Christ and Church

Focus on "CHRIST" rather than "CHURCH". Church is offering prayers, giving to the poor, celebrating religious holy days, singing in the choir, helping the poor, making amends for past wrongs, something that was practiced by the Pharisees, those legalism-loving, conservative, separatistic, spiritual leaders. They hated Christ not only because He broke their traditions in order to help people (Matthew 15:1-9) but because He saw through their religion to their hearts. I am a Christian simply because I have accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. As a disciple, my Christian faith should be inward, not outward because the Bible teaches that faith is of the spirit and not of the flesh. Christ dwells in my heart, and "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27) is the burning core of the Christian faith. I am a member of a local Church and get deeply involved in the participation of a local assembly (Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians. 12:25-31; 14:12, 26; Hebrews 10:24-25; I Tim. 3:14-15) for Worship, Fellowship, Edification and Great Commission.