God does call the Church to be the Church, loving God, preaching His truth, loving each other, helping the poor and innocent. When that does not happen, an individual church can definitely lose the call of God.
As we said, God
does not call an organization or institution to be
the Church (the body of Christ)
He calls individuals begotten of His spirit to be the Church. No institution is begotten of the spirit.
There is no way for any Church institution to lose the call of God since he never called any Church institution in the first place. He already has a Church, it is comprised of its Head Christ Jesus our Lord and the body of him, that is all who have been joined to the body through consecration and sacrifice. All other Church organizations and institution are as we said man-made and man-contrived religious institutions.
The Risen Christ threatened to come and "remove the lamp stand" of the Ephesian church (see Revelation 2:5) for not loving Him or each other as they once had. Yes, God the Father does call individuals, but He also calls us corporately to be the Church--the Bride of Christ. Jesus said that "even the gates of hell will not prevail" against "her".
The light of the lamp has already been removed from the professing church even as the Lord forewarned it would be. We are not in the Ephesus stage of the church, we are in the Laodicean stage, the last stage of the Church’s history, and as the Lord warned he has spewed them out of his mouth.
“Because of the current lukewarm condition of the professed Church as a whole, our Lord (in
Rev 3:16) implied that there was little or no hope of bestirring the nominal mass to a favorable reception of his counsel. There was a time when stewardship of the Word was entrusted to the nominal Christian Church, who were God’s ministers of reconciliation to the world, commissioned to teach and preach the gospel to the spiritually poor “
Babylon [a mixture of Catholic and Protestant church systems] was (past tense)
a golden cup in the Lord’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine (false doctrines);
therefore they have now gone mad.”(
Jer. 51:7).
Jesus’ remarks (in verse 16)
indicate this privilege would be revoked; indeed a fulfillment along these very lines has already commenced.
Prophetically, the Master declares it is merely a matter of time before he will “
spew out” (utterly disavow or vomit forth)
the church systems per se.
As the Lord states,
Babylon the Great (the professing church)
has fallen (
Rev 18:2). And as such the Lord is calling his true people to come out of these systems,
the “
ripe”
wheat (
the “
wise virgins”)
have already departed, all that remains in these systems are the “
tares” (nominal Christians, being bundled together for the fire of the Great Day)
and of course the “
unripe” or “
foolish virgins”, mere “
babes”, unripe wheat, malnourished, lacking the proper food for any true growth in the graces and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
All the spirit begotten presently still trapped within these institutions of men are but “
babes”
for there is no room nor means for spiritual growth within these organizations,
“
For the bed (the creed bed or crib)
is shorter than that a man (a fully developed man, a mature Christian)
can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it (God’s Word being narrowed by an erroneous theology, which purports to teach that only a few chosen ones will be saved while all others are either destroyed or tormented forever).”
Isa 28:20
Seeing as the “
wise virgins” the mature
have all but vacated Babylon as in accordance with the will of God it is obvious that what remains are but mere “
babes”,
unripe wheat, malnourished, lacking the proper food for any true growth in the graces and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Why is this you ask?
Because with the fall of Babylon and the call to vacate there no longer is heard “
the sound of the harpist” (those who are able to harmoniously interpret the word of God),
nor the “
musicians” (those who can sing; i.e. proclaim truthfully the tidings of great joy, the song of Moses and the Lamb,
Rev 15:3)
nor the “
flutists” (character teachers)
nor any true “
craftsman” (true teachers)
of any sorts found within her, for the “
light of the lamp” (the light of the Bible, the truth)
no longer shines in her anymore, neither is heard the “
voice of the bridegroom OR the bride” (because the true Church, the “
wise virgins” have all left separating themselves from the false professing church).
Rev 18:22, 23
There is nothing left for the Lord’s people in these systems. The only reason most of the Lord’s people still remain is because of the tender ties which bind them there, family, friends and associates for whom they are reluctant to leave behind, that and what they might think of them should they depart, thus the fear of men brings a snare (entraps them).
Prov 29:25
Jesus said:
“
Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me (follow my example, heed my words, my counsel, my admonition to “
Come out of her my people”)
is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds their life (attempts to hold on to the present life with all its various attachments)
will lose it, and whoever loses their life (lets this all go)
for my sake will find it.” (
Matt 10:37-39)
“
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has (not only worldly possessions and attachments, family, friends and etc., but likewise your pride, respect and the honor of men)
cannot be My disciple.” (
Luke 14:33)
The writer of Hebrews admonishes readers in Hebrews 10:25---> "not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
That having been said, one does not have to attend an institutional church. Many house churches have formed around reading and studying the Bible together. But, if one goes that way, it would be necessary to stick to standard, orthodox doctrine and oppose any "unusual" interpretations in a firm but loving and gentle way. Humans can be very likely to form cults starting with a small group of believers. Satan is a wily enemy and humans are often putty in his hands when it comes to doctrine. Leaders of the house church should be chosen by the criteria given in the New Testament. Most of all, those leaders should have a very firm foundation in the word of God and be truly humble--able to be taught as well as being able to teach. For any small group planning to create their own house church, it would be a really good thing to read,
The Kingdom of the Cults, by Walter Martin:
Walter Martin's Religious InfoNet - Kingdom of the Cults Hopefully, it would teach the leaders of the small group the way to steer clear of cultish tendencies. It is a classic explanation of how cults emerge and sustain themselves.
Although personal contact between the brethren is preferable, not everyone is capable of meeting with the brethren face to face (some are home bound or the distance may be a factor), nevertheless many of us are assembling together even now when we converse with one another of like precious faith on forums such as these. It is not necessary (nor advisable baring the Lord’s injunction to separate ourselves from the worldly church) to be joined to one of the various branches of Babylon in order for us to assemble together.
There’s nothing wrong with meeting in the homes of the brethren for study, this was the practice of the early church and we (Bible Students) continue this same practice. The only time we meet in a building is if a class gets too big or if we’re having a convention. Even then the building is still only a rented hall or something; we own no buildings or church properties. In electing our elders, deacons and etc. we follow the Scriptures.
