The Real Church

To most people the word church is associated with a building, usually with a steeple and stained-glass windows.

A newer perception may be more along the lines of a concert hall or even an office block. Along with the building is a hierarchy of board members, a preacher, a congregation, and, overseeing it all, an organisation. It could be Baptist, Catholic, Anglican, Uniting, Assemblies of God or one of thousands of others.

Church is generally perceived to be a place that you go to.

But is this the church that’s described in the bible?

No!

The church is in two forms, the universal church and the local church.

The Universal Church – The Body Of Christ

The universal church is the body of Christ, of which He is the head.

Ephesians 1:22–23 tells us that, God placed all things under Jesus’ feet (His authority) and appointed him to be head over the church, which is his body.

The biblical meaning of church is not that of a building, but of people.

The Body of Christ (the universal church) is made up of all believers in Jesus Christ from the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) until the day the entire true church will be snatched from the earth at the end of the church age.

The universal church consists of everyone, everywhere, who has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ according to 1 Corinthians 12:13. Anyone who believes is part of the body of Christ and has received the Spirit of Christ as evidence.

It is an entity made up of redeemed followers of Christ from every nation and era Matthew 16:18; Hebrews 12:23. When the Bible speaks of a “church,” it means believers in Christ 1 Corinthians 12:27 and Romans 12:5.

The universal church is built on nothing else but Jesus Christ – The Rock Matthew 16:17 – 18 and 1 Corinthians 10:4.

The Local Church

The local church is described in Galatians 1:1–2: “Paul, an apostle . . . and all the brothers with me, to the churches in Galatia.”

Here we see that in the province of Galatia there were many churches. These churches were gatherings of groups of believers.

The early Christians did not have designated buildings for their meetings. They met in private homes Colossians 4:15; Philemon 1:2.

For the first 300 years after the day of Pentecost, when the Church (the body of Christ) was born, it suffered hideous persecution from a succession of Roman emperors. Execution and diabolical torture of Christians was commonplace and a constant threat to everyone who professed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

Yet, in spite of this ever present threat, the church grew at a rapid pace, spreading throughout the known world.

It’s hard for us today, who still enjoy a freedom to choose our beliefs, to imagine the depth of conviction it must have taken to be a believer in Jesus Christ, knowing that at any time you and your family could be tortured and executed.

It should, however, never be forgotten that millions of Christians around the world still face this persecution today.

Church as a building

How did the concept of the chuch being a building occur?

It started in the year AD 313 with the emperor Constantine.

Constantine claimed to have had a vision one night before a battle. In this dream he supposedly saw the Chi-Rho symbol, the first two letters of the Greek word for Christ, shining above the sun.

This changed his attitude to Christians and Christianity even though he remained a pagan who worshipped the gods of Rome, including the sun god.

It wasn’t until much later, just before his death, that he supposedly converted to Christianity. However, his Christianity had very little resemblance to the early New Testament Church. It was a watered down human designed organisation packed with pagan ritual and non Christian leaders.

Constantine issued an edict that not only ended the persecution of Christians, but made Christianity the official religion of Rome. The Roman Catholic church was born.

Corruption On A Grand Scale

In this new “legal” Christianity, the organised, institutionalised church grew with its many pagan rituals such as the replacement of the Passover feast with easter, the worship of the sun on Sunday and countless others. Many cruel manmade rituals and traditions were given root.

Opportunities for amassing great wealth and power were quickly spotted by every shyster and hustler with access to the power base. The organised church began to dictate what and how people were to believe and bought down harsh punishment for those who dissented.

Anti-Semitism grew with its hatred for and persecution of God’s chosen people, the Jews.

The Bible was only printed in Latin, and it’s printing was controlled by the church via a system of censorship. Catholic Mass, the Church’s chief religious service, was also in Latin. This meant that the people could not check whether what the priest said was actually correct.

The church sold tickets, or indulgences for money, supposedly so the rich could buy their way into Heaven while the poor could not – quite the opposite of what the Bible says. See Matthew 19:24.

Purgatory was invented to make the people believe that their loved ones who had died were in a place between heaven and hell and by paying indulgences to the church those loved ones could be released from purgatory and make their way to heaven.  This dreadful evil is still practiced today in many places.

Religious posts were often sold to whoever was willing to pay the most for them, which meant many priests did not know anything about Christianity. What they taught had very little to do with what was written in the Bible.

The organised church grew more corrupt and crueller with its inquisitions, tortures and executions.

The Reformation

In the 16^th century, the Protestant Reformation took place. This was a series of events that happened because of the corruption in the Catholic Church. People like Erasmus, Martin Luther and John Calvin saw the corruption and tried to stop it. This led to a split in the church, into Catholics and various Protestant churches.

The invention of the printing press at around this time helped spread awareness of the Church’s abuses. The Bible began to be translated into various local languages. For example, John Wycliffe and William Tyndale worked on translating it into the English language. Much of Tyndale’s translation was used in the King James version of the Bible we have today. Luther translated the Bible into German.

The common people were starting to understand the Word of God again.

People began to read the Bible in their own language, and many could see for themselves how the Catholic Church had corrupted the Christian faith. The Pope re-established the Inquisition to try to regain control and many thousands of common people were tortured and murdered.

A Freedom To Believe

Jump to the mid 1800s and we see the rise of powerful preachers and teachers such as DL Moody and Charles Spurgeon. There was a huge revival amongst Christians who flocked to hear the Word of God preached in local churches, tents and halls.

This era gave birth to a new freedom in the worship of God and the study of His Word.

Many great bible schools and seminaries sprang up and the influence of God’s Word spread near and far.

However, since then this great period of bible literacy has dramatically declined.

The Great Apostasy

Once packed local church buildings are now abandoned or almost empty. An aged remnant of that heyday struggle to keep these organisations viable.

In contrast there has been a rise in the “mega church”.

These organisations are largely tailored for the young and preach a positive lifestyle message that is popular and draws crowds.

However, the age-old message of the Gospel, that every man is a sinner and needs the redemption made available by Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, has been significantly watered down. It has been replaced with more socially acceptable lifestyle messages.

Songs with words that make a person drop to their knees have been replaced by a Sunday concert where it is difficult for the congregation to raise their voices in unity and praise.

Methods and life lessons on how to succeed make up the bulk of the preaching. The use out of context bible verses  have replaced the teaching of the powerful, everlasting WHOLE counsel of God.

Increasing attendance numbers through “Christian entertainment” has become a priority. High pressure calls to give money are hammered out to raise cash to pay for the large mortgages on the buildings and infrastructure expenses.

The “falseness” of the church seems to be returning to the world in spades. It’s now very difficult to find a true bible believing local church.

Many people are turning away from the simple faith and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and His redemption.

Of course, this is fully prophesied in the bible.

2 Timothy 4: 3- 4 (KJV) says, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables”.

While the new politically correct and popular style of church is attractive to immature Christians and even the outside world, it seldom addresses the one overriding message the world desperately needs to hear today. That is that man is hopelessly lost in sin, but God has made a way where he can be redeemed and bought back into full relationship with Him.

Church Attendance Is NOT Enough!

Many churchgoers believe that the act of regular church attendance is a requirement for a Christian. Some even believe it’s the ONLY requirement.

They can go sit in the pew on Sunday and half hear the message of the day. They can sing a couple of songs and bow their heads in prayer for a moment. They can even give of their bounty, help when required. and support other members. These are all good things to do but we must never, ever believe that they count in any way to earning God’s favour. The only way to eternal life and relationship with God is through Jesus Christ. There is NO other way by which man can be saved.

Jesus is the only way to heaven and eternal life. Such an exclusive statement may confuse, surprise, or even offend, but it is true, nonetheless. The Bible (the ONLY authority of the church) teaches that there is no other way to salvation than through Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He is not a way, as in one of many; He is the way, as in the one and only. No one, regardless of reputation, achievement, special knowledge, or personal holiness, can come to God the Father except through Jesus. The righteousness of man is as filthy rags to the Lord according to Isaiah 64:6.

What Is YOUR Church’s Authority?

In summary, the local church, and the church organisation you belong to may be good.

It is a very rewarding thing to be able to fellowship with other believers, sing praises to God together and hear the unwatered down, pure Word of God preached in a local church. However, Jesus Christ and the Word of God are the only authority and source of truth for the Body of Christ. If the preacher, the board or the organisation that your local church belongs to are representing themselves as the authority for the doctrine they preach and are teaching anything at all other than the whole Word of God, you are in trouble.

If your church does not use the bible as its sole source of doctrine it is a waste of your time at best and an eternal life-threatening deception at worst.

A church building can be important, but whether a church uses a building, a tent, a private house, or a grand stadium, it should teach biblical doctrine, proclaim the gospel of salvation, and glorify Christ.

There is only one way to eternal life, and it is not through church attendance or being a good person. No human is good, not one! We have ALL fallen short of the glory of God. We are each of us a sinner and we are in desperate need of a saviour. We have One. His name is Jesus Christ.
Call on His name and believe on Him before it’s too late.