Our Relationship To Other Christians

Inquiry: Our family has for years now, been worshipping in private, without any sort of association or connection with other 'religious' groups/people - as everyone seems to be following someone other than Christ. ...

We were studying Ezekiel and struggling to visualise the Temple! So we did a search and found your presentation. We REALLY appreciated it. Very rarely do we read or hear anything that seems to reflect exactly what the Bible says without 'private interpretation', as your commentaries during the presentation, did.

We are hoping that we may have finally found another true brother that follows Christ ...

Reply 8/31/10: Thanks for your encouraging email! It was good to hear from you. I'm thankful God has given you an appreciation of literal, in-context interpretation of scripture.

I'm glad you found the Ezekiel study to be helpful. I assume you were referring to the page with the color pictures at http://bible.ag/en/enezekieltranscript.htm. The Ezekiel commentary is updated in the book at href=http://bible.ag/en/mr4web.html#EZanchor-anchor although the pictures there are black and white. Also the book should answer some of your questions about me.

1Cor1:12-13 says, "Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided?" Why was it wrong for them to say, "I am of Christ?" Because in context they should have said, "We are all of Christ." All who have truly believed on Christ and have thus been born of God and thus have the Holy Spirit are now and forever of Christ.

I agree with you that denominations and church buildings and religious baggage are wrong. And I agree with you that most of the Bible teaching we hear today is influenced by denominational and popular Christian doctrines. But God allows the church to thrive in this doctrinally confused time as a testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit to cause Christians to walk in truth, righteousness, and love despite the confused doctrine. It is his work, and so it is successful.

Of course, there are a lot of false Christians among those that attend conventional churches, but probably the majority of those who assemble at evangelical churches like Calvary Chapels, Independent Baptist, Independent Bible, Plymouth Brethren, Christian & Missionary Alliance, etc. are true Christians. All of us have different weaknesses and shortcomings which is one reason we need each other as different members of one body. I would prefer to meet in a house church setting, but if you assemble with brethren in a traditional church that has good Bible teaching, they may get a lot of things right that we get wrong even though they are wrong about their church meetings. I've been in a lot of house church meetings that have more serious doctrinal problems.

The word "church", "eklesia" in Greek, means "called out assembly" so assembling is at the essence of what the church is. In the NT, the brethren in a wide geographic area were called churches (plural), like "the churches of Galatia", but the brethren in smaller geographical areas like cities were called the church (singular), like "the church of God which is at Corinth," etc. So I think we have an obligation to have as much unity and contact as possible with all true brethren in whatever city or locality we are in, even though their church meetings and some of their doctrines are faulty.

The following sections in my book may be relevant:

Romans 14 re who we should assemble with, href=http://bible.ag/en/mr4web.html#R12anchor-3-anchor

1 John re the sanctification of every Christian, href=http://bible.ag/en/mr4web.html#JNanchor-anchor

Romans 6 re the sanctification of every Christian, href=http://bible.ag/en/mr4web.html#R5anchor-7-anchor

1 Corinthians 11 re church meetings, href=http://bible.ag/en/mr4web.html#C1anchor-anchor,

Romans 1-4 and some other sections re how to be saved and thus who is a true Christian, href=http://bible.ag/en/mr4web.html#LFanchor-anchor, href=http://bible.ag/en/mr4web.html#TEanchor-anchor

I hope God gives you much success in your endeavor to know the Word and follow Christ. Please write again any time.