The Myth Of Doing Church

by Van Robison

The great role model for the life of human beings is none other than Jesus Christ. The purpose of Peter, Paul, and all the other apostles had nothing to do with making personal disciples to follow Peter or Paul, but their purpose was to convey to others the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Paul is not Jesus Christ. Paul was no different than any one of us, other than the fact that he says he was appointed to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentile world. Paul had no intention of establishing sectarianism. The church world today is greatly divided and very sectarian. God is not divided, nor is He the author of confusion, but to say that the church world is not in confusion is to have one's head buried in the sand.

Jesus Christ did not come saying anything about the word "church", even though that term is used in the King James translation, but not in the language spoken by Jesus Christ or the original apostles. Odd is the fact that in the King James translation the Greek word ecclesia is translated as "assembly" only three times in Acts 19: verses 32, 39, and 41, while the Greek word ecclesia is translated "church" about 112 times in all other passages. Anyone who checks the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance will see that the number associated with the word "assembly" in Acts 19 is Strong's number 1577. The same word ecclesia is translated as "church" in the singular 80 times, and in the plural 34 times with the same number 1577. The term "church" was not a word ever spoken by Jesus Christ or the apostles, it is a word inserted in the King James New Testament but which distorts the truth. The word "church", even though thought of as something sacred and holy by millions, is a common word used in many translations, erroneously.

If in the three instances in Acts 19:32, 39 and 41, the translators had used the word "church" instead of "assembly", it would appear to be totally foolish, since the context has nothing to do with "church" as we know the word. So if the King James translators felt compelled to use the word "assembly" in Acts 19, why did they not use the word "assembly" instead of "church" in all other instances where the original Greek word is ecclesia? Pastors often quote Matthew 16:18 which in the King James says "And I say also unto you, That you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church;...", but that word "church" was never spoken by Jesus Christ, because it is a word inserted into the English translations of the New Testament, but not part of the Greek or Aramaic language.

William Tyndale in 1525 used the word "congregation" in his English translation. Alexander Campbell in 1826 used the word "congregation" in The Living Oracles. A number of other translations also reject the word "church", such as Dr. Hugo McCord's New Testament Translation of the Everlasting Gospel, and also Dr. Stanley Morris' The Simple English Bible-NT. Some translations also reject such words as "repent" in favor of "change of heart", "baptize" in favor of "immersion" or "submerge" or "immerse". Frank Daniels' translation entitled A Non-Ecclesiastical New Testament eliminates all terminology such as "apostles, angels, deacons or ministers, bishops, devils, demons, or preachers", and conveys a different paradigm with words such as "envoy (those who are sent out as representatives), messengers, servants, overseers, accusers, spirit beings, and heralds". He also drops the term "church" in favor of assembly. (See source.)

There is no doubt that words color our understanding, and that once deeply indoctrinated with churchy terminology, it is near impossible to make anyone see beyond their bondage. Jesus Christ destroyed man-made religion in His teachings. Most Christians are unable to comprehend real spiritual freedom in Christ, because they are locked into a mental grip of religion. Christians see being ruled over and controlled by "spiritual" leaders. They see going to church. They see tithing. They see organized religion. They see being dominated by a clergy class of "professional" preachers. And very often the most blind of people are the "spiritual" leaders, who themselves are in prison to their own highly filtered belief system.

Jesus Christ was about life and living. He taught right from wrong. He taught what real love is. He taught humility. He taught to forgive. He taught what the heart of the Father is by saying "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father". Have Christians really seen Jesus Christ and who He is? Or do they see religion called "going to church", church buildings, sitting in pews, tithing, letting preachers do their thinking and studying for them, not questioning the "scholars", the teachers, and the preachers, because they see these men and women as "touch not mine anointed" and infallible?

There are no substitutes for Jesus Christ. Paul is no substitute for Jesus Christ, neither is any local "pastor" on earth. For that matter, the "Bible" is no substitute for Jesus Christ. Paul is not Lord. Pastors are not Lord. Churches are not Lord. There is only ONE Head of the ONE Body, and that is Jesus Christ, but in actual practice, it is the "pastors" who are the head. Although denied, they are looked upon as virtual spiritual masters of those who go to church. Jesus Christ never taught this. And it would appear that what Paul and other disciples taught is greatly misunderstood by countless pastors and Christians alike. Paul taught Jesus Christ crucified, and reprimanded people for saying "I follow Paul". Paul was not infallible. Paul was not a pope. Paul was human. He was "one sent", and that is all he was. Paul is not your Master. Jesus Christ is the only Master any Christian is supposed to have, and any "pastor" who demands that people bow to them as "master" is in serious misrepresentation of the truth.

In the world we live in there are innumerable "translations" of what is called the "Bible". Jesus never said anything about "the Bible". He quoted certain scriptures, but He never used the term "Holy Bible". Jesus Christ never penned any writings we know of, He merely conveyed to His disciples what to convey to others about Himself and the Father. Nothing in the Old or New Testaments was ever originally penned in the English language. All translations are simply human opinion of what they think are the "original" words or intent of the authors. In some cases, I personally have no doubt that some wording is intentionally mistranslated, added to or deleted. While Jesus Christ quoted certain passages of scriptures, He obviously only made reference to but very few scriptures in the entire Old Testament.

I have no personal doubt that if human beings added more books to the "Bible", changed the wordings, deleted parts, and completely conveyed different thoughts, and published these "Bibles" in 2007, a thousand years, or two thousand years from now, Christians would be arguing over whether these 2007 Bibles were infallible and inerrant just as they do the letters written by certain individuals in the time of Paul. Thank God we do know about Jesus Christ as a result of the four Gospels in particular, but in His teachings, Jesus Christ never established organized churchianity, man-made hierarchy, pastor control over His flock, or some "pattern" to doing church. What Jesus Christ did was to role model life. He taught living. He taught freedom from spiritual bondage and man-made religion as taught and demanded by "spiritual leaders". He taught what kind of conduct the Father wants of His children.

What "pastors" teach is not what Jesus taught. Pastors teach pastor authority, going to church, for which Jesus never said anything about "going to church", and they teach money, money, and more money. Pastors teach building physical buildings, which Jesus Christ never taught. Pastors teach that being a Christian is equated to "going to church", tithing, and allegiance to the pastor, the church, and the denomination. Jesus taught none of those things. Churchianity was not founded by Jesus Christ, but by men who love to control other human beings. Jesus never taught that salvation, eternal life, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the forgiveness of sins has anything to do with churchianity. And just like as in the days when Jesus Christ walked the earth, it is the "spiritual" leaders who decry anyone who challenges their man-made customs and traditions, because they claim their territory is divinely appointed.

The word "church" is a myth, but Jesus Christ is real.