In the New Testament, the term "church," also sometimes translated as "assembly," comes from the Greek word EKKLESIA which means the "called out." The word was used by the Greeks to describe the assembling or gathering of citizens who were called out to meet together for public hearings. The heralds would walk through the streets and literally call for people to come out from what they were doing to gather for public business. In the scriptures EKKLESIA refers to those whom Christ has "called out" from the world to be His own, and to assemble together in His name. The primary meaning of the church is used in a universal sense, referring to all Christian believers everywhere. Irrespective of denominational or doctrinal differences, all persons who have genuinely placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are members of His church, also called the body of Christ, over which Christ is the head (Eph. 1:22-23).
Secondarily, the church also refers to a local congregation of believers. While the scriptures tell us that there is only one true church, yet it is made up of many individual churches. Most of the Apostle Paul's epistles were written to the local churches such as at Rome, Corinth, Thessalonica, Ephesus, Philippi, Galatia, and Colosse, and he makes mention of many other churches which had been established in various cities at that time.
The Greek word ekklēsia, which came to mean church, was originally applied in the Classical period to an official assembly of citizens. In the Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Old Testament (3rd–2nd century BCE), the term ekklēsia is used for the general assembly of the Jewish people, especially when gathered for a religious purpose such as hearing the Law (e.g., Deuteronomy 9:10, 18:16). In the New Testamentit is used of the entire body of believing Christians throughout the world (e.g., Matthew 16:18), of the believers in a particular area (e.g., Acts 5:11), and also of the congregation meeting in a particular house—the “house-church” (e.g., Romans 16:5).
You might have had a very rough experience dealing with different sermons, teachings, revelations, prophecies and more in the year 2019 from different places that you almost or have lost your root as a believer. There is good news for you, Just know that God loves you and never want you to die in ignorance, carelessness or end your life on earth in confusion.
It is very important that you know that there are Churches you shouldn't have attended in the year 2019. The Holy Bible, in Revelation 2v3, gives us some clarity of church that might have lost their way. Even though, the Bible did mention some positive things that these same churches were doing. Which means they were not totally bad.
And kindly put it in mind that No Church is 100% perfect, all are run by humans like yourself and are bound to make mistake. But you must be wise and be aware that some of these Churches can lead you to hell if care is not taken. Below are some of the Churches you must avoid in the year 2020:
1. Club-Like Church
In such Churches, social activities have taken the place of Sunday school teachings, prayers, rooted sermons and thereby have lost focus on what the body of Christ should be. Most Churches today are been based on (Miracle performance, Deliverance, and Breakthroughs), all these are good though. but when the teaching of God's word becomes scarce in any Church, people are bound to be misled. Songs sang in such churches and clothes they put on have almost no different from that of the Clubs.
2. Church That Teaches Wrong Doctrines
Wrong doctrine may lead someone to quoting the scriptures wrongly. It’s important to receive the messages that you hear in a church with eagerness, but it is also vital to examine the Scriptures yourself to see if what was spoken was biblically true or not (Acts 17v11).
3. Church That Has Lost Its First Love
The primary role of any Church is to help you grow and strengthen your faith. It has now become nearly impossible for Churches and its leadership to focused on helping members of the church draw closer to God. Churches today have lost their first love. Politics has become the business of the day in the church instead of sharing God’s love. Gaining numbers in money and attendance becomes a prime concern. You must Run from this type of Church.
4. Churches That Never Convicts You of Sin
There are quite a number of Christians who have no conscience, they don't know when they are wrong or right, everything they do seems good to them. When the word of God is preached, you should feel uncomfortable at times. We all fall short of where we should be. Remember in the bible that Nathan the prophet convicts King David of sin; (2 Samuel 12).
We all need a Nathan in our lives to show us Sin that we either don’t see or have pushed down so we can avoid it. Anytime the word of God is preached, it should be able to point out the times when we’ve acted wrongly.
5. Churches That Doesn't Preach the Death And Resurrection Of Jesus
God's only son came to earth purposely to die on the cross for the sin of men, in other to redeem men back to there root. But as it is today, there are Churches that do not believe the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. After Jesus' crucifixion, he was laid in the dark tomb. but three days later, both the cross and the tomb were empty. The Resurrection is pivotal to all Christian faith; if Jesus didn’t rise again, we might as well bulldoze all the churches because preaching and faith would be useless. Check Mathew 28:1v20 in your bible.
Avoid these churches in this year 2020.
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