It was the 4th century that our belief was hijacked by the Romans, pagan traditions were added and gave us Christianity as we know it today: a mixture of paganism and Biblical truth. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in HaMashiach. However, I will send the link to you via email. (For a fuller explanation of Hebrews 13:17, read Authority and Accountability in the Bible.). Whatever we do through lack of faith is sin. The temple was filled with riots and revelling Gentiles. In the church as described in the New Testament, nobody holds spiritual authority over anyone else simply because they hold an office (or position). The verse below also describes an ecclesiastical assembly, not a church. Jesus tells us that that true spiritual leaders are only servants, never masters. Now what is the connection between the Lord and Baal? Deconstruction or reconstruction? Source: Hebrews 13:24, King James Version (KJV). I view membership, formal membership as belittling the miracle of what GOD has done already in placing believers into HIS church when HE saved us (Acts 2:47). However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. The church refused, stating, The covenant that you entered into when you became a member does not permit you to resign during circumstances such as these., Despite her break with the church and even after her lawyer sent two cease-and-desist letters asking church officials to stop contacting her she received a letter from the churchs elders that said, in part, if you will not re-engage in conversation or repent of your own sinful response then we are called to continue to pursue you., In their letter, the church leaders outlined their intended course of action, which included sharing details of her sinful response with others [if] we have not heard from you by December 23rd .. Youre welcome Tammy. Setting up a religious power base was the original intent as the Christian religion was used to unite, conquer and spread the power of the Roman Empire. Thank you for going out of your way and knowing you would receive much hate for the truth. Other things commonly added by church policies or covenants are: regular attendance of church services (the Bible says nothing about this: see Hebrews 10:25: What Are We Not To Forsake?; faithful tithing (the New Covenant does not require tithing: see What the Bible Says About Tithing and Christian Giving; submission to an accountability partner (a concept foreign to the Bible: see Authority and Accountability in the Bible; completion of a class before being baptized and becoming a member (Acts 2:41; 8:38; 10:47-48; 16:14-15, 31-33 show the people being baptized the same day they believed the Gospel); and an age requirement for baptism and membership (while the Bible does not teach that infants who cannot understand and believe the Gospel should be baptized, it does not teach a specific age requirementanyone who understands and believes the Gospel should be baptized; this can sometimes include young children). A church covenant or church membership policy, then, is a legalistic usurpation of the grace of the New Covenant. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Your call. They do not understand what a covenant really is or how it could effect their lives. It is found only twice in the original translation, yet it is used over 100 times to replace the called-out assembly, the true assembly of the Bible. So when we say the institutional church is not biblical, we dont say it to make Christians feel bad. She told her pastors that shortly after she and her then-husband had completed several months of biblical counseling, the man had reverted to his abusive behavior. It is clear that believers in New Testament churches knew who was in and not in their particular church. Just as a body cannot exist without its individual parts, a local church cannot exist without its parts (i.e., members) its covenanted believers. This results in false teachings by pastors who unknowingly are shepherds leading the sheep astray (blind leaders of the blind). His name, and his religious and political appointments, are written on the basement of St Peters Basilica, together with the names of a long list of other Roman senators, spanning a period from 305 to 390. His book is a breath of fresh air to all who have been subjected to spiritual abuse fostered by fraudulent authority. The biblical model of the church moves one from viewing the church as an organization or institution to seeing her as an organism or a body, properly called the Body of Christ. What can those who support church membership learn and improve upon? Becoming a church member means leaving behind the comfort of individualism and voluntarily allowing yourself to be bound to others. One helpful way to do this is by utilizing a church covenant. Yea, many also of the Israelites consented to his religion and sacrifice unto idols and profaned the sabbaths. 1. It is part of our articles of incorporation.. 2 Co 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for Elohim loveth a cheerful giver. Notice that several elements are present: Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold. The sun god was a famous god among the pagans but with many different names, including Baal and Mithras. The original ecclesiastical assembly was hated by the state, which sought ways in which it could wipe them out. Ruach HaKodesh (3) But my research on that generation shows they are leaving churches because those churches are focused on themselves. As a matter of fact, about 90% of the words in the King James Bible are German in origin. How do you explain the biblical basis for church membership tosomeone who is new to the faith or resistant to church membership? These are just three of the many pagans symbols in the church. Notice this from a very common Baptist church covenant that is usually considered to be quite innocuous. I hope that my book will have a role in turning that type of attitude upside down. Pharisees (2) messiah (3) feast (3) The other religions of the Roman Empire had public meeting places, but the Natsarims met in private houses even though it brought persecution upon them. Church membership offers numerous benefits that contribute to a well-rounded spiritual life. Also, every man build something but the builder of all things is God, institutional Churches are medium through which God passes to achieve His goal. His biographer Eusebius hails him as the new Moses, but Constantine was baptized only on his death bed, and he never stopped minting coins with mithraic symbols on one side and Christian on the opposite; he even erected in Constantinople a colossal statue of himself wrapped up in mithraic symbols. Thirdly to kill oneself is because of lack of faith. It would appear Galatians 1:8-9 is no longer in the bible: Gal 1:8 9 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other good news (gospel) unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. And other lies are endless. Persons responding to our posts on social media appear to have little or no idea how much deception we are under. Christ himself build his church..mat 16:18..and jesus loved the church that is why he gave his ownlife for it..ephesians 5:25..and it is the church that christ will save ..ephesians5:23..so the church is very important in the salvation of mankind..you will not be save unless your inside the church built by christ..so rejecting the church means rejecting eternal life..not only that you do not value the life of jesus..christ purchase the church with his own blood..acts 20:28..so those who do not value what christ did for the church are those who are against christand the number one who is against christ is satan..so I someone will say that church is not important not biblical dont believe that person because he is an agent of satan..his purpose is to confuse you and turn away from christso dont be deceive stand firm in your faith with christ.. You obviously did not read carefully, Jerol. should we worship the Messiah (10) Some of these legal documents appear quite innocent. That perspective may also help believers understand their roles inside and outside their church facilities walls. 20:2528). The Biblical Basis of Church Membership. Later the European powers used it to conquer the so-called new world. This they did in what has been graphically described as with a gun in one hand and a Bible in another.. So the word church has occultic meaning. Less than a month after finalizing the ouster of one of its largest churches for having women pastors, the Southern Baptist Convention has lost another of its biggest . Many people will take me to task for this, but tithing is not for the called out new covenant assembly. And for this cause YAHUAH shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. When we call our Father the Lord, we are actually calling him Baal!!! This was the time of Constantine the Great, who was emperor of the Roman Empire from A.D. 306 to 337. In those cases, we must enter into the rescue operation that we call church discipline (Matt. Chapter 22: Do You Think of a Building with a Steeple or a Body of People? But the question is whether the Bible tells elders that they are to have a special responsibility and care for a certain . Although Scripture does not contain an explicit command to formally join a local church, the biblical foundation for church membership permeates the New Testament. In conclusion, church policies are legalistic and stifling, contrary to the grace of the New Covenant, confused in their ecclesiology, and easily lead to spiritual abuse and cultism. I follow yeshua and yaweh, i dont want to be called anything or be a part of a large movement of corporate bible fakers. Permissions Statement. Kale is a verb that means to call.. For if he that cometh preacheth another Yahusha, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. They are ignorant of the truth that it is a false pagan institution. If you take the time to read his book youd understand that he is well-informed on this topic. So, Baal or Baal was a general term used to describe the several false deities, especially sun deities. They crossed all their doctrinal ts and dotted all their ecclesiological isbut they lost their first love. Now the protestant church fathers removed the Apocrypha (that includes the Macabees) from the Bible because they say they are not inspired. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". It made the faith the official religion of the people under those emperors. Neither was it lawful for a man to keep the sabbath days or ancient feasts or profess himself at all to be a Jew. The vast majority of members, however, change churches or leave churches because of a sense of entitlement. In most English Bibles, it is translated as church in all of those places except three. (The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., 1910, Vol. Others make you sign away certain rights and/or force you into making specific promises. We may ask them to give a more in-depth explanation of the gospel or of their profession of faith than Scripture requires. Different authors have traced many of our church words to pagan mythology, especially Greek, Roman, Babylonian, and German or Teutonic mythology. sin (7) It does not mean obedience the way the western mind thinks of obedience. His will moves us. But it gets more interesting than that! It was Constantine, who worshipped Mithra as his god and he converted the house of Baal into the Christian house or church. Is there anything else that I could bring up in our discussion? They also help us analyze general site traffic so we can improve the website for everyone. Destroy our temple? This is a very different understanding of membership than Costco or country clubs! First of all, the commandment says thou shalt not murder. Killing oneself is indeed commiting murder. Together with it he took also upon himself a long series of other prerogatives, titles, symbols, objects and possessions, that passeden massefrom Mithraism to Christianity. primary source or archeology) to support this claim? Specifically, cultural ideas of membership lack the element of covenant. What does your book offer to church leaders, members, and attenders who have been burned by this type of experience in a local church? It all worked out quite nicely for him because he now had both the church and the state under his control. A survey by Gallup finds that in 2020, 47 percent of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue, or mosque, down from 50 percent in 2018 and 70 percent in 1999. I was the church musician, and the pastor believed that he was next in authority to Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, when we break away from Christianity, we often continue in church, which is still a Greco-Roman neo-pagan Christian institution. Well, let us do so by looking at the biblical assembly as well as the historic changes that brought us church as we know it. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Master Yahusha: and great grace was upon them all. Pastoring is hard. So how did this adjective that means Lords come to be the origin of our English noun church? A church covenant, recited during membership meetings and at other appropriate times, can serve as a reminder of biblical membership expectations. So we have been warned, why not let us stop to see if we are among those who have been led astray? I am an asian American gentile and i wish i could talk about the scripture with like minded individuals without being attacked for what i find to be true if its scripture. 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. Unbiblical bible schools teach the innocent truth mixed with lies, They now lead the innocent into a ditch (Mat 15:14). Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our. Surely youre not referring to these wandering stars? Other religions have temples, synagogues or mosques, but only Christianity has . Cultivating a Culture of Fear of Church Discipline. In response, the other believers, together as a group, seriously agree (covenant) to engage in complementary practices, such as guiding, teaching and gently disciplining the individual. But the policies and stipulations in most church covenants can quickly turn abusive in churches where criticism or even questioning is seen as an offence. Church Membership Isn't Biblical, Is It? Whichever term we use, it is still Gentiles called into Israel and not Israel called into a Christian religion as most Christians believe. We know both from personal experience and from our ongoing ministry that spiritual abuse is widespread. As long as your not using christmas as an idolistic ritual, i dont think its wrong to accept a gift from someone or give gifts, but i agree with them that generosity should be given everyday and not on days that are directly influenced by pagans. There is nothing in the Bible that forbids the drinking of alcoholic beverages altogether, and Paul specifically advised Timothy to use a little wine for thy stomachs sake and thine often infirmities (1 Timothy 5:23). At last count, there are over 40,000 of these denominations worldwide. I have only One High Priest who stands between me and God Jesus, the Son of God and anyone who comes between me and Jesus as I walk by His counsel and His wisdom is a detriment to my growth. In the Odyssey, an island sorceress who turned her victims by magic into beasts but was thwarted by Odysseus with the herb moly given him by Hermes-Circean, circaean adj.. Source. PDF, ePub, and Kindle files will be sent to this email address. Related Post: The One Reason There Are So Many Christian Denominations. Little churches are the Wild West of music, study finds. I could write story after story of people whove written to me about their trauma of abuse by authoritarian pastors who act as if they are Gods vicar on earth. No wonder the Messiah said wide is the gate that leads to destruction and many will enter there, but narrow is the gate that leads to life and few will find it! Gr. Contrary to what is often assumed, Natsarims did not meet in private houses to hide from persecution. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Evidence for church membership is the fact that elders are called to shepherd local churches and will be held accountable for doing so. Modern uses of the word member differ significantly from the Bibles use of the concept. What the publishers of this book seem not to realize is that, while it might be a wrong approach for churches to ask the government to pass laws to change peoples behavior, it is even worse for churches to legalistically impose moral codes on their members. 2Ti 4:2 4 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. It has its foundation in sorcery. Its a lot like parenting. They were set apart from the world. However, Scripture primarily refers to the church (Greek: ekklesia) as local believer fellowships or groups of believer fellowships in a particular area. The commonly known Illuminati symbol the Eye of Providence, or the All-Seeing Eye (circle within the triangle) is shown in the church above. great tribulation (3) Jesus said that anything you have to do that goes beyond your simple words of Yes and No is from the evil one (Matthew 5: 37). You raise your children, you instruct them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, and you pray they will embrace Christ and follow him all the days of their lives. Unfortunately, our low-commitment culture may tempt us to impose unbiblical expectations. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Messiah; and shall deceive many. All rights reserved. Tyndale created problems early on in his translation of the scriptures into English. 5:14). Istoria Ministries. The offices of leadership show church membership is assumed. 18), Book Review: The Shepherds Toolbox, by Timothy Z. Witmer, A Few Ways Pastors Wives Serve Their Husbands, Pastor: Help Your Congregation Navigate Gay Pride Month, Book Review: God Redeeming His Bride, by Robert K. Cheong, Why Our Church Moved from Elder-Rule Polity to Elder-Led Congregationalism. I dont believe everything the Jehovah witnesses preach like never accepting gifts during Christmas because its a pagan holiday. Oh, before we do that, lets look at the warning we got about this deception. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Take a Look . Until Christians get rid of the religious Pharaseeitical spirit and decide to prove all things (1 Thess 5:21), you will continue to be misled by this false Greco-Roman religion which syncretizes the faith of the true Hebrew followers of the Messiah with that of Mithraism and other pagan forms of religion. Source: Hebrews 13:7, King James Version (KJV), Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. Satan the deceiver continues to lead us to give him honour through his religions and their traditions. But lets not make joining a church exasperating and overly difficult. There's one problem. Also, it included a three page covenant to show what things we could not be involved in, which I also understand that we need to be following God and not doing immoral things. That was from about the time of the Messiah and Apostles (1st century) until Christianity was accepted by Constantine in the 4th century and made the official religion of Rome (4th century). It was the same Praetextatus, as prefect of the town, who defended Damasus against his opponents, on 367, and confirmed him as bishop of Rome. They see church membership to be similar to country club membership. We have shown both biblical and historical evidence as such. Source: Burleson, Wade. Required fields are marked *. A person simply breaks away from a church and starts his own, usually because of doctrinal differences from his church of origin. This is absolutely disobedient to Galatians 5:1: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. These covenants remind me of Exodus 19:8: And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. But, of course, they did not do all that the law said. We want to dismiss members from the church in such a way that theyre under the care of another local church and another set of loving pastors. We were indirectly warned about the radical changes that would bring about the institutional church. I tell just a couple of stories in this book. 2:2), leading them to the green pastures of his Word and protecting them from the threats of savage wolves (Acts 20:2831). Act 5:13 15 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them. Furthermore, Scripture requires believers to gather in Christs name, which implies a church knows what a members candidate believes and the candidate knows what the church believers. The New Covenant contains law, but it never condemns. It is therefore more instructional than corrective. Per section 10.5 of The Village Church bylaws, you are prohibited from voluntarily resigning membership while subject to the formal disciplinary process. The phallus played a role in the cult of Osiris in the ancient Egyptian religion. We see in Acts 2:37-47 that there is a numerical record of those who have professed Christ and been filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 41) and an acknowledgement that the church was tracking the growth (v. 47). Is it helpful? Thom Rainer, President of Lifeway Christian Resources, helps people rethink church membership in light of new research Image courtesy of Lifeway Christian Resources. He can no longer have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his mother." Chapter 23: A Word about Authority in Marriage, Chapter 24: The Divorce Rate and Men Who Have Authority in Marriage, Chapter 25: A Warning to Those Who Rule Over Others for Material Gain. Neither should you swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. Matt Chandler. Individual believers made up the congregations on the receiving end of letters. The one thing that they have in common is that they all are patres of Mithras. 506. You may view the full pdf here. They are, after all, a set of laws that a member binds him- or herself to keep. So, the admonition is, dont stubbornly disbelieve the leaders so that they can do their duty with joy. The reference is to the temple and goddess of Diana of the Ephesians. The following are excerpts from a pdf by Word of His Grace and reveal some startling historical truths about how the ekklesia of the 1st century became the church. Juan Sanchez is the preaching pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas. Individual believers in a local church seriously agree (covenant) to engage in certain practices, such as participation and using their gifts to serve the congregation. The new Israel is gathered under the one shepherd, Yahusha. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one bodyJews or Greeks, slaves or freeand all were made to drink of one Spirit. The Apostle Paul wrote that letter to a local body of believers at Corinth, and he wrote several other letters to local congregations in specific places. By The Associated Press. Why dont we seek to take ourselves away from all evil (1 Thess 5:22)? And who wants to be a member of that church? The problem of where ancient Jerusalem was built gets thornier, Thousands protest in Iraq for a second day over burning of Quran in Sweden, UCC elects first woman and first woman of African descent to lead denomination, Halted appointment of theology dean rocks the Vatican and beyond. Sabbath (13) Expecting More of Members than Scripture Does. Submission to Christ Christ is the Head of his church (Eph 1.22-23; 4.15), the King of his kingdom (Matt 28.18; Heb 2.8-9; 1 Cor 15.25; cf. Hence church as we know it is not in the original word of YAHUAH. He retained the idea that worship is public and expected Christians to follow that paradigm. The Natsarims (early name of the believers) held most of their meetings at night and in secret. During seminary, I was a full-time student working three jobs (and barely making it). Why Is Church Membership So Important? Her church subsequently ruled that she had violated its covenant by failing to obtain church leaders permission to file for an annulment. It is an organization originally setup to propagate religion through sacred buildings under the guidance of the state. It is a preposition that means out of, out from, or from. The second part of ekklsiaklsiais a derivative of the Greek word kale. However, most of us are not aware of the church being a false tool of the devil. They inherently cause us to judge one another and to not trust that God is leading a believer on a walk that is between him or her and God: Who art thou that judgest another mans servant? The scriptural model for Church life is one of gifted people, anointed by the Spirit and recognized by the people, functioning as a gift to the whole body, teaching and equipping ALL in the body to do the work of ministry as described in Ephesians 4: 11-13: So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4: 11-13). Israel (5) When a Christian signs a church covenant that demands submission to elders/ pastors, he or she is enabling that institutional church to maintain an authoritarian structure. 6. Church, an organization that has its roots in sorcery and the occult cannot be the called out assembly of YAHUAH. We have been so desensitized for so many years that when the truth is spoken we cant hear. Their being watchful shepherds is their giving account. Pocket. The obedience of Hebrews 13: 17 is due to an internal reasoning and agreement that results from persuasion, not an external conformity that is the result of authoritative control. video (7), as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in HaMashiach, Neither was there any among them that lacked, of the rest durst no man join himself to them, called out ones, set apart ones, assembly, called out assembly, or congregation. And to pollute the temple in Jerusalem, and called it the temple of Jupiter Olympius and that in Garizm of Jupiter, the defender of strangers. To be a church member means we are a member of Christ's bodyjust like your finger is a member of your body. Whether or not you have ever taken a serious look, let us start there and see the nature of the first new covenant assembly.

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