The Church is Not a Building

Author:
Christopher J. E. Johnson
Published: June 9, 2021
Updated: Aug 26, 2023

According to the Bible, it is impossible to "go to church."
That statement might be surprising to some readers who are not well-studied in Scripture, and others may accuse me of condemning attendance in church buildings, which, I assure you, is not the purpose of this teaching. I have no problem with someone who travels to a church building on a regular basis to fellowship and study with like-minded believers, and there is merit to the fact that they have disciplined themselves to take time and resources to do that.

However, there is a serious problem with something that I will refer to as "temple-based" ideology (i.e. an 'ideology' is a set of doctrines or beliefs of a particular group), in which the building itself is referred to as "the church," and that is a concept that is completely opposed to New Testament doctrine. In this teaching, I will not only provide all the Scriptural evidence to prove what I am saying, but hopefully, readers will find themselves relieved from the burdens of the unbiblical mandates created by false preachers, and discover the dangers hidden in this mainstream idea that one can "go to church."

DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND: The Bible certainly teaches us that we Christians are to assemble together for fellowship with one another, worship of God, and prayer. (Heb 10:25) However, the requirement that one must physically show up to an "officially approved" church building (i.e. to be present inside the four walls of a structure located at a specific address that is pre-approved by a pastor) every week is an unbiblical ritual that is taught by the precepts of men.

Because there have been so many churchgoers get infuriated with me for simply talking about this subject, I need to emphasize that I am NOT saying that it is wrong to meet with other Christians in a building made for the purpose of such meetings, and (as I will talk more about at the end of this article) there are problems with some Christians who think they ought not to fellowship with the rest of the church. Fellowship with other Christians is something I believe to be vital for all the church (i.e. all those who are born again in Christ worldwide), but the primary purpose of this teaching is to explain that "going to church" is impossible according to Scriptural understanding, churchgoers commonly worship the building itself as a source of so-called "holiness," and that Christians need to be warned about false doctrines that are commonly pushed on to congregations by pastors who do not have a good understanding.

Many of you have probably seen the phrase that is typically put on American church building signs that says "CH__CH -- What's missing?" It is intended to be a joke (and one which lacks wit and humor), which implies that because the letters 'UR' are missing from the word, it is intended to communicate that "UR in church" or "you're in church."

Although I am sure that some church building pastors think this will increase their attendance rates, the problem with this cutesy phrase is that it is nonsensical from a Biblical perspective. As we are about to discover, it represents what I call a "temple-based" philosophy (i.e. a philosophy is a way of thinking), which focuses on structures made by the hands of men, or sometimes I call it "church-ianity" instead of Christianity.

There is a philosophy (i.e. way of thinking) that is developed after the doctrines of the world, and a philosophy (i.e. way of thinking) that is developed after the doctrines of Christ:

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy [a way of thinking] and vain deceit [useless lies], after the tradition of men, after the rudiments [first teachings you learn] of the world, and not after Christ.
-Colossians 2:8

First, let's make sure we all understand that the Bible has given us commandments that we should assemble together and fellowship with one another:

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled [covered with liquid; in this context, the blood of Christ] from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
-Hebrews 10:22-25

assemble (v): to collect a number of individuals or particulars into one place, or body; to bring or call together; to convene; to congregate
forsake (v): to quit or leave entirely; to desert; to abandon; to depart from
(See 'assemble' & 'forsake', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved July 6, 2021, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

The reason these verses were said to the Hebrews was because there were certain among the church who were of Jewish descent, and were taught from an early age (i.e. the rudiments of the world) to despise the Gentiles, and so as Gentiles joined the church, the Jewish believers were disgusted and departed from fellowship, thereby "forsaking the assembling" of the church together. Rather, the church should be "exhorting one another," which means we ought to encourage one another to the charitable works of Christ, fellowship with one another, and prayer.

And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly [consistantly, without wavering] in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
-Acts 2:40-42

Those who have come to repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of their wrongdoing) and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission (i.e. forgiveness/pardon) of sin should be fellowshipping together with other Christians. However, there are still some who refuse to do so, choosing to remain alone, rather than seek out like-minded believers, because they lack understanding about what the church is for, and that our growth in the wisdom and knowledge of God is directly connected to fellowship and study with the church, and those who God has called to teach His Word.
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Fellowship" & There is No Saving Grace Without Repentance here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Next, we need to establish how the Bible describes the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ:

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.
-1 Corinthians 12:12-14

The church is being defined as many members, which is referring to individual Christians. In this passage, Paul says "we all," referring to the people, and therefore, the "body of Christ" are those who have been born again, and come together for fellowship with one another.

This is not how the church is generally spoken of in modern culture. Before we get to more Scripture on the subject, let's take a look at an example, starting with the corrupt, fake-Christian website, Christianity.com (i.e. they teach many false doctrines), which published the following article, and this is the typical church-ianity phrasing that is used by modern-day churchgoers:
"Why Is it Important to Go to Church? God's Word teaches the importance of active participation in a local church. Believers must make church attendance a priority in their personal and family schedules and put going to church ahead of other seemingly beneficial activities. There was a time in America when the church was the focal point of a community's culture and calendar. Families would make it a priority to attend church services and functions almost every time the church's 'doors were open.'"
-Mel Walker, "Why Is It Important to Go to Church?" Christianity.com, Feb 18, 2020, retrieved July 7, 2021, [https://www.christianity.com/wiki/church/why-is-it-important-to-go-to-church.html]

The author's name is Mel Walker, and on the website, it says he has been a "youth pastor" for 40 years, even though there is no such thing as a "youth pastor" in Scripture. Walker's purpose here was not to encourage fellowship, but rather, he is pushing an attendance agenda for his church building.

Walker stated that "going to church" was "important" and should be a "focal point" for believers. However, he also stated that the church has "doors," so what that tells us is that Walker, who is supposedly a 40-year-veteran preacher, believes that the church is a building.

Now let's go back to Scripture:

Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
-Acts 11:22

So the 40-year-veteran preacher says the church has doors, but the Bible says the church has ears. These are obviously two very different descriptions because one is describing a building, while the other is describing a group of people.

In that same passage, a few verses later:

And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
-Acts 11:26

If the church were a building, the phrase in Scripture should have read, "they assembled themselves IN the church," but that is not what it said. One cannot assemble themselves WITH a church, UNLESS the church is a group of people.

In the next chapter, we find more interesting descriptions of the church:

Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
-Acts 12:5

How does a building pray? It is the Christians assembled together who pray.

And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.
-Acts 14:27

How does one gather buildings together? It makes much more sense to gather Christians together.

Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
-Acts 15:22

How can a building be pleased? It is the Christians who were pleased.

And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.
-Acts 18:22

How does one greet a building? I am not saying it is not possible to bring good and loving tidings in greetings to a building, but if Paul would have traveled around the country doing that, people would have branded him a lunatic.

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
-Acts 20:28

How does one feed a building? Worse still, by the word 'feed', this verse did not mean physically, with meat and drink, but rather, it means spiritually, with wisdom and understanding from God's Word, so how do you teach a building about God's Word?

Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.
-Romans 16:4

How does a building give thanks? How can a building harbor contention?

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

At this point, it should be abundantly clear to readers that the church is not a building, nor did the apostles of God refer to the church as a building at any point. If they were to refer to the church as a building, the Bible would become nonsense because it would contradict the basic doctrine of the church being the born again body of the faithful.

Perhaps some readers think I am being overly critical of Walker's assessement of "the church" on Christianity.com, but he continues to push his insane idea that the church is a building:
"One only has to review the words God uses to describe His church to get a glimpse of how important it is to Him: the bride of Christ, the household of God, the body of Christ, and God's building. The church as God's plan is something that must be a top priority in the lives of all believers."
-Mel Walker, "Why Is It Important to Go to Church?" Christianity.com, Feb 18, 2020, retrieved July 7, 2021, [https://www.christianity.com/wiki/church/why-is-it-important-to-go-to-church.html]

I find it very hypocritical that Walker describes the church as a building in the literal sense (i.e. he did not mean this metaphorically), which is in opposition to God's Word, but then tells everyone else that they need to go to God's Word to get a description of the church. So let's go to God's Word to see for ourselves; the following passage is Paul greeting his close friends in the church:

The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
-1 Corinthians 16:19

How could buildings in Asia greet them? Furthermore, notice that Paul said that the church was IN the house of Aquila and Priscilla, or in other words, the Christians locally met in the house of Aquila and Priscilla, so if the church is a building, Paul should have said, "with the disciples that are in their church," but that is not what he said because it makes no sense to label the church according to a physical structure built by the hands of men.

The disciples of Christ ARE the church. Since we who are born again in Jesus Christ are the church, how can we "go to" ourselves?

It is impossible to answer that question because it does not make any sense, and because of that, when I address churchgoers on this topic, I typically only get one of three responses:

Silence. Some believe it better to ignore me, so they can hide from the question and not have to think about it, and therefore, avoid having to correct themselves.

False accusations. I am called a "Pharisee" or a "legalist" or "playing word games" or a "troll," etc. This is to help them create a idea of superiority in their minds, so they can see me as someone not worth their time, so they will not have to think about the matter and correct themselves.

Agreement. They see the Scripture and reason of the matter, and come to understanding and reconciliation with God's Word.

The church (i.e. the born again believers in Christ) is supposed to be subject unto Christ, which means to be subject to His Word and doctrine; following and adjusting ourselves to be in accordance with Him in all things:

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
-Ephesians 5:22-24

The Lord Jesus Christ did not come to this world, to suffer, to die, and to rise from the dead, just to save a building, or to make sure that we all start worshipping in a temple built by the hands of men. I can assure readers that it is ridiculous to think that a building is required by God to be subject to Christ in obedience.

That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
-Ephesians 5:27

For those of you who have studied God's Word, do you believe that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross so that we would have a building with clean widows, vacuumed floors, and polished pews? Was that His purpose? Was that why He was moved so deeply to leave His Heavenly Throne to suffer among us? These verses never referred to a church building, but rather, they are obviously talking about Christ and His beloved saints.

I once listened to a man who was analyzing one of my books, and he became very irritated that I kept using the term "church buildings" instead of "churches" and I called people "churchgoers" instead of "Christians." I use all four of those terms when it appropriate to use them, depending on the context of what I am writing. What the man did not understand was that just because there is a church building that claims to be "the church," it does not mean it is filled with born again Christians, and therefore, not every building is a church, and not every churchgoer is a Christian.

The Bible very clearly teaches us that the presence of the Holy Spirit is in a temple, just as it was in the Old Testament, but that temple has been moved from a building to the individual bodies of saints:

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
-1 Corinthians 6:18-20

Demotivational Poster Church Building [creationliberty.com]

And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
-Galatians 4:6

If there is any temple of the Lord, if there is any house of God that is in existence today, it is the body, hearts, and minds of the born again elect. So if I were to "go to church," it would require that I enter the body, heart, and mind of my brethren, which is IMPOSSIBLE for me to do.

Again, this is why Paul did not say we should "go to church," but rather, he said that we ought to ASSEMBLE ourselves together:

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
-Hebrews 10:25

Of course, if you were to speak with Walker, I would guarantee that he would suddenly agree with me, and then try to explain away why he wrote the things he did in that article. However, the problem is that he is equating the churchgoers and the church building as one and the same:
"Current culture makes it easy for both individuals and family members to get involved in other activities instead of faithfully attending and serving the Lord in a local church. So many activities today tend to conflict with church schedules, and the internet provides an abundance of podcasts, recorded sermons, and the live-streaming of a host of church services that it has become easy for people to do other things instead of attending church. God's Word teaches the importance of active participation in a local church. Believers must make church attendance a priority in their personal and family schedules and put going to church ahead of other seemingly beneficial activities."
-Mel Walker, "Why Is It Important to Go to Church?" Christianity.com, Feb 18, 2020, retrieved July 7, 2021, [https://www.christianity.com/wiki/church/why-is-it-important-to-go-to-church.html]

Do not misunderstand because, although I am not inclined to express any agreement with Walker on the basis of my research into other things he teaches (i.e. I do not believe for a second that he is brethren in Christ), I do agree with Walker to a certain point, namely, that discipline and sacrifice for learning and teaching the Gospel of Christ has declined over the past century. I also agree that there are Christians out there who make up excuses to not have fellowship with others, but to blame things like "the internet" or "podcasts" for that is somewhat short-sighted; rather, it is the laziness of men that is the problem, and laziness is not something that suddenly came about with 20th century technology.

Notice how Walker compares the church to the internet, meaning that when he says "in a local church," he actually means that people need to show up at their official church building, and this common usage of these phrases by leavened preachers and churchgoers is said for a couple of very specific and deceptive reasons. I will get to those reasons in a moment, but before I do, let's look at some other authors to see the pattern, and then I will discuss the reason for these things.

Rhonda Stoppe, who has spent decades writing and speaking for many corrupt ministries, wrote an article for the leavened website Crosswalk, in which she said:
"Going to church is not about getting your attendance gold star, nor is it about gaining God's favor for the week because you assembled together with His people. Church is not a place to go, rather it is a living body where God wants you to become a part--for your good and His glory. Let's look at only 10 of many reasons to go to church--even when you don't feel like it."
-Rhonda Stoppe, "10 Reasons to Go to Church (Even When You Don't Feel Like It)," Crosswalk, July 5, 2021, retrieved July 7, 2021, [https://www.crosswalk.com/church/pastors-or-leadership/10-reasons-to-go-to-church-even-when-you-don-t-feel-like-it.html]

Perhaps some of you might think that Stoppe has the right idea because she said, "Church is not a place to go, rather it is a living body," however, her next words contradict that when she said, "Let's look at only 10 of many reasons to go to church." In case you did not catch it, and as surprisingly contradictory as it is, she just said, "Church is not a place to go, but you need to go to church."

The authors I am quoting are telling everyone to "go to church," but what they ACTUALLY mean is, "You need to physically show up to an 'officially' appointed church building every week." Appointed by who? What makes it "official?" What is the difference between meeting there or meeting at a house across the street? These are all valid questions, but the real question we need to ask ourselves is WHY do they keep pushing so hard for people to show up to an offically labeled church building every week?

Please consider the following:

  -Is it possible to worship God without attending a church building?

  -Is it possible to assemble together in fellowship with Christians without attending a church building?

  -Is it possible to study God's Word together with other Christians without attending a church building?

The answers to these questions should be relatively simple. Yes, it is possible to do those things without attending an "official" church building, so again, the major question we are left with is this: Why are they pushing so hard for church building attendance?

The true answer (as I am about to demonstrate, and despite what these leavened preachers might tell you) has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with keeping the commandments of God in Scripture, it has nothing to do with fellowship, and it has nothing to do with Biblical education. These are all convenient excuses they use to convince their audience that they are Biblically sound, but they have a double heart. For them, it all comes down to popularity and a paycheck, and in order to obtain those things from the people, they need the people's attention, and in order to gain their undivided attention, they need them to attend the church building every week.

Remember, these are people in positions of religious leadership, and with that, comes a paycheck. For anyone in a salary position, they know that if they do not bring in customer revenue, they will be out of a job. Therefore, the more people involved in their so-called "ministries," the more popular they become, the respect they gain to their person (i.e. title, rank, office of station, etc), and the bigger donations they will receive every week.
(Read "Respecting Persons is Sin" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
-Isaiah 56:11

Stoppe goes on to list out her "10 reasons" why people should "go to church." Of course, she starts out with the normal staples, like "To Hear the Preaching of the Word," and "To Participate in Corporate Worship," but the strange part about it was that when I read over her explanations of why these things should be done, she did not provide any of the Scripture that would support those doctrines. (i.e. She just listed out her opinions.)
(See Rhonda Stoppe, "10 Reasons to Go to Church (Even When You Don't Feel Like It)," Crosswalk, July 5, 2021, retrieved July 7, 2021, [https://www.crosswalk.com/church/pastors-or-leadership/10-reasons-to-go-to-church-even-when-you-don-t-feel-like-it.html])

In fact, the entire article, "10 Reasons to Go to Church," is mostly a scam because it is something called "click bait," meaning that it is a title that entices people to click on it, so the company who owns the website Crosswalk.com can make money on advertising revenue. (i.e. Advertisers spend money to get their ads in front of viewers, and click bait articles help increase their perceived number of viewers, even if the viewer did not read the article.) Next to this article, they advertise "10 Biblical Warnings You Need to Stop Ignoring," "7 Powerful Keys to Unlock the Book of Revelation," "5 Ways COVID Has Changed the Church," and "6 Ways to Become More Attracted to Your Spouse," all of which are "click-bait articles" designed to increase traffic to their website.

The reason they do this is because marketing analysts have found that providing a headline that reads "X Reasons Why..." is one of the most effective headlines to drive traffic to a website or social media platform. The reason this works so well is because the title gives you a vague subject matter with a bit of mystery, leaving you wondering what the numbered reasons are, which you cannot discover unless you click the link, and of course, the more people that click the link, the more money they make from ads, and as you might notice, most mainstream church-ianity websites are cluttered with them. (NOTE: You also may have noticed that this website has no ads, and that I do not use any click bait in my titles; that is because my ministry exists to preach the truth of Christ, not to gain popularity and money.)

So what you first need to understand is that Stoppe is an employee of the company who owns the website that published her article, and she has to provide articles in a certain format that meet the standards of their marketing department. (I know how this works because I have had so-called "Christian" companies try to recruit me for that type of work.) What this means is that Stoppe did not write this article because it was a serious issue that the Spirit of God laid on her heart that she should address ten points, but rather, this was a dime-a-dozen article that she was led by her employer's marketing team to write so she could fill a quota and get paid.

Remember, if you work a normal job as an employee for a company, you must act and speak in a manner that is representative of the company while you are on the clock, and if you refuse, they can (and probably will) fire you. Things work exactly the same on church-ianity websites, so they will only hire and pay those who preach the company policies, and the company policies are going to align with their bottom line, or in other words, they will only allow articles on their site that promote church-ianity because that is how they make money.

Furthermore, the evidence that the "go to church" doctrine is a sham is found by the natural reaction of church buildings, churchgoers, and pastors to the Covid-19 "scamdemic." To preface this point, I want it to be known that our church (from Jan of 2020) NEVER stopped meeting, we NEVER wore masks, we never did "social distancing" garbage, and we knew the entire thing was a political show and control for power.

However, most of the church buildings you see around every street corner of America shut down at the commandment of the government. Very few, if any, stood on moral principle, meaning that they did not and would not stand up against the governement, they would not tell them that God in Scripture commanded Christians to meet and fellowship together every week (like they normally preach to their audiences), and they would not suffer any consequences gladly for the sake of Christ.

(See Sharon Bernstein, "California governor shuts churches, businesses as COVID-19 cases surge," Reuters, July 13, 2020, retrieved Aug 19, 2023, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-california/california-governor-shuts-churches-businesses-as-covid-19-cases-surge-idUSKCN24E2OW])

Of course, there were no "surges" of Covid-19 cases (and, I would argue that, as of 2023, we still do not have any evidence that Covid-19 exists), but that is a topic for another article or book. Again, most of these church buildings just gave in to the government's demands, and I would cringe to think of how many of these lackedaisical, lukewarm churchgoers and pastors would just roll over and do whatever they were told if real threat of persecution unto death ever came to America.

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
-Revelation 3:15-16

(See Karma Allen, "North Carolina church ordered to close temporarily in wake of deadly COVID-19 outbreak," ABC News, Oct 26, 2020, retrieved Aug 19, 2023, [https://abcnews.go.com/US/north-carolina-church-ordered-close-temporarily-wake-deadly/story?id=73833468])

They chose to ignore the Word of God, bowed to their governing overlords (especially since most of them have 501c3 contracts, and would be required to do as they were told, or be audited and lose their precious 501c3 status), and told everyone NOT to "go to church." Of course, they knew they were going to lose money in donations because of this, and so they did not really start to fight back until their paychecks were suffering, and then, suddenly, they all got very bold, and told their congregations that they were going to stand with Jesus Christ and do the right thing, no matter what the government told them! (And, of course, they got cheers of praise from the audience, even though they all acted in hypocrisy.)
(Read 501c3: The Devil's Church here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

The point I am making here is that the church buildings, and their allegedly "brave" and "faithful" pastors, immediately threw out the whole "fellowship" and "go to church" narrative as soon as it costed them something. This tells us with CERTAINTY that they are hypocrites who could not care less about Biblical principles unless it increases their fame and fortune.

Worse still is that I (and our church) has been condemned by pastors and churchgoers because the majority of us meet online, and that is because some of our church members live on the other side of the country, and others live on different continents. However, as soon as they were ordered to shut down by the government, they started meeting online, doing the exact thing they were condemning us for doing, which is a grand display of hypocrisy.

If that were not bad enough, according to Christianity.net, if you do not "go to church" then you are not a Christian. In a Q&A blog, a woman named "Anne" writes to an anonymous author at Christianity.net, and asks a question concerning her sister-in-law:
"ANNE: I'm confused can you be a christian and not go to church?
ANSWER: I'm not surprised that you're confused because it is true to say both that you don't need to go to church to be a Christian and that if you don't go to church, you're not a Christian."
-Anonymous Author, "Can you be a christian and not go to church?" Christianity.net, retrieved July 8, 2021, [https://christianity.net.au/questions/christian-church]

That leaves me with a very curious question for them. If their churchgoers did not show up in the four walls of the church building during the Covid scam lockdowns, does that mean their congregations are not Christians?

The author then goes on to describe the church as a "family," but then also equates that family and the building they meet in as if they are one and the same:
"If there is nothing holding her back (and there might be legitimate reasons) she should go to church."
-Anonymous Author, "Can you be a christian and not go to church?" Christianity.net, retrieved July 8, 2021, [https://christianity.net.au/questions/christian-church]

As I pointed out at the beginning, it is impossible to "go to church" if you look at the Biblical definitions of what the church is (i.e. if I am a member of the church, then I am part of the church itself, so I cannot "go to" myself), and so what this anonymous author is telling this woman is that if you do not attend a building constructed for religious purposes, that is also overseen by an "official" pastor, then she is not a Christian. I was unaware that the requirements for remission (i.e. forgiveness) of sin and salvation in Jesus Christ included a requirement to attend a weekly meeting inside of a specific building that is overseen by a pastor, because that is called "works-based" doctrine, and that is heresy against Scripture.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
-Ephesians 2:8-9

Another leavened Crosswalk author, Mindy Fitterling, pushes this idea of being "in church," rather than assembled together with the church, meaning that she believes the church is a building:
"Time is a valuable commodity. More than anything else, today's society has become defined by how we spend our time. To an outsider, it may seem foolish to sacrifice two hours a week for God. In fact, an 80-year-old who has gone to church his entire life will spend over 8,200 hours in church!"
-Mindy Fitterling, "Do Christians Have to Go to Church Every Sunday?" Crosswalk, Aug 25, 2017, retrieved July 9, 2021, [https://www.crosswalk.com/church/pastors-or-leadership/do-christians-have-to-go-to-church-every-sunday.html]

By counting "two hours" a week, Fitterling is defining "going to church" as "being physically inside the four walls of a structure at a specific address for an appointed amount of time." Leavned preacher Michael Houdmann of Got Questions teaches the same thing, that the church is a four-walled structure:
"The Bible tells us we need to attend church so we can worship God with other believers and be taught His Word for our spiritual growth... Church attendance is not just a 'good suggestion'; it is God's will for believers."
-Michael Houdmann, "Why is church attendance / going to church important?" retrieved July 9, 2021, [https://www.gotquestions.org/church-attendance.html]; See also 501c3: The Devil's Church for more details on Houdmann's corrupt so-called "ministries."

Of course, Houdmann goes on to reference to Hebrews 10:25 (in his corrupt, new-age ESV bible version), which we have already read (from the pure Word of God in the KJB). So we know that the Bible tells us that we should assemble together, but Houdmann equates assembling together as "church building attendance," which is not the same thing.
(Read "Why I Use the King James Bible" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

The "go to church" philosophy (or "attend a church building" way of thinking) is built upon the false ideology that churchgoers believing that they have what the world needs, and so the world must come to them to get it. This is the opposite of what Jesus Christ taught us to do. Christ taught us to go to the world, not wait for the world to come to us:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
-Matthew 28:19-20

Notice that Jesus did NOT say, "Go ye therefore, and advertise your church building, telling people that they need to attend it or they will be cursed." Rather, Jesus told us to go into the world, preaching the truth of His Word to them.

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
-Luke 24:44-47

The disciples of Christ were to start preaching to Jerusalem, and then spread it out to all the other nations around the world. Furthermore, Jesus told us that what He spoke "in darkness" (i.e. in private conversations) should be preached "in the light" (i.e. openly to the people), and that they should proclaim these things "upon the housetops" (i.e. in public areas).

Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
-Luke 12:3

I want Christians to understand that the mainstream church-ianity websites equate the building and congregation as one and the same, and they also push heavily for people to show up to it for a very particular reason. That reason is: They know where their bread is buttered.

If you do not understand what I mean by that, it is a phrase that implies that a person knows where their funding comes from. In other words, these authors know that their websites and so-called "ministries" are maintained by the funding coming through church buildings and the viewership of churchgoers (via advertising revenue), and so in order to get jobs and/or funding, they must go through the holy, sacred cow called the "pastor."

This is the key point because the pastors are the main source of the funding. A pastor tells the congregation in his church building that the building itself is the "house of God," and that they must come to the "house of God" to receive spiritual blessings, and furthermore, they must give money to God (i.e. by giving money to the pastor), or else they will be accused of stealing from God (i.e. "robbing God"), which is exactly what they teach in the false doctrines of the storehouse tithing sermons.
(Read "Tithe is Not a Christian Requirement" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Of course, the Bible mentions the house of God, but it does so in the metaphorical sense, not in the literal sense of it being a building with four walls:

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
-1 Timothy 3:15

We know that Paul was speaking metaphorically here because not only did he define the church as "the pillar and ground of the truth" (i.e. we, the church, are that which is built upon the bedrock of the truth, and that truth is Jesus Christ), but in another letter, Paul specifically pointed out that the church is NOT a building made by the hands of men, and that the building of God is in heaven:

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle [i.e. our physical bodies] were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
-2 Corinthians 5:1

So the authors of these leavened church-ianity websites, being willingly ignorant of the Scripture (1Co 2:14), know that the pastors bring in the big money, and so this is a "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" situation in which the author tells people they need to go to a church building and financially support it, while in turn, the pastor shares that financial support, either by giving directly or by promotion of their websites (which gets more ad revenue by increased viewership), and in turn, many pastors actually (secretly) have ownership in the sites and make more profit from them. I know about all this because I had the same opportunity to be a part of that world and the church-ianity scheme that goes on behind the scenes, but I chose to rebuke it instead, which got me shunned from church-ianity's inner circle, condemning me as evil on the way out, and they still continue to fool unsuspecting churchgoers who have little understanding of what goes on behind the scenes.

Just to give an example, some of the authors I quoted came from two different websites, Christianity.com and Crosswalk.com. What you may not know is that they are owned by a company called Salem Media Group, which owns "99 radio stations, with 56 stations in the nation's top 25 top markets - and 28 stations in the top 10 markets," and provides programming, music, and news "to 3000 affiliates."
(See Salem Media Group, "About Salem Media Group," retrieved July 8, 2021, [https://salemmedia.com/about-us])

Salem Media also hosted their first "Virtual Pastor Appreciation Event" in October of 2020, which pulled together a conglomorate of corrupt, false teachers, who need you to believe that you have to be inside their country clubs (i.e. church buildings) every week paying your dues (i.e. tithes):
"Salem Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SALM) announces their first ever Virtual Pastor Appreciation Event featuring a lineup of today's leading voices in ministry and music including John MacArthur, Chuck Swindoll, Alistair Begg, Tony Evans, Robert Jeffress, Greg Laurie, Allen Jackson, Bryan Chapell, Samuel Rodriguez and Paul Cannings. Worship artists performing will include Matthew West, Natalie Grant, for King & Country, Mandisa and many more!"
-Salem Media Group, "Salem Media to Host First Ever Virtual Pastor Appreciation Event Featuring Today's Leading Names in Christian Teaching & Music," Sept 21, 2020, retrieved July 8, 2021, [https://investor.salemmedia.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/679/salem-media-to-host-first-ever-virtual-pastor-appreciation]

If you think that some of the names listed out here are good teachers or singers for the Lord Jesus Christ, then you need to learn the truth. I will not cover the details on these people in this article (because is not the purpose of this teaching), but I do have a book I published (that is also free-to-read on our website) called Christian Music: For the Love of Money, that exposes some of the names mentioned in the quote above, and that will help show you how deep the deception really goes, not just in relation to music, because there is always a corrupt preacher behind the so-called "Christian" music.

I can assure readers, not just from my years of research, but also from personal experience, that in order to get a small slice of that huge financial pie, you have to play according to their rules, and their rules have nothing to do with Scripture. That is one of the major reasons that they are trying to "put the UR in CH__CH," because they know that the more attention they have, the more respect they receive, and will bring in more money.

No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. [mammon = money]
-Luke 16:13

In short, this is a battle between incorporated, wealthy, corrupt preachers, versus the local, home churches that serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Please do not misunderstand, there is nothing wrong with having a special building constructed for a congregation of believers to meet in, but that is not what the early church did.

The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
-1 Corinthians 16:19

The church, which is the body of Christ, the group of believers who fellowship together, met in someone's home for study and worship of God. There was no "official" church building. The problem that modern-day preachers have with this is that they hate the idea of the church having the liberty in Christ to discern good from evil on their own and choose who they yoke together with because, in the corrupt preachers' view, all people should be under their rule of authority so that all will submit to them, despite the fact that Jesus said that is not the way the church is supposed to operate.

But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
-Matthew 20:25-28

This is not how the typical church buildings operate today; they do the opposite of what Jesus Christ taught. These corrupt preachers teach whatever they believe will pour honey into the ears of the people, and whatever will convince the people that they are being taught wisdom and understanding (even though it is worldly, and not of the Spirit of God, 1Co 2:6, 1Co 2:14), so the people will respect their person (in sin, Jms 2:9) and have reason to pay them for it.
(Read "Respecting Persons is Sin" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

This is all so they can gather more wealth unto themselves, as the Bible says, to gather more harvest into their barns for the purpose of building bigger barns:

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
-Luke 12:16-21

These authors (i.e. scribes) and pastors (i.e. Pharisees, or in other words, hypocritical men in positions of religious leadership who are perceived by the public as moral and "holy" men of God) are gathering fruit (i.e. money from the people), and seeking to build greater buildings for themselves to bring in more people to give them more money so they can build greater buildings for themselves. Though the Lord God has had great mercy and longsuffering on the wicked of this world, their judgment is coming.
(Read Why Millions of Believers on Jesus Are Going to Hell here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Finally, let's go over the reasons why there are some who claim to be of Christ, but do not have any desire to assemble together for fellowship with the church. There are a multitude of minor reasons, some of which might even be legitimate reasons for not joining together with the church (e.g. physical injury, distance, etc), but there are only two main reasons:

1. Selfishness: As I talked about in "The Biblical Understanding of Fellowship," if you believe that fellowship is all about what you get out of it, then you do not understand the Biblical purpose or meaning behind it. A "fellow" is another word for a "friend," and if you think friendship is only about you, then you are not really a friend to anyone because you are not thinking of the other person.

It shows an extreme lack of charity and love that one would only think about how much that he/she will receive from others, rather than how much they can give to others, and how they can help others. I can spot those kind of people easily because I used to be one of them, who hid in the back and only thought of myself, and that is why I understand it. There are new Christians, young and old, that are experiencing certain things for the first time, going through pain, grief, persecution, and tribulations of this world, and they need support from other Christians, so if you are only focused on yourself, you will never see a Christian who needs a charitable and understanding friend.

And that leads us into the second point...

2. Lack of Persecution and Tribulation:

Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
-Acts 14:22

tribulation (n): severe affliction; distresses of life; vexations; in Scripture, it often denotes the troubles and distresses which proceed from persecution
persecution (n): the infliction of pain, punishment or death upon others unjustly, particularly for adhering to a religious creed or mode of worship, either by way of penalty or for compelling them to renounce their principles
(See 'persecution', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved July 10, 2021, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

The degree to which a Christian will suffer persecution and tribulation will vary depending on what their life was like before they were saved, and what calling God has given them. However, what is an indisputable fact is that persecution and tribulation are guarantees for those who are born again in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Due to the unwillingness to stand boldly for the Lord Jesus Christ, there are many who claim to be of Christ who avoid controversy and hide themselves away from anything that might lead to a situation in which someone will be upset and they will retaliate (verbal or otherwise) against the Christian who told them the truth. Therefore, because they are doing their best to avoid persecution and tribulation by remaining silent, they have nothing in common with others in the church who ARE suffering, sometimes on a daily basis.

Christians who suffers tribulation and persecution from their family, their former friends, neighbors, and co-workers, and have been abandoned, ridiculed, and even lost their jobs for the sake of teaching what is right by Jesus Christ, those Christians long for fellowship with the church. You do not have to urge them to fellowship with the church, but rather, they do it automatically because they desire to be with others who have experienced the same tribulation and persecution, and those who have not suffered the same things tend to shy away because they do not have the same understanding.

But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon [quickly] with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
-Matthew 13:20-21

No one likes having to suffer persecution and tribulation, but knowing that we do it for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can rejoice that we have done what is right in His sight, and therefore, the church can rejoice together, while comforting one another. However, those who have not suffered the same persecution or tribulation have no understanding of it, and so not only do they not have any interest to fellowship with those who do, but they are selfish in that they have no concern to provide comfort for those who have.

Please do not misunderstand, if what I just wrote described you in some way, there is no need to run off and immediately become a member of a church and start forcing yourself to show up because all that is really doing is creating a facade, putting on a false appearance, and we need to remember that God looks at the heart and sees all because simply cleaning the outside of the cup and platter (instead of the inside first) will only make you as much of a hypocrite as the false teachers.

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
-John 7:24

And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
-Luke 16:15

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. [i.e. they store up wealth unto themselves while they manipulate the people to give them more] Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
-Matthew 23:25-26

If you do not have a charitable heart, then you must pray that God would give you one. You need to pray that He brings you to repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing), so you would be a genuine, cheerful giver.
(Read There is No Saving Grace Without Repentance & "The Biblical Understanding of Charity" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
-2 Corinthians 9:7

The reason I wrote these things is to reveal the reader's heart to him/herself, so you can judge yourself to see if you have selfish motivation in which you either do not love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (which is why you avoid controversy to avoid persecution), or you do not love your neighbor as yourself (which is why you think more about what you get out of fellowship than what you can offer to help others).

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
-Matthew 22:37-40

All of us have experienced being alone, and that we wanted someone to be with us during those times, and so we should treat others the way that we would like to be treated.

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
-Matthew 7:12

For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
-1 Corinthians 11:31

The Bible has given us commandments not to forsake assembling together as Christians, but the Bible never tells us to "go to church." Assembling together with other Christians could be in the form of a Bible study, a meal, street preaching, charitable works, and an assortment of other tasks and duties that are given to the church, but the real reason there is a mainstream church-ianity push to "go to church" as if the church were a building, is to get you into a country club to pay your dues to the pastor and his staff so they can have some attention and make some money.

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
-Romans 16:17-18

If this article helped you have a better understanding of God's Word, then please take the time to share it with others so they can also understand the truth of Scripture, and come out from among the corrupt, fake church organizations that are leading them to the wide gates of hell. If you would like more details about why there are so many churchgoers and preachers on their way to hell with their hopes in the false doctrines and traditions of men, I highly recommend reading a short, free-to-read book on our website: Why Millions of Believers on Jesus Are Going to Hell