Just because you conform to certain religious traditions does not mean you are a Christian. Just because you show up to a building with a cross on it somewhere, get down on your knees when you’re told to, stand when you’re asked to sing, sit and listen intently when the one behind the podium begins to speak, does not mean that you are one of the chosen of God. You can perform all of the prescribed rites and adhere to all the regulated traditions for the entirety of your life and still suffer the wrath of God for all eternity.
Be a good steward of all your materialistic possessions, perform all the functions necessary for the good and welfare of your family, maintain your obligations to the highest standards, none of it matters, not one bit of it will gain you entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. “Many are called, few are chosen,” (Matt 22:14) and there is absolutely nothing you can do to ensure that you are one of the chosen ones. It makes no difference what your church attendance record is, how many Bible verses you have memorized, it does not matter if you are a pastor, priest or king, nothing you do can earn you your salvation, we are saved by grace thru faith, (Eph. 2:8) and if anyone tells you differently they are lying, and if you believe them you are being deceived and will end up in the same place as them, hell.
If you have followed for any length of time these letters to you, you will notice that I do not refer to these institutions by names and titles, I don’t believe it is necessary to, for if you are a part of one of these many different religious organizations or are a member of a false church, you know of whom I am speaking, you have firsthand knowledge. To encourage those that are in them to either speak the truths of the Word of God to those who that are still in bondage to these places, or to leave them and never return is the main intentions of these types of letters to you. If there is no God-fearing, Christ-centered, Bible-believing church within a reasonable traveling distance to you, then perhaps a door of opportunity is being opened for you. What, you didn’t think yourself a preacher? Do you believe that it takes more than a man of God who can rightly divide the word of Truth, one who is ready in every season to give an account of his faith, one who has the firm conviction that the Scriptures are all anyone needs to come to the knowledge of the saving grace of God thru Jesus Christ. That’s all a pastor is meant to be folks, someone who diligently studies the Word of God every day, who keeps himself as much as he is able to from the wiles of the adversary and the traps of the world.
He’s not a marriage counselor, though he may be called occasionally to be one, he does not need to spend years “working his way up” from the small children, to the youth group, to assistant pastor, this isn’t some business acumen, either he is called of God or he is not. He doesn’t sit on the finance and business committee, he is not concerned with the church yard work or parking expansion, he could not care less what color carpet is picked out for the foyer, he is concerned with bringing people to Christ, teaching people how to bring others to Christ, and leading people to a closer relationship with Christ. No one needs to double-check with him on what temperature the furnace should be set at, if there is a petty quarrel among individuals in the church, unless it is a deeply spiritual matter or one involving a disagreement on foundational issues within the Word of God, then let the mature brother in Christ handle the situation, don’t think that the pastor needs to be notified every time someone gets upset because the clock needs a battery or the cookies are all gone in the fellowship hall.
If the Holy Spirit of God is telling you to get out of that false church, that religious organization, my guess is that He is also speaking to others there in the same way, and there you go. “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matt. 18:20) So then, whose house are you planning on meeting at, yours or one of theirs, when will you meet, Wednesday evening, Tuesday, Sunday morning. How many times will you need to meet before you stop discussing the reasons why all of you left and you start getting down to discussing the Truths of the Word of God. Are you prepared to lead, are you willing to spend the time necessary to prepare what you believe needs to be discussed, and until the group grows to a fairly substantial size, are you willing to lay aside all that you have prepared for that week until the next time you all gather together if one in attendance has a need that should be addressed by all that have gathered together that day.
If you accept this obligation from the Lord, know full well that you will be held accountable to a higher degree than you were before, “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation,” (James 3:1) and to put it bluntly my friend, you do not want to screw this up, to a degree, notwithstanding the personal accountability that the Lord will require from each of His children, these individuals walk with Christ will be in your hands. The fury and wrath of God awaits all those who deny Christ, how much more do you suppose is prepared for those who teach falsely the traditions of men for the Truths of Scripture. Cast a little of the fear of God into you there, did I? Good, because this is no small matter we are discussing here, we are talking about leaving your “church,” and starting to lead others in the true path of Christ, you had best be sure about this, you don’t need to get on-line and start looking up Christian colleges and seminaries, you have the entire instruction manual right there beside you, you can study what wise men of the past and present have been led to write by the Holy Spirit, praying for the discernment as you read, but you have the complete and inerrant Word of God at your disposal, that is the only book that matters.
I would highly suggest a King James version, if you have problems with the “thee’s and thou’s,” words like “froward” and others, pray for wisdom in this area, our heavenly Father loves giving wisdom to those He knows will use it for His glory. A Strong’s Concordance, maybe a map of Biblical times, and your good to go, He will lead you to the other materials as they are needed. You really need to ask yourself this question though, “If I stay here, am I truly serving Christ,” only you will know the answer when it is given to you by the Lord, and only you will be able to discern what you must do if the answer is in the negative. As it is with nearly every decision that we make in this life, the choice is ours, but do not be afraid to ask the Lord for a specific sign, that’s not going to bother Him one bit, in fact, I think He really likes doing those kind of things, those little miracles if you will.
There are very few true men of God in our world today, perhaps this is your opportunity to become one, count the cost, for it may be high, pray, and then do as the Lord leads you to do, heed the call, and you will find the One who called you to be both trustworthy and faithful.