The Pressure of the Modern System of Church Gatherings

The pressure of the modern cultural church system is intense and leaves baby Christians to think they must do all the things those more "seasoned" Christians do in attending a large gathering in a building designated as the "holy place."

 
When Christ changed me into a new creation, I was under the delusion that the way all the other "Evangelicals" did it was the right way, and I sought to be like them, until I prayed for wisdom and truth about everything all the time.

 
Then the Lord opened my eyes, the more I prayed for wisdom, the more uncomfortable I felt with what I was doing and what my friends were doing, the things they were saying and the ways they were acting were so prideful and superior that it repulsed me.

 
Matthew 23:15 "… 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are."

There was then, and even much more now, a sense of arrogance in the church gatherings. They preached love but did not demonstrate it the way God wrote about it in His Word.

Correction was disallowed within the gathering if the correction came from an "underling," not the designated "paid-pastor." And, all the other underlings were not to be corrected by one of their peers; the designated paid-pastor was allowed to correct others, at least in the minds of the "underlings."

Even those who had been Christians for many years and followed certain men thought it was arrogant for an "underling" to correct one of their favorite elevated men, educated in a seminary. They used scripture out of context to intimidate the underling from criticizing the elite pastor.

There was and is a sort of idolatry present when a "pastor" walked into the room. Anyone who did not elevate him as special was considered rebellious.

Status for the paid-pastor was and is enormous and raised to the level of "vicar for Christ", at least in their thinking, even if they would deny it, they resented anyone who would correct the designated "Vicar."

 
When we place any person above Christ, that person is an idol.

 
Romans 12:16 "
Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation."

There is a sort of specialness by osmosis when someone elevates and associates with the designated exceptional personage. Sadly, this mentality creates pride in the one being elevated; often, they become incensed that anyone would dare challenge them. And all those who follow them are also antagonistic toward the one who desires truth over status.

Everyone has a job in the body of Christ, and everyone is equal; the only elevated One is the Holy Spirit. He alone is to be trusted; everything else anyone says is to be tested through the Word of God.

 
1 Corinthians 12:12-26
"12 For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body is not one part, but many.

 15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.

 16 And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.

 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, just as He desired.

19 If they were all one part, where would the body be?
20 But now there are many parts, but one body.
21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again, the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
22 On the contrary, it is much truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;
23 and those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and our less presentable parts become much more presentable,
24, whereas our more presentable parts have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked,
25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another.
26 And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is honored, all the parts rejoice with it."

It is mankind in their arrogance who have elevated some spiritual gifts above others. God never did that; all the gifts are from Him for His purposes, and no one was superior to another. Because of this, no part of the body is elevated above another, no part of the body is without need for teaching and correction, edification and discipline.

 
Those who act as though one gift that comes from God is better than another gift is denying God's purpose in all things.

 
We ought not to question the purposes of God; we cannot understand all that God is doing, and should be humble enough to admit it.

 
Isaiah 55:9 "…8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. 9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."

No man is more special than another, no gift is more special than another, it is only Christ Who is above all!!!!

And, final thought, it seems to me that the most used people mentioned in the Bible were those who were thought of as lesser by their peers. Just saying!

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No paid man-made hierarchy in the gathering of born-again believers.

Recently, I engaged in a conversation with a sister in Christ. She was concerned that my husband and I were not attending a "church".

 
Here is what I told her.
"I am a dedicated Christ-born-again believer, which is why I left the unbiblical organized church system. Christ never commanded us to do church the way that system operates."

 
"He never told us to "go to church." He said Where two or three are gathered in His name, there is He in the midst. According to the Scriptures, we can meet on any day at any time with anyone who is a sibling in Christ."

 
"Those who are born-again are the church; Our body is the temple, and we worship in Spirit and Truth, not with our bodies or particular places."

 
"When we study the Bible with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can see how much is wrong with these apostate gatherings. They say some right things, but many things they believe are wrong. And, the denominations are against God's Word."

Unquote

 
God told us to agree, which means we seek Christ until we agree according to the Bible. God said we serve Him with our bodies, but we do not engage in man-made rituals that deter us from edifying one another in the Spirit.
The purpose of the gathering is to build one another in the faith so that we become strong enough to share the gospel with the lost and live out our Christianity boldly and unashamedly.

 
1 Thessalonians 5:11
"11 Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing."

This encouragement is not praise for good deeds done, it is encouragement to keep remaining faithful to God's Word in our walk. Thankfulness that one is walking in good deeds is included but it is not praise to build pride.

 
Hebrews 3:13
"But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness."

Ephesians 4:29
"Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen."

Romans 14:19
"So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification."

Definition of Edification: Improvement of the mind and understanding.

 
Romans 14:19
"19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another."

Ephesians 4:14-16 "…14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.
16 From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part."

Because we love someone, we tell the truth; their response to the truth does not lie with us. When we speak the truth, we do it to help someone continue to obey God or to begin obeying God. It is not done with malice to impress or intimidate anyone; it is done because of our love for them.

 
Those who are prideful and resistant to correction will misinterpret our motives and come against us because of their pride, not because we did something wrong.
The gathering of believers has become a social club with everyone walking on eggshells, promoting good feelings without important life lessons to grow one another in the faith.

 
Some Christians are coming out of the organized 501c3 organizations led by men and not by the Holy Spirit because of all the unbiblical and worldly practices and attitudes that go on in them.

 
Colossians 1:28
"We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ."

All believers proclaim Him, all admonish and teach everyone in all wisdom. The only leader is the Holy Spirit, and those who are designated as shepherds are subject to everyone else in the gathering. No one has authority over anyone else; we are all admonished to speak the truth using the Scriptures.