From the time we begin attending church, we who claim to believe have heard repeatedly—almost as often as we eat—that we must serve the church and the altar. Because we accept this as the standard, we have come to regard serving the church and the altar as something natural and obvious. Thus, for any believer, the meaning of the church is seen as something very special and familiar. The standard of teaching, learning, and believing that one must fully serve the church and the altar in order to properly serve God has become a universal and undeniable conviction.
Yet what is clear is this: nowhere in the Scriptures is there any command to serve the church and the altar. On the contrary, the Word records that we must not serve through the church and the altar. However, the sad reality of today’s Christianity is that countless believers have become so conditioned to rationalized doctrines that they do not even believe the standard grounded in the Scriptures themselves.
Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.….(Matthew 23 : 16~28)
If truly serving the church and the altar were right before God, then Christ and all His apostles would have shown that example throughout the earth. Yet not only is there no verse in the Scriptures that commands us to serve the church and the altar, but rather the Word declares that a church built with hands is not the temple of God, that God does not dwell on this earth, but that He abides only in His temple above in heaven.
The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.(Psalms 11 : 4)
Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?(Isaiah 66 : 1)
Instead of the greatest law and highest commandment—“to love and serve your brother and neighbor as yourself”—the phrase “serve the church and the altar” is, in truth, a roundabout way of saying “serve the pastor who leads the church and the altar.” In other words, the expression “serve the church and the altar” is nothing more than an indirect teaching that one should serve the pastor, the one who represents the church and the altar.
To serve the immovable, man-made building of the church and the altar—mere creations of human made from perishable material—as though they were living beings, is, when measured against the Scriptures, nothing less than serving a lifeless creation made by human hands. In other words, to believe in what man has artificially made is to worship idols. Of course, many believers may insist, “We are serving God’s temple and His altar,” but what is clear is this: while the Word commands us to serve God and to serve our poor and needy brothers and neighbors, not one single verse commands us to serve God’s temple. The Scriptures make it clear that God’s holy temple is in heaven, seated upon His throne on the holy mount. A building made by human hands cannot be holy. Only God Himself is holy. And the holy temple of God is the eternal temple in heaven, where He abides in everlasting glory. From His heavenly throne, God unfolds all authority and providence.
Therefore, contrary to what today’s churches and pastors teach, neither God nor Christ ever stand before man-made church buildings or before physical crosses. Then why? Why, under the pretense of “the temple of God,” do they command people to serve man-made church buildings and altars, which are not truly God’s holy temple? Why, with doctrines and traditions that are not in the Word, do they compel people to serve immovable, man-made creations that are no different from idols?
Is it through the church and the altar that we are born again and attain salvation? Or is it through God’s grace and His Word that we are born again? When God created mankind, and when He gave His Word, the Sabbath, tithes, offerings, shepherds, spiritual gifts, faith, and prayer, He gave them for one purpose: that all these ideals and values might lead us to salvation, that by forming within us the temple of the heart being gained the beautiful love of the cross, we may become children of God—conformed to His likeness, who is the source of perfect love.
This is why the teaching of the cross is this: just as the Lord was crucified and died for us, so you also must take up your cross and follow for the sake of your brothers and neighbors; and in doing so, like Me, you will obtain resurrection and salvation. This is the lesson of the cross, and this is the holy will of God.
Therefore, the love of the cross is the very nature of God. And because we cannot fully love the invisible God, He commands us to love and serve our brothers and neighbors as ourselves. For love is God Himself. Thus, when we serve the poor and needy brothers and neighbors, we are in fact serving God and carrying out His will.
In the end, serving church buildings and altars is no different from serving those who put the church buildings above all else. In other words, it is a pretext created to make people serve pastors as though they were God Himself—a pretext established in order to demand unconditional submission and to rule with absolute power before them.
But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.(Jude 1 : 17~19)
But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,(Romans 2 : 8)
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.(Galatians 5 : 19~21)
The shepherd is meant to serve the sheep. Yet most pastors have become objects not of true respect but of domination, deified as lords while serving only words and pretenses. Thus, the greatest pretext for exploiting tithes and offerings—made for the poor and needy sheep—as a means to satisfy their own selfish desires has been none other than the man-made church buildings.
In this way, hypocritical pastors, driven by selfish ambition, have put man-made church buildings—things not found in God’s holy will or in the Scriptures—at the forefront, and under the pretense that they are God’s holy temple, they have created the doctrines of “church-centered” and “altar-centered” faith. Yet there are scarcely any sheep who clearly discern that such doctrines, being nothing more than human commandments and teachings, are themselves heresy, antichrist, and of Satan. Most only realize it later, after having given away all their wealth and possessions. For this reason, the Word testifies that on the Day of Judgment, the churches built by offerings will be torn down, leaving not one stone upon another.
Nowhere in Scripture is there a command to serve the church and the altar. Instead, the Word records that we must not serve church buildings and altars. What connection, then, does serving man-made churches and altars—something not found in the Word and in fact contrary to the Word—have with the gospel of Christ, with salvation, or with forming the temple of the heart that follows the love of the cross and reflects the likeness of God? Can salvation truly be attained through human teachings that are not in the Word but oppose the Word? It is now time to soberly examine what we must believe and how we must believe, according to the Word.
Is a shepherd who teaches what is not in the Word truly a shepherd of Christ? And while claiming to believe the Word, am I being deceived by someone armed with the pretense of being an apostle of God? Now is truly the time to examine this soberly and carefully. Now is the time to redeem the time.