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Closing Remarks

Protestants & Catholics vs. Idolatry   

Edifices.         

Quote from: Texas Conservative on Mon Jun 29, 2026 - 05:50:59Edifices.         

Quote from: Reformer on Sun Jun 28, 2026 - 00:01:57

"Churchitis" vs. Home Assemblies
BUFF SCOTT, JR.
 _______
 [Part 5 – Finale]

Closing Remarks

    Recently, I heard about a group of believers in Wisconsin that's spending six million dollars to build a church building. About the same time, I received news from Florida that another group there had spent thirty-six million dollars on a church edifice. These believers who are squandering millions of dollars to construct idols in the form of church edifices will need to give an account to the Lord for their wasteful and profane extravagance. Their story has been repeated over and over for centuries by those who have "come in to roost," even though Jesus said to "get out and go."
 
    Just ponder for a moment how many genuinely destitute people could be fed and clothed, and how many authentic evangelists who are willing to herald the Good News to the unregenerate full-time could be adequately supported if these believers were to abandon their idolatrous church projects and scatter throughout their neighborhoods and start house meetings?
 
    All of them together could still pool their contributions into one fund for the purposes mentioned above, or they could support these endeavors individually. Their "pulpit ministers" and "youth pastors" would be forced to find jobs and go to work or transform their gifts into full-time evangelism.
 
    In home assemblies, there is no need for district or diocese "Bishops" or "Pulpit Pastors" to supervise the various groups. Their ecclesiastical positions would be as useless as Milk of Magnesia in a washing machine, for each house assembly would be autonomous and select its own qualified leaders, called "elders" and "shepherds" in the Scriptures. Outside "Parish Reverends" or "Pulpit Preachers" would be an infraction upon heaven's blueprint.
 
    When will we ever realize our church idols speak of our idolatry as much as the idols contrived by old Israel? In spite of the fact that God clearly warned them against making idols and revering them as something sacred, they built them nonetheless and bowed down to them. God told them in no uncertain terms, "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship [revere] them" (Exodus 20:4-5).

Protestants & Catholics vs. Idolatry   

   Both Protestants and Catholics have trampled upon this injunction and are guilty of the very thing God condemned—idolatry. Have we forgotten Paul's visit to Athens, Greece? The record says, "While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols" (Acts 17:16). To give this a modern-day paraphrase, "While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of church edifices and other articles of worship."
 
    If this great apostle were to re-visit the earth in the flesh today, he would look around at our countless idols—church structures and other objects of "holiness"—scattered across the landscape and proclaim, as he did almost 2,000 years ago, "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: 'To an unknown god.' Now what you worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you" (vs. 22 & 23).
 
    If you will substitute "church edifices" and "holy articles" in the place of "objects of worship," you will get the true picture of our sordid predicament today. "Oh," but you say, "We don't worship church edifices and other objects!" Come, come, now, let's not play the word game. Most if not all church structures and "religious" articles are revered as something sacred. They are not to be defiled, contaminated, dishonored, or spoken evil of. And if that is not a form of worship, I've lost my marbles. The whole thing in a nut-shell is that we, like old Israel, have constructed idols and designed comfort zones for ourselves while the world goes to hell.
 
    Why not convert our edifices into shelters for the genuinely destitute—the "down-and-out" of our society? Use them for humanitarian reasons, not for "worship services"—whatever that is. Either that or convert them into office buildings, sell them, and take the proceeds to reach the lost and to feed the hungry. But whatever decision is made, we ought get rid of our idols! "Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves" (Lev. 19:4). "Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land and bow down to it" (Lev. 26:1).
 
    The practice of bowing down or considering holy images and figurines and statues is no different than my going to a creek bed and talking to a pile of rocks, or picking up a load of firewood, placing it upon a large stone, and bowing down to it as though it were something holy.
 
    Interestingly, the first time "worship" is mentioned in the scriptures is in Genesis 22:5. The Hebrew definition of "worship" in this passage is "to bow down" or revere. This means anytime we bow down or revere any material/physical object in a spiritual sense, we are worshipping that article. Yet God says we are not to do that. Why are believers intent on doing just the opposite of what God says? Let's get with it. Time is fleeing.

When our born-again brother in the Lord, Jesus the Son of Man, walked out of the temple after confronting the traditions of men, He left behind what had become an abomination through unbelief and the traditions of dying fathers. The temple itself was never God's eternal dwelling place. As Stephen later declared:

"Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands..." (Acts 7:48)

Jesus pronounced its judgment:

"Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." (Matthew 23:38)

The issue was not merely that, about forty years later, the Romans would destroy the temple. The greater judgment came the moment Christ declared it desolate. Though portions of its stones remained for a time, God had already departed from that system. The outward building remained, but its spiritual purpose had ended.

Immediately afterward, the disciples pointed to the magnificent buildings as though their outward glory still mattered. Jesus answered that not one stone would be left upon another. Yet instead of receiving His words, they asked for signs:

"Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign...?" (Matthew 24:3)

Like many before them, they looked for signs and wonders. Yet Jesus directed them back to the Word. He warned repeatedly, "Take heed that no man deceive you." The only sign He promised unbelief was the sign of Jonah—a demonstration of His death, burial, and resurrection.

The same temptation remains today. Many continue to seek miracles, visible signs, and extraordinary experiences before they will believe. But faith does not rest upon signs. Faith rests upon the written testimony of God.

Those who are born again do not need to keep wondering after signs and wonders. They have the more sure Word of God. The Holy Spirit teaches them through the Scriptures, leading them from the visible to the invisible, from earthly demonstrations to heavenly realities.

Christ, the Good Shepherd, leads His sheep beside still waters and makes them lie down in green pastures. They rest, not because they have seen every sign they desire, but because they have heard His voice and believe His faithful Word. Their confidence is not in temples made with hands, nor in religious traditions, but in Christ alone, whose Word endures forever. 

Quote from: garee on Thu Jul 09, 2026 - 09:13:39When our born-again brother in the Lord, Jesus the Son of Man, walked out of the temple after confronting the traditions of men, He left behind what had become an abomination through unbelief and the traditions of dying fathers. The temple itself was never God's eternal dwelling place. As Stephen later declared:

"Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands..." (Acts 7:48)

Jesus pronounced its judgment:

"Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." (Matthew 23:38)

The issue was not merely that, about forty years later, the Romans would destroy the temple. The greater judgment came the moment Christ declared it desolate. Though portions of its stones remained for a time, God had already departed from that system. The outward building remained, but its spiritual purpose had ended.

Immediately afterward, the disciples pointed to the magnificent buildings as though their outward glory still mattered. Jesus answered that not one stone would be left upon another. Yet instead of receiving His words, they asked for signs:

"Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign...?" (Matthew 24:3)

Like many before them, they looked for signs and wonders. Yet Jesus directed them back to the Word. He warned repeatedly, "Take heed that no man deceive you." The only sign He promised unbelief was the sign of Jonah—a demonstration of His death, burial, and resurrection.

The same temptation remains today. Many continue to seek miracles, visible signs, and extraordinary experiences before they will believe. But faith does not rest upon signs. Faith rests upon the written testimony of God.

Those who are born again do not need to keep wondering after signs and wonders. They have the more sure Word of God. The Holy Spirit teaches them through the Scriptures, leading them from the visible to the invisible, from earthly demonstrations to heavenly realities.

Christ, the Good Shepherd, leads His sheep beside still waters and makes them lie down in green pastures. They rest, not because they have seen every sign they desire, but because they have heard His voice and believe His faithful Word. Their confidence is not in temples made with hands, nor in religious traditions, but in Christ alone, whose Word endures forever. 

Very well expressed, Garee. Thanks.

I know you advocate for home meetings as opposed to large edifices for meeting.  However, consider this:

In the first chapter of Acts there were 120 believers.  In chapter 2 they added 3000. 
In chapter 4 it was up to 5000 men, plus women and children.
In chapter 21 there were ten thousands (plural).

Since there was only one congregation in Jerusalem, whose house were they supposed to meet in altogether?

Dave,

The question is not the size of the building but the size of the gathering.

The early gathering  met wherever believers could assemble. If one home held many families, they could gather there. If not, they gathered in several places. Jesus Himself fed thousands on a hillside, showing that God's people are not limited to religious buildings.

The church is the people, not the structure.

Jesus promised:

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20)

When Thomas joined the other disciples after his confession of faith, Christ was present with them—not because of a building, but because they were gathered in His name.

Whether two, twenty, or thousands, the gathering is made one by the living Word. As Ecclesiastes says, "a threefold cord is not quickly broken." Christ with His people forms that strand of three.

The New Testament records the growth of the church, but it never makes a large religious edifice the foundation of Christian fellowship. The foundation remains Christ, and wherever believers gather under the hearing of His living Word, there He is in the midst of them.

Both of you, Dave W & garee are correct in your own ways & written well.
Wherever there is a Church where Christ is the head, people gather, share faith, share each other's problems,
uplift each other & faith grows
& at the same time,
wherever there are a large group of people gathered in the name of Christ,
faith & love for Christ grows,
bringing people together & with followers & faith increasing.

Whether faith is shared in a Church or in a group,
but wherever Christ is the Head, faith grows,
Amen.

I think both of you have good points.
In fact many of you, write well & have good points, though sometimes differently expressed.
But what matters in the end is that we are all believers in Christ & sharing views even if different is a great way to increase our sacred love for our Beloved Saviour Christ.




Dave W is correct ...
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24-25

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:46-47

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Matthew 16:18


And garee is also correct ...
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Romans 12:4-5

How good and pleasant it is
when God's people live together in unity!
Psalm 133:1 
For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.
Matthew 18:20

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28

Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.
John 13:20 
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Acts 1:14

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20)


In fact, such is the impact of Christianity,
that despite believers being persecuted,
the faith of Christianity is growing,
& new believers are being formed.
Such is the level of persecution that even Churches are not allowed to be built & even Christian music like hymns are not allowed to being played,
but still somehow the believers practice Christianity & new believers are being added to the group.
This in itself shows that wherever the presence of Christ,
is there,
new believers are being added.
But the Christian world should also stand up & support the new formed believers & the already existing ones.

Quote from: DaveW on Sun Jul 12, 2026 - 12:41:36I know you advocate for home meetings as opposed to large edifices for meeting.  However, consider this:

In the first chapter of Acts there were 120 believers.  In chapter 2 they added 3000. 
In chapter 4 it was up to 5000 men, plus women and children.
In chapter 21 there were ten thousands (plural).

Since there was only one congregation in Jerusalem, whose house were they supposed to meet in altogether?

Quote from: Reformer on Thu Jul 16, 2026 - 13:14:24

Naturally, they met in numerous homes scattered throughout. Such is the history of the early believers.