Unchurched

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People would have to be in a hypnotic state to believe that Christ wanted them to pray at a modern Church building but if they actually need anything they should go to "men who exercise authority one over the other"?
Jesus was so clear[1] that His disciples were instructed to not be that way.
While the Testaments are also clear that you may legally apply for a multitude of benefits through a socialist state, but not without consequences. Dependence upon "legal charity" will make you "merchandise", "curse children" and bring again the captivity of Egypt. This is undoubtedly why both the Testaments tells us not to covet.
Those gifts, gratuities, and benefits are the wages of unrighteousness which destroy liberty and degenerate the people into perfect savages because they are the dainties and deceitful meats of rulers provided through the covetous practices of the world which "makes the word of God to none effect".
But the modern Christian does that every day to get free schooling for their children, and social security for their parents and a myriad of other public benefits imagining they are not "workers of iniquity".
How is that the daily ministration of the early Church, the table of the LORD which is not a snare? How is fhat seeking the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness? The Christian conflict with Rome was with the welfare system of the Imperial Cult of Rome and the public religion of the world and others like Herod and the Pharisees which was again "making the word of God to none effect".
We are to live by faith, hope, and charity which is love according to The Way of Christ and not the force, fear, and fealty which was the the ways of the world.

"Unchurched" as an adjective is defined as "not belonging to or connected with a church". When concerning religious participation, it refers specifically to people who do not attend worship services. A worship services or "church service" or sometimes called a "service of worship" is a formal group or communal gathering to perform a wide variety of what is often called "worship" in some ceremonial or ritualistic Christian tradition generally involving some form of clergy.

According to one christian polling group if someone does not attend a church for 6 months they can be counted as unchurched. That makes for wide range of people who would be classified as unchurched. The reasons for not attending Church can be very broad and unrelated.

There are people who claim to be "unchurched" who are seeking to deconstruct the modern "organized church" model which they find unsatisfactory while at the same time seeking ways of establishing genuine church community centered around a faith in Christ and His Way. Many of the people labeled as the unchurched have made a conscious decision to go about things a different way than the paths and practices offered by the Modern Churches of today.

These unchurched people have often attempted to adapt themselves into a paradigm presented by variety of modern church communities with neither satisfaction nor success. They are often seeking an intimate group environment through which they might grow and thrive. Their attempts to conform to the different Church practices often fail. But the question naturally arises as to the reason for this failure to conform or fit into these church paradigms.

There is also another question too often neglected by the modern Christian. Does the modern Church conform to the original intent of the early Church community?

Is the problem with the unchurched or is it with the Modern Church?

What was the Church meant to be?

The Church, or ekklesia as we see in Greek, was appointed by Christ who was not only the rightful king of Judea but also a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. While the church included numerous forms of fellowship, it was not a social club and certainly not merely a community. Besides being at the center of a community and part of the Christian society, it was also a unique form of government that operated by what James would call the perfect law of liberty.

The early Church in its most general sense was a community of people that sought to follow The Way of Christ. We can only hope to conform to Christ by doing the will of the Father.[2]

While the modern Church and the modern Christians are often not doing the will of the Father, nor are they doing all the things Christ commanded, yet it is also true, they are not the only ones who fail to do His will. By simply being the unchurched, there is no reason to believe that the unchurched are actually going into or following The Way of Christ.

It is up to every soul to seek that kingdom and to strive to know what the righteousness of God looks like.

An important question might be, "What is worship?", or "What is religious worship?", or "What is "religion?", since the definitions of these words have changed over the years. Today "worship" has been defined as "reverent honor and homage paid to God", while "worship service" has been defined as "to show profound religious devotion and respect to; adore or venerate (God or any person or thing considered divine)".

But paying homage to God and Jesus is not just saying that you love him or praising him with your lips. If we examine the Bible we see Jesus saying in Luke 6:46, "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"[3] and in Exodus 20:5 we see, "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;".

This reference to bowing down is a form of or at least a part of the idea of worship in the sense of homage or adoration, but worship also includes actual serving.

This reference to actual service to God in the form of services performed by people strengthening others seems to be at the core of Christ's teachings and His purposes as we see in Luke 22:27 "For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth." and in John 12:26 "If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour."

In John 12:26 we see this reference to actual service beyond mere ritual or ceremony of the Modern Church. And again in Luke 12:37 "Blessed [are] those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them."

There was a church appointed by Christ that "continued daily with one accord in the temple, dividing bread from house to house so that the people were able to eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart".[4] This distribution of bread and provisions by the ministers of the Church, trained and appointed by Christ, was different from that free bread distributed by Rome. It was the product of faith, hope and charity through that perfect law of liberty of James, and it was not merely the distribution of a ritualized wafer of bread. It was a form of social welfare through the practice of Pure Religion which consisted of the community of Christians engaged in the Eucharist of Christ. It was the result of the true love of one another in action that out-performed the government welfare of Rome and the Corban of Judea, and it was at the core of the Christian conflict.

Christianity was never just a feeling nor a fancy. Christians had changed their thinking about the Corban of the Pharisees and Rome, and they were diligently seeking the Kingdom of God and the righteousness of God through mutual sacrifice and a daily ministration of charity.

Being "Unchurched" is not enough. We must strive to be conformed to Christ.

We were warned of false Christs and prophets[5] deceiving many[6] except by the grace of God.

Are some of the unchurched those who sense that deception, see the hypocrisy and apostasy of the modern Church?

Are they willing to go deeper and see the whole truth, which many fail to see, and provide for it?

Many will imagine themselves saved in the Church and out but they are actually workers of iniquity. [7]

And we were told in Matthew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

But to be perfected in Christ we must except the whole gospel and be of one mind[8] which will require repentance.

God wishes to open our eyes so that we may see that whole truth of His Kingdom of God.[9]

We must continue to act with love concerning those things we see so that God may continue to remove the scales from our eyes[10] and give us the sight and insight to see the truth of the Christian conflict

We must cleanse ourselves of the covetous practices that have become acceptable in the Modern Church by walking in all the ways of Christ and setting the table of His Daily ministration in Pure Religion.[11]

Told from the beginning


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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 21:43 "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof."
    Luke 12:32 "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
    Luke 22:25 "And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: "
    Matthew 20:25 "But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them."
    Mark 10:42 "But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them."
  2. Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
    Matthew 12:50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
    Matthew 18:14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
    Matthew 21:31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
    John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
    Matthew 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
    Matthew 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
    Luke 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
  3. The following are given as cross references:
    Luke 13:25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
    Luke 13:26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
    Luke 13:27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
    Malachi 1:6 ¶ A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
    Matthew 7:21 ¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
    Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
    Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
    Matthew 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
    Matthew 25:24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
    Matthew 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
    John 13:13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
    John 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.
    John 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
    John 13:16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
    John 13:17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
    Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
  4. Acts 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
  5. Matthew 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
    Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
    Mark 13:6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ[anointed]; and shall deceive many.
  6. Matthew 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
    Matthew 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
    Matthew 27:63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
    Mark 13:5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
    Luke 21:8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
    John 7:12 And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people.
    John 7:47 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?
    Romans 7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
    Romans 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
    1 Corinthians 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
    1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
    1 Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
    Galatians 6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
    Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
    Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
    Ephesians 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
    2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
    1 Timothy 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
    2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
    Titus 1:10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
    Titus 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
    James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
    1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
    1 John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
    2 John 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
    Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
    Revelation 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
    Revelation 18:23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
    Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
    Revelation 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
    Revelation 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
    Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
  7. Ezekiel 28:15 Thou [wast] perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
  8. 2 Corinthians 13:11 ¶ Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
  9. John 9:39 ¶ And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. 40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? 41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
  10. Job 41:15 His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.
    Acts 9:18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
  11. 2 Corinthians 7:1 ¶ Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.