II Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
The Church of Jesus Christ is entirely unique in the world, there is nothing like it. In my early 20s I began to question everything that I had seen and experienced concerning the Lord’s Church and Doctrine. Understanding that the Word of God is the Eternal Standard, I compared everything that I had heard and seen to the Word of God. I then determined that human desires and good ideas were only good if they were specifically specified in the Word of God and that we must strive with all diligence to fully comply with the Word of God. In all human endeavors, we naturally want to improve, expand, and update what we do and have. But, the Lord, having total and exclusive authority and power over His Church, has determined and permanently fixed His Doctrine, His Church Practice, and His Commandments for our behaviors in life. To corrupt is to add in destructive impurities; in this context, to add in or alter Christ’s Doctrine, Church Practices, and Commandments for our behaviors. When people omit or add into what the Lord has fixed, they set themselves and their local Church up for ruin or destruction. In the Word of God, the Lord makes it very clear that when His Church meets to worship; His Children are to simply sing, pray, preach/teach, and fellowship! The only other activities are Communion with Feet Washing, Baptisms, and Ordinations. To add in any other things or organizations, or activities, or doctrines is to corrupt “the simplicity that is in Christ”. Corruption can ruin the local Church; and it will either close its doors or it will cease to function as the Lord’s Church and begin to function as other organizations and businesses in the world. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13) and “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 15:58)!
[St. Andrew Primitive Baptist Church website is being restored after technical problems shut it down. Brother Clark Pope is incrementally restoring our site. Articles and audio and video recordings are now available at: https://standrewprimitivebaptist.com