Are You Telling Me to Leave "My Church"?Yes. If you are a member of any "church" which is not the real church, you are are partaking of sin, because you are participating in the division of the body of Christ. If you are a part of any of Christianity's "denominations", or if you are a part of a "non-denominational" fellowship "inside Christianity", you are partaking of the division of the only Church that God recognizes. And we are telling you to LEAVE these places. They are not now doing, nor will they ever accomplish the will of the Spirit of God in your life. And in EVERY CASE, people in these groups will have to quench the holy Ghost in order to partake of the affairs that occur there. The ceremonies, the doctrines, the holy days, the ordinances - all of it - is a stench in the nostrils of the Lord they claim to serve and love. What is the Meaning of the Word, "Church"? We must define this, because these places all claim that title for themselves. The word, "church", comes from ekklesia, a Greek word which means "called-out ones"; and that is exactly what the church is: people called out of the darkness of sin into the light of holiness. Many in our time call the building in which they worship "the church"; but the word "church" refers only to God's earthly family, and it should never be used in reference to a building built by men. The church is the earthly dwelling place of God's Spirit, as Paul stated, "your body is the temple of the holy Ghost" (1Cor.6:19). Peter described the church as "living stones", forming "a spiritual house", a place "to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1Pet.2:5). The church, then, is the people of God, not a mere building, or a denomination. As the man of God said, "the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands" (Acts 7:48). What is the Correct Name for the Church? The church has no other name. It is a name in itself. "Church" is the New Testament name for the called-out people, or "body of Christ" as it is often called. Yes, my friend, the word church, without any prefixing or suffixing, is sufficient. We do find that the New Testament writers deemed it helpful at times when speaking of the church to use descriptive names such as: Mount Zion (Heb.12:22), God's Building (1Cor.3:9), The Household of God (Eph.2:19), The Church of God (Acts 20:28), The Church of the Living God (1Tim.3:15), and many others too numerous to record here. But, just as in the case of the holy Spirit, though there be a hundred different descriptive titles for it, "there is only one" (Eph.4:4). In order to lend credibility to their sects, certain groups have picked out for themselves one of the titles given to the church in the Bible. Others chose to add names to the word church which are not used in its connection in the Bible, such as, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, Assembly of God, United Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Four Square, "Bible Believing", Church of God, and many others. God condemned such divisive practices at their inception (1Cor.1:10-13); still, we should be more concerned with whether or not we are in the church than what its proper name might be, for only those in the safety of the church will be saved. How Does One Become a Church Member? Moved by the Spirit of prophecy, the Psalmist declared (Ps.87:5,6), "And of Zion [the church] it shall be said, `This man was born in her'. And the highest Himself shall establish her. The Lord shall count [note], when He writeth up the people that this man was born there." One must be born into the church because it is a divine family; it is not a club which can be joined. In Old Testament Zion, it was by a natural birth that one became a member of God's family, but in this New Covenant it is a by spiritual birth. This is why Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Ye must be born again" (Jn.3:3-7). The following three verses reveal, in New Testament terms, how one enters the church: "Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?" (Rom.6:3). And again, "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Gal.3:27). Lastly, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body. . . ." (1Cor.12:13). These three Scriptures state clearly how one becomes a church member, and they all agree: baptism. The only question, then, is "Which baptism is it that makes us church members, a baptism in water or the baptism of the holy Ghost? That question is fully answered by the verse from 1 Corinthians: BY ONE SPIRIT ARE WE ALL BAPTIZED INTO ONE BODY. Friend, regardless of how good a person appears to be or how lofty his religious title, if he has not received the baptism of the holy Ghost, he is not in the church of Jesus Christ. The church is comprised only of Spirit-baptized people. Some of these saints are obedient and some disobedient, but no one else is in the church, though many may yet enter in. Not All Members of the Church Will Be Saved! Not all who are born into the church will be faithful to God. Therefore, the church, as a whole, is not perfect. Nor was it perfect in the days of the apostles. Ananias and his wife Sapphira, for example, were anything but exemplary believers. From its beginning, the church has been a mixed multitude, some good and some bad; but Jesus will purge the church of its ungodly members before his return (Mt.13:36-43). In many of his parables, Jesus exhorted us to strive to be among the faithful and wise servants of God. In his parable of the sower (which must be understood before any parable can be understood: Mk.4:13), Jesus spoke of some in his kingdom who became unfruitful because of the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. How many we see in this group today! He spoke as well of those who are faithful, saying that they understand and bring forth fruit to God. Thank God for these precious, faithful saints, though they be few in number! Our cry to the faithful - those who have been baptized into the true Church by the holy Ghost, is that if you want to please God, you must separate yourself from those that welcome as church members, those who have never been born of the Spirit. If you don't, you will soon die. You have made yourself, perhaps unwittingly, a part of sin, and ultimately that which God has now cursed, and will soon destroy (Read Revelation 18:1-4). Leaving your "church" (so falsely called) will make you happy in God if anything ever will. If you have the holy Ghost, to "come out of her my people" is your call, and those who obey will be blessed by the Lord!
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