Should you find another church
or try to encourage the workers to fix the problems in the Two by Two system?
Is it wrong for a church to have a name, be incorporated or own a building?
Is it wrong for pastors to be married, have a family and own a home?
Is it unscriptural for one pastor to preach by himself?
Is it unscriptural for pastors to be paid for fulltime work for the church?
Is it unscriptural for church leaders to be educated in scripture?
Is it wrong for a church to publish a statement of faith so that members will know what is believed and is important to their fellowship?
No. There are no scriptural directives against having a name for a church.
In the days right after Pentecost the churches were named after the towns or communities where they were located. The word church means assembly or the people of the church. It isn’t defining the type of building that the assembly meets in. You could have a church (gathering of believers) in a field, in a tent, at the seashore, or under a tree. The building is simply to shelter people from weather and to have privacy and quietness in order to pray, worship God and listen to a message or testimonies.
There are no scriptural instructions against meeting in a church building. William Irvine came up with the idea of meeting in the homes without any real scriptural commandment of such a thing. It is true that the early church met in houses at times but this was due to the conditions of the time, not because God was against buildings. They also met in synagogues or by the water and other places. Houses are no holier than any other kind of building.
The scripture says that God dwells in people’s hearts.
It doesn’t say that people must gather in any particular place in order to worship God.
Anywhere a Christian goes, God is there. God doesn’t come and go depending on where you are.
God dwells in all Christians, not just in preachers.
Preachers don’t have more of God and other believers less of God.
If you have God, you have God…..all of Him and He is there for eternity.
People have varying amounts of scriptural understanding depending on how much work they have given to studying it and how trusting they are in God’s Word. But, every true believer has just as much of God as any other true believer.
It isn’t the place of the church that matters, it’s the beliefs and the obedience of the church that matter.
It isn’t the kind of ministry of the church that matters, it is the God of the church that matters.
The workers will sometimes claim that the communion of bread and wine must be done in a home because that was how it was done in the upper room. However, there is no commandment regarding that.
Salvation is not dependent on where you do anything.
It is dependent on your trust in Jesus and His atoning blood and your inner character.
The Sermon on the Mount was about a person’s attitude and love for God, not about the person’s appearance or the place of meeting.
If you carefully read scripture you find that there were different kinds of church leaders with different functions; I and 2 Timothy, etc.:
Some were evangelists….those who would travel and preach in order to find new converts.
Some were pastor teachers….those who would stay home and feed the sheep, teach the new converts and shepherd the old believers and encourage them all to pray and study scripture.
Some were musicians who wrote hymns and led the people in singing.
Some were Deacons who looked after the physical and natural needs of widows, orphans and families of martyred Christians.
Some gave themselves entirely to the work of prayer and scripture inscription and teaching.
The church was full of Jewish people and Gentiles from pagan backgrounds. Many Gentiles had little to no understanding of the Old Testament prophecies, Biblical worship, Biblical morals, godly business practices and family life. They needed teaching from Jewish Christian pastors who understood God’s Word on practical matters. Added to this problem was extreme persecution and murderous attacks on the church from pagans and Roman authorities as well as Jewish people who didn’t believe in Jesus. This kept the church unsettled and constantly moving in many cases.
After the Roman Catholic Church gained political control, the Popes began killing any Christian believers who owned or taught scripture outside of their authority or the use of the Latin language. This fact, coupled with constant wars, plagues, and widespread famines caused by a mini ice age due to volcanic eruption kept Christian activity and education to a minimum until the Reformation. There were Christians but they were widely scattered and had differing amounts of biblical instruction due to lack of education and lack of access to scripture.
The Reformation came about because of Catholic priests and protestant preachers who began to translate scripture into the common language of the people. They realized that the Catholic Church was not obeying or teaching scripture. The people best suited to correcting the abuses and false doctrines of the 2x2 system ought to be the workers who have seen first hand the sin and evils perpetrated by false teaching. But, so far the workers have been the ones most harmed by the system and least able to have any significant impact for change.
The instructions to the 12 disciples and later to the 70 were instructions to apostle/evangelists on a temporary assignment. Jesus didn’t tell them to forsake their homes, sell their belongings or leave their families. They were simply to go on small trips to different communities to announce the arrival of the Messiah and perform miracles.
Peter had a home during this time and so did the others. They left their occupations to go on these trips but they didn’t sell their homes and property. Jesus was the only one who said he didn’t have a home, but actually, he had a mother and brothers and sisters where he could have stayed if he had wanted to. The statement Jesus made about himself not having a home was not a commandment that preachers couldn’t have homes or families. The apostles had a special assignment that other preachers don’t have. And they will have a special reward in heaven because of fulfilling that assignment.
It isn’t wrong for preachers, evangelists and church leaders to be paid. In 1 Corinthians 9
, Paul scolded the Corinthian church for not providing for his needs and he says that the other apostles did have a wife and family. He was reminding them of what he and Barnabas had done freely for them even though they did have the right to be paid for preaching. He was defending himself against their criticisms of him. They were probably criticizing him because earlier he had scolded them for their sins. Paul said that those who labor in the Word (Holy Scripture) were worthy of double honor. This meant they deserved to be paid in a monetary manner. Some preachers have secular jobs as well as preaching. Paul worked at making tents so that he would not have to depend on anyone to feed him. He considered this important, probably because he knew how poor so many people were.
It isn’t scripturally wrong to have a building owned by an association of people for the purpose and propagation of the Christian faith. This is the legal way of conducting a legitimate, respectable assembly of believers. Only those who have something to hide from the authorities or the public and who don’t want to share their belongings and money with others will resist having a full time property set aside for worship and scriptural training. What better cover would there be for sexual predators than to have a group of people they can move and live among and then leave the country for long extended periods of time?
So what are the problems in the Two by Two System?
Can they be fixed?
Their problems are not because of their house meetings or conventions or because of the arrogant way the head workers treat the friends.
Their problems originate from their ignorance of scripture, their deceitfulness in claiming to follow Jesus.
Their claim to be the original church from the shores of Galilee; the only Way to salvation, their hidden sin, their false gospel and idolatry are their real problems.
The workers' system is not Christian. It is Gnostic and legalistic and contains the practice of the Nicolaitans. Gnosticism and legalism were the first heresies to invade the church during the first century. Gnosticism arose from Greek philosophy claiming that Christ was just a spirit.
And legalism came from the Judaizers who imposed rules in order to be saved. These heresies existed soon after Christ’s death and resurrection and William Irvine brought them to life again in 1897 through the influence of Masonry. Both heresies are actively taught by the workers.
Moreover, the workers are idolatrous.
The workers have stolen the honor that belongs only to God.
The workers want people to follow their teaching rather than obey scripture and the personal leading of the Holy Spirit. They are not teaching, worshiping or obeying the God of the Bible. God is Triune.
The workers reject the doctrine of the Trinity. They ignore the scripture that shows Jesus is God come in the flesh. They reject the Holy Spirit as God.
The workers do not obey God’s Word to teach the Bible, care for the widows and orphans or to help the needy.
The workers do not obey God’s Word to repent from fleshly sins….the workers themselves have committed many sins yet they try to make people feel guilty for things that are not sinful such as jewelry, cosmetics, and entertainment. They have rejected the doctrine of original sin.
The workers do not teach the scriptural doctrine of Christ’s atoning Blood and imputed righteousness to all who believe. The workers are Nicolaitans.
The workers feel that their behavior is physical, natural behavior which does not affect the spirit. They think that spiritual behavior is where they meet for meetings. So it doesn’t matter what they do with their bodies…all that matters is what happens in meeting. Attend the right meetings, follow the workers and everything is okay. This is why they will not object to workers who engage in pedophilia, homosexuality, adultery, abortion, and pornography. Since they are preaching the gospel, they can justify anything for the “gospel’s sake.” Unless of course, someone finds out about it and blows the whistle. They probably would not admit this in so many words but they definitely have two sets of rules: what they can do and what professing people can do.
The workers condemn hardworking evangelists, pastors and Biblical theologians who give their entire lives to teaching, explaining and preaching scripture.
The workers spend more of their time traveling around than they do studying or teaching the Bible or caring for the needs of their followers.
The workers don’t know how to counsel people from Scripture on the topics of weddings, marriage, raising children, biblical education, finances, making decisions, facing illnesses and death.
Workers hide from the world and their own people….If a person outside the group ever wanted to find them, he would have an almost impossible task. When the law wants to find someone to prosecute him for pedophilia, it is very difficult. The other workers and the friends will smuggle him all over the country or the world. If the government tries to locate the workers’ money, it can’t do that either because it is hidden under the names of high ranking professing people.
If you think you can fix those things, go ahead and try it.
But you will find, as others have, that if you even DARE to ask questions about anything, the workers will excommunicate you and spread lies about you in order to keep people from hearing your questions or learning what you know.
Even if you simply ask questions about their history or ask for a definition of their doctrines, they will openly tell you if you don’t trust the workers decisions and instructions, that you have lost out.
Doesn't Fit My Religious Agenda
Then Jesus said, "Stand up! Pick up your bed and walk." Then immediately the man was well. The man picked up his bed and started walking. The day all this happened was a Sabbath day.
-- John 5:8-9
KEY THOUGHT:
God created the Sabbath to be a day of blessing, rest, and reverence.
Isn't it funny how religion can ruin the blessing of God with its own rules?
Because Jesus did something they classified as unlawful on the Sabbath (rather than looking at God's intent of establishing the Sabbath), they discounted the miracle, ignored the joy of the one healed, and criticized the one who provided the blessing.
How often do we do that in other areas in our religious lives?
Hmm... better move on, that's too convicting.
Bottom line:
Let's make sure our traditions and rules don't keep out God's blessings simply because they don't fit into our religious agenda.
TODAY'S PRAYER:
God, forgive us for turning your blessings into hardships, your joy into drudgery, and your grace into a set of rules.
Forgive me for not rejoicing more with those who rejoice and for not comforting those who have been wounded. Help me find the balance of Jesus in knowing your will about worship while responding to the needs of those around me. In
Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
