Who is church for?

[Mark]

Believers, nonbelievers or both?

Originally Posted by Mark

Believers, nonbelievers or both?

Excellent question but I think you need to define "church" for us before we could get too deep into the question.

Do you mean church as in the brick and mortar building that we go to 1 or 2 times a week to worship?

Church can also be defined as a gathering together of believers. If a group of believers to together at your farm for some fellowship or study it could be called "church" but it would have a different purpose or goal than a stand alone house of worship we all gather at weekly.


So what exactly do you mean by Church brother??

[Boomer]

We don't go to church, we are the church. God's body of believers with Christ as the head.

Our acts of worship build community which stregthens each others faith to go out into the world to function as Christians at whatever God has put before us.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by Chuck

Excellent question but I think you need to define "church" for us before we could get too deep into the question.

Do you mean church as in the brick and mortar building that we go to 1 or 2 times a week to worship?

Church can also be defined as a gathering together of believers. If a group of believers to together at your farm for some fellowship or study it could be called "church" but it would have a different purpose or goal than a stand alone house of worship we all gather at weekly.


So what exactly do you mean by Church brother??

Sunday morning.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by Boomer

We don't go to church, we are the church. God's body of believers with Christ as the head.

Our acts of worship build community which stregthens each others faith to go out into the world to function as Christians at whatever God has put before us.

So you think believers?

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by Mark

So you think believers?

Yes ... I do. The Bible says that He gave us the five fold ministers for the equipping of the saints. thats where we get equipped. (not JUST Sunday mornings)

[Mark]

Originally Posted by Boomer

Yes ... I do. The Bible says that He gave us the five fold ministers for the equipping of the saints. thats where we get equipped. (not JUST Sunday mornings)

If a non believer comes to church is that OK?
Can a non believer become a member of the church?

[MattHughesRocks]

If someone really didn't believe I doubt they would be going into a church in the first place.

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by Mark

If a non believer comes to church is that OK?
Can a non believer become a member of the church?

Yea, it's ok for someone who does not believe in Christ to come to a Sunday service. The sense of community and God's presents has turned many a folk to him.

No .... the term in itself is contradictory. Again since we do not go to church, but are the church ... all of our members as Christ body believe and belong to Him. If you do not believe, you cannot belong.

[NateR]

The word "church" in the Bible is actually the Greek word ekklesia, which means "congregation" or "assembly." So it's a reference to GOD's people, those who dedicate their lives to following Him. The actually physical location of the church is irrelevant.

So, with that understanding, I would say that the "church" is for believers to learn about GOD, to be accountable to each other, and to grow together in Christ.

Now you can bring a non-believer to a church meeting but they will never be a part of the church unless they accept Jesus Christ as their savior. Of course, this doesn't mean that there aren't false believers inside the church. According to the parable of the sower (Matthew 13), 2 out of every 3 church members are false believers. That means that over 66% of the church is going to Hell (some would say that number is overly optimistic). This is why GOD will bring His judgement down upon the church first, then the unbelievers.

This also helps to explain why so many church members today seem to be intent on steering their congregations down a liberal path with no concern about what GOD's Word actually says.