. In this critical letter of instruction, Paul emphasized the truth that the church is the body of Christ for believers, both Jew and Gentile. The letter placed special emphasis on the fact that Jesus Christ is the head of His church.

In referring to the church as the “body of Christ,” Paul used the metaphor to emphasize that the church operates throughout the world, with each part working together, controlled by the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Broken down are the divisions between God and man, between Jew and Greek, male and female, slave and free, as all are made free in Christ. This “headship” is clearly shown in the equipping gifts or offices Paul sets out in the fourth chapter. Stressing the significance and importance of unity in the church, Paul begins by discussing the vocational callings of God for the purpose of ensuring unity in the body of Christ.

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and F...

Table of contents

• Introduction
• Hirelings in the Pulpit
• One Commander and Chief
• Distracted Witnesses
• Unperceived Deception
• Serving Mammon
• Say Not, “It Is Enough”
• Who’s Winking Now?
• A Little Sleep, a Little Folding of the Hands
• Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?
• What Spot…What Wrinkle?
• Too Little Too Late
• This Is War!
• Final Thoughts