When you attend a church of your choice, then you are publicly showing everyone where you hang your hat as to which door you walk through, be it Catholic or Protestant in confession or any of the offshoots that both have birthed over the centuries. But just going into a church does not make you either a believer or a disciple any more than eating a donut turns you into one. All churches have more than their fair share of hypocrites as most can easily attest, and tradition plays a mighty big role in membership as well as social and family familiarities. And the Reverend, Minister, Pastor or even a PhD certified graduate will certainly play a pivotal role in maintaining the numbers as well as any additional works such as Sunday School and others. And the more established and aged the church is, the more likely it has become a museum of traditions and dogmas not to be touched. Does anyone know of such places? Tongue-in-cheek question.
What happens when these effigies of past glories become a habitat for bats, mice, spiders and cobwebs? And when the Lord they are supposed to represent has been banished only to be replaced by studiously enforced iron-clad traditions? Ichabod, meaning the glory has departed. It has become a dead body of unresponsive believers who are fixated upon manufactured traditions that are of increasingly little value, especially in today’s amoral society. And the stuffiness of ancient relics and dull teachings from hardened hearts brings nothing to the sinner lost in sin and even less to the believer who has, in effect, disannulled their faith in lieu of the church traditions established or built upon the precepts of man.
Allow me to move from these main street museums to the more upbeat and modern capstones which call themselves, houses of worship. But they really need to do a reality check on which day the Lord has set aside for them to worship Him. There is a serious deficit in Scriptural understanding and application of the Word. These places of gathering are for the believers to come together once a week, preferably on the Sunday morning and listen to the pastor speak on whatever sermon he has prepared, and then a short time later they disperse only to repeat the process the following week with perhaps a midweek meeting. And all have their programs, their creeds, their boards and committees, financial obligations, salaries and other things. And every pastor’s income coming in depends very much on what is coming out of the mouth. And watchful eyes and ears are always tuned in like homing radars, and there is always someone waiting in the wings…
And then there are the house churches which are much smaller and more personal and increasing in numbers because of the obvious advantages, but even in such places there are those who want to establish a following based on their interpretation and oral skills, so much attention must be paid so that the Christ of God is truly the Lord.
So, now let us look at the one who has called us to salvation and why we deny His authority. In my previous writings, I have shown you what lawlessness does to the one calling themselves Christians, it annuls the faith because they deny the Christ. In the three above examples of group worship, the tendency is strong to absolve oneself of the Law and commandments and walk the path of lawless grace, which is actually misapplied and misrepresented. For them, the term lawless grace actually means keeping the moral application of the law in the heart while denying the physical application in the flesh because they are walking in grace. Quite the oxymoron, and clearly condemned by the Lord Jesus and the writers of the New Testament.
However, the chances are far better in small settings to work together in searching out the truths instead of being overseen by “leaders” who think that they are called to teach and control and to monitor the flocks. A church is where two or more are gathered together in His name. It is not a building of physical construct but a body of living stones world-wide. When the sister in Kenya is hurting, we all suffer with her. The brother condemned to a life of slave labor in one of the many camps in North Korea needs our prayers. You understand what I mean, for there is no such thing as only supporting those with whom an organized church keeps on their prayer list! It would do some of you good to read about the Voice of the Martyrs.
But today we have controls within the body to keep everything upon a controlled and even keel, leaving very little room if any at all for the body to breathe in the Spirit of truth and open the mind to the truths of Christ. Instead, they are to listen to their pastor whom they assume is teaching sound doctrines, to trust the board that oversees the pastor behind closed doors, and to financially support the church building with all due costs in addition to paying tithes. And how much is left for the family you have and their needs? Most pastors refuse to work outside of their offices and time schedules, and need a secretary to organize their needs, often with little or no pay, but the pastor demands recompense for everything including phone calls, retirement costs, travel reimbursements and so on. Where is Christ in all this man-devised muck puddle?
What happens to faith when it is replaced by decrees, dogmas, weak scriptural messages, worldly entertainment such as watching the NFL in the hall of worship, or collecting colorful Easter eggs, or running with the devil on Halloween night? They have no clue as to the horrors associated with such craven holidays and worthless activities that do nothing but steal away the gospel and turn the believers into images of the world, and the glory of the Lord fades into the shadows cast by the disillusioned heart. And the weeds choke off the seeds as the world takes over.
Yes, the body of Christ as understood by the world has become a fortress of traditions and formulated doctrines based upon not the Words of the Lord but more upon the interpretation of that word through man’s understandings. And the body suffers because of it. Are all churches like this? Certainly not for the Lord has His people everywhere, and you will know them by their love, faith and obedience to His teachings, commands and law. Those who refuse to obey him and his law and commands are liars and the truth is not in them. And that is how you will learn to discern the fruits of the self-acclaimed believers according to what they did and did not do, and by the words that come out of their mouths.
When such believers interpret the words of the Lord Jesus according to their views, they have eviscerated the very faith they claim to have, and by so doing deny the very Lord himself. This is not faith but religion which has no worth in the eyes of the Lord. And no matter how they twist and turn the Scriptures, they cannot justify their rebellious actions and unbelieving hearts. Many churches offer family day activities with all the charms to draw in the people, but even the snake charmers can do that! The gospel is not a fun thing but is a life and death struggle for the souls of men! There are no games in this war, no time for generous acts of frivolous behavior, no walk-talk-prayer marathons! The act of fasting is determined by the heart that cries out for God, not upon the belly and the clock! Weight Watchers' meetings can be set aside by placing a hand on the mouth, and having a beer does not turn you into an alcoholic! Being a committed drunk does! Cast away your yoga classes that are based upon Eastern mysticism, for the Lord does not share his glory with another!
In clear text, RETURN TO THE LORD JESUS! TRUST IN HIS WORDS ALONE! PUT ASIDE VANITY!
Religion will condemn you along with their useless rules and decrees. Jesus Christ is alive, and he wants you to have life, IN HIM, NOT THE WORLD! This world is perishing so why pursue it? And what is perishing is dying, and in dying is death. Why would you pursue death? Leave the doctrines of men and immerse yourselves in the pure words of the Lord Jesus Christ. Follow him and not some would-be teacher of lies and practitioners of lawlessness. Your faith can be cast aside if you persist in adhering to false doctrines and trusting men whose ways are unstable. You will undermine yourselves by following the teachings of men that do not teach faithfulness to the Lord. When you deny the Lord and His Words, you are disannulling the faith you claim to have, and your walk is in perfect darkness. Therefore, take heed to what you listen to for your very soul depends on it.
I remain a brother to the faithful in Christ Jesus.
Edward L Ordway.
