I woke up this morning with “The Deconstruction of Church” on my mind. I had been praying to God, asking Him what I should write for this week’s article as I didn’t have a guest writing for this week. I knew He had answered, and this was to be my title. However, what I did not know is all that was involved with deconstruction and as I did my research, I realized that it could be destructive or constructive, but it really depended on how the deconstructing was being done. If it were done in the light of the Bible and obedience to God’s instructions, then this would lead to a constructive process when Church is being analyzed and dissected, and the person would grow in faith. However, if the Scripture was used as the underpinning of the person’s own ideas and bent to support one’s own ideas then this could be quite destructive and lead to a person moving away from God and creating a personal religion that is not of God. There would be no self-denial which is central to the Christian faith, but rather selfishness coming from self-centered views of how Christianity should be to benefit oneself.
And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. Luke 9:23
Far too often when we deconstruct our faith, we reconstruct Jesus into a man who was created to serve us and fulfil our needs. Yes, Jesus came to serve, and He is our greatest model to show us how to serve others. However, to be like Him we must be willing to give up the pleasures in our life to follow Him. The life of a Christian is one of sacrifice.
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2
The deconstruction of church can be a good thing, when we use the Word of God for a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. (See Psalm 119:105). We must let the Word wash our minds and ask God to create in us a clean heart so we may know His will and do it, while understanding we may have to sacrifice our pleasures to truly be a follower of Christ and to be a part of His body. How can we remain in Christ and bear fruit when we are doing our own thing?
Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. John 15:4
To bear the good fruit that God would have us produce, we must stay connected to Jesus by remaining in Him and having Him lead us in all areas of our lives. When we look at the early church in Acts, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and cared little about their lives, but rather they wanted to obey Jesus and spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth, even if it cost them their lives. These days, there are Christians who would compromise their faith in Christ not only to save their lives, but to also have what the world calls success. In the end they will lose their lives because worldly success is the opposite of what God sees as success. He does not care as much about our fame, fortune or our social media following, but He is more concerned that our foundation is in Jesus Christ so that we will have the fortitude through the adversities of life to remain focused on Him.
According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:10-11
Many folks have deconstructed church to reconstruct on a new faulty foundation that is not Jesus Christ but based on the lies of the enemy. Therefore, this must fall because it may have a beautiful façade, but it is built on the temporal and not on the eternal. A wise man who builds on Jesus always has eternity in mind.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22
If we as a church are to be built as the dwelling place of the Spirit of God, then Jesus Christ has to be the cornerstone which fits us all together. Without Him being our truth, our way, and our life, then all that we are trying to build will easily crumble and we cannot be His dwelling place. Frequently we want to do things our way and then ask God to bless it, but this cannot work for long. We may think we are being blessed, but this may very well be the devil luring us into a trap and away from God. Beware of the devil coming as an angel of light, who makes us crave the applause of men, while rejecting submission to God.
And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. 1 Peter 4:2-8
If we are going to do deconstruct church, let us ask some important questions:
Are we accepting Jesus and His ways, or have we been rejecting Him and His instructions as the world does?
Are we allowing God to use us as living stones to create a spiritual house that is holy for His Spirit to dwell in?
Is our life one of sacrifice that pleases God?
Are we truly believing Jesus and following His word, or is His Word offensive to us and is it a stumbling block?
You see, we as believers in Christ make up the church with Jesus as our cornerstone. It is not a physical building, but a spiritual edifice in which the Spirt of God dwells. Therefore, it must be holy and pleasing to Him. If our lives do not reflect the love and suffering of Christ, then it is time we deconstruct our lives and reconstruct it on Christ, so that we can truly become His church.
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