Regarding your inquiry as to whether or not I actually attend a “physical
church,” consider the following:
The
Greek word ekklesia (Strong: 1577), which is the word translated “church”
throughout the New Testament, is from the Greek words (1) ek meaning “out
of” and (2) klesis meaning “a calling” [from kaleo meaning “to
call”]. It is used several ways in the New Testament to designated “a group of
people called out for a special purpose” (e.g, political, religious, etc.), but
never to designate a physical structure. It could essentially be translated
“assembly.”
As
to Christianity, it is often used to designate a group of believers gathered to
worship Christ in someone’s home for the purpose of conforming to
His image by and through learning more about Him (e.g., the study of the Word).
Greet Priscilla and Aquila,
my fellow workers in Christ Jesus . . . Likewise greet the church that
is in their house. . . . (Romans 16:3, 5)
The
churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily
in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. (1
Corinthians 16:19)
Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church
that is in his house. (Colossians 4:15)
to
the beloved Apphia,
Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house. (Philemon
2)
And
assemblies of this nature were in tune with God’s Word, e.g. Hebrews10:24, 25
— “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some,
but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day
approaching.”
This was a worthy endeavor in light of the following:
Compare the following two
passages of Scripture:
And
do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be
filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. (Ephesians
5:18-21)
Let
the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)
The
point being is that it is by studying and absorbing God’s Word one is thereby
conformed more to the image of Christ (able to “walk in Him” [Colossians 2:6])
and guided (filled, used) by the Spirit throughout this life.
The
only way for a Christian to experience sanctification is to immerse himself in
the Word of God, as is clearly seen in the following passages of Scripture. The
first passage is part of Christ’s prayer for His disciples.
I
have given them Your Word; and the world has hated them because
they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. . . .
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth. (John 17:14,
17)
And
He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, and some pastors-teachers, for the equipping
[lit. perfecting] of the saints for the work of ministry, for the
edifying [lit. building] of the body of Christ, till we all come
to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge [lit. full or mature
knowledge] of the Son of God, to a perfect [lit. full grown or
mature] man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about
with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the
cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. (Ephesians 4:11-14)
For
this reason we also,
since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to
ask that you may be filled with the knowledge [lit. full or mature
knowledge] of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that
you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being
fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge [lit. full or
mature knowledge] of God; strengthened with all might,
according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with
joy. (Colossians 1:9-11)
Let
no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in
word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith,
in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to
exhortation, to doctrine. . . . Meditate on these things;
give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.
Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them,
for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. (1
Timothy 4:12, 13, 15, 16)
Be
diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not
need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. (2 Timothy
2:15)
But
you must continue in the things that you have learned and been assured of,
knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from
childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you
wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture
is given by inspiration of God [lit. God-breathed], and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete [lit. mature],
thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17)
Therefore,
beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by
Him in peace, without spot and blameless . . . but grow in the
grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:14,
18a)
Every Christian should realize that Scripture (the Holy Bible [Old Testament and
the New Testament]) is primarily a book for the believer in Christ, given to be
studied and absorbed so that the Christian may please God through continual
spiritual growth. And then it is the Christians who are to bring those who are
without Christ, those outside the local assembly of believers, to a
saving faith in Christ.
And
where local churches (established denominational structures that represent a
group of people) go afield today is that very little of their activities are
dedicated to the study of the Word. Rather, most podium presentations are
immersed in 3 to 4 point simplistic presentations of ideology, followed by (in
evangelical “churches”) the “plan of salvation” and an “invitation” to accept
Christ and “walk the isle.” In most local churches, Bible study is relegated to
Sunday School, a brief presentation of a portion of Scripture…..that is, as long
as it is in agreement (and following) a particular path as prescribed in a
“denominational quarterly.”
True churches (i.e., groups of Christians) should be dedicated to the serious
study of the Word (and which may be led by “pastor-teachers” [Ephesians
4:11] —mistranslated in the KJV as “pastors and teachers”) and leave
the presentation of the Gospel of Grace (often called “soul-winning”) to the
Christians as part of their lives outside of the church.
To
your question regarding me, I can only say that I have endeavored to attend a
number of evangelical local churches in this area. But unfortunately, at this
time, I have found none that follow God’s direction regarding the in-depth
teaching of the Word. The local evangelical church that I previously attended
became upset with me because when I taught in Sunday School I would only teach
as I believed God’s Spirit directed me, not in accordance with their published
denomination quarterly. That being the case, I left the church and initiated a
“home church,” which has seen some notable fruit.
At
this present time I do not attend a “physical church” as you have described. I
trust you will understand.
Also, I don’t believe I’ll initiate another composition regarding the subject,
since I really go into this in more detail on my website in a composition called
“The Home Church”— see
http://bibleone.net/home-church.htm
.
Charles
PS. I thought I would include the following from “The Home Church,” which is on
my website.
Then there is the problem of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:15), a
development that formed early in Church history and is prevalent in most local
churches today. An accurate description of this particular aspect within local
churches throughout the dispensation is given by Arlen L. Chitwood in his book,
Judgment Seat of Christ, as follows:
Following the warning to the
church in Ephesus, reference is made to the “Nicolaitans” (an Anglicized
form of the compound Greek word, nikolaites [from nike, “a
victor,” “a conqueror”; and laos, “people”]). Thus, the word “Nicolaitans”
means, “to conquer [be victorious over] the people.”
Within Church history, there
is no record of a group of individuals known by the name, “Nicolaitans”
— in the church in Ephesus [2:6], or in any other first-century church
(note that a reference to the “Nicolaitans” is also repeated in the
epistle to the church in Pergamos [2:15]). And, when coming across a
reference of this nature, there is only one thing that can be done in order to
understand that which the Lord meant by using this word (whether by Christians
during the first century, or by Christians today). The use of “Nicolaitans”
would have to be understood as a reference to the actions of a group of
individuals, described by the meaning of the word itself.
From the meaning of the word,
a reference to the “Nicolaitans” could only be understood as a reference to
individuals forming a hierarchy within the Church, ruling over the people.
And these individuals were undoubtedly responsible, at least in part, for the
existing conditions in Ephesus near the end of the first century, as well as the
conditions subsequently seen existing in Pergamos (and possibly in one or more
of the other five churches, though this is not mentioned).
Sadly, the “doctrine of the Nicolaitans” is seen in the clearly
established and ornate hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, a hierarchy
somewhat mirrored by certain liberal (in their theology) Protestant
denominations; but, unfortunately, is also followed to some degree in many
evangelical denominations and their local churches. It is not uncommon for
certain bishops, pastors, elders, deacons, and others to establish a
“chain-of-command,” which requires a degree of inordinate “veneration” and
“submission” from the “lay” congregation.
That is why, particularly in these last days, it is indeed advantageous for
Christians who thirst after the solid food (meat) of God’s Word, which alone
leads to righteousness (faithfully believing all of the Word and living for
Christ), to endeavor to contact other like-minded Christians and set up a “home
church” in one of their residences. To do this will often provide them the
following benefits:
1.
An
environment free of hierarchical rule.
2.
An
environment promoting increased communication, fellowship, personal attention,
and love among the participants.
3.
An
environment that promotes serious study of God’s Word at a pace conducive to
efficacious assimilation of truth.
4.
An
environment that will promote spiritual growth and eventual maturity.
Many pastors of evangelical local churches, with which this writer is best
acquainted, attempt to deliver a pulpit primary message (sermon) emphasizing the
plan of salvation in an effort to reach any lost person (anyone who has never
been eternally saved) in the congregation. The sermon is then most often
followed by a call (an invitation) for any who will place their faith in Christ
for their personal eternal salvation to so indicate their decision by coming
forward (or by some other means). This is accomplished due to the pastor’s
sincere belief that this order of events is the principal aim or purpose of a
local church service. And although this writer finds no fault with presenting
the means of eternal salvation at the end of a church service (in fact it is
recommended should there be any doubt as to the spiritual make-up of the
congregation), for a pastor to believe this is the primary reason for the
service can only mean he is misguided.
The
primary purpose of a local church service, be it on Sundays (morning or evening)
or any other day of the week, is to systematically teach those who have been
saved the entire Word of God , with the ultimate goal of allowing immature
Christians to become mature Christians and increasing the growth of mature
Christians to ever higher levels of spiritual maturity.