Challenging Established Religion (Sermon: Acts 6:8-15)

We see a trend throughout the Gospels and Acts of early believers and leaders challenging the established religious leaders of their day. Both John the Baptist and Jesus referred to the Pharisees as a brood of vipers (Mt. 3:7 and Mt. 12:34). Peter rebuked the Sanhedrin for crucifying Jesus (Acts 4). Stephen stood before the Sanhedrin and boldly proclaimed: "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit" (Acts 7:51). But the trend isn't confined to the tensions between Jews and Christians, Paul also rebuked Peter for his hypocrisy in accepting the Gentile believers (Gal. 2:11-14).

So what does this trend teach us? Some would argue it teaches us that we should avoid established religion and just follow Jesus. The problem with this view is that is fails to take into account the fact that it was Jesus that established the church (Mt. 13:16-18). Further, scripture, which is of course inspired by God, commands us not to neglect regular participation in the church (Heb. 10:25). So what are we to do if we are not satisfied with the established church. Well, we could start a new church, a church in which all of our criticisms of the established church will be addressed. Yet, the irony is after a few years or maybe less the new church will itself be established. The reality is all of us who seek any type of corporate worship will become part of established religion at some point--it's unavoidable if we meet together in any way. But that is fine, because there is no sin in being established. The sin of the Pharisees, the sin of the Sanhedrin, and even the sin of Peter was not the result of their place in the establishment. It was the result of their unchecked sinful nature.

What we can learn from this trend of confronting leaders of the establishment has nothing to do with established religion itself, but with the susceptibility of all humans to sin. No matter how involved we are in the church, no matter what we have done in service for the Lord in the past, we are all capable of sinning against God. Secondly, don't ever let the sin of others discourage you from being part of the church. Jesus knew full well of the sin and hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders, yet He worshiped at the synagogue regularly.

Are there problems in your local established church? If it has actual human beings in it, I am sure there are problems. But the answer is not to rebel against the established church, but to give of yourself to help it to grow and mature. And finally, we must remember that the established church as we know it today, is a mere shadow of the wonderful love and fellowship that Christians will experience together in heaven.