The Questions Answered. Part 1
I will be honest here, I do have a deep disrespect for both religion and denominations, but let me be clear, I have the deepest respect for Christ, His Church and His Gospel!
Many of you in Christendom cannot understand how that can be, and view me as a deluded, disgruntled, irrational, and out of touch with spiritual reality. And to tell you the truth, if I now believed as you believe and you now believed as I believe, I would think the same of you, why? Because I would accept the deception I would be deceived by as truth, as you do, therefore, conclude that I have lost all my spiritual marbles.
The big difference between what you believe and I believe boils down to my perspective of "Church" and the fact is...I do not believe that what is accepted as the cultural norm church as anything spiritual significant at all where the believer’s life is concerned. My understanding of “Church” is not a segregated, name-tagged, denominated building where Sunday-event-driven-programmed-meeting takes place for two hours on a weekend where the denominated seminarian preaches a denominated sermon to give the denominated people their denominated fix. Do you honestly accept that system as the Church Jesus said He would build?
The Church that Jesus said that He would build is built with lively stones...His Ekklesia, the people of God who are the very Body of Christ. Church is not a matter of “people gathering” in some building where man runs the show for two hours on a Sunday. Yes, the Church is the Lord’s “assembly”, but it is His people gathering unto Him who is in them to do His work through them in their daily living as loved children of their loving Father. The Church is even much more than people, the Church is Christ working through His Body, the people.
A segregated, religious, denominated building where some man-run programmed meeting takes place on a Sunday could never be the Church that Jesus is building. That is why I can lay aside my traditional concept of church and its “weakly, weekly meeting” and not feel in any way shape or form as separate from the Church of Jesus Christ...The Lord’s Church...that is a daily life living interaction between people and not some two hour Sunday-programmed religious meeting.
So the Church I love is the called out, most royal, assembly of God in Christ Jesus...it is a living organism, not a Sunday-get-together-meeting of the institutional system that has no scriptural basis, but is established by men who brought the Old Covenant organization and mixed it with the New Covenant organism and hindered the purpose of the Church of Jesus Christ as the Community of the Redeemed in the Community of Humanity. The religious denominational institution, as the self appointed mediator between God and man robs God’s people of experiencing God’s love and grace and hinders a true relationship with God and dwarfs true spiritual maturity, that is what I disrespect and whose beliefs I have discarded. I in no way disrespect the people that gather within its prison walls of segregation and deception. That is not to say that no truth is proclaimed by people of God in the religious institution, but when truth is mixed with untruth the truth is diluted and that causes the truth to be of little effect.
The admonition from the Word of God in Hebrews 10:24-25 to keep assembling together speaks nothing of a weekly ritual of attending some segregated denominated building as the “assembling” of His Church." It says nothing about finding some denominated seminarian to submit to, a program to plug into, a choir to sing in, or any other religious activity. It merely references an exhortation to keep fellowship with one another as (Sundays grow more difficult)...NO IT DOESN’T SAY THAT...it says; as the days (of which there are seven in a week) grow more difficult and we need the encouragement of one another.
Do I love, honer and cherish the “Church”...most definitely, that means I love, honor and cherish you as a member of the Body of Christ, but I do not like the religious system that has you in its grips!
Not everything in many of our denominations are perfect. There are a lot of things that we need to stand against. Some are now even denying that the Bible is inspired infallible word of God, others are ordaining homosexuals, some times in our churches there are gross immorality, some are just going through a form or a ritual while others are moving forth in power of Spirit. But I am not going to throw the baby out with the bath water.
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that there there are thousands in our denominational churches that are fulfilling the great commission and bringing many into the kingdom of God. However not everyone in our denominations have been sent, some just went.
Many great things have happened in our Sunday morning services that only eternity will reveal. More than have happen with those who stayed home in bed or stayed home for a barbecue.
As a matter of fact two of most popular grace preachers who are preaching the grace message and seeing many lives transformed by grace message, Joseph Prince and Andrew Wommack are leaders of large congregations. Andrew Wommack is also in charge of a Bible School. Just because you think you have the grace message, you don`t have to put down every church or denomination and Bible School.
Many churches in Paul`s day were in such a sad state. But Paul didn`t get on his computer and warn every body to stay away from these churches but he did write letters (which we have today) of warning and admonition.
On one occasion there was gross immorality in church that was not even found in world but Paul didn`t tell them to leave such a church but to give that person over to Satan for destruction of flesh that the soul might be saved.
On another occasion he warned them of apostasy and false doctrine.
Notice Christ warnings to Churches of Revelation. It wasn`t to leave their churches but to repent of the wrong things that they were doing or else suffer the consequences.
Now having said that there may be times when we should leave a certain church.
I have been to hundred`s of churches in last few years. Some I would like to go back to on a regular basis others I couldn`t care less if I went back or not.
Many are on fire for God and moving in Spirit while others are just going through motions.
For instance this pass Sunday I attended a revival meeting where a missionary from Nfld. who is serving in Peru, gave his testimony of how he was on his way to Trans Canada Highway to commit suicide when he heard some singing and was drawn to the meeting. He went in and went for prayer. Max Solbrekken cast the devils out of him and now he is serving God in Peru.
What if Max Solbrekken had not obeyed God and stayed home on Sunday. Here is a soul that would have been lost and also the thousands of others he has reached. Miracles of people coming to Christ are happening on a daily basis in Peru.
Let me ask you a personal question. How many souls have you personally won to Christ. How many sick people have you laid hands on and saw miracles of healing by power of God. How many demons have you cast out of people. How many time have you gone to a foreign country or gave of your finances that others might go.Unless I am doing these things I am not going to criticize others who are doing them, even if I were doing the works of Christ I shouldn`t criticize others.
I am reminded of a situation that happened in Christ day.It is recorded in Mark 9.
38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
40 For he that is not against us is on our part.