- Churchianity by Ready2Rapture
19 y
3,668 15 Messages Shown
Blog: Bible Study
Let's start by taking a look at the NT references for gatherings of believers:
John 4
"21Jesus declared, 'Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.'"
1 Cor. 6:19
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;"
1 Cor. 14
"22Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. 23So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, 25and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"
26What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 27If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.
29Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. "
1 Cor. 11
"17In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good... 20When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, 21for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk... 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. 33So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other."
Acts 17:11
"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."
We can deduce several things from these passages.
First, the Church is not a building but the believers themselves. Our physical bodies are called the "temple", and the physical buildings we've all come to associate with Christianity are not prescribed for the church at all. Jesus made a point of saying that the old way of a physical building would be replaced by worship that is done "in spirit and in truth" without regard for any certain location. Paul concurred by saying that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who indwells each believer.
According to the church historian Unger, there were no church buildings for at least the first 200 years of Christianity. It wasn't due to poverty necessarily, but to the fact that neither Jesus nor any of the Apostles even hinted at construction of a special sanctuary or house of worship. So where did the idea of special buildings come from? That's right, the Roman Catholic Church, founded and designed by the Roman emperor Constantine. His goal was to blend Christian and pagan religions (sound familiar?) so that everyone would get along. The same people who filled the pagan shrines on one day would fill the "churches" on another, being in the familiar company of the gods they knew who were represented in the statues and icons-- which were given "saint" names for the Christians. It was a shrewd political maneuver which turned out to be wildly successful.
Second, the model of a single "head pastor" lecturing a group of pew-warmers is unknown to the NT. There were to be several elders in each church (local group of believers), and any number of prophets (those who give a divine message, not necessarily of the future) and teachers. The common people were to consider what was said and make sure it lined up with the scriptures (both OT writings and the apostles' teachings, aka NT). The pastors were not necessarily prophets/preachers either. The deacons were to be those who looked after the physical needs of the people so that the elders could concentrate on spiritual things (see Acts 6), which is completely different from the role of deacons in churches since Constantine.
Third, these gatherings of believers were not noisy free-for-alls but more like what we would call a Bible study, where people would teach and learn. This was not really what we'd call a "worship service". Did the early believers worship? Yes, at first in the Jewish Temple, but as they scattered this was not practiced, especially among Gentiles. Worship in the NT for believers is not really specified, except in brief side notes. The passage above mentions the inclusion of hymns, but I don't have documentation on what exactly that meant to the people of the first century. We should not automatically assume the somber, quite ones of 1800s America.
In Revelation we get a few glimpses of goings-on in heaven, and what I see there is everyone falling down and shouting and singing. No quiet reverence there! It's loud and nonstop, filled with expressions of praise to God. There is a time and place for introspection here and now, but as Jesus put it, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them." (Mark 2:19). Heaven will be a place of celebration, so why should we be somber and serious in our worship here?
So what should we do? We can't just suddenly overthrow centuries of tradition, can we? Hmm... There is a growing home church movement. We can slowly change the paradigm without overthrowing the old ways. We must be patient and considerate of those who have not been fed the meat of the Word and think "churchianity" is what the Bible teaches. But we can change it one person at a time.
It is important to keep the NT model in mind when discussing issues that affect the church body, such as how elders and deacons function and the responsibilities of the rank-and-file believers. It's easy to get off-track if you think in terms of churchianity and not Christianity.
|
|
|
Ready2Rapture
|
|
- Fantastic.... by Alikat
19 y
1,312
You've written something for us which is very timely and right on.
Thank you!!
|
|
|
Alikat
|
|
- tanx!... by Ready2Rapture
19 y
1,386
But I'd like to clarify something. The "teachings of the apostles" doesn't comprise the entire NT, but is found in the writings of Paul, Peter, etc. The Gospels, Acts, and Revelation aren't technically "the teachings of the apostles" such that they contain doctrines that rule the Church. Just thought I should point that out.
Also, this topic is somewhat related to the recently-debated legalism issue. Along with my earlier articles on legalism and faith/works, hopefully people know where I stand.
|
|
|
Ready2Rapture
|
|
- Thanks for the true word, home style church is the proper place of worsh... by kerminator
19 y
1,317
You have made the complete circle, lady.... Thanks for your dedication and service to mankind... The truth shall prevail... May GOD continue to bless your efforts...
We love and support you and the truth... Thanks Kerminator
|
|
|
kerminator
|
|
- tanx again!... by Ready2Rapture
19 y
1,964
"WE"? You mean... there's two of you?? ;-)
Recently I've been wrestling with actually --gasp-- practicing what I just preached. I've been in a large "seeker friendly" church for 2 reasons: the music and the social atmosphere. Yep. I play trumpet in the band and thoroughly enjoy it, and the kids love the high-energy pace of the youth programs. I will say that they still do preach the gospel, and there's a very good spirit there. The music is upbeat but still contains enough "meat" to keep me around. Still, I have this growing suspicion that the day will come when I must take my family out of there. Working at home, the social benefits aren't something to be lightly discarded. We also pledged a few years ago to make payments toward the new youth facility, and I'd feel bad about dropping out on a commitment I made.
It isn't necessarily "sinful" to belong to such a church, but it does so grate against what I know the church should be about. As of yet I have no clear direction from the Lord to leave, so I'll wait for some indication as to the right time. But I'm fairly certain it will eventually happen. "Going to church" is so deeply ingrained in even the most open-minded members there that it may cause some hard feelings if I left, but at the same time it would also make a bold statement.
I'm sure glad God has to figure some of these things out, and not me :-)
|
|
|
Ready2Rapture
|
|
- Re: tanx again!... by Ev
19 y
1,300
It sounds like you go to my church! HA. Sorry - bad humor again.
I understand totally what you are saying. I think I'm at a similar point in my "church life". You know though that if it ever did come time for your family to leave you could still give towards the youth facilities and have your kids attend their programs couldn't you?
I know in my own church it is hard to leave anything from programs to the church. I just resigned as a board member (hmmm how do I talk about this without gossipping? - I really just want elder input) Anyway, only two of the "elders" has spoken to me in depth, the others just give the superficial "hey hows it going". (yes even the Pastor) The atmosphere is getting kind of cold.
Another family that left the church recently have been "black balled" by those same elders, one of the reasons I stepped down as I didn't want to be a part of that and my concerns were laughed at. So I can sincerely relate.
Through prayer and strength and guidance my Heavenly Father gives me...I have grace.
|
|
|
Ev
|
|
- Re: tanx again!... by Ready2Rapture
19 y
1,452
| Yeah, I could still give cuz I have it set to be automatically withdrawn from my checking, but the kids would reeeeealy like to hang out in the new youth building, and it might be awkward if they are continually asked "why don't you come to church anymore?". I'll just have to wait for the right time.
|
|
|
Ready2Rapture
|
|
- Re: tanx again!... by kerminator
19 y
1,324
First let me say this is not about you or your blog... I am just pressing the gospel word or understanding....
Let us not forget the instructions or "gret commission" to go forth... Most of the physical church buildings are used by the members only... It has become a comfort zone.... Which is not bad in that it helps build some social interaction, but mainly limited to the members... It has there fore came to be a haven.... It also has set up the idea that there is a special place to the secular world i.e. church building(s) that all this religious stuff goes on in... {Not true; the world is actual church}
The problem here is that there is not any special place(s) as all the world is the gospel field... And you (they) do not have to go or come to any church building to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and or Salvation.... There fore (we) in the church have set up this dualism.... Which Christ never taught.... We are to be in the world but not of the world....
Just a thought, and idea for our readers, to consider... Thanks again my friend in Christ.... Amen
|
|
|
kerminator
|
|
- Wonderful by Ev
19 y
1,265
My husband and I have been talking of this lately. I believe we are growing increasingly uncomfortable with churchianity and yearning for the real church experience, you know where you "allow" God to rule? This is something I know in my heart is weighing heavily upon me, so I know I will need to be in prayer over this so I don't become cynical of churches. I want to be part of a New Testament Church not some man made building and doctrine!
I guess "Constantine" led the first Seeker Sensitive movement! (Blech)
What do you think of this growing home church movement? Where would one tithe and give offerings?
I just resigned from our Church Board of Deacons - simply because I felt it was Churchianity!
|
|
|
Ev
|
|
- home churches by Ready2Rapture
19 y
1,460
Like any other movements populated by humans, it's a double-edged sword. There's no guarantee that a given church, house or not, is doctrinally sound. One of the favorite slams against house churches is that they can easily become "cults", but that all depends on the caliber of membership. Either they know the Word or they get deceived, and if they don't know it they must find trustworthy leaders who do. On the other hand, big churches cannot be summarily dismissed as "seeker friendly" based solely on size or worship style. It really does take serious discernment on the part of every believer.
That said, if/when I jump the "seeker" ship, I have plenty of worthy receipients in line for giving. I'd much rather help build the AIG Creation Museum (already am but not enough) than the local youth center, and there's the many teachers online and in print that I've never been able to pay ("the worker is worthy of his wages"). And of course there's always missions. If you've read my article on giving/tithing in my web, you know I don't believe the NT teaches a percent or dollar amount for Christians. It's all "giving"; there is no tithe. But that's just my view.
I don't blame you at all for resigning, giving the reactions you're seeing. I've seen similar attitudes in our pastor as well, although not quite as obvious. People are just completely out of touch with the intent of Jesus and the apostles for the church.
|
|
|
Ready2Rapture
|
|
- Re: Wonderful by kerminator
19 y
1,349
You bring up some good points the real idea of the gospel is not about the rules, folks it is about the message.... Lets forget all this legalism and concert rate on the true gospel principles:
1) Love the LORD GOD with all your heart, mind and soul.... Then love your neighbor as yourself.... You must first love yourself, before you can ever love others...
2) Only those with clean hands and a pure heart will see GOD...
3) Then once you seek your salvation with fear and trimbeling.... Accept God's grace and forgiveness.... {Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom....}
4) Decide where you will spend Eternity....
5) Take hold of the "Great Commission" go forth to all the earth...
6) Take each day you are given as an opportunity from GOD to change your life so you can better help, aid, and minister to others.... {Lost souls in this world..}
7) Seek out those who need the message of salvation, comfort and help to bless them... This is the Kingdom of GOD... Amen...
{Actual scriptures can be furnished upon request, as well as prayer and assistance}
|
|
|
kerminator
|
|
- the remnant - home churches by parismatch
19 y
1,502
When I first saw the blogs on "religious" topics on the curezone.com, I thought "oh no." This is a medical and healing site!
But, you know---practically anyone and everyone on this website is peddling some sort of "spirit-uality" along with body cures. And the best cure-zone is the Word! As John said, "I pray that you may prosper and be in good health, even as your soul prospers." We need our spirit-man and soulish man (mind/will/emotions) fixed on what is true so that the power of God can be released for our healing.
On the topic of home churches:
My opinion is that we are in a precarious time right now. The church is being led by wicked and false shephards who have let the sheep wander where they should not be (on the mountainside, etc....Jeremiah Chapter 50). The broad road is the road that leads to DESTRUCTION. Be very careful to analyze and scrutinize everything that any minister may say. Study to show yourself approved! (a workman that needs not be ashamed).
I believe that small home groups is definitely a great thing - if the Father leads you to do it by His Spirit. Jesus said OVER AND OVER when He walked the earth, and also in the letters to the churches (Revelation) - HE THAT HATH AN EAR TO HEAR....let him hear....what the Spirit says...(to the called out ones).
Do a word search on "remnant" and see what you come up with!! (Go to http://www.biblegateway.com online and do the search right now).
There is a remnant that follows the LAMB wherever He goes....
These will not idolize church movements or buildings or "mission statements" or programs (however illustrious). If you are into IDOLATRY, even of "your ministry" or your "pet ministry"-----you are destined to be judged for this. It will be a snare to you!
And, you have to WANT TRUTH. He will lead you into ALL TRUTH if you are willing to seek Him with your whole heart. If you are willing to stop following the denominational traditions of men, and stop cutting out passages in the Word that you don't understand. LOOK AND SEE WHAT IS REALLY THERE! Pray over what you do not understand.
For example, do you know why the word "Ephraim" is used in the O.T. about 200 times (I think...not sure how many, but it is a LOT). What does this mean? I will tell you that it took me about a decade to find out once I noticed it and began to search it out. It's one of the most AMAZING teachings you will happen upon, exactly for THESE LATTER DAYS!
So, YES! I agree........the traditions of men do not effect true RIGHTEOUSNESS that comes by faith....a faith that follows with obedient actions.
|
|
|
parismatch
|
|
|
|
CureZone