Did you know that your “church” is not the house of God?
Paul said so. Speaking to the Athenians on Mars’ Hill, he spoke of God, saying,
Seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands (Acts 17:24).
God does not live in manmade structures of any kind.
Paul would count our Christianity, with its “House of God” and “Sanctuary,” among the likes of the pagan temples of Athens – Christian “Houses of Worship” just as pagan and heathen as those of Athens.
However, there is really good news in all of this. God does not live in humanly devised architecture. We do not need to “go” somewhere to “meet” Him. For truly,
In Him we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28).
“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” - Genesis 3:8a
Think of it! Adam lived in a beautiful garden located in a place called Eden, which means pleasure. It was a place of breathless wonder. He lived there with a counterpart prepared especially for him by his Creator. But more importantly GOD was with him in the garden! Can you imagine that? He lived in a garden of pleasure and GOD was there, God walking on the planet. God in Adam’s “neck of the woods.” Could we find words to describe such a blessed situation?
Nevertheless, with one action there was a disastrous turn of events. Adam and Eve sinned against God their Creator. The very next portion of this passage reads:…
Even among those who place a great emphasis on Paul, with his unique apostleship and message, there is an amazing neglect of one of his most outstanding
messages found in the Book of Acts. I am referring to his message given on Mars’ Hill in Acts chapter 17.
There seems to be a great familiarity with the first account that is reported in this chapter: Paul at the city of Berea, with those who nobly searched the Scriptures daily. But when it comes to the next city that Paul encounters, it does not get as much attention as it should.
Paul moved on from Berea to Athens, and while there he gave one of his most remarkable addresses. The content of his message to this group of unbelieving pagans has been far too long overlooked. These words of Paul contain a very…
In 1995, after sixteen years of being in the “pastorate” the author walked away. He left the "religious system" by resigning from the very “church” and “ministry” he had
formed. In many ways this work is a testament to these actions. This testimony was thirty years in the making -- the results of a spiritual journey that the author found to be common to other saints scattered throughout the world and across history.
This is an opportunity to explain why some who love the Lord no longer "go to church." It does not seek to persuade others to do something different; but rather to simply be who and what they already are “in Him.” This is an uncovering of the truth of the church, and an encouragement for the members of His Body to enjoy the position and standing “in Christ” that they already possess, realizing that they are truly “complete in Him” (Colossians 2:10), that He alone is their Life (Colossians 3:4), and that His Life is full of freedom (Galatians 5:1).