The New Testament Journey:
The Priesthood of All Believers;
The Original Way
“What
is called Christianity today, and what has come to be called “the church”- has
become a tradition, institution, and a system quite fixed, rooted, and
established as ever Judaism was, and it will be no less costly to change it
fundamentally than was the case with Judaism…a “very heavy price” is attached to the change
which is necessary to really solve the great problem.”
T. Austin Sparks
For the most part, the churches that are in the world at present
know not how they came so to be, continuing only in that state which they have
received by tradition from their fathers (The True Nature of a Gospel
Church, edited and abridged by John Huxtable [London, 1947], p.35).
"God's house" must not be identified with any building,
for this clouds the fact that Christ's people are a "spiritual
house." The old covenant emphasis on places has passed away because the
fulfillment of these types has come in a spiritual people (John 4:20-24).
Introduction:
Hello, Let me introduce myself and
tell you a little of my life history. My name is Pete Horvatin. I’ve been
married to my sweet wife Bernie for many years. We have two, grown children,
Dan and Kim, and seven grandchildren. Bernie and I have been believers all of
our married life and Bernie has been a believer before me. In fact, she is the
one who was instrumental in me coming to faith. We have been members of a
variety of denominations throughout our many years of marriage, i.e., Wisconsin
Synod Lutherans, Southern Baptist, Assembly of God, and a few other
non-denominational, Bible-Based churches. Bernie attends Faith Baptist church.
Please,
before you even ask, “Well, were does he attend church? Let me tell you that, I
have not forsaken the assembling together of other believers with myself, I do
worship my heavenly Father, I do believe in Jesus as my Savior, and I do not
neglect the reading and studying of the word.
Today,
I want you to understand that I don’t have an axe to grind against the
leadership of today or the traditional body of believers, but it is my intent
to inform and impart the full knowledge to you of what I believe to be the
original intent of the Apostles from the scriptures. If you
are willing, I’d like to start by reading a couple of quotes for you to think
on while we are together.
· Change
is nearly always difficult especially when it involves (Focus on these words) “long-standing, deeply-seated traditions” that we have become
accustomed to. Anonymous
· Just
because people have believed something and handed it down through the years, does not make it true! Anonymous ( Pay close attention to these quotes)
Food for Thought
Questions:
· Do you feel guilty when you don’t
attend “Church” or miss a couple of Sundays in a row? Ask yourself, “Why?” Tradition!
· Do you feel uncomfortable when the
“Church Service Format” is changed? “Why?”
Tradition!
· Do you feel that the Church building
is the “sacred space of God or house of the Lord” “Why?” Tradition!
Two
Key Questions:
· Why
would believer’s meetings that were held in the home during the first three
centuries of the New Testament where everyone participated be good for the New
Testament believers, but somehow unworkable for those throughout the centuries
as well as us today?
· Ask
yourself, “How can close relationships develop with other Christians if you
only meet for two hours on a Sunday and those two hours are taken up with
singing, sermon, announcements, etc.” Relationships
that develop in the Institutional body of believers are the exception, not the
rule.
My Purpose Is
Threefold:
· To
study about Christian Church history and the
influence of some of the early believers during Paul’s time, and the Early Church Fathers in discerning the
truth about leadership, believer’s meetings, and church buildings.
· To
truly see how The Traditions of Men have been
accepted by many believers as concrete truth.
· To
encourage you to return to The Simplicity of First-Century
Christianity and meeting in the home.
First,
I don’t claim to have all the answers, but for me, when I discovered and
examined the truths based on research from the scriptures, church history, and
Greek Language Word Meanings, I felt as if a door of freedom had been opened to
me.
Note:
A
friend, of my wife and I, was talking with our former pastor and asked him,
“how do you address the needs of seniors in your congregation?” He told her,
“we really don’t, they kind of fall through the cracks. When she told us that,
it really started me thinking that in the body of believers something is
drastically wrong. It’s about relationships right?
This
little story started me on a course of research and discovery of and for the
truth about the traditional body of believers and the system that they have
become a part of. I have to say that I am very confident about the information
I am presenting to you, but overwhelmed by the task set before me. I feel that
this is just the tip of the iceberg because there is so much to “unlearn and re-learn” for all of us.
You may be curious or for whatever
reason you have come, but I can just about guarantee that if you come from a
traditional believers background and mindset, as you listen or you read, you
will experience a variety of emotions. You may not believe me at all, feel
shocked, offended, angry, feel attacked, feel defensive, feel I’m being divisive,
you may even walk out. However, I seriously believe some of you will be
pleasantly surprised and feel that “someone finally understands how
I’ve felt all these years about the reality of “going” to church and meeting
with other believers”. It is my prayer that I will not cause
division among brothers and sisters in Christ (even though some of you may see
it that way), but as the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4:25 we are to “put off falsehood” and “speak truthfully”
to his neighbor for “we are all one body”.
Let
me say, If I use an unusually strong tone (or what some might perceive as a
strong tone), I want you to understand that I’m not angry. We, as the body of
believers, are to be like the Bereans and
thoroughly examine biblical teachings in search for the truth. I cannot stress
enough “the importance of spiritual discernment.” However,
much of what I will be discussing with you about leadership and believer’s
meetings is very unpopular, and, dare I say, considered to be spiritually
incorrect. It’s not this way to all, but to the majority
of mainstream Christian Churches around the United States today. In fact, if
you believe something other than what many traditional Institutional body of
believers are set on to be true (excluding foundational Christian Doctrine) then
most likely you will be argued with, attacked personally, or quite possibly
shunned or put out of your fellowship.
(SO BE PREPARED!)
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