Why I Don't Go To Church Like I Should.
Revelation 2:14-15 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
The Bible itself does not define Nicolaitanism. Revelation 2:6 declares, "But this you [the Ephesian church] have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." Jesus later says to the Pergamos church, "Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate" (verse 15). While these verses provide no definition, they tell us three things:
1. Nicolaitanism is a belief system, like a religion or a philosophy.
2. Nicolaitanism results in ungodly behavior.
3. Christ hates it vehemently.
What is this thing about the church that Jesus issued such a strong indictment? There were no words of love poured out, he simply said, "...I hate." If Jesus hated this doctrine we ought to explore the deeds of the Nicolaitans to see what role (it) they play in the church today.
In this age of the Internet and Google, it is easy to research the meaning and the philosophy of the Nicolaitans. Yet, there are those who wish to uphold their indoctrinated views of Christianity will maintain that there is a difference in the scripture meaning of the word hate and the dictionary meaning of the word. This is like saying there is a difference in day rain and the night rain. There are those who will defend these practices and there will be those who are appalled. The consensus of Christianity and religion seems to be that you lay aside all values of common sense and accept whatever you are being told.
Nicolaitanism can be defined as the belief and practice of hierarchical government, the scapegoat for all the church's problems, with an emphasis on tithing and using a paid ministry. This definition derives from the meaning of the word Nicholas from Greek: "conqueror of the people" (Balaam in Hebrew has a similar meaning). Since Jesus named things what they are, the title "Nicolaitan" must therefore refer to a practice of abusive and dictatorial government and administration, which they assumed to be hierarchical, and Jesus said,"I hate that thing." Many new churches are formed with the intent of passing them on to the pastor's son or members of his family.
To condemn a church as Jesus did in the Book of Revelation would bring about strong condemnation under Matthew 7:1, Judge not, that ye be not judged. In todays politically correct society true ministers of God must refrain from delivering the message as Jesus did, or they will be guilty of spreading hate. Imagine a preacher in the pulpit of the church screaming, “O ye generation of vipers, I am warning you.” The reaction of the church would be based upon the denomination of the church, the members would either leave or shut the preacher down.
Think of the church in its truest form, not as a building, but as a member of the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, a body that consists of many members all working together. Now remove the rose colored blinders and take a look at the church of today. What do you see? If you are honest with yourself and not looking through indoctrinated and blinded eyes, you might be shocked at what you see. A mass of people struggling for positions the same as James and John, when their mother encouraged them approach Jesus.
The churches, or God's people through excessive greed and manipulation has allowed themselves to become the platform of many useless and senseless arguments. Worship services have been transformed into self-serving acts and platitudes. Pious and vague acclimations are made as to what God can do or what God is doing as if this is a definitive act of God. God is now working things out in our favor and Heaven is that place where we sprout angel wings and fly off to when we die. We have bought into the TV version, a sellable form of God and MLM is seeing its finest hour. Is any of this scriptural? This world is not getting any better. Our young people are killing each other and the pious few claim God is directing the show. The message should not be about prosperity, the message should be about judgment.
Often heard in the church and over the internet, "You can't judge me, only God can judge me, the Bible says, Judge not." The thought presented in Matthew 7:1 must remain in the context of the entire paragraph. To surgically dissect the Holy Scripture to form a message for the purpose of constructing a cute sound bite is destructive to the intended message. Yet another scripture is overlooked because it provides the basis for us to render judgment, John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. Try reading both of those verses together under todays interpretations, under several different garden varieties of Christian beliefs and your thought process will become a muddled, convoluted and polluted mess. The question remains, what did the Bible say, did it say don't judge anybody or did it say judge righteous judgment?
Think of the church in its truest form, not as a building, but as a member of the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, a body that consists of many members all working together. Now remove the rose colored blinders and take a look at the church of today. What do you see? If you are honest with yourself and not looking through indoctrinated and blinded eyes, you might be shocked at what you see. A mass of people struggling for positions the same as James and John, when their mother encouraged them approach Jesus.
The churches, or God's people through excessive greed and manipulation has allowed themselves to become the platform of many useless and senseless arguments. Worship services have been transformed into self-serving acts and platitudes. Pious and vague acclimations are made as to what God can do or what God is doing as if this is a definitive act of God. God is now working things out in our favor and Heaven is that place where we sprout angel wings and fly off to when we die. We have bought into the TV version, a sellable form of God and MLM is seeing its finest hour. Is any of this scriptural? This world is not getting any better. Our young people are killing each other and the pious few claim God is directing the show. The message should not be about prosperity, the message should be about judgment.
Often heard in the church and over the internet, "You can't judge me, only God can judge me, the Bible says, Judge not." The thought presented in Matthew 7:1 must remain in the context of the entire paragraph. To surgically dissect the Holy Scripture to form a message for the purpose of constructing a cute sound bite is destructive to the intended message. Yet another scripture is overlooked because it provides the basis for us to render judgment, John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. Try reading both of those verses together under todays interpretations, under several different garden varieties of Christian beliefs and your thought process will become a muddled, convoluted and polluted mess. The question remains, what did the Bible say, did it say don't judge anybody or did it say judge righteous judgment?
I just don't go to church like I should. To make the statement that way indicates that it worries me somewhat. What worries me most is what once was sacred has now been turned into a "game" of some sort. The pretentious nature that is alluring from the pulpit and radiates throughout the congregations often leaves the faith of those who are searching for a true relationship with my God in doubt. The proliferation of the Word of God, the play acting, the Hollywood scripted messages and the cute cliches is not drawing people closer to God. God once was an unchangeable God and preaching and worship services represented a close encounter with God. Now it is more about play acting, performing, indoctrination and getting together to achieve an emotional high or get our praise on. Church is about getting people to come to church the same as we do for football games and nightclubs. Bringing the nightclub atmosphere into the church is supposed to be the new wave method of attracting young people into the church. To survive, todays churches must increase the bottom line by drawing more people into their organization.
The question we should be asking ourselves is, what is all of this doing to advance the Christian relationship? What are we doing that will make us better fitted for the Kingdom of God? The provincial gate has been left open and wolves have come in among the flock. Wolves as depicted in the Bible do not search the scripture and study, they are looking for what they can get. As with the children of Israel at the base of the Holy Mountain we are so busy talking about what God has done, is doing, and dancing a prancing, that we have overlooked an important part of God word. They began to claim the golden calf had delivered them. Money has become our golden calf, more money is promised, we pray God's blessings upon our money, we even ask God for more money. We marry for money and we kill for money. Some even throw money at the feet of the preacher the same as done in the strip joints, in search of special favor from the dancer. No thought is given to Exodus 20:3, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. The entertainment stars want money, the preachers want money, then in today's society, everything is about power, entertainment, and money. God is a reference and not the driving force of many churches. The bible say, "...leaders have caused my people to err."
The question we should be asking ourselves is, what is all of this doing to advance the Christian relationship? What are we doing that will make us better fitted for the Kingdom of God? The provincial gate has been left open and wolves have come in among the flock. Wolves as depicted in the Bible do not search the scripture and study, they are looking for what they can get. As with the children of Israel at the base of the Holy Mountain we are so busy talking about what God has done, is doing, and dancing a prancing, that we have overlooked an important part of God word. They began to claim the golden calf had delivered them. Money has become our golden calf, more money is promised, we pray God's blessings upon our money, we even ask God for more money. We marry for money and we kill for money. Some even throw money at the feet of the preacher the same as done in the strip joints, in search of special favor from the dancer. No thought is given to Exodus 20:3, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. The entertainment stars want money, the preachers want money, then in today's society, everything is about power, entertainment, and money. God is a reference and not the driving force of many churches. The bible say, "...leaders have caused my people to err."
My first encounter with a man of the cloth was at the impressionable age of sixteen, he led me down a path of strong drinks and prostitutes. Not to say I didn't enjoy the trip, but when I once tried to say something about it, the Bible was used to suppress my guilt. I was led to believe that if I said something about this abnormal behavior of a preacher, God would strike me down. (I Samuel 26:11). Even today too many of those that claim to have the calling of God on their lives are getting away with crimes against the people of God while they hide behind a cloak of righteousness perpetrate by a rock star mentality, shaping the scripture and lying on God.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Speak out against an evil thing and you are judging. Speak out against the evilness of a preacher and you are told, the Bibles says, "touch not my anointed." We ought to be careful not to shape the scripture to justify our own shortcomings. Much of what, "the bible says", the bible did not say. Now, It is wrong for me to say 'you are wrong' because to do so I would be judging you. No thought is given to John 7:24, Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. It is wrong for me to say respect me in my own house or leave, because I would be guilty of kicking you out of my house. It is wrong to have an agenda, because everyone is entitled to their own belief. If we open our eyes to the true Word of God, it would become easy to see how we have turned this world and the bible into a polluted mess and I am no more comfortable blaming the mess we have created on the God.
The atmosphere of the church has changed, the proliferation of the Word of God has allowed for the emergence of rulers not shepherds, being placed over God’s people. This was a thing that Jesus said he hated. If one tries to justify living a saved life without going to the local church, a message of condemnation is issued based upon Paul’s message to the apostate Jewish congregation. Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? But, what are we to do when the church became a victim of its own deceit, and began to engage in an apostate and false religion? What are we to do when a mortal man becomes the focus of our worship? Jesus’s final message was not to the church or the leaders of the church, but to any man (woman), the overcomer. Revelation 3:20-22 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him (not them) that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. ( I delivered this message to the churches, but it is up to every man to hear this message and repent.)
Even today God is speaking to the churches, not that fancy building that styles itself as the house of God, but God is speaking to that Church that dwells within our spirit. If Jesus was coming back to claim that church down the street, imagine the confusion that would erupt when the Baptist and the Catholics, separated for hundreds of years were merged together. The church needs to be regenerated within our hearts as we go out into the world, and we need to take the church to church.
Even today God is speaking to the churches, not that fancy building that styles itself as the house of God, but God is speaking to that Church that dwells within our spirit. If Jesus was coming back to claim that church down the street, imagine the confusion that would erupt when the Baptist and the Catholics, separated for hundreds of years were merged together. The church needs to be regenerated within our hearts as we go out into the world, and we need to take the church to church.
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