In the state where I live there is a good rehabilitation center for the severely handicapped. My wife and I like to invite some of the patients there to our home for a few days now and then to give them a break from institutional living. We have been doing this for a number of years, and it has been a rewarding experience for us as well as for them.

These people are a joy to have as our guests, but they do require much care. It takes a lot of work to give them all the assistance they need, and after caring for them for a few days, we are usually exhausted. When I bring them back to the institution, I thank God for a place that is able to give them the total care they require.

Institutions are vital for those who are physically and mentally handicapped and cannot function on their own. It is always hard to see people who are so disabled that they need to be in these places, but perhaps it is even more difficult to see someone there who does not need to be, someone who is there because they don't believe they can get by on their own. In their minds they have become institutionalized.

I believe that many of today's churches should be called institutions rather than churches. Some of them have great wealth and power, gaining control over nations as well as individuals. People soon become addicted to their ceremonies and traditions. They also become weak and sick in spirit from the spiritual food prepared for them at these religious establishments.

I have a friend who has a rare type of muscular dystrophy that struck her at age eighteen and left her paralyzed from the neck down. She has been in some type of institution for nearly twenty years and is one who needs all the care that a well-equipped facility can give. The last time I visited her, she told me that she thought her health would improve if she could have more fresh fruit, vegetables and fish in her diet, instead of the prepared instant food now being served to her that is loaded with preservatives, sugar, salt and cholesterol. She told me that she has no say about her diet because she is confined to a big facility that has to feed many people, and they simply will not cater to the individual.

That is also the way it is in many religious institutions. The food prepared for its members is often contaminated with bad leaven because its substance is from the minds of men rather than from the Spirit of God.

The goal of any worthwhile institution for the disabled is to help their patients become well enough to be able to leave it and function on their own, but that is not so in many religious establishments. They will go to great extremes to keep their "patients." Some will even tell their members that if they ever leave, they will lose their salvation. They have set themselves up in the place of God, and many people actually believe them!

Woe to anyone or any organization that teaches that salvation comes from performing a ritual or being a member of their group or anything other than the sacrifice of Christ on the cross of Calvary!

Several religious organizations try to establish a sacred appearance in how they look on the outside, but they operate in a worldly way, especially in their methods of fund raising. I heard on a recent news report that one of these organizations raises over four billion dollars a year just on bingo games. Nearly all organized churches are engaged in some kind of business activity, ranging from bake sales to huge real estate investments.

Am I being unreasonable? What harm could it cause for a church to have its ladies bake and sell a few pies, for the men to auction off some old furniture, or for the kids to hold a car wash or sell tickets to a play? It all sounds like a reasonable, prudent way to raise needed income.

Such methods of raising funds do work when it comes to making money, but there is a harsh penalty attached: it robs people of the privilege of giving to the Lord's work, and it makes what should be a house of prayer into a business establishment that trains its members up in the way of the entrepreneur.

This type of activity is normal for the world that operates in the natural way, but should the Bride of Christ be caught up in all of this? Should she be confined to a religious institution?

There is no reason for her to be spiritually disabled. The Scriptures teach that by the suffering of Jesus she has been healed (Isa.53:5); therefore, she should not be institutionalized! She does not need that kind of treatment. After all, she is married to the Lord and He has promised to take good care of her. Yet, so many of these institutional organizations that call themselves churches have convinced the Bride that she not only needs but actually belongs to them!

Have I just struck a sore spot? Do you feel anger beginning to well up inside you? Have I threatened your security by daring to speak against your beloved institution that you depend on for your spiritual and emotional well-being as well as your social life? If so, before you get defensive, please read on because you may be in more bondage than you realize. Your old human nature may be shouting out in anger because its security is being threatened, while your soul may be crying from within you to be set free from the institution. Jesus said, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). Yes . . . free from sin, free from death, free from fear, and free, indeed, from the control of all these religious establish- ments.

The true church is not an organization; it is a family. An organization counts and treats its members like numbers, while family members love one another as individuals. An organization has a board of directors that dictates policy. The family of God has a Heavenly Father who guides His children in a loving way.

When a person is willing, with the help of God, to turn from sin and receive forgiveness through the cleansing blood of Christ (which is receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior), he or she is immediately welcomed by God into His family. The Bible says, "But as many as received him (Jesus), to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12,13). You cannot join this church by becoming a member as you would in an organization; you must be born into it by the power of God.

How wonderful it is to belong to the family of God, to know our Heavenly Father will personally supply all our needs "according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Phil.4:19). What joy we have when we love our Heavenly Father, and our Lord Jesus, and our brothers and sisters in Christ whom we have throughout the world and also in Heaven. What a privilege it is to be in this family. We members should be the happiest, warmest, most lovable people on earth, especially to one another; but unfortunately we are not always the way we should be.

I set aside days to get out on the streets to sow the gospel Seed. Many times I find myself in an area where I am not welcomed. It could be on a street corner of a tough section of a city or in a high class part of town where people have a respectable image. Almost everywhere I go, I do find some who want to hear about the Lord, but there also are many who don't. I have become accustomed to rejection, but I don't enjoy it. There are days when the going is tough, the atmosphere is cold (and I don't mean the weather); then, along comes a child of God, and how good it is to meet a member of the family. We will share the love of Christ, and I will get a big lift when I am told that I will be prayed for as I continue to sow the good news.

Then, many times, before we part, just after I have received so much encour- agement, I will be asked, "By the way . . . what church do you go to?" If I in return ask why they want to know that, soon will come a lot more questions as they try to check out my doctrinal beliefs to see if they comply with what they have learned at their institution.

I don't believe that God's family should be arguing and fighting, so I try to avoid doctrinal disputes, but it does hurt to see the family divided. This would not happen if the Bride of Christ placed her security in God rather than in an institution, and if she would be willing to be taught directly by Him.

The religious establishments are notorious for making rules and regulations to keep their members in line. I try to be patient with my brothers and sisters in the Lord who are caught up in legalism, but I sure get angry with the religious system that has indoctrinated them into such slavery.

It is time for the Bride of Christ to break free from the institution. If you have been under its control, making the break will be difficult for you, especially if you were brought up in it from the time you were a child as perhaps your parents and grandparents before you were. But if you want to be free and are willing to step out on faith, God will send angels to smash the religious shackles from you, to shine a light into the institutional darkness and to open the gates to spiritual freedom, just as they did for Peter when he was incarcerated in Herod's prison (Acts 12:7-10).

You would assume that all of God's people who are in bondage would want to be liberated. However, there is a problem: even though the door is open to her and Divine help is available, the Bride hesitates to walk out because she is afraid of freedom. She haseveloped this fear because she has placed her security in the system. Having her spiritual food prepared by the establishment is easier for her than to take the time to meditate and dig into the Scriptures for herself. She loves to get a religious high on all that ceremonial pomp, which can be more intoxicating and addicting than wine. She also enjoys being part of the group. Why should she want to leave all that?

Well, one reason is that it is all going to collapse and be brought to ashes. Another is that it is spoiling her resting place by coming between her and the Lord.

I am not indicating that people who are not born again into the family of God should leave their religious institutions. Anyone who does not have a personal relationship with Christ needs something to hang onto in this insane world that is on the brink of destruction; but the Bride of Christ should adhere to her Husband, not to an establishment.

Nor am I suggesting that born again Christians should stay away from them completely. They should go into them, as the Lord leads, to visit and help the patients, to shine the light of Christ, to tell the good news about Jesus--but not to become part of the establishment or get caught up in the system.

There are many devoted servants of God who hold positions of authority in the religious establishment and have opportunity to minister the gospel to its members. They know how to operate within the system without getting caught in it; but more and more of them are now becoming so frustrated that they are breaking all ties to organized religion.

I am not insinuating that all churches are worldly religious institutions, but I do believe that over the centuries the word "church" has taken on a different meaning. A church is not a building. When two or more of God's people are gathered together in the name of Jesus, that is a church. It has nothing to do with a building or a denominational label.

Praise God for His Church, for His forgiven, precious people who shine forth with the Light of Christ in this perverted nation and dark world. Praise God that in His church there are dedicated pastors, teachers, and many other servants whom He has chosen and given special gifts and abilities to guide His people in the way of righteousness. How wonderful it is when the family of God is joined together in His love. How tragic when that family life is allowed to be replaced by an institution.

Organized religion has plenty of workers, but the laborers in our Lord's vineyard are few (Mat.9:37). I have witnessed the spoiling of some great vineyard workers. Here is how it happens: Men and women will come to Christ and are filled with the Holy Spirit. They love Jesus and spend much time in the Scriptures learning more about Him. Their life style and their words are a good witness; they love to tell others how wonderful Jesus is and what He did for them on the cross. They are doing so well growing in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and helping others to do likewise. Then, somehow, the long arm of the religious system reaches out and clutches onto them.

This is not the first encounter they have had with it. It has been after them since the day they were born. When many of them were infants, their parents dedicated or baptized them into the religious establishment. They did it mainly out of fear because the system had control over them. Oh, they say they did it to dedicate them to God, but if they were serious about that, they themselves would have taken the time and the responsibility throughout the life of their children to nurture them up in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord. Perhaps, without realizing it, they were dedicating their children to their god: the religious system!

Even though kids are immersed for years in what the Apostle Paul labeled "dung" (Phil.3:8), many of them are hungry for God, and when they hear the gospel, they come to know the Savior. Then they want to serve the Living Lord, but unfortunately something that has been programmed into them automatically comes to their mind and they think, "I must go to Bible School or seminary so that I can become a minister." If they were to ask for my advice, I probably would say, "Go ahead, if you must, and get it out of your system." The problem is that many times it doesn't get out but rather the institution gets even more ingrained into them.

Once, they were like Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to His every word as the Holy Spirit taught them directly from the Scriptures. Now, they want to go to some establishment to learn the doctrines of men so they can hang a degree on their wall and start or be part of an organization. They were once humble servants, now they want to become religious leaders.

There they were, out working effectively in the harvest field, leading others to Christ, and now they want to go build a building and sign up a number of members so that many people, according to their standards, will see how well they are doing and pat them on the back. There they were, living by faith, trusting in the Lord for their provisions and being thrilled at the wonderful, surprising ways that He provides for His children, and now they want to go somewhere where they can learn the ways of a professional fund raiser. There they were, living in the grace of God, being able ministers of the New Covenant, working unnoticed in the gospel field, and now they want to attend a religious establishment, spend a large sum on tuition, get a denominational label, pick up a degree, put on a robe, and be admired by the congregation. That is what the system can do to a good gospel worker!

We all seem to want to have our own little ministry, when in reality there is only one ministry and that belongs to Jesus our Lord. He is the Owner of the vineyard, and we have the undeserved privilege of working in that vineyard as He leads. It is His ministry to seek and save the lost, to preach the kingdom of God, to give the abundant life, to witness unto the truth, to heal the sick and brokenhearted, to free the captives, and to feed the multitudes with the Bread of Life. Oh, how foolish and arrogant we are to claim that we have a ministry of our own! How patient and kind the Lord is to allow us to have a part in His work!

When I see the lovely Bride of Christ stuck in some religious institution, becoming drunk on ceremonies, getting sick from eating prepared spiritual food that has been leavened with doctrines and traditions of men . . . all I can say is, "What is the Beautiful Bride doing in a place like that? It is time for her to leave the institution and spend more time with her Bridegroom!"

Recently, I received a letter from a man who lives in Lagos, Nigeria. He wrote telling that he had an important position in one of the large denominational churches for more than fourteen years without being spiritual. Then one day, his wife, who is a nurse in a government hospital, was given some gospel literature by one of her patients that they both read over the weekend. He said, "It was the turning point in our lives. Reading through it ignited the flame in me. Never again would I be a slave to the 'system'." This man was fortunate; often it takes years to make the break.

Becoming addicted to the system is a serious ailment. Leaving it is like coming off drugs: that urge to go back can linger on for a long time. A minister who gets delivered from organized religion will most likely cut off all ties to the establishment. Then he may begin to hold small church services in his home. He will tell how thankful he is to be free at last. But then when some financial pressure is applied to him, he will be strongly tempted to organize a committee to put their heads together and come up with a way to raise some finances. Soon, instead of a house of prayer, another institution is beginning to form.

Not long ago, I met a pastor whom I had not seen in some time, and I thought we would be having a good conversation about the Lord; but all that came out of his mouth was how many members he now had in his church and how many programs they were having on different nights during the week. A minister can strive to keep his parishioners happy, busy and entertained when he needs to be quiet and alone with the Lord, and then teach others to do the same.

We can separate ourselves from the religious institution, but it still takes time to heal the damage it has done to us. Our minds have been affected and our personalities have been altered by the system. Even after we have switched from serving the establishment to serving our Lord, we get frustrated because He does not usually operate the way we expect Him to. There are times when the Lord tells His servants to do some unusual things. He does that not only to test our faith but also to deprogram our minds that have been corrupted by the system.

Peter needed some money to pay the taxes. Jesus said to him, ". . . go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money; that take, and give unto them for me and thee" (Mat.17:27). The prophet Elijah needed a supply of food to get through a famine, and the Lord sent him to get it from a poor widow in Zarephath who was down to her last handful of meal (1Ki.17:12).

We who are fortunate enough to have come out of the religious establishments need to take a trip to "Zarephath." That word in Hebrew means "refinement," which is something we need to go through. The Bible says, "Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer" (Prov.25:4). I believe that if you take away the religious system from the servant of the Lord, there will come forth a finer vessel for the Master's use.

An indication that we have really broken free from the system is when our dependence is switched from it to God, when we realize how capable He is to supply all of our needs and how much He loves to provide for His children. It is pleasing to God and indescribably delightful to us when we have a need and look to our Heavenly Father and then see Him come through for us in a surprisingly, unusual way.

Another sign that we are detoxified from the poison of the religious establishment is when we lose our taste for its prepared spiritual food, and we go directly to the Holy Spirit to teach us and nourish us in Jesus who is the Bread of Life (John 6:35); and when we stop drinking from the river that has been polluted with the doctrines and traditions of men and drink Living Water directly from Christ who is the Fountainhead of the River of Life.

It is a great day when we truly trust Jesus and put our faith to work by believing that if we first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness that all of our needs will be provided. This act of faith is begun by us not worrying about ". . . what shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?" (Mat.6:31).

Perhaps the greatest evidence that the Bride of Christ has been deinstitutionalized is when she can face the reality of the insecurity of the religious and nonreligious worldly systems and still not be worried about her welfare, because she has her hand in the hand of the Bridegroom who is the Creator of Heaven and earth, and she is certain of her identity as His Bride and of His unquestionable love for her.