Church Hedge Around The Law

Mark 7:8-9
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.
9 And he said to them, You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!

The “authorities” of Jesus time put a “hedge around the law” and that hedge turned out to help them from having to keep the law because they didn’t actually want to.

Believers have been born again. God’s desires are now our desires.

Recent “authorities” in high places in religious society today have similarly put a hedge around Christ’s teaching.

This hedge is called “church”

Here is one way “you have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your “church” thing”

#1 OFFERING
Paul would collect money from saints to help saints

II Corinthians 8:14 your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.

II Corinthians 9:12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.

The collection of money was meant to help the Body of Christ the ecclesia-believers who were in need but what does “church” do with it?
The church needs a new kitchen and more chairs and to pay rent and start that new ministry to the homeless,
Whilst members themselves are suffering, some fired from their job because of recession, some people can’t make hospital payments while their mom dies of cancer.
These are the same people who put their money into a collection plate for “church”

This is the same backwards practice that angered Jesus when he saw the temple system “devour women’s houses” as she put her last two pennies in the jar, confused into thinking that putting money in the jar made her closer to God

When the Bible teaches that all our money is God’s in the first place.

#2 FELLOWSHIP
Christians drive so far just to get to a “church” Some people would not admit it or have not thought deeply about it but….they have their church life and their outside of church life.
The further I have to drive to see another believer the better as long as they don’t get to involved in my family life.

God’s people, His ecclesia is opposite in scripture

Acts 4:32-35
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had EVERYTHING IN COMMON.
33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
34 There was NOT A NEEDY PERSON AMONG THEM, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold
35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was DISTRIBUTED TO EACH AS ANY HAD NEED.

GOD Teaches us that ecclesia is extension of FAMILY. BUT “church” has turned it into ministry. AND MINISTRY in the Bible means service, not preaching. (Though preaching is one of the most important things a Christian can do, the word ministry does not mean that specifically.)

WE HAVE COME SO FAR AWAY. How big this hedge.

#3 SERVICES IN THE BODY
In “church” one man is responsible for all the roles of the body.
Who does the teaching? the Pastor
Who does the exhorting? the Pastor
Who is in charge of administration? The Pastor
Who does the evangelism and preaching? The Pastor
Who does discipling? The Pastor
church planting? Pastor
marriage counseling? Pastor
shepharding the flock? pastor
overseeing / caregiving? Pastor

1 Corinthians 12:14-19
14 For the body DOES NOT consist of ONE member BUT of MANY.
15 If the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body.
16 And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body.
17 If the WHOLE body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?
18 But as it is, GOD arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as HE CHOSE.
19 If all were a SINGLE member, where would the body be?

Where indeed? certainly not in a church.

But Paul is describing how Christ’s ecclesia/PEOPLE live and not “church”

Yet another reason church is a scripture-less hedge of tradition that keeps believers from obeying God, or gives them excuses not to.

#4 SECULAR WORK
Ever have trouble making it to work on Sunday because you had to WORK? Then get those looks? He doesn’t obey the SABBATH!!

One of Paul’s main teaching was Family and Job as worship!

II Thessalonians 3:6-12
6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.
7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you,
8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you.
9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.
10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.
12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

So church sees the abandoning of Family and Job to sustain church as HOLY,
Where God teaches worship as obedience in Job and Family and the ecclesia/people of God existing to sustain THAT, as holy.

#5 HYPOCRISY 
You might be reading this and think. If church didn’t exist, then I wouldn’t know what to “DO” to please God every week.

That is exactly your problem.

You thought ecclesia was something that you do, instead of something that you are.

It has become to you a work that you Do once a week to please God. Church is a place where you can go and then come home and say. “I did it” can’t wait to do it again next week. And some even enjoy that. Makes you feel safe. You can say,”I did it.”

When you meet God face to face and say “but I did church” do not be surprised at his unhappy response.

“You did church?”

ecclesia is not something you do.
It is something you are

and it has no relationship with “church” except that singing worship songs together is one of the things the people of God did sometimes.

but that is as far as the relationship goes.

CONCLUSION
Please drop the hedge and pick up the Bible. Don’t make excuses for your love of disobedience and call it church and then stick the word in the Bible and assume it means ecclesia.

repent.

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