“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ~ Acts 1:8

As Christians, we hope to preach the word of God with our lives and words, aiming to lead others to faith. However, there comes a time when we must step back and allow others to demonstrate that Jesus has genuinely indwelt their hearts. Unfortunately, the church has often done the opposite, hindering this natural growth process. Let me explain.

I have spent many years attending and working in various churches, and no matter how many I was involved with, I always felt that the church was somehow fundamentally lost. The church's practices and ideologies often didn't fully embody the Gospel. I encountered teachings that were not entirely biblical, with verses misinterpreted or taken out of context to justify these beliefs.

For instance, did you know that the New Testament never mentions tithing, church membership, attending a church building (especially on a Sunday), youth groups, Sunday school, or counseling in the way churches practice today? Nowhere in the Bible does it explicitly state that we should memorize scripture. Additionally, there is no biblical basis for the idea that we must commit to one specific church and that leaving it is treasonous.

Evaluating Church Practices

Do I believe the church should engage in some of these practices? Yes and no. I will elaborate on this in more detail later.

But first, what about the Old Testament—does it mention some of these ideas and practices? Yes, it certainly does, but I don't believe God desires us to be an Old Testament church.

Old Testament Church

In the Old Testament, because the people feared God, they enlisted a mediator between themselves and Him. Instead of directly approaching God, they depended on priests to intercede on their behalf. The people gathered in a temple where the presence of God resided. They were required to bring an animal to the priest for him to offer as a sacrifice for their sins. God instituted an annual tithe to support the work of the priesthood or the temple, not specifically the church as we understand it today. It was a mandatory obligation.

While the Old Testament offers many valuable lessons, particularly on things to avoid, it represents a time when people were independently trying to exist without a Savior. God was making them aware that they could not exist or have a relationship with Him without Jesus. Neither religion, laws, nor animal sacrifices could save them.

New Testament Church

When Jesus came, he changed everything by fulfilling the Old Testament's requirements.

Jesus tore the veil between God and humanity, allowing us to come boldly before His throne. Jesus fulfilled all the foreshadowing and prophecies of the Old Testament, bringing them to fruition as God intended in the New Testament. We no longer need to gather at a physical temple, for believers are now the temple of God. We don't need a priest to mediate for us, as Jesus is our High Priest. We no longer need to offer sacrifices because Jesus is our ultimate sacrifice. We follow God's laws not out of religious obligation but out of love for Jesus.

The greatest transformation is that God gave us a helper, the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit within us changes everything. It transforms a legalistic relationship into one infused with an ultimate wellspring of love. Through this gift of the Holy Spirit, we become priests, ambassadors, servants, disciples, witnesses, stewards, brothers/sisters, teachers, and counselors. We are God's temple, His church, empowered by the Spirit to do the things Jesus did and come boldly before the throne of God—because of Jesus (John 14:12-14).

Does this mean we don't need the church, pastors, leaders, and counselors? Yes, but we need to change how we look at these.

There is a hierarchy in God's church: Christ is the head, followed by pastors and ministry leaders called by God due to their mature relationship with Him. Below them are the congregation of believers. Each individual is to teach and preach God's word and point others to Jesus—none is less important to God's mission. Those in higher positions can help those below them understand what they have learned, help them up when they fall, and correct them when they stray.

Church Building

The building itself is merely a place for gathering and should not hold significant importance. Meetings can be held anywhere—in a building, a home, the beach, or even an empty field with fold-up lawn chairs. What truly matters is our actions at these locations. Are we building up God's kingdom, being a light in the world, and growing into the image of Christ? These are the things that truly matter.

Returning to Old Testament Practices

Today's church has reverted to Old Testament practices. In the Old Testament, people's relationship with God was based mainly on religion and laws. They did not have the Holy Spirit or an open door to a loving relationship with God. Today's church has quenched our relationship and moved back into religion and laws.

In the book of Acts, when the church first began, people willingly came to church, gave their money, and offered themselves as servants. They gladly gathered, fellowshiped, taught, and devoted themselves to God's teachings because they were empowered and motivated by the Holy Spirit.

Today's church often employs tactics to attract and compel people to attend services. They sometimes emphasize tithing in a pleading manner. Instead of encouraging congregants to fulfill their roles as priests, ambassadors, servants, disciples, witnesses, stewards, brothers/sisters, teachers, and counselors, as God has called them, the church can sometimes leave them on the sidelines as mere observers.

The church sometimes manipulates scripture to suit its agenda. It promotes concepts like membership, Bible memorization, and the notion that leaving a church is unacceptable, among other practices.

The church sometimes assumes the role of the Old Testament priests, acting as if only they are qualified to teach, counsel, and lead. They may present themselves as puffed-up theologians, giving the impression that they alone can correctly interpret God's word. When discussing the saints of the Old Testament, they often portray them as almost mythical figures, suggesting that ordinary people today cannot attain such spiritual heights. Instead, they look at us like sickly saints needing a hospital.

Soon they assume the role meant for Jesus. They strive to inspire, motivate, and push people to fulfill God's calling. They replace biblical counseling with therapy, mistake rebuke for enabling in the name of grace, and attempt to save people from all their problems.

Sufficiency of Christ?

The church fears people won't attend unless invited, persuaded, and sold on the idea. They doubt attendees will return without a comfortable environment, complete with state-of-the-art electronics, air conditioning, coffee, and donuts. They struggle to envision sustaining the church without convincing people to tithe. Fear of losing control over congregants prevents them from abandoning membership structures. When faced with congregants' challenges, they show little confidence in God's ability to provide solutions. They neglect the directive to admonish and rebuke believers, fearing they won't return. For the same reason, they dilute the Gospel.

I'm not sure why the church operates this way. Perhaps it's because they have little faith in the Holy Spirit's ability to guide people. Maybe they are cultural Christians, raised to know only this way. It could be that their relationship with Jesus isn't where it should be, and they are unaware of this. Or perhaps they have been blinded by Satan.

The problem is the church is inhibiting the things the Holy Spirit should be leading believers to do.

Every parent understands the duty of guiding their children along the right path. Yet, there comes a moment when we must release them to see if they will indeed walk in the ways we have taught them.

We need to let those who claim to be believers walk the talk. If someone truly has a relationship with Jesus, they will naturally commit to giving, serving, and fellowshipping with other believers, just as in the Book of Acts. This relationship with Jesus should ignite their passion for evangelism, teaching, and counseling. Believers should support each other, but it is a deep relationship with Jesus that enables us to love, teach, and preach His teachings effectively. Learning from the Master makes it easy and exciting to share His message.

Every Christian should evaluate whether their words and actions are motivated by religious duty, legalism, or church manipulation, or if they originate from a genuine, loving relationship with Jesus Christ. The Bible encourages us to examine whether Christ truly resides within us—knowing if we are acting out of His love is the foundation for recognizing His presence in our lives. Let us not quench our relationship with Jesus.

We don't need to be church members because we are all part of one body. We don't have to tithe, but we should be eager to support any work God is doing, which can include giving to the church. If God has provided for us, we should give back. Instead of memorizing scripture, we should study and meditate on it until it is written on our hearts, not just our minds. If God leads us to another church, our previous church should rejoice that God has found a place for us. We should be able to preach, teach, and counsel each other, always pointing to Jesus. Faith tells us that the Holy Spirit is sufficient for all things, but until we stop living by Old Testament practices, we will never fully realize this truth.

Church, do you not trust that the Holy Spirit will lead people to gather, to fellowship, to give, and to worship? Do you not realize that as Christians spiritually mature, they will empower the Spirit within and become powerful priests, ambassadors, servants, evangelists, counselors, disciples, witnesses, stewards, teachers, brothers and sisters, and a community of believers? If we lack this belief, we need to step back and let God cultivate it within us. We need to support each other in spiritual growth rather than manipulate others into walking in faith. Let us leave behind useless religion and empower the Spirit within each other. If a church can't exist by the Holy Spirit, what should it exist by?