The Temple of God

Recently, members of a Baptist Church came to our door, the man asked me if I was saved. My answer was an emphatic, yes! He then asked if I was sure, to which I replied, “I am absolutely certain.” He asked what Church I attended, and I told him that presently I don’t go to Church. My reason is, “it matters more for me to be invested in Jesus than to be invested in a Church. My purpose in all that I do has to be to elevate Christ as Lord. I try to imagine the community of believers in early times;

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart…[1]

That picture is idealistic, yet, as you follow believers in the expansion of Christianity, the idea of community was always present. There were believers spread throughout the world, yet all were connected by a bond of faith. Jesus was their Lord and King. It is sad, that today believers are assessed and categorized by what Church they attend. We no longer recognize believers as children of God, unless they come to our Church, and follow our rules. “For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters…”[2] I came across a paper from which I have taken the following quote;

I do not attend church, except when asked to lead a service or conduct a funeral or wedding. The only way my current faith could be considered (kinda sorta) orthodox would be if Webster’s Dictionary totally revamped its definition of the word. Much of what the institution does and stands for seems inconsequential, petty and, at times, unconscionably insensitive (gays again, and others). And yet, at its heart, the church is people, good, solid people who are trying to find their way in a world that often makes little or no sense to them. I wish them the very best in their journey.

I doubt that I will ever be an active part of the institutional church again. But I remain open. My hope is that its walls will disappear, that its pew-lined sanctuaries will be replaced by the sanctuary of the world. That is where I live, where most people live; that is where so many of us question and search and wonder and hope and struggle; that is where we try to celebrate Something larger than ourselves, Something we glimpse in each other; Something that we feel in the spaces between us; Something alive where the walls come down. I would gladly come home to that church curl up in its pew and rest.[3]

I imagine the ideal situation would be, that when a disciple of Jesus meets someone who also claims to be a believer, they would be united in a bond of faith. The same though was expressed in an article dedicated to the Memory of Thomas Campbell speaking of the Church;

Its bond of unity was the personal allegiance of its members to the personal Christ as Saviour and Lord. Their common faith was faith in him. Their common love was love for him. Their common hope was hope in him. Their common baptism was baptism in his name. Their unity--the unity of the Spirit--was in him. Their union with each other was the direct result of their union with him.[4]

Paraphrased; the bond of unity was a personal allegiance to the personal Christ as Saviour and Lord. That to me is the key of unity. A personal relationship with God through Christ, is the most essential relationship we need to develop. The prophet Jeremiah indicates God purpose to enact a new covenant tied to individuals rather than to a nation.

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt--a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. "for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.[5]

Jeremiah’s prophecy indicated the personal connection to God’s new covenant. It would not be like the covenant given on Mount Sinai which was based on compliance and obedience. The new covenant would be founded on God’s grace.

You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites."[6]

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.[7]

The first covenant according to scripture was faulty, the new covenant enacted by God through Jesus is a gift of God’s love. Under the first covenant, God’s presences was in the inner sanctum of the tabernacle, and later the temple. But, in the new covenant God’s presence would in the hearts of believers. “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.”

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?^[8]

Some suggest this reference applies to the Church, but I believe it fits better with the prophecy of God’s new covenant being in the hearts of believers. According to the prophecy and reading its fulfillment in the Hebrew letter, God’s covenant is personal and individual. Some institutions have mistakenly taken personal obligations as group functions, which I believe must be avoided. Jesus is Lord of our lives, he has said that our lives must reflect his life and God’s love. Our duty as his disciples is to reflect the grace and love of God as seen in Jesus his Son. Church is a place of encouragement to elevate Jesus in our lives. It is a community and fellowship of faith. Church isn’t to be an entity itself, it is a gathering of believers being recharged to go back into the dark to shine as lights for God.

The first covenant God made with Israel was national, the temple was built in the holy city of Jerusalem. Sacrifices were made for atonement and thanksgiving. The new covenant was ratified by the blood of Jesus, sacrificed on the cross. The new covenant was to be personal, not national, and justification would be through faith. “…we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.”[9] The better and more accurate translation of “the law” is simply “law”. If attending Church services becomes an imperative, to that person it has become a burden not a blessing. If contributing money to a Church substitutes for loving your neighbour, it has become a ritual and has no spiritual value. Believers must not think of the Church as being comparable to the temple, the temple was destroyed, and God’s presence was removed; God dwells in your heart. As someone wrote, “If a temple is to be erected, a temple must be destroyed.”[10] We all must keep in mind that Christ saves, and the Church supports.

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!"^[11]

Jesus was passionate about the temple –the house of God. He was incensed to see it reduced to a Centre of commerce. The reverence for God’s house, and the zeal with which Jesus purged the temple of commercial transactions took place under the first covenant. Under the new covenant, believers are the temples in which the Spirit of God resides. Prepared and made ready by Jesus, “…you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”[12] My relationship with God is, a child to my father.  Also, I am a citizen of God’s kingdom. I am a member of the body of Christ. I am a temple of the Spirit of God. All of these facets of my relationship with God are personal. They are privileges under the new covenant.

…it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.[13]

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[1] Act 2:42-46

[2] Heb 2:11 

[3] Why Don't I Go to Church? David B Seaburn Ph.D., L.M.F.T. Psychology Today

[4] CHRISTIAN UNION: A Historical Study. J. H. Garrison, LL.D. (1906)

[5] Jer 31:31-34

[6] Exo 19:4-6

[7] 1Pe 2:9,10

[8] 1Co 3:16 

[9] Gal 2:16

[10] Friedrich Nietzsche. Essay 2, Section 24.

[11] Joh 2:13-16

[12] 1Co 6:11 

[13] Gal 2:20  

God's Message Through Jesus

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,[1]

In the final stages of the Jewish era God chose to speak through his son. God’s communication with Israel had been mostly through prophets, but now as the period of the first covenant drew to a close, God sent his Word. “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.”[2] What communication so important, so amazing, so absolutely essential, required that God would extend himself through his son to make it known? To me, Jesus coming to earth was God’s magnificent “show and tell”. God through Jesus wanted to “tell it like it is” without the embellishment or exaggeration of religious teachers. There are likely millions of books from which we can learn about Jesus. However, it is more important to know Jesus, than to just know about him. Jesus was God’s living message, and we’re told that it is only through Jesus we can approach God.

Any Church or religion that downplays the role of God’s living message is not Christian. No matter how long and hard Moslems try to prove that they and Christians serve the same God, it is not so. The god of Islam is not the God of the Bible. According the Quran, “Christ Jesus the son of Mary was a messenger of Allah. … Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him: …above having a son.”[3] Since Allah is above having a son, he is not the God of the Bible, the God of the Bible spoke of Jesus, “Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!’”[4] The Watchtower teaching on Jesus’ pre-life status is that he was created, and that the beginning of John’s gospel where he said that the “Word was with God and was God,”[5] well, that’s a mistranslation. The Watchtower teaching denies Christ’s equality with God, I suppose this is important to that society because it needs to be seen as elevating Jehovah as the one and only God. The God of the Bible made it abundantly clear that salvation is through the name of Jesus, and in him alone. Mormons believe, “In bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, President Hinckley spoke of those outside the Church who say Latter-day Saints ‘do not believe in the traditional Christ.’ ‘No, I don’t. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak'”[6] The Mormon Jesus annihilated fourteen cities and countless people, before stating he was Jesus Christ the Son of God. After the Mormon Jesus died and was raised he visited America giving the people a message. Whereas most Churches publically claim allegiance to Jesus, many seem more aligned with the particular doctrines of their denominations. The Roman Catholic Church diminishes Jesus by claiming that its pope is infallible when speaking from the throne, and that the scripture is only correct when interpreted by the Church. How is it that “the vicar of Christ” is enthroned and Jesus hung on a cross? The Catholic Church venerates Mary, by doing so goes against the will of God, depreciating Jesus.

Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.[7]

I applaud Churches in which Jesus is elevated and which recognize him as the only path to reconciliation with God. It doesn’t matter to me what denomination a person belong to, as long as Jesus is accepted as the only path to God. It is imperative that believers are aligned with Jesus and not just members of a Church. Church membership is nothing, being in Christ is everything. Whether part of an organized denomination (Church), or a small group, or even alone, living in and for Christ is vital.

let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is 'the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.' There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.[8]

Jesus himself said he was the only way to God, and it is obvious that God agreed with him. “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”[9] “…thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”[10] “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”[11] “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”[12] If Jesus isn’t Lord of your heart, you have no means of being close to God.

There is a very sad portrayal of people who thought they had been doing God’s work, but obviously weren’t.

Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?' Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.'[13]

The illustration focuses on people who can only be described as very religious, judging from their claims. Yet the Lord said he had never known them, despite their assertions of performing many miracles in his name. One might wonder if ordinary people who could not perform miracles would have had any hope of being accepted. The key lies in the first sentence; “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Only those people who did the Father’s will were permitted entrance into the kingdom of heaven. Something was missing in the service of those rejected; presumably they hadn’t been doing the Father’s will, even though they were religious and performed miracles. There were a few remarks earlier in Jesus’ proclamation that hint of important behaviours. “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.”[14] “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.”[15] And, immediately following the portion in question, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.”[16] Contextually the passage, in which religious people were rejected, is part of a larger pericope, which included traits of life that were seen as being the will of God. I wonder if what Jesus said of certain miracle workers is analogous to some involved in Church activities today. Jesus prefaced his condemnation saying, “Not everyone who says to me…” From that, presumably some who performed miracles would be accepted. Those who were accepted would been doing the will of God.

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.[17]

Human doctrines belittle Jesus when they focus on Church interests; when his name is used profanely, headlining programs designed to entice people into a specific Church. Jesus said he would draw all people to himself. Jesus was the embodiment of the two great Laws, “The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.”[18] These are not mantras to recited, they must form the foundation of living. There is no place for the veneration of “saints”, or the veneration of icons. Most evangelicals would agree with that statement, but is the practice of exclusivity around traditional doctrines any better? Matthew’s gospel says, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”[19] It seems to me that the two great laws should be the litmus test for any religious practice. Anything that detracts from the centrality of Jesus is wrong. “…it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians.’”[20] We don’t know if that label was derogatory or complimentary, but we understand its origin was likely because disciples spoke of and acted like the Christ. The point to be taken is that it was obvious to people in the vicinity that believers represented and followed Jesus. Since the development of political or commercial Christianity namely the Roman Church of the fourth century, the Church has been the dominant feature of the Christian religion. The term Christian no longer stands for a disciple of Jesus, it means an adherent to the general Christian religion. Under the broad heading of Christian we find: Unitarianism, Mormonism, Christian Science, British Israelism, and many more. It is difficult to find current numbers, but in 2012 it was estimated there were 33,000 denominations under the flag of Christianity. Originally the disciples were lumped together under the designation Christian because of similarities and a relationship with Christ. The denominations of Christianity demonstrate human pride and arrogance, and worse, a general disregard for Jesus. The divisions among Corinthian believers pales in comparison to the dilution of Christ’s influence in modern times. The greatest threat to Christianity is not Islam or Atheism, it is the commercialization of Christianity and the proliferation of denominations.   

God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.[21]

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[1] Heb 1:1-3 

[2] Joh 1:14 

[3] 4:171, Yusif Ali

[4] Luke 9:35 

[5] Joh 1:1

[6] LDS Church News, week ending June 20, 1998, p.7.

[7] Joh 20:30, 31

[8] Act 4:10-12 (NRSV)

[9] Rom 8:1

[10] 1Co 15:57 

[11] Gal 3:26 

[12] 1Ti 2:5 

[13] Mat 7:21-23

[14] Mat 7:12

[15] Mat 7:15, 16

[16] Mat 7:24

[17] Php 2:5-11

[18] Mar 12:29-31

[19] Mat 22:40 

[20] Act 11:26 

[21] 1Co 1:27-2:5

Church doctrine or Christ's teaching

About 58 percent of young adults indicated they dropped out because of their church or pastor. When we probed further, they said:

• Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical (26 percent).
• They didn’t feel connected to the people at their church (20 percent).
• Church members were unfriendly and unwelcoming (15 percent).

The reason that many church-attending young adults stopped going to church upon graduating from high school? Their faith just wasn’t personally meaningful to them. They did not have a first-hand faith. The church had not become a valued and valuable expression in their life—one that impacts how they live and how they relate and how they grow. Church was perhaps something their parents wanted them do. They may have grown up in church, and perhaps they faced pressure from parents and even peers to be involved in church. But it wasn’t a first-hand faith.

…it takes a church to raise a committed young adult.[1] 

…“less than 20% of people who attend church actually feel close to God on even a monthly basis.”   Over 80% of church goers DON’T feel close to God.  How is that possible?   Of the almost two-thirds of people who attend church to learn more about God, only 6% say that they learned anything about God or Jesus the last time they attended.  Translation:  a whopping 94% of us didn’t get much out of Sunday’s meeting!  Worse still, 61% of church goers say they “did not gain any significant or new insights” about their faith when they last attended services.

“The early church leaders didn’t have the things we now consider essential for our faith. They didn’t have official church buildings, vision statements or core values. They had no social media, radio broadcasts or celebrity pastors. They didn’t even have the completed New Testament. Christ-followers were often deeply misunderstood, persecuted and some gave their lives for their faith. Yet they loved and they served and they prayed and they blessed—and slowly, over hundreds of years, they brought the empire to its knees.”

How could the early church capture the imagination of the Roman empire while we, with all our resources and rigor, are slowly losing influence in our culture?”[2]

There is an ongoing silent migration away from the church of an estimated 3,500 individuals each and every day. A 2014 study indicated that over 1.2 million people will leave the church in the next year. Several factors are contributing to this trend, but the majority of individuals who are leaving the church report that they no longer feel connected.[3]

These excerpts are from papers written on the subject of people exiting Church. Some focus on a specific age group, suggesting that those in the group are more affected than others. That may be so, however, the shallowness of Church affects all ages. Older people may put up with the emptiness of meetings by not making waves, they’ll sit in the pews, pay their dues, and go home. Responses to why people are leaving Church extend from denial to blame. Ed Stetzer places the blame on the young people leaving –it’s their own fault; “They did not have a first-hand faith.” On the opposite end of the spectrum Barna writes, “94% of us didn’t get much out of Sunday’s meeting.” It seems to me that most of the suggestions to keep members from leaving will be unsuccessful. Even if plans are successful, what would have been accomplished? “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”[4] My personal belief is that Church as we know it needs to die, or, at least to go through a complete metamorphosis. The result of metamorphosis would be an egalitarian group gathering to encourage and support each other in Christ. Believers must take back from Church those responsibilities and privileges that rightfully belong to them as individuals. Each believer is to be a light in his or her world, that’s not a Church thing, it is an individual responsibility. To justify its existence the Church has institutionalized many of the obligations assigned to individuals. Take a look at what is advocated in Christianity Today, “it takes a church to raise a committed young adult,” You will not find that statement in scripture, but you will find God’s admonition to parents to raise their children in the Lord. The Church has appropriated functions assigned to individuals or parents. The Church has stolen our personal responsibilities and service. The Church was not commissioned to preach the gospel –disciples were. Unless Church changes and becomes a gathering of believers supporting each other to follow Jesus, my first option stands –it needs to die.

Ed Stetzer states that young people are leaving the Church because they don’t have a personal faith. I notice in the paragraph in which he explains “lack of faith” he does not mention Christ; “The church had not become a valued and valuable expression in their life…” Others have noted that many believers leave Church looking for a closer relationship with God. It’s not because they lack faith in Jesus. Some “leavers” are frustrated that the Church elevates itself above Christ –and that’s not only the Catholic Church. Some are frustrated that the Church and its managers have positioned themselves between believers and God.  The heyday of the Church with which I associated was the 1950’s, and from personal observation that Church has not changed much. I made it a point when travelling to attend services of the Church. On more than one occasion I went to a mid-week study and found the experiences less than inspiring, most visits were déjà vu events. Except for the cars in the parking lot, nothing had changed since the mid-fifties. I do not expect truth to change, but traditions have little basis in truth. Some Churches boast of their fifties roots, which seems absurd. The scripture encourages spiritual growth, Churches demand conformity. I see a practical application to what leadership training taught, that there is a huge difference between twenty years’ experience and one year’s experience repeated twenty times. Churches I visited would fit better in the fifties than today, as there was no indication of an awareness of current issues. Material being used could well have been printed back in the fifties.

I need to state what is becoming a mantra for me; “there is no Church in the Bible!” The word Church doesn’t exist in the original language of the New Testament. There were assemblies or gatherings of believers. Jesus did not say he would build his Church. The book of Matthew was written by a Jew, to Jews, about a Jew named Jesus. Matthew used the common Greek word ekklesia when recording what Jesus said about his kingdom. The Septuagint was the most commonly used translation of the Old Testament at that time. The Greek word ekklesia appears some seventy times in the Greek version of their scriptures. Jews knew what the word referred to, and it was not Church. The Roman Church was established as a means of encouraging unity in the Empire, in a similar way a few hundred years later, Islam was invented to bring waring Arab tribes together. If it were possible it would be helpful to consider the history of Christians that didn’t fall under the auspices of Rome. However, the Roman Church dominated religious thought, persecuting and murdering those who would not bow to its authority. Before the intervention by Constantine congregations were autonomous, each congregation appointed its own bishop. Some of the practices of the early congregations do not line up with scripture as it is interpreted by legalistic Churches today. The modern Church carries the genes of the Roman Church. It has been demonstrated that every Christian Church has roots in the original Roman Church. The Reformation took place giving birth to Protestantism. The Restoration movement to some is considered the modern awakening of Christianity. The proliferation of Churches however, speaks to the folly of all human institutions. I believe attempts to wrestle support for Church from the scripture results in fiction. There can be no restoration of a New Testament Church, because there wasn’t one. Barna in the quotation emphasized the difference between then and now writing, “They didn’t have official church buildings, vision statements or core values. They had no social media, radio broadcasts or celebrity pastors. They didn’t even have the completed New Testament. Christ-followers were often deeply misunderstood, persecuted and some gave their lives for their faith.” But, his assumption falls within traditional thinking, “and slowly, over hundreds of years, they brought the empire to its knees.” That was not Christ’s objective. Jesus clearly and loudly stated, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm…”[5] People throughout modern history have accepted that Church is a bona fide Christian institution. It is not! It is presented as biblical because it has been around a long time, and few Christians challenge its validity. Tradition has a way of becoming truth for those who want to believe it.

What worries me about people leaving Church is that some having connected Church with Christ, upon leaving the Church abandon Christ. No institution represents Jesus, no Church speaks for God. Jesus said, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”[6] His invitation was personal, to individuals. Nowhere is it written in scripture that Jesus offered an invitation to a Church. John wrote of God’s love in sending Jesus into the world, and said, “…whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”[7] Our relationship with God through Jesus is personal, we are children in God’s family, and we are citizens in God’s kingdom. The only valid activity of a Church, congregation, assembly, or gathering, is to support and encourage each other to live as God’s children.  It has become clear that Church policies, rules, expectations, or whatever you want to call the doctrines that distinguish one Church from another, do not represent the teachings of Jesus. The Church takes upon itself to be the spokesperson for God, which it has no right to do. There is a growing chasm between official Church doctrine and the personal beliefs of congregants. The Church is out of line with the teaching of Jesus, most do not accept simple belief in Jesus as the criteria of membership, but require conformity to their doctrines. Each Church has a unique set of doctrines by which its members are defined. The teaching of Jesus did not include a hierarchy of believers. If there was a privileged class, James didn’t know about it, “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.”[8] Jesus commanded his disciples to love each other, he acknowledged that the Law was summed up in two basic commandments; love God, and love people.

The duty of every disciple is to believe Jesus. The task, if we can call obedience by that term, is for disciples to love God, and to love people. God’s responsibilities are greater than any we have, and it i veryonsibilities are greater than what we have to do, and it' to love God, and to love people. God'basic commandments; love Gos very important that we focus on our duties and not mess in God’s business. A very long time ago in Africa, a friend and I were visiting with a family of American missionaries, I don’t remember how the subject of alcohol came up, but the lady announced that people who drank alcohol were dirty. That didn’t go over well as my friend and I both came from families that on occasion served alcoholic drinks. Condemnation is at best in bad taste, and worst it is a sinful disregard of Jesus’ teaching. Issues facing the Church today require more than glib, idiotic or bigoted responses. Churches face a catch-22 situation; as “guardians of the faith”, or when preaching God’s word. The scripture speaks of God’s condemnation of immorality, but that doesn’t give license to the Church or an individual to judge the actions of others.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.[9]

God does not judge according any human hierarchy of sin. The list of things that go along with a depraved mind includes some things I’m sure in my lifetime I’d be found guilty of. –Didn’t always do what my parents said I should. May have engaged in a little self-promoting gossip. I know for sure I took more jam tarts than anyone else at the table. I can’t say I have never envied the material abundance of the rich. So, what gives me the right to judge someone else? “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”[10]

Christians are commanded to love people. If a Church assumes the role of speaking for God, say, on the subject of “same sex marriage”, it would have to condemn the practice, based on what is written in scripture. Some Churches believe they have the right to modify scripture to fit the times; those Churches would condone the practice. There are I suppose Churches that ignore issues and pretend they don’t exist. Individuals do not have permission to condemn or condone practices which God has pronounced right or wrong. We are told not to judge, because that is God’s sole prerogative. The Church is not a divine institution, preachers who use God’s word as a bludgeon are wrong in doing so. The Church has no more authority than an individual. “…the majority of individuals who are leaving the church report that they no longer feel connected.” Whether the Church condemns, condones, or is ambivalent to an issue, some or more likely most members will be upset. We have an obligation to love, what the Church says in immaterial, believers have to obey Jesus. “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”[11] Jesus didn’t answer right away, when he did he told the accusers that the one without sin should throw the first stone. With everyone gone Jesus asked the woman if any had condemned her, she answered, “No!” Jesus then said, “I do not condemn you, either.”[12] Quoting the scriptures did not give people the right to condemn. Both condemnation and forgiveness of sin are divine responsibilities.

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God. So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.[13]

It seems to me that believers must pattern their lives after Jesus. It is through Jesus alone that we have access to God. The Church has no authority to condemn, or, condone. Paul concluded the portion of his letter above stating, “…each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” The Church has no role in discipleship, other than to encourage. It has no responsibility, and outside of support to disciples it has not function. The Church is a blight on Christianity, as seen through it, Christianity is fragmented and impotent. The power of the word, and the love of God are seen in the lives of believers.

   

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[1] http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2014

[2] https://notforitchingears.com

[3] http://www.christianpost.com/news

[4] Henry Ford

[5] Jon 18:36

[6] Mat 11:28

[7] Jon 3:16

[8] Jas 2:1 

[9] Rom 1:28-32

[10] Rom 3:23 

[11] Joh 8:4, 5

[12] Jon 8:11

[13] Rom 14:1-12