“My Reasons For Not Going To Church”

Grace and peace to the elect of our Lord Jesus, and greetings to the enemies of God.

As many of you know, occasionally I will post a comment of one of our readers that deserves a thoughtful response too long for the standard comment section. Oftentimes, I do so because the reader’s opinion echoes that of many others and I feel the body of Christ would be edified by the dialogue.

Such is the case today. Many are disillusioned by organized Christianity—especially the church experience—and have decided that it is better to leave off going to church altogether. This is, in part, due to the influence of New Age propaganda the goal of which is to destroy people’s faith in the church and in Christianity in general. This gentleman’s comments reflect this phenomenon. I include them here for your edification.

I should add that his comment was in response to yesterday’s post, “Does Anyone Have A Lent Brush?”I have edited his comments for length and readability, but I left the more salient points intact, which are in bold blue italic, followed immediately by my response.

I must reiterate that I have included this here for the edification of the body of Christ. The gentleman who left this, though he insists he is Christian, has made so many unChrist-like comments that he cannot be Christian in the Biblical sense of the word. So, this is in no way intended to persuade him. I am appealing to those true Christians who may be buying into the New Age propaganda.

[BEGIN DIALOGUE]

“I, like you, stopped attending Church, because I cannot find any GOD approved, Jesus sanctioned Church “gatherings”. I say this because I believe also that almost all religious denominations under the banner of “Church” are offspring of the Whore spoken about in Revelation. As you pointed out, they are ecumenical. My beef against all such-so-called organizations of man-made “traditional” Christianity is as follows:

“1. Easter: Our Lord Jesus Christ is not a lair. He specifically said, 3 days, 3 nights; meaning 72 consecutive hours.”

It’s not important. Easter is a pagan fertility holiday, hence rabbits and Easter eggs. Rabbits are known for procreating, eggs are a symbol of fertility, and chocolate is an aphrodisiac. But even so, Easter is a free pass for Bible-believing Christians to rejoice that our Lord Jesus is risen.

In the United States, even Christians have come to celebrate Easter like the pagans, and forget the significance of our Lord’s resurrection. But in Russia, a Communist country that hates Christianity, true Christians have not forgotten. When Russian Christians great one another on Easter Sunday, one says, “Cristos Voscres!!!” to which the other replies, “Da, soversheno Voscres!!!” (Christ is Risen!!! Yes, indeed He is Risen!!!).

Forget when He rose. The important thing is that He rose. The important thing is that we are free to worship Jesus on Easter Sunday and the pagans are free to worship procreating bunnies. That’s what freedom is all about. And I love it so.

“2. Christmas was chosen by Catholics on or about 1500 because almost every other Pagan-satan-nature worshiping religion had their “Sun” god die Dec 21…”

It is true that Christmas is a pagan Roman Catholic holiday, but we are blessed to be able to commemorate the birth of Jesus on this day. The important thing is that, regardless of the history or origin of Christmas, for now, those who love the Lord are free to worship Him on that day. In a Communist or Muslim-dominated country, that would not be possible. As for what day Jesus was actually born, I love what Paul has to say:

“One man esteemeth one day above another, another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind” (Romans 14:5).

In other words, one day is as good as another. The important thing is that Jesus was born, because if He were not born, then He could not have died. And if He had not died, then He could not have risen!

“3a. How can a manly-man of God focus on the teaching, singing and preachings of God when his eyes are watching these women in high heels and short skirts…”

This manly-man of God does it every Sunday, after praying about it the night before.

“3b. Besides this, most preachers, church leaders, members of the board of the church are Freemasons, witches or members of other satanic organizations.”

This is true in many cases, but it is not always the case. I am not a Freemason or any of the other things you mention. And that means there are others who are not, also. You can’t paint everyone with the same broad stroke.

“3c. Jesus the Christ commanded we worship God in our hearts and minds and soul. Inwardly where no one can see nor make jest of us.”

This is false. Jesus never commanded we worship God inwardly. In fact He said, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” An “inward” noise is not a noise at all. It is a thought. What Jesus told us to do was to pray in our “secret closet,” meaning not to make a public show of piety by praying out loud like the Pharisees.

“4. Sabbath Day and Holy Days: They simply cannot obey and keep the Sabbath Day holy. They change the Sabbath day from Saturday to Sunday. Who gave them that authority?”

The Sabbath has nothing to do with the Christian Church. It was made for the Jews. The Christian Sabbath, if you want to call it that, is Sunday. Christians worship Jesus on Sunday, because that was when Mary Magdelene came to the tomb and found it empty (John 20:1). And the early Christians continued this tradition:

“And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread…” (Acts 20:7).

The first day of the week is Sunday.

“5. Tithing, offerings and money collection: Where did this 10% doctrine come from?”

There are several places where God talks about the tithe, but we should at least tithe for the reason Jacob gives in Genesis 28:20-21:

“And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come to my father’s home in peace, then shall the Lord be my God, and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.”
Genesis 28:20-21

We tithe because God has promised:

1. To never leave us

2. To guide us

3. To feed us

4. To clothe us

5. To shelter and protect us

In short, to supply our every need. We show our gratitude for His all-providence by honoring Him with the tithe. The tithe is one of the most important responsibilities for the Christian.

It doesn’t matter if Jesus doesn’t mention the tithe in the New Testament. Jesus is God Almighty. So it was He in the Old Testament who promised to take care of all of Jacob’s needs. Now, in the New Testament, God promises to “supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). And our needs are the same now as they were in Jacob’s time. So, if it is the same God and the same need, why shouldn’t it be the same tithe? You’re trying to justify not honoring God with the tithe, and it ain’t working.

“6. Toleration [sic] of Sin: Most Churches are now tolerant of Homosexuality. They are tolerant of Divorce and many, many other sins.”

It is not the church’s responsibility to approve or deny divorces. A church is not a theocracy. It is still limited by the laws of the secular government. With respect to homosexuality, homosexuals need salvation too. If a Christian is a practicing homosexual, he needs prayer and support to stop, not condemnation. That said, he definitely should not be allowed to hold any church office or sing in the choir.

As for the sin issue, there is no way to keep Satan from going to church. So it is pointless to think you can keep him from fellowshipping with the brethren. In John Chapter 13, Satan was sitting at the table with Jesus and the disciples at the Last Supper. Now if he showed up at their gathering, what makes you think you can stop him from showing up at yours? You can’t! But if you are obedient and diligent, you can limit his activities.

7. “The assembly of brethren includes visiting a friend or friends, eating and talking about Christ…I will chill out from all my labors, enjoy my wives and children.”

Not if they are not our brethren in Christ Jesus. And if you decide to visit your friends, you had better make sure you are witnessing. If not, you are fellowshipping with unbelievers, which is expressly forbidden by God. A Christian must go to church. This is a commandment.

Besides, we here in the U.S. are among the few in the world who have the right to assemble to worship Jesus without fearing for our lives. This is on my mind every Sunday. So when I go to church, I’m celebrating the freedom to do so. And when I don’t, I’m celebrating the freedom not to. Soon—and very soon—many who take that right for granted will be wishing they hadn’t.

“I said WIVES and I mean WIVES. God GAVE King David WIVES, and he has blessed me thus.”

But you are not King David. Plural wives are wrong on so many levels, I won’t even address it. We can justify anything if we want to do it bad enough.

“Please forgive me for not providing quotes of Scriptures mentioned here. I am sorry for those who do not know Scripture.”

Please include yourself among “those who do not know Scripture,” for if you knew them, you would include chapter and verse to back up the things you claim, and you wouldn’t be claiming things are in the Bible that are not. Moreover it helps when you are making certain contentions, and makes all the difference between a discussion and an argument.

Now out of respect, I have addressed your points, but I won’t pursue further dialogue on the matter, because it is not edifying. As Paul said:

“But if any man be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.”
1 Corinthians 11:16

Peace go with you.

[END DIALOGUE]

I hope this dialogue clarified a few points and will edify the body of Christ.

Be encouraged and look up; for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man

Hello, again, Brother John.

Regarding the tithe being an agricultural tithe, you are talking about Old Testament tithing, when most people were farmers and husbandmen. The Bible makes it clear that the New Testament Church of Jesus Christ collected (and should collect) tithes in the way of liquid assets (money) (See Acts 4:34-37; 5:1-8). And there is absolutely no evidence that I am aware of that suggests that the trades and other professions were exempt, as you say.

Moreover, I never said that tithing was required by the Lord; what I said was that “tithing is one of the most important responsibilities of a Christians.” The Lord Jesus never require us to tithe, but He did command us to “love one another,” and to show charity, which is love in action. Neither Judaism nor Christianity existed when Jacob made his vow to pay tithes unto God, yet he did so anyway: not in obedience to the law, or because it was an obligation imposed on him by a church, but as Genesis 28:20,21 makes clear, out of gratitude for God’s providence. God, as you know, doesn’t need our money, but others who are less fortunate do; and one way a church can support them is when individual Christians give to others as God has blessed them.

This can be done preferably through the local church by pooling the resources of church members (which is a lot easier on individuals), or in any way the individual giver chooses. I, for instance, do not have a church home, as my family and I worship at home; yet I still pay tithes by giving to several charities, Christian ministries, and educational institutions. Combined, these entities provide services such as feeding, clothing and sheltering the homeless, providing emergency assistance, ministering to prisons, supplying the Word of God to missionaries, providing educational assistance, etc. In that way, I give back as the Lord has blessed me.

We also mustn’t forget that the Apostle Paul used to take up a collection to be distributed to the poorer churches. He would pick up the collection when he would visit a church and then take it back with him to the Church headquarters in Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:1-3). Though not called a tithe per se, it nevertheless involved collecting money from church members and distributing that money to the poorer churches. It is also very important to remember that even the great patriarch Abraham paid tithes (Hebrews 7:1-9; again, before any religion had been established), as well as Levi, the son of Jacob, whose descendants are required to receive tithes rather than pay them (Hebrews 7:9,10).

Lastly, we should not forget that in 1 Corinthians 13, the great love chapter of the Bible, the Apostle Paul admonishes us to always have Christian charity, without which our faith is nothing, though we may have every heavenly gift God can bestow upon a man. The tithe is one of the greatest acts of charity imaginable. Even if, therefore, there is evidence that certain trades and professions were exempt, as you say, from paying the tithe, it would still not deter me from paying it or suggesting that others do the same. If Christians must be commanded to show gratitude to God for His goodness and providence, or help out the less fortunate by giving some of what God has blessed us with, then the Church is in deep kimshe.

“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

TSM

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“My Reasons For Not Going To Church” — No Comments

John Wainwright on November 12, 2016 at 7:35 pm said:

THE THORNY ISSUE OF TITHING

Greetings, brother Tony,
It has been a couple of weeks now since I first happened upon your blog site. Your in-depth research and study on idolatry, the Roman church, the antichrist and deception in the church, have provide me with additional subject matter and inspiration for a book which I have been writing since 1997 – a work of fiction commissioned by the Lord, to reach out to the “called but not chosen”, or in other words, those who have fallen away.

I have not yet found a cause with which to disagree with you, so far, apart from the matter of tithing. I quote your own words, “The tithe is one of the most important responsibilities for the Christian”. This is where we do definitely disagree, for the following reason:
Even IF tithing was required by the Lord in His church – and it most definitely is NOT- the tithe was an agricultural tithe, only. All other trades and professions were exempt from paying tithe. For this reason, alone, the vast majority of Christians would be exempt from paying a tithe.

There is much more I could say on this thorny issue, but I suspect that I would be wasting my time, as indeed I already have, debating the subject with an American pastor who has written a book supporting the tithe. In my experience, albeit limited, no amount of supportive scriptural evidence will change someone’s mind once they’ve succumbed to brain washing from the pulpit.

It has been some years since I was shown the light and delivered from this particular bondage.

“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10 Misleading anyone with wrong doctrine is a serious matter, particularly for those who are called to teach – a “stricter judgment”

I hope many will find this liberating

Only believe

John

Reply ↓
- The Still Man on November 14, 2016 at 2:39 pm said:
  
  Hello, again, Brother John.
  
  Regarding the tithe being an agricultural tithe, you are talking about Old Testament tithing, when most people were farmers and husbandmen. The Bible makes it clear that the New Testament Church of Jesus Christ collected (and should collect) tithes in the way of liquid assets (money) (See Acts 4:34-37; 5:1-8). And there is absolutely no evidence that I am aware of that suggests that the trades and other professions were exempt, as you say.
  
  Moreover, I never said that tithing was required by the Lord; what I said was that “tithing is one of the most important responsibilities of a Christians.” The Lord Jesus never require us to tithe, but He did command us to “love one another,” and to show charity, which is love in action. Neither Judaism nor Christianity existed when Jacob made his vow to pay tithes unto God, yet he did so anyway: not in obedience to the law, or because it was an obligation imposed on him by a church, but as Genesis 28:20,21 makes clear, out of gratitude for God’s providence. God, as you know, doesn’t need our money, but others who are less fortunate do; and one way a church can support them is when individual Christians give to others as God has blessed them.
  
  This can be done preferably through the local church by pooling the resources of church members (which is a lot easier on individuals), or in any way the individual giver chooses. I, for instance, do not have a church home, as my family and I worship at home; yet I still pay tithes by giving to several charities, Christian ministries, and educational institutions. Combined, these entities provide services such as feeding, clothing and sheltering the homeless, providing emergency assistance, ministering to prisons, supplying the Word of God to missionaries, providing educational assistance, etc. In that way, I give back as the Lord has blessed me.
  
  We also mustn’t forget that the Apostle Paul used to take up a collection to be distributed to the poorer churches. He would pick up the collection when he would visit a church and then take it back with him to the Church headquarters in Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:1-3). Though not called a tithe per se, it nevertheless involved collecting money from church members and distributing that money to the poorer churches. It is also very important to remember that even the great patriarch Abraham paid tithes (Hebrews 7:1-9; again, before any religion had been established), as well as Levi, the son of Jacob, whose descendants are required to receive tithes rather than pay them (Hebrews 7:9,10).
  
  Lastly, we should not forget that in 1 Corinthians 13, the great love chapter of the Bible, the Apostle Paul admonishes us to always have Christian charity, without which our faith is nothing, though we may have every heavenly gift God can bestow upon a man. The tithe is one of the greatest acts of charity imaginable. Even if, therefore, there is evidence that certain trades and professions were exempt, as you say, from paying the tithe, it would still not deter me from paying it or suggesting that others do the same. If Christians must be commanded to show gratitude to God for His goodness and providence, or help out the less fortunate by giving some of what God has blessed us with, then the Church is in deep kimshe.
  
  “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (1 Corinthians 13:13).
  
  TSM
  
  TSM
  
  Reply ↓
Frances on February 25, 2012 at 8:32 pm said:

Hi
Re: the Sabbath the seventh day
The Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday by Constantine in A.D. 321. . We Being spiritual Jews the Ten Commandments are as relevant today as they were back in Old Testiment times. Jesus worshipped in the synagogues on Sabbath. God’s word declared that human beings would attempt to change God’s times and laws (Dan. 7:25). One way a human power could exalt itself above God would be to change the law of God. God has a day. (Rev.1:10) Isa. 58:13 – “My holy day.” The Seventh Day is the Christian Sabbath (John. 1:1-3) (Mark. 2:27, 28) Col. 1: 14-17, Gen. 2: 1-3; Ex. 20: 8-10). Christ kept the Sabbath. (Luke 4:16) John 15:10; Heb 10:7 Ps. 40-8. Christ as a Sabbathkeeper is our example. 1 Peter. 2:21) 1 Cor. 10:4. 1 John 4:17, 1 John 2:6. The Change of the Sabbath.
The Seventh day (Saturday) is the true Sabbath made by Christ at Creation, but the first day (Sunday) is observed by many now. How did this change come about? Christ did not change the Sabbath. (Matt. 5:17-19), (Mark 2:28) (Luke 4:16) (John 15:10, Matt 24:20, Isa 42:21, Heb 13:8. God’s Seal, Sign or Mark is His Sabbath (Ex. 31:13) (Ex. 31:17) (Eze. 20:12). God Bless.

Reply ↓
- The Still Man on February 25, 2012 at 10:01 pm said:
  
  There is much I could say to prove my point, but I know it will only fall on deaf ears; so I will only say this. Until the (ostensive) “fall” of Communism, every day was a work day. There was no specific day of worship granted to worship the Lord. Yet even in those countries there were Christians. These people had to worship God when and where they could. Now, it is foolish to say that these were not Christians just because they couldn’t worship on the Jewish Sabbath day or even on the Christian Sabbath day, which is Sunday, because Jesus told the lady at the well that the day would come when the true worshippers of God would worship Him neither “in this mountain nor at Jerusalem…but in spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24). It is logical to conclude that if where we would worship God is not important, then neither is when. The important thing is that we worship.
  
  You are wrong about “times and laws” referring to the Sabbath: Times means years, not days. In the same book of Daniel you reference, we read that the kingdom of Antichrist will last for “times, a time, and half a time”; that is three and a half years. What Daniel 7:25 is referring to is the changing of years as they concern Jesus Christ.
  
  Did you ever find it strange that the manner in which we refer to the years prior to Christ’s birth are in English (B.C. meaning Before Christ), but the years after his resurrection we refer to in Latin (A.D. or Anno Domini)? Don’t you think this is rather inconsistent? Why are they not both in English or both in Latin? And why “In the year of our Lord?” If the years prior to Jesus’ birth refer to Christ, why don’t the years after His ascension also refer to Him? And why in Latin? I’ll let you ponder that, if you’re so inclined.
  
  The important thing is this: Currently, the history and anthropology books are changing from using B.C. and A.D. to BCE (Before the Common Era) and CE (Common Era). Any reference to Jesus or God has been removed. But this is only a part of the temporary secularization of America, to take our eyes off Jesus. The Antichrist will be a Luciferian; that is, he will worship Satan; not as the fallen angel, but as the “God of Light”–Lucifer.
  
  Luciferians have never used B.C. or A.D., but refer to all the dates as A.L. (Anno Lucis) or In The Year of Light. In that the Bible clearly tells us that all the world will worship the Beast and the Dragon (Satan) who gave him his power (Revelation 13:3-4), then the Antichrist will definitely change the times (years) to honor his God, Lucifer.
  
  How do I know these things? Because I pray, read AND meditate on the Scriptures, and read the works of those who are working to enslave us. This is so much more fruitful than worrying about something so foolish as when the true Sabbath is. I guarantee that if you are not careful, one day you will highly regret wasting your time on this folly.
  
  Reply ↓

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