When God came down and disrupted the language of the people at the building of the tower of Babel, they groped about in the darkness of confused tongues. The clergy of today have constructed another tower of Babel in the likes of religious jargon, and many are groping about in spiritual darkness because of a language barrier. What follows are only a few of the many jargonistic terms and expressions devised and used by “men of the cloth” and their captives. My observations have been added.
“House Of The Lord”
In the minds of most believers, this clerical cliché refers to the “church building.” However, the meetinghouse is no more or no less the “house of the Lord” than the toolshed behind it. The Lord does not—today—live in shrines and buildings made by man.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands” (Acts 17:24).
Everything on God’s footstool—the earth—belongs to Him. He dwells in the whole universe, but He makes a special abode in the hearts of His children. Nor is the so-called “sanctuary” inside the “church building” a holy place. God’s special sanctuary on earth is the believer’s heart. Sacred buildings and holy sanctuaries take their genesis from the old Law of Moses, the Judaistic system from which Jesus freed us. The clergy are always trying to convince both saint and sinner that if they don’t come to the party’s meetings they’re neglecting the “house of the Lord.” Believers are the temple and house of the Lord, not wood and stone structures (1 Cor. 3:16 & Heb. 3:6).
“The Church Of Our Lord”
The believer who uses these words routinely equates his faction with what the Lord founded. We do the Lord a disservice by trying to make Him the author of our splintered groups. Jesus founded His new Israel, commonwealth, community, reign, colony, or congregation. Man founded churches, sects, denominations, factions, and parties. A person becomes a member of what Jesus founded by being born anew. He becomes a member of what man founded by “placing his membership.”
“Placing of Membership”
And in reference to the “placing of membership,” this ritualistic practice formally identifies a believer with a partisan religious group. Many church boards, pastors, elders, deacons, and pulpit ministers make this ritual mandatory so that they may have the oversight—and “undersight”—of those who have agreed to accept the party’s bylaws. They don’t want some “rebel” running loose over whom they have no control! And control is what membership is largely about. For if a believer does not place his membership with the party, he remains free to pursue the dictates of his heart and conscience rather than the dictates of the local church authorities.
In many cases he is snubbed, dubbed a heretic, and pigeonholed as one who must be observed lest he become a “thorn in the flesh.” Leaders of orthodoxy apparently feel they must control the lives of others before they can serve the Lord comfortably.
A believer places his membership in God’s community or family the moment his citizenship is accepted. “But our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). Consequently, a believer’s membership is automatically aligned with all other believers. Should he then take an extra step and “place his membership” with some partisan group, he becomes something in addition to a believer. He is a believer plus a party man. I was once identified with a congregation whose leaders often announced to visitors, “If you belong to Jesus and wish to make this family of believers your family, you don’t need to do anything.” I like that. It makes more sense than anything we do in this department.
“Going Forward”
Pulpit ministers and evangelists pressure their audiences into “going forward,” as though this is the only correct way to accept Jesus. But anyone who knocks at the door of Jesus’ heart will be greeted with open arms, regardless of location. Many of these public proclaimers take a glorified ego trip when they’re able to convince dozens, and in some cases hundreds, that they must “come forward” in a public way to be accepted.
The eunuch in Acts 8 would hardly be accepted in today’s evangelistic meetings, for he didn’t “go forward.” Nor did Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:9-48). Jesus condemned the religious leaders of His day for placing their religion on public display. Surely this can serve as a warning to those who would tell us that everyone Jesus called, He called publicly. The implication is that Jesus never called anyone privately. What about the woman whose sins were forgiven at a private gathering, as recorded in Luke 7:36-50? She didn’t “go forward.”
One pulpiteer spoke of a woman who came forward and confessed a lack of faithfulness. Could she not have made her confession to her Heavenly Father during her daily prayers? Why did she feel it necessary to confess to the cleric? Did she feel he could forgive her? Perhaps we all should confess our lack of faithfulness every time we pray. But the “going forward” syndrome is nothing more than a ritualistic obsession. A sizable number of “pastors” who advocate this ritual enjoy the limelight and the ensuing “evangelistic” results. Those results are then published in the party’s journals.
More On “Going Forward” And Confessing
One tube evangelist wrote in his journal of a man who had accepted Jesus, but felt he “needed to make a public confession of Christ to seal the transaction with God.” Did he not confess Jesus by accepting him? Of course. Another sectarian journal claimed that “a candidate must make a public confession before he can be baptized.” He is exhibited before an audience and asked, “Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God?” He is expected to follow the ritual and say, “Yes, I believe Jesus is the Son of God.”
The story is told of a man who responded to this question by counter-asking, “Why do you think I’m reforming my life and requesting that you immerse me in water?” His “confession” turned out to be an embarrassment to the pulpit minister who had no choice but to immerse him without obtaining the stereotype confession.
The very act of accepting is confessing. It is not necessary to compel a believer to repeat a formal statement hatched by the clergy. Even if Acts 8:37, concerning the eunuch, had been included in the original autographs, the confession would have been private and non-ritualistic.
“New Testament Christianity”
These catchwords usually mean that if we haven’t accepted the speaker’s conception of spiritual truth, we have not accepted “New Testament Christianity.” The phraseology implies that he and his fellow partisans have the truth, the absolute truth, and nothing but the truth. They have already arrived and those in different partisan corrals are still stranded in the valley of ignorance. And because they’re so convinced they only have the truth, they have built a solid wall around themselves and reject all others who do not fit comfortably into their creedal and intellectual camp. Their attitude is similar to the attitude which prompted men to construct
The Great Wall of China, for isolation is better than contamination with outside forces.
Behind this sectarian wall are thousands of captives who need spiritual nourishment and new avenues of thought and freedom. They are spiritually incarcerated by “warlords” who stifle freedom of thought and movement with threats of excommunication, and who use the “sword of the Spirit” to kill their own kind. These ministers, pastors, elders, and deacons are more interested in protecting the “system” than reforming their orthodox, dormant, and outdated creeds and dogmas. Instead of recognizing and embracing all of God’s children, they have barricaded themselves behind factional fences and no one may enter who does not state a willingness to parrot the party’s slogans. They will not go into the kingdom themselves, nor permit anyone else to enter!
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” (Matthew 23:13).
“Going To Church”
This is equivalent to “going to worship,” another clerical invention. Even assuming that “church” is a correct rendering of the Greek “ekklesia,” it is the church that does the going. Believers are the church. Consequently, the church goes to the meetinghouse. As to “going to worship,” if the believer isn’t worshipping on his way to the meetinghouse it isn’t likely he’ll be worshipping after he arrives. Worship for the committed believer is a 24-hour-a-day matter—whatever he does, in word or in deed.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17).
It would be difficult, if not impossible, for the genuine believer to do something in the name of the Lord and to His glory without worshipping. This translates into the truth that, for the dedicated believer, even “secular” or “common” matters are worship. To state this issue more exactly: “Going to worship” in this new age boils down to nothing more than partisan and clerical jargon. The expression indicates a return to the old Law of Moses, a ritualistic system that was superseded by Jesus and the New Way.
“Giving Through The Church”
The kingly clergy would like to convince us, and indeed are always trying, that the only way to glorify God in our giving is to drop our dollars into the “church’s collection plate” when it makes its rounds. And why do they strive so desperately hard to brainwash us into accepting that bit of ecclesiastical garbage? Two chief reasons:
1) Without our dollars in the collection plate, they just might have to find a job and go to work.
2) Upkeep of the edifice idol or “House of God.”
Of special interest is that the early believers contributed of their income for two reasons, and two reasons only:
1) To help the destitute.
2) Evangelism—supporting those in the field who labored to spread the Good News to the unregenerate.
There were no material structures to build and maintain, and no ecclesiastical pulpiteers to support. Money was collected only when a need arose. In today’s scene, a collection plate is passed around about every time we cross our legs. Believers are free to support any good cause at any time, in or out of the corporate assembly. Ninety-nine percent of our giving goes to needy causes that are not even related to Churchianity. And the causes we support are far more relevant than Churchianity’s materialistic and ecclesiastical budgets.
Placing The Blame
The greatest man who ever walked upon this earth lost His life at the hands of the professional clergy.
“But the chief priests [clergy] and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed” (Matthew 27:20). It would be no different if Jesus were to return to earth in the flesh today. Man’s opposition to reform hasn’t changed. Today’s religious establishment is the enemy of reformers and reformation. But that doesn’t discourage those of us seeking change. If a brighter day lies just over the horizon, it will be because reformation made its mark upon the divisive religious scene. For without reformation within the Christian community, “Christianity” will die on the vine. Death symptoms abound. But with God’s help, we will survive and revive!
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Many pulpit clergymen are honest and sincere. They’re convinced their ministry has God’s blessings. They, like most of us, are victims of what our schismatic forefathers passed down to us. That doesn’t make it right. Jesus opposed the
status quo of His time. It, like ours, had been passed down by divisive forefathers. That didn’t make it right, and Jesus told them so. I love all of my brothers and sisters, whether they stand behind or sit in front of the pulpit—even those clergymen who wear their shirts backwards, dress like mother, but want to be called father!
My Efforts At Reform Will Continue
Nonetheless, the professional clergy have contaminated and disfigured what Jesus founded. Consequently, I will continue my efforts to work with and among all believers as a reformer, when permitted, regardless of their affiliation, but without adopting any of their partisan labels or platforms.
I surrendered partisan labels and platforms many years ago in favor of freedom in Jesus. I’ve never been sorry. The only banner I carry bears the name Jesus. I’ll never again carry a banner that bears the Baptist label, Methodist stamp, Lutheran tag, Church of Christ seal, Church of God sticker, Christian Church mark, Assembly of God title, Catholic Church brand—or any of the other factions among us. My flag conveys Jesus’ blood as its only emblem! It needs no other. We either return to this way of thinking or all is lost. It was Jeremiah the reformer who announced God’s formula long ago:
