Justice

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites:
...you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
...you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers...
...you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
...you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness...

In Matthew chapter twenty-three Jesus gave a scathing indictment of the Pharisees. The language used is the harshest our Lord uttered. Jesus did not castigate those considered sinners, but, the religious elite. There are more charges of hypocrisy than the ones listed above. Each criticism was unique and an indication of the deluded self-righteousness of the Pharisees. The Pharisees Jesus addressed were more concerned with their position than with people; they were more concerned with ritual than true righteousness.

Since we do not have the Lord’s ability to look into the heart of people we cannot speak the same way of others or judge their motives. That being true, Jesus did teach that people would be known by the fruit they bear. If it is known that someone cheated a widow or some other vulnerable person, we would look on that person as a charlatan. Keeping in mind that the criticism of Jesus was against the Pharisees’ practice of religion; in tithing they were meticulous and perfect, but, lacking in the areas of justice, mercy and faithfulness.

I was looking over some notes I made of a speech by Robert Quinn; his topic was; leading transformational change. One of the quotes I collected said; “Corporations use denial to ease economic or performance failure.” At that time I was an executive in a corporation and had to consider the criticism. What Quinn said is true of many corporations, and religious institutions. Denial is a common salve or weapon, depending how it is used. A more common process covering up failure is to resort to ritual; like the Pharisees did with tithing.

Leaders often lose themselves in being ritualistically religious; they do the right things, but not in the right ways. And, they do the right things instead of treating people right. There is nothing more obnoxious than a self-righteous leader, because almost everyone else can see through his duplicity. The Pharisees tithed exactly, but Jesus said they missed the point. Where were justice, mercy and faithfulness? Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:23, 24) Justice is a required attribute of every godly leader, without it, a leader is no better than one of the Pharisees Jesus rebuked.

Living for God

Deut 16:16, 17 "Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you."

The burden of ceremonial religion was on men in pre-Exilic Israel; however, the burden of practical religion was on every household. Women at that time were not required to engage in ceremonial celebrations, nor were they forbidden to do so. Israel was an agrarian society and the three key feasts were connected to various harvests. Religion for the household was not something done on special occasions; it permeated every aspect of life.

Living in the kingdom of God in some ways is similar to life in pre-Exilic Israel. There is not the male female distinction that existed under the Old Covenant because all are one in Christ. Our human roles do not determine what we do in the kingdom of God. The way in which being in the kingdom of God is similar to that of Israel is that every moment of our lives is involved in honouring God. We are not governed by rules and rituals, but by the desire to serve and glorify God.

Babes in the word

Heb 5:12-6:3 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits.

The author of Hebrews set a high standard of spiritual maturity; a level of maturity that is impossible to achieve in churches focused on increasing membership. Based on the writer’s list of elementary teachings most Christians today are new born babies. I know of no congregation in which disciples have moved beyond rudimentary teachings. Most congregations still choke on teachings the author said were elementary.

It strikes me that churches, with a few exceptions, have not been doing their job; for the most part what they teach is watered down pabulum. Some frequent church attendees resort to packing their own lunch; they read the scriptures while the preacher presents a puree of stale leftovers. “Everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.” A diet of infant food is good for infants, but spiritual growth is necessary, and for that there has to be a diet of solid foods.

Individuals need to be aware of the spiritual food being offered and if it is not nourishing then they must supplement their diet with good helpings of reading the scriptures. Too many churches teach and preach only what promotes their programs and goals. Too much preaching is geared toward emotional stimulus not spiritual growth. Churches aren’t solely responsible for this situation; the individual must accept some of the blame. A number of people go to church to be entertained; some to be moved emotionally; and as a result you have leaderships that cater to those wishes.

Many Christians think that having their emotions yanked qualifies as spiritual growth; not so. Feeling good about a service doesn’t mean you have been nourished spiritually; it means you feel good. If feeling good or moved emotionally were measures of spiritual nourishment I would listen to Puccini’s work and be a spiritual giant. It is not just preaching the word, but teaching and encouraging spiritual growth through the word that is important. But, we have learned to be satisfied with substitutions and mediocrity.

“Solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” What a great concept; the idea that being mature is the point at which one can determine good and evil based on his or her experiences in God’s word. Maturity is recognizing right and wrong from within; it does not have to find a verse which seems to say what one wants. The inner person has developed through engagement with God’s word and the inner sense has been trained to know right from wrong.

Personal safety

Mat 25:6-10 “... at midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the prudent answered, 'No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.' And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.”

The message Jesus taught his disciples was to be vigilant and watchful; within the parable the plight of the unprepared is set against the preparations made by the wise. When those needing oil asked the others to share with them, the response wasn’t a hard, No! Instead of saying no, the wise replied they could not share because by sharing it might be that neither group would have sufficient to accomplish the task. The only reason for pointing this out is to observe that the wise were not condemning or critical of those needing oil.

A message for us today is that we need to be assertive, and not belligerent. Mine rescue and first responder teams are taught to secure a site before attending to any casualties; the safety of those giving aid is of primary importance. A disciple of Christ must not jeopardise his or her soul attempting to save others. Paul speaking of his sorrow over Israel’s rejection said he was at the point of wishing he could be cursed, if it would have helped Israel, but it was impossible. There are times when we must put our salvation ahead of other choices.

A practical application of this concept is choosing to leave a congregation that offers no spiritual food or encouragement. A person could continue attending services, but if all one gets out of them is frustration and feelings of despair –it’s better to quit. The choice to quit must not be out of bitterness, but in an effort to gain spiritual strength and closeness with God. The change from institutional services to personal worship will not be easy to adjust to, since most have only known corporate services.

It is a mistake to try replicating the corporate service in a home or small group setting; there is nothing divine about the corporate order of worship. Paul told Timothy to give attention to reading, to exhortation and teaching. And to the Christians in Philippi Paul wrote, So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Php 2:12, 13)

Lost and found

2Th 3:13-16 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good. If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!

I wonder what it would have been like to live in the first century when all disciples of Jesus belonged to the same, one and only, body of Christ. I wonder what it would have felt like to know that every believer was a citizen of the same spiritual kingdom. Those images will remain obscured until the end of time, because many church leaders just won’t quit trying to be God.

If congregations applied the directions Paul gave the Thessalonians and other assemblies there wouldn’t be so many denominations or divisions within denominations. I was baptized in a building belonging to an instrumental congregation; but couldn’t have fellowship with those people because they used an instrument in worship; at the time that was a very serious sin.

Somehow, division over an instrument doesn’t seem to reflect the principle in the above text. Telling people not to attend meetings because they don’t agree with you seems completely contrary to Paul’s instructions. Of the issues that have caused division in the modern church few if any are as severe as the eating of meat offered to idols in the first century. The remedy for differences of opinion and beliefs in the early Christian community was not division.

In the last few decades division hasn’t been the biggest problem; the big problem has been the marginalization of the common Christian. Division was usually caused when leaders held strong opinions and refused to put them aside for the good of a congregation. Marginalization occurs when leaders frustrate the attempts of believers to grow spiritually; when leaders are focused on numerical growth and maintaining the status quo.

There are thousands of Christians who have been disenfranchised by congregational leaderships. These Christians were voiceless, “voteless”, members of an institution intent on self-preservation. Those organizations are more concerned with programs than they are with people; they prefer to see people leave rather than to be bothered with their concerns.

The scripture speaks to those who find themselves outside the church; citizenship in God’s kingdom is not contingent on church membership. Righteousness is a gift from God, not the result of church attendance. Churches would have you believe they are the kingdom, but they are not; Christ is king, and rules over his people wherever they are. No human organization can rob you of your place in God’s family; a church should support Christians in their walk as citizens not impede their progress.

ekklesia 2

The word church was an intentional misrepresentation; the word for centuries has allowed men to usurp the rights and honour of God and Christ. By the insertion of the word church, religious institutions have been given validity they do not deserve.

The fallacy of church ties all denominations together with the Roman Church as their origin. For reformers and restorers alike, it is impossible to replicate the New Testament church, because there wasn’t a New Testament church; there were gatherings of Christians; there were assemblies of Christians; there were congregations of Christians, but there was no church.

The church is a religious monolith at which people have chipped away, seemingly to no avail. The concept of church stands as an icon of Christianity, but in the last decades has begun to lose its hold over people as they learn the true meaning of serving God. Churches become impotent as people realize that those institutions are not the owners or providers of salvation.

Disciples of Jesus really need to study his life and teaching. Jesus’ main teaching was the kingdom of God; that was his ministry and his message. As followers of Christ we need to reflect on his teaching, and what it means to be part of the kingdom. The church is a human facade hiding and obscuring the kingdom. I believe it is essential to be a citizen of God’s kingdom, and optional if you want to be a church member.

Christian fellowship is very important; to gather as children of God and encourage each other is a great blessing. The first Christian gatherings were based on the synagogue and to unbelievers would have had the appearance of just another synagogue; James in his letter used the Greek word synagogue “...if a man comes into your assembly... Jas 2:2

Just as there were no Old Testament orders or prescriptions regarding a synagogue, there are no prescriptive orders regarding an assembly in the New Testament. The verses used by churches to support their organizations are wrestled out of context. Paul told the Corinthian assembly to behave; “... all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.” 1Co 14:40. The purpose of doing anything was to edify the congregation.

When I was young I was taught that there were five elements of worship; I learned what they were and memorized verses to prove each one. Those five elements don’t actually exist in the form that I was taught. They were identifying features of a church that required chapter and verse for everything it did; thus the necessity of finding verses with the required words; whether or not the verse really applied.

I was taught that one has to contribute every Sunday, not bi-weekly or once a month, but every Sunday, and the verse was; “On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.” 1Co 16:2. No attention was given to the point that the collection being made was a onetime contribution to support Christians in Judea, because of a famine. This verse is used in churches today to require attendees to contribute so they can continue to build buildings, pay preachers, design programs and every other thing, some of which may be worthy causes. There is no demand in the New Testament for people to provide finances to churches. To insure an ongoing income many churches demand tithing as under the Old Law.

Assemblies of children of God and citizens of God’s kingdom are not required to conform to the organized church; the purpose in gathering is to encourage and support each other; to glory in the grace that God supplies; to give thanks for the salvation brought by Christ, and to praise God for the hope of eternal life. Churches are religious businesses with a focus on the bottom line numbers.

1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Php 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

If a group of people want to call their gathering a church I don’t see a problem with that, as long as it is recognized that their church has no more scriptural authority than anyone else’s. In the scripture the early Christians were referred to as the Body of Christ, the assembly, a congregation, the children of God. I will stress again that the word church is not found in the original scriptures; therefore, that word and the system it describes are not scriptural.

Every denomination considers itself to be the legitimate church or part of it; no concern has been shown for the erroneous translation of the word ekklesia. Each group justifies the use of church because the word describes their organization, and therefore the use of the word church is validated. That is hardly the way to determine God’s approval.

Right or wrong, given the fact that churches exist; the difference between a good and bad church is in the leadership; spiritual leaders care for people; they concern themselves with the spiritual well-being of people; they honour God in all they do; they are not egocentric; they guide and lead with gentleness. A spiritual leader is focused on people not programs.

As long as the false translation of the word ekklesia is used and churches masquerade as divine organizations, the kingdom will be hidden to those seeking it.

ekklesia

The word ekklesia in the Septuagint is found in:

Deut 4:10 "Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.'

Later, that day, was referred to as the day of assembly:

Deut 9:10 "The LORD gave me the two tablets of stone written by the finger of God; and on them were all the words which the LORD had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly.

Moses warned the assembly of Israel:

Deut 31:30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were complete:

Joshua spoke to the assembly of Israel:

Josh 8:35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel with the women and the little ones and the strangers who were living among them.

Gather the assembly:

Lev 8:3 and assemble all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting."

Lev 8:3 καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν συναγωγὴν ἐκκλησίασον ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου.


“It is evident from the use of ekklesia in the Lxx that the word held a deep significance for Greek-speaking Jews. Although an ekklesia could be merely a crowd of people (I Samuel 17:47 [Lxx I Kings 17:47]) or an assembly of “evil-doers” (Psalm 26:5 [Lxx 25:5]), the “ekklesia of the LORD” was the covenantal ass[e]mbly of Israel (Deuteronomy 4:10). This body, when assembled, worshipped God (II Chronicles 29:28,31,32), appealed to God (II Chronicles 20:5), repented to God (Joel 2:16), and made choices for the nation as whole (I Chronicles 13:2,4; Ezra 10:12 [Lxx II Esdras 10:12]). To stand “in the midst of the ekklesia” was a significant responsibility (I Chronicles 28:2; II Chronicles 20:5). To face shame before the ekklesia was to be avoided (Proverbs 5:14). Not all who dwelt among the Israelites could enter the ekklesia (Deuteronomy 23:1-3, 8). To fail to come together in the ekklesia was a serious breech of duty (Judges 21:5; Ezra 10:8 [Lxx II Esdras 10:8]).
Synagoge was used synonymously with ekklesia in the Lxx to refer to religious assemblies of the Jews.” (Kyle Pope)

The word ekklesia is translated congregation –

Heb 2:12 He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises."

The word ekklesia is translated assembly –

Act 19:39-41 "But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly. For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today's events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering. After saying this he dismissed the assembly."

The word ekklesia is translated church -

Mat 16:18 "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

The word ekklesia is used seventy times in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament), never is it translated church in English translations. In the Greek New Testament the word ekklesia is used one hundred and fourteen times and in all but a few cases it is translated church; a word not found in the original language of the New Testament.

The word church was introduced into the scripture as a substitute for the real meaning of ekklesia because the words congregation or assembly, or even the literal meaning of ekklesia –called out, did not support the religious organizations that had evolved.

My challenge to people is to read the New Testament and in place of the word church insert words like congregation or assembly. By using the Old Testament as a guide to translate ekklesia in the New Testament I believe the reader will see a more personal and individual image of Christian life and duty, and the institutional church will be seen to have no root in scripture.