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Good things do not occur, when definitions of words are changed. This
has happened with the word "church." Untold numbers of people will
perish, all because they were misled into believing that they were part
of the "church." Because of this deception, they were (and continue to
be) left with a false sense of security. Instead of security, they should have been
filled with sorrow and repentance for their sins. They should have had enough
"fear of
God" in them, that it would cause them to humble themselves at the cross, confess (and turn
from) their sins, and learn to follow Jesus.
"Church,"
as God defines it, has nothing to do with a building or an institution.
A person doesn't become part of it by getting his name on a "membership
list." It has nothing to do with programs, committees, fund raisers, membership
campaigns, or any of the other things commonly associated with it today
- things which mislead people into thinking they are part of God's
"church," when in reality they are not.
These studies take a look at
what God says about the concept of
"church." We have no obligation to use that word in any other way. In
fact, we could say that our obligation is to not use it
in any other way, for doing so is to mislead and distort.
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Calling "Christianity" a "religion" is just as much of a distortion
of the truth - and treats Christianity as though it were on the same
level as any of the man-made
religions. This false connection between "Christianity" and "religion"
fits quite well with the man-made (false) definition of "church."
Because these false definitions are so prevalent, we find ourselves
faced with what appears to be two "Christianities" -
one fake (a mere "religion") and one genuine (a relationship with Jesus
Christ) and two "churches" - one fake (involving membership lists
and the like) and one genuine (those who are genuine followers of
Jesus). To make matters more complex, the distinctions between the two are often
blurred, with genuine followers of Jesus sometimes having a part in a
man-made institution (wrongly called "church"). Much of this blurring is
the fault of the leaders who fail to teach the people the differences
between the two. (Most leaders who have had much training are aware
of the differences, but for whatever reasons, they choose to ignore it.)
On the other hand, some genuine followers of Jesus may choose to work within the false system, not ignoring or blurring the differences between
the two, but in order
to encourage those who don't know better... or in some cases, to show
them the way to a genuine
relationship with Jesus, and membership in the "church" as God
defines it.
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Associating the word "religion" with "obedience to God," or with
anything that is a part of becoming saved, is also a gross distortion
and a lie. But this is a
different issue, and has a web page of its own.
This is a group of studies that are related to the issue of
"church." Some of
them focus on the word "church" itself; others focus on related issues. In most
of these studies, a list of verses is given for you to examine
for yourself
- and in many instances, this list is exhaustive. (For example, there are no
other verses in the Bible, where the word "church" - Greek, ekklesia - can be found.) There is
also a summary of what those verses say about the topic, study questions, and
additional comments based on my own observations and experiences. |
[Sorry, but the verse references were not inserted
into the summary, to show the direct connection between the verses and
what is said in the summary. This was an oversight on my part. Yet if
you are willing to look up all the verses yourself, you will be able to
see that the summary is supported by the verses. You may also become more convinced about what those verses say, than if you
simply read someone else's words about them.] |
HTML LINKS: |
- A List
- Verses that have the word "Church" in them
- A Summary - What is contained in the
verses that have the word "Church"
in them
- Study Questions - Exploring the issue of "Church" and
"Church Membership"
- Comments - About "Church Membership Lists"
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PDF LINK: |
- For a PDF version of the above articles (all in one document): PDF
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Individual Articles about the Concept of "Church" |
Reflections on the Issue of "Church" |
Why do people blindly go after a false concept of
"church"? Why is it an issue? How should we respond? |
HTML / PDF |
Participation in "Church Activities" |
People have invented all kinds of "church
activities" that God never said anything about, and which often consume time
we could have spent doing what God did say something about! |
HTML / PDF |
Some Related Concepts (includes both verse references
and questions) |
Most of these studies include a verse list and some questions for
studying the concept. In some instances, a summary of what the verses say is
also included. |
The "Body" of Christ |
This, rather than one's name on a membership list,
defines who is a "member" of the church. The man-made type of "membership"
is not found in the New Testament, and must be read-into the Bible
before it can be "found" there. |
HTML / PDF |
The Concept of Being a "Member" |
This study contains a list of verses and a couple
questions. The Bible's concept of being a "member" is so different from
what most people think of, that there is almost nothing in common. Feel
free to write your own summary. |
HTML / PDF |
The Concept of "Fellowship" |
For many "church goers," the concept of "fellowship"
means getting together for gluttony and frivolous talk. This has almost
nothing in common with the Bible's concept of "fellowship." More than
that, the Bible's concept of "fellowship" is an obligation for
the follower of Jesus; it's not something we can choose to ignore. To ignore it is almost the same as denying
Christ. |
HTML / PDF
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The Concepts of "Unity," "Being United," or "One" |
This is another word (or concept) that describes the
relationship of a disciple to Jesus. This is the way God
describes it, and we have no right to ignore other disciples, or to
treat them as inferior "second class" citizens of the kingdom of God. |
HTML / PDF |
The Concept of "Divisions" |
This is the closest the Bible gets to the word
"denomination" - and God doesn't have anything pleasant to say about
it! We have no right to ignore other followers of Jesus, simply because
they aren't part of our "denomination"! God gives us the
criteria for knowing who are the followers of Jesus... and denomination is
not one of them! |
HTML / PDF |
The Bible says...
... Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy,
cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
and to present her to himself as a radiant church,
without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish,
but holy and blameless. (Ephesians 5:25b-27)
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