Washington, DC International Christian Church

“Hear, O Israel. You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky…After the Lord your God has driven them out before, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you…” Deuteronomy 9: 1,4-6

Since our Inaugural Service on September 14, 2008, God has grown our 18 member mission team to 29 sold-out disciples!  This is truly a testimony to the power of God! We have studied with scores of people, many of them having a “form of godliness, but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:5)  It has been tedious work that requires great faith, especially because Washington, DC is home to hundreds of churches, all of whom are proclaiming their “version” of Christianity.  After a recent worship service, Patrique and I, along with another couple, Kenneth & Cheryl Chin, drove up 16th Street NW and were shocked at the number of large, extravagant church buildings, which represented scores of different denominations!  Early in Washington, DC’s history, many foreign countries located their embassies on 16th Street because of its proximity to the White House.  Many religious denominations followed suit by building churches on the street to serve symbolically as embassies, thus earning the street the nickname “Church Row.”  I must have counted at least 40 different churches on 16th Street alone!  Some of them were of the same denomination yet had no connection to one another!  This is in direct contradiction to 1 Corinthians 1:10, where the apostle Paul states, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.” Denominationalism is accepted in Washington, DC as just another “religious freedom.”  However, this confusion and lack of wholeheartedness to the biblical standard saddens my heart and reminds me of the apostle Paul’s warning to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

It was because of such wickedness that I was reminded of why we started the Washington, DC International Christian Church.  We are not here to add another denominational church to the DC area, but rather to proclaim the truth so we can solidify the convictions of all Christians (Hebrews 6:1-3) and unify our love for each other and the lost (John 13:34-35) so we can multiply the amount of souls won for Christ! (Matthew 28:18-20)  While it is tempting to judge the hearts of those who are teaching false doctrines, we must be humble enough to realize that it is the truth of God’s word that must be proclaimed, and not our desire to be “right.” The apostle Paul urged Timothy to “command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths or endless genealogies.  These promote controversies rather than God’s work – which is by faith.  The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.  Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk.  They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.  We know that the law if good if one uses it properly.” (1 Timothy 1:3-7)  We must be able to handle the Bible without allowing our interpretations, emotions or traditions to pull us away from holding to God’s Word (John 8:31-32).  Churches are not cafeterias from which we pick and choose whatever suits our tastes.  The church of the living God is a pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15).  We came to Washington, DC to restore the standard of First Century Christianity and call for the end of denominationalism;  we came to build a church of “sold-out” baptized disciples of all nations that compose God’s universal church (Acts 2:41-42);  we came to build a church where every member is called by God to participate in daily discipling relationships, thus creating family (Hebrews 3:12-13);  we came to build a church where every disciple’s mission was to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20);  and we came to build a church that would be totally united with a movement of “like-minded” congregations (1 Corinthians 4:17) whose motivating vision was the evangelization of the nations in this generation (Romans 16:25-27).

It is exciting to know that God is working through us to depose such large but biblically inaccurate churches that are teaching doctrines that are far from the truth!  “Original sin” and “once saved, always saved” are false teachings! (Ezekiel 18:20; Hebrews 10:26)  Salvation by “faith alone” and the “sinner’s prayer” are also false teachings! (James 2:24; Revelation 3:20)  Sadly, these destructive false doctrines are widespread throughout Christendom today.  However, the truth is that no one can alter the gospel! (Galatians 1:6-9)  The New Testament teaching on conversion is clear:  We must:

1. Hear the message (Romans 10:17, Acts 11:14)
2. Believe (trust) (John 3:16, Acts 16:31)
3. Repent (Luke 13:3, Acts 3:19)
4. Confess Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9, 1 Timothy 6:12)
5. Be immersed for the forgiveness of our sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38, 1 Peter 3:21)

The first four stages are the process of becoming a disciple of Jesus (Luke 9:23-26; 14:25-33) before being baptized into Christ! (Matthew 28:18-20; Galatians 3:26-27)  We invite anyone to join us for our First Principles series on Sunday mornings as we examine the Bible and teach the elementary teachings about how to become a Christian! (Hebrews 6:1-3)

In a city where everyone is “politically correct,” we are called to identify what is “spiritually correct.”  This reminds me of the new movie by Bill Maher – former host of the show “Politically Incorrect” – entitled, “Religulous,” where he indirectly shares his hatred of the “religious” and refers to the Bible as “fairly tales.”  He is curious to know how ordinary people think of religion due to their hypocrisy, and he worries that “conservative” Christianity is taking over the government.  He himself is born into religious confusion, as his mother is Jewish but he was raised by a Catholic father.  He is curious, because the wickedness of the “religious” has confused him.  So how do we define this wickedness?  Is it just pedophile priests or suicide bombers?  No, God’s judgment concerns a much greater scope than that.  It is those of us who fly under the “radar” of genuine spirituality.  Consider the prophet Jeremiah’s warnings concerning spiritual wickedness:

“Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me,” declares the Lord Almighty.” – Jeremiah 2:19

“I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle.” – Jeremiah 7:6

So what is the wickedness that God will dispose?  It is the hypocritically religious, those who honor Jesus with their lips, but their hearts are far from him, which results in worshiping Him in vain. (Mark 7:6-7)  It is those who backslide from the truth, who lose their awe of God and His lordship in their lives and decide to live a “comfortable” Christianity that neither challenges them to repent or to make an impact on society.  It is those who lack the humility to seek advice and choose to follow their own prideful paths.  God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (1 Peter 5:5)  As disciples of Christ, we must evangelize Washington, DC not because of our righteousness, but because we are zealous to defend the honor of God (Numbers 25:11) and willing to make the proper repentance in our lives that brings our Lord and Savior the respect and glory He deserves.  One of my favorite quotes is from Edmund Burke, an 18th century British statesman whose support of the American colonies led to the American Revolution.  He stated, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  I pray that when we see the spiritual condition of our world and the impact of the wickedness that pervades it, we will step up to that challenge and do something about it.  It is time to raise the standard of Christianity from our nation’s capital.  If you would like to make a difference, join us!

Andrew Smellie
Evangelist