Please note that I’m including many of my scriptural references in the links (which are are the underlined words throughout the article), and they also link to studies with extended details that I couldn’t fit into the article, so please be sure to click all the supporting links in order to get the full picture, as well as all the Scripture references.
This post is a slightly edited version of chapter 7 and the Conclusion of my eBook about traditions taught in church that aren’t actually mentioned in Scripture. I wanted a blog post I could point people to in order to discuss the topic of what Scripture teaches about the ecclesia (another word for “church”), so I’ve created this post for that reason.
As you almost certainly already know, religious leaders don’t only tell us that certain things are forbidden. They also try to convince us that certain things are required. If you do attend the traditional church services of the Christian religion and become a member of a particular local assembly, you’ll likely sit through a number of sermons meant to make you feel guilty if you don’t give them a percentage of your money on a regular basis, sermons which completely ignore the fact that the tithe was meant solely for followers of the Mosaic law. Members of the body of Christ (whether Jewish or Gentile) are not supposed to follow the law of Moses the way members of the Israel of God are (and please read that article I just linked to if you aren’t familiar with the difference between the body of Christ and the Israel of God, because it’s one of the most important things one has to be familiar with in order to understand pretty much any of the Bible), and those who do try to follow any of it are under a curse of being obligated to follow all of it, according to Paul (that means no more bacon or shrimp, or clothes with certain mixed fabrics, or doing chores or running errands on Saturday).
Of course, a truly biblical tithe is actually in the form of food, drink, or livestock, and only goes to the Levitical priests or to the needy (with the exception of the tithe that wasn’t given away at all, but was rather consumed by the tithers themselves). Unless your pastors are Levites who perform animal sacrifices, they have no scriptural basis for demanding it from anyone (no, not even Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek helps their case, unless perhaps one’s pastor is the king of Salem and they’re tithing of the spoils they took from their enemies in battle). There’s absolutely nothing in the Bible about the body of Christ having to give a tenth (or any amount) of their money to their religious leaders or organizations.
Still, while tithing isn’t a biblical idea for members of the body of Christ, what is recorded as having happened during Paul’s time is members of local church assemblies giving financial gifts to those in need. And while this seems to have only been done for the sake of helping members of the Israel of God who were living in Jerusalem (perhaps because they were struggling due to a famine at that time), it is still good for us to help the poor. What believers didn’t do at that time, however, was just give money to pastors who simply wanted to live off church members’ hard-earned money or keep the power running in a church building.
Those church buildings and pastors themselves, by the way, are also a big problem, since modern church services and the buildings they take place in don’t have any biblical justification for existing in the first place. The church known as the body of Christ in Paul’s time didn’t gather in chapels or temples. Instead, they met in the homes of members of their local assemblies. And a gathering wasn’t a few songs and then a sermon by a pastor. There might have been songs, and even a speech or two, but the early church gatherings apparently included a meal and discussions, not just a bite of bread, a sip of wine (or grape juice), and a sermon.
“The Lord’s Supper” for example, appears to have been a part of a real dinner meant to demonstrate the communion, meaning the unity, of the members of the body of Christ — at least as it was partaken of by those in the body of Christ — and so it wasn’t just a tiny snack they were partaking of. The idea that this was a ritual or ordinance which believers had to participate in for salvation or otherwise is a concept that arose later among those who apostatized from Paul’s teachings by merging his Gospel with Israel’s Gospel (thus creating the false “gospel” of the Christian religion), likely because they misunderstood certain things that Jesus was recorded as saying in John 6. Of course, even if Jesus did literally mean for His listeners to eat His flesh, what He said there was only for members of the Israel of God, not the body of Christ. As we now know, our salvation is based 100% on what Christ accomplished, and not on any actions we take, so the idea of partaking in rituals related to the bread and wine would contradict everything Paul taught us about salvation. And since our dispensation has no rudiments (meaning elements) or ordinances, because we are complete in Christ (who is the end of all religion for those in His body), returning to the shadows and types of rituals and rites in any way whatsoever would rob us of the full enjoyment of both our possessions and freedom in Christ. (That said, the idea that Jesus was literally referring to eating His flesh when He spoke to Israelites is a misunderstanding of His words, as He made clear by using the exact same Greek phrase translated as “hath everlasting life” in verse 47 of the same chapter to say they gain it by believing on Him, and as “hath eternal life” in verse 54 to say they gain it by “eating His flesh,” telling us that these are one and the same action, only stated metaphorically the second time He says it, in order to scare away those who were not among the elect, since they also missed this fact, after which Peter, who was among the elect, confirmed that Jesus really was just referring to believing on Him, which for them meant to believe that He’s their Messiah and the Son of God.)
Very few members of the body of Christ actually do partake of this meal anymore, though, partly due to the fact that many actually believe — for reasons that I don’t have the time to get into here — that it was meant to end around the time of Paul’s imprisonment, and partly due to the fact that there are so few members of the body of Christ alive today that it’s difficult to actually gather together in person anymore anyway. Still, while practicing the Lord’s Supper as a ceremony would not be at all scriptural, choosing to share a meal together in a manner that demonstrates our communion with one another (so long as it isn’t a practice that’s enforced upon us, and we’re actually sharing the meal with everyone in the church rather than selfishly consuming it all before everyone has arrived), meaning that it helps us recognize that we’re all members of the same body, seems like the exact opposite of a religious ritual to me, and I see no problem with doing just that when gathering as a local church in one’s home (if one is able to find such a church) if the group so desires.
As far as the rest of the “church service” goes, it appears they had actual conversations and dialogues rather than just a monologue by one preacher. This is demonstrated by how, when Paul spoke to the believers at Troas in Acts 20:7, the Greek word translated as “preached” in the KJV there is διαλέγομαι/“dee-al-eg’-om-ahee,” which literally means “to converse with someone,” or “to argue or discuss something with someone,” as is also made clear by the way the KJV translated this word as “disputing” in Acts 19:8. Still, this isn’t to say that the occasional lesson or presentation isn’t helpful, and there are plenty of great messages preached at our various conferences, but it wasn’t why the original members of the body of Christ were gathering together in the first century.
Just remember that church buildings and the current structure of the Institutional Church’s weekend “services” didn’t exist until some time later (in fact, the word “church” is translated from the Greek ἐκκλησία/“ek-klay-see’-ah,” which is why it’s sometimes also transliterated as “ecclesia” in certain Bible versions, and which is a word that simply refers to a “group” or “assembly” of people, by the way; it never referred to a building in the Bible). To be fair, though, it’s not the buildings themselves that are the real problem; it’s the “organization” and lack of real, spontaneous, Spirit-led fellowship, not to mention theological and spiritual dialogue between members. Yes, you will almost certainly hear the word “fellowship” in most traditional church meetings, but you also almost as certainly won’t experience much (if any) there, despite how much so many pastors seem to love the word (it’s hard to fellowship with the back of someone’s head while sitting in pews listening to a sermon). But you can technically meet in a home and still be an Institutional Church, or rent a room in a building other than a home and be a relational, open church (as church gatherings that follow the pattern of the first assemblies are sometimes called). As nice as a home gathering is, it’s really the openness and fellowship and discussions about Scripture that are the important factors. That said, if a local assembly owns a whole building that they meet in — even if they just call it a chapel or a hall — you should probably stay far away. Perhaps there’s a slim possibility of the rare exception existing, but in general, owning a building for worship and sermons seems to be a good litmus test for a local church, demonstrating that they likely know extremely little about biblical theology and what Scripture actually says. In fact, you’d be much better off spiritually (and even physically) in a strip club than in a so-called “house of God” (as many mistakenly call these buildings). At least in a strip club nobody is deceiving you about what Scripture teaches when they try to take a percentage of your money.
Speaking of teaching, the idea of a pastor or priest or any professional preacher who rules over a church isn’t in the Bible either. Local churches were overseen by a group of unpaid elders or overseers (or “bishops,” depending on your translation), not run by one paid man (that’s not to say that evangelists shouldn’t be paid to evangelize, but elders and evangelists aren’t necessarily always the same people). If you have one person leading (and basically performing the entire ministry in) a local gathering of believers, I would suggest not having much of anything to do with their gatherings if you value your spiritual well-being (and while not all clergy are dangerous or are con-artists — many are just confused — I’d suggest you do play it safe and be cautious when interacting with them, just in case, since a lot still are).
Also, just as a quick aside on the topic of spiritual things, the “charismatic” spiritual gifts that some pastors say one should have really aren’t meant for those under the dispensation of the grace of God today either (meaning for those in the body of Christ). They might still be active for some people saved in connection with the Gospel of the Circumcision, I should say (and based on certain testimonies I’ve heard from some people who I suspect are members of the Israel of God — even if they don’t necessarily realize it themselves, not being aware of the difference between the two churches and their two respective Gospels — this very well might be the case), since these gifts were basically meant as a sign for Jews anyway. Even those in the body of Christ in the first century were mostly “speaking in tongues” as a sign for unbelieving Jews (who often required a sign to accept Jesus as their Messiah), but for those of saved in connection with the Gospel of the Uncircumcision, these gifts appear to have come to an end when Israel as a whole fully rejected the Messiah, quite possibly around the time recorded in Acts 28 (although, for the record, I should state here that I’m a Mid-Acts “Hyperdispensationalist,” to use the theological label, and not an Acts 28 “Ultradispensationalist”), as evidenced by the fact that even Paul, whose simple handkerchiefs could heal those who touched them at one time, could no longer heal people by the end of his ministry, and even suggested that Timothy take some wine for his stomach and other ailments rather than seek the gift of healing as those saved under the Gospel of the Circumcision were instructed to do. That’s not to say God can’t or doesn’t ever do miracles for those of us in the body of Christ anymore (and it definitely doesn’t mean that God doesn’t still guide us through His Spirit), just that they’re the exception rather than the rule while the reason for the sign gifts has been mostly paused for the time being (so, until the final Gentile meant to enter the body of Christ does so, and God’s focus returns to Israel and the Gospel of the Kingdom becomes the preeminent Gospel to be proclaimed on earth once again).
Aside from tithing (and “speaking in tongues,” depending on one’s denomination), there’s one more unbiblical tradition that religious leaders will condemn you for if you don’t do it on a regular basis, and that is regularly attending their gatherings, particularly on the day they believe to be the Sabbath.
Almost anybody who has ever suggested they might stop “going to church” for any length of time has been given a guilt trip and has been told that we aren’t supposed to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, completely misrepresenting the meaning of the passage in Hebrews 10:25 (while also ignoring the fact that the book of Hebrews wasn’t written to the body of Christ anyway, but was written to those referred to as Hebrews, aka Israelites). The Greek word ἐπισυναγωγή/“ep-ee-soon-ag-o-gay’,” translated as “assembling” in this verse, is never used to refer to “gathering” in the sense that one would use when speaking of “going to church” when it’s used in the Bible. In fact, the only other place in Scripture where ἐπισυναγωγή is used is when Paul was talking about the gathering of the saints to Christ in the air when he wrote his second epistle to the Thessalonians, which tells us that the writer was warning his readers against forsaking the hope of being assembled together to Christ when He returns (also confirmed by the context, as told to us by the words “as ye see the day approaching” at the end of the verse), and wasn’t speaking of “going to church” at all (although, while the writer of Hebrews and Paul were both speaking about being gathered to Christ around the time of His return, it is important to remember that there is a difference between the time the members of the body of Christ are gathered to Him in the air at the Snatching Away and the time the members of the Israel of God are gathered to Him in Israel at His Second Coming). That said, gathering with like minded believers, if you can find them, is still beneficial, so please don’t think I’m saying that one shouldn’t gather with the body if one can find other members nearby, be it on the Sabbath or on any other day.
As far as what day the Sabbath is goes, this is one where various sabbatarian denominations are partially correct, while also being quite wrong about it at the same time. The Sabbath is indeed Saturday, as they claim; nowhere in Scripture does it say that it was changed to Sunday (and Sunday is not the Lord’s Day either; the Lord’s Day, also known as the Day of the Lord, is an event that hasn’t happened yet, at least not as of the time this was written). But since those saved under the Gospel of the Uncircumcision are not under the Mosaic law in any way whatsoever, it doesn’t really matter to us what day the Sabbath is. In the very beginning of the church, believers didn’t pick one specific day to gather together when they did get together for fellowship; they could meet any day of the week (possibly doing so more than one day a week, and very likely often happening later in the afternoon or evening after work rather than first thing in the morning, based on the fact that some were eating all the food and getting drunk before the poor could arrive at their gatherings, presumably due to having to work later into the day than the rich had to). That said, there’s nothing technically wrong with meeting on a Sunday. In fact it’s often the most convenient day to do so on at this point in history, since the Institutional Church has managed to convince most people that it is the new Sabbath thanks to the influence it’s had over our society, but it’s really not any different from any other day of the week so don’t feel any obligation to treat it like a special day.
And on the topic of esteeming certain days above others, be they new holidays invented by (or pagan holidays that were “Christianized” by) the Institutional Church (such as Lent, such as Easter, and such as Christmas, to name just three) or days that are observed by Jewish followers of the Mosaic law, while it might not always be a great idea, it’s not necessarily wrong to celebrate a specific day if it’s something one enjoys doing just for the fun of it (or if it’s something one who is weak in faith still feels they need to do). Just realize that none of these days are required for the body of Christ any more than the Sabbath is (you won’t find any commandments, or even exhortations, in Scripture for the body of Christ to celebrate any of these days), and that nobody should be looked down upon for not participating in these “holy days.” And, of course, please be aware of the fact that Jesus didn’t actually die on a Friday, wasn’t resurrected on the day we call Easter on our modern calendars (which should be more obvious than it seems to be to most people, considering the fact that it’s on a different day each year), and wasn’t born on December 25th either (while it doesn’t really matter when He was born, since we aren’t told to celebrate His birthday in Scripture, there’s good reason to believe it was actually in September or October on our modern calendar). That said, if you’re going to celebrate Christmas or Easter, consider doing so mostly from a secular perspective, focusing on the chocolates and eggs and gifts and such. To do otherwise (meaning, to celebrate them as remembrances of Jesus’ birth and death) is to know Christ after the flesh, which is something the body of Christ is called to move past.
To sum it all up, if you happen to be one of the chosen few who have accepted the truths of Paul’s Gospel and have realized that you need to reject organized religion and the teachings and practices of Churchianity (which is what some of us call the Institutional Church and the “orthodox” religion known as Christianity — as opposed to the “heretical” religionless doctrines that I now believe the Bible teaches are meant for the body of Christ), you’ll be left wondering what you should do instead. Well, first of all, it means that you get to sleep in on Sunday (or Saturday) mornings if you want to. Beyond that, however, if you can find a nearby church that actually believes what Scripture says, it might be a good group to check out. That said, many, if not most, of the members of the body of Christ have to go it fairly alone, or at least without a local church to fellowship with, since it seems there are very few members of the body of Christ in any particular area. I should say that this is not a new problem; the church (or ecclesia) made up of the body of Christ has been extremely small from almost the beginning, and I’d be surprised to see this change before the snatching away occurs (it fell into apostasy and people separated from it very early on — some of these divisions and separations from Paul’s Gospel and the actual body of Christ becoming the so-called Orthodox and Catholic denominations we know today [a number of the so-called “Early Church Fathers” of these denominations, Polycarp and Irenaeus for example, were from the very province that Paul said “all” had turned away from him in during his imprisonment, which makes any of their teachings, and then any of the later teachings by those who accepted their teachings, suspect to begin with] — and it seems to have never regained its original size). So, if you can’t find any fellow members to fellowship with where you live, just keep studying the Scriptures. You’re far better off not participating in any church gathering than you are participating in Churchianity, so I’d suggest leaving the Institutional Church behind completely. Yes, it’s beneficial to fellowship with likeminded believers if you can find them, but you won’t find many of them in the traditional denominations, at least not if you happen to agree with the conclusions I’ve come to.