Which Church Should One Attend
It is considered normal practice for a Christian to go to church
once a week, For some Christians Saturday is considered to be
the day on which to worship God, but for most it is on Sunday.
This tradition has been with us for a long time and many believe it
was founded on the teaching of the Bible. Yes, many believe it
is a Christian duty to go to church at least once a week and
worship God with like minded believers.
The churches, for the most part, have not stood for the entire truth
of God. They ceased to be the pillar and ground of the truth before
Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy. Christendom, in modern
times, has been divided into three main schools of thought,
Catholicism, Arminianism and Calvinism. Arminians have held the
precious truth, that God loves all, that Christ died for all, and
that it is God’s will that all be saved. But they have held the
awful error, that He is not able to carry out His will. Calvinists
have taught that God is able to save all whom He wills to save. This
is a glorious truth. But they claim that He does not love all, that
Christ did not die for all, and that it is not His will to save all.
This is a serious error. Catholic, Arminian and Calvin
doctrines are faulty.The church you attend would in all probability
hold to one of these established doctrines. Just look at their
“articles of faith” or “statement of beliefs”. They say that all
evil people will end up in an ever burning hell fire to be tortured
for ever. A few others say the evil ones will simply be annihilated.
Is that true?
Why do you attend where you do? In the vast majority of cases it is
because your parents went to the church where you now go. But in
some cases people switched for various reasons. Perhaps for
friendlier fellowship, a more charismatic eloquent pastor, a
doctrine more to their liking, etc. A few even looked into the bible
to see what the bible taught about how to worship God.
Christians will say the reason they go to church is to worship God.
Some few may even say they go to the house of God to worship. Did
Jesus Christ tell us how God should be worshipped? Is it to be in a
building made with hands?
Jesus had a discussion with the Samaritan woman at the well dealing
with this very same topic.
John 4:20 – 24 (KJV) Our fathers worshipped in
this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem
is the place where men ought to worship. :21 Jesus saith unto her,
Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this
mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem,
worship the Father.
:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know
what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. :23 But the hour
cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to
worship him. :24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him
must worship him in spirit and in truth.
The woman wanted to know the place where people should go to
worship. She asked which of these is the right place? Her concern,
and the major issue of the moment for her, had to do with the
specific proper location for worship. In this respect, this woman
differed little from the Christians today who ask, “Where should we
worship”? “What church should we attend”? “What ministry should we
submit to?”
Jesus indicated that the time would come when neither in “this
mountain” nor “in
Jerusalem”,
as well as any other geographical locality or building, would be
relevant as a condition to worship.
Places are of no consequence to God. God is spirit. If man is
to worship God, then man must worship God AS HE IS, and not as man
thinks He is or where man thinks He may be. The natural man attempts
to build structures in an attempt to enable them to worship God
according to their belief.
The place of worship has no bearing whatsoever on the act of
worship.This is one of the great truths that the vast majority of
church members have not grasped to this day.
So what should our attitude be toward the churches? It
should be one of peace and tolerance.Truly the
churches have gone the road God said in His word they would travel.
They have a form of devotion, but deny its power. See 2 Tim. 3:1-5.
Yet He has allowed them to exist. Why should I or anyone,
object? Our attitude toward the churches should be one of peace.
So far as I am aware, each denomination has some truth. But I do
not want to be a member of any of them.
But this does not mean that the churches have been useless. Nothing
is useless. In a universe operated by the Creator in accord with the
counsel of His own will, no useless thing could exist. The churches,
partly, have contributed to building up western civilization.
The Judaeo–Christian ethic has been a positive influence on the
development of many cultures and nations.
Does this mean that Christians should never go to church or have
fellowship with others? Of
course not. Does fellowship only occur in the
context of a church meeting? Truly our fellowship is to be based on
a relationship with Jesus Christ, not a relationship with “church”.
One may find there are more opportunities for fellowship outside the
local church building than inside.
Some will ask, ‘How do we worship God in Spirit?’ But this you will
not discover until the time comes when you learn that neither in
this mountain, nor in Jerusalem,
nor in the church system, nor in the denomination, nor in the mass,
nor in any such thing do men worship the Father and Jesus Christ.
When you acknowledge all these things and break free from these
rituals and the traditions of men, then you focus on Jesus only, and
then only will you understand what it means to worship in spirit and
in truth.
The other extreme is the one who is so independent and
self-sufficient that he holds nothing but contempt for any religious
gathering. In seeking to be free, that person has come into
lawlessness and rebellion. He is going his own self-righteous,
puffed-up way, not being led by the Holy Spirit. We need balance,
and not extremes. We need to be truly be free from man’s
religious requirements and bondage, yet humble before the Lord and
before our brothers and sisters in Christ, ready to serve one
another as He leads, and brings us together as He directs, with meek
and receptive hearts.
If I were to be asked, would you go to an gathering on Sunday or
Saturday, I would say Saturday rather than Sunday. Although it is
not necessary, at least for me, to do so, Saturday has more
scriptural validity than Sunday. Saturday, the Sabbath, was a
command under the Old Covenant, and some Christians feel it is
important for them to keep it today. Sunday was made a day of
worship by the decree of the Catholic Church, not by scripture.
Jesus made it clear that “where two or three are gathered together
in My Name, there I am in the midst of them” (Matthew
18:20).
Only two or three people!
Mat_18:20
(KJV) For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.
Jesus did not say, “Where two or three HUNDRED are gathered
together, I am in their midst.” And He did not say, “Where two
or three DOZEN are gathered together, there I am.”
Jesus also did not say where the
two or three had to be gathered together. He did not specify a
church building or a living room meeting. And He did not say how
many times a week they had to be gathered, or if the gatherings had
to be structured or unstructured, open or closed, inside or outside.
By establishing His Presence in the midst of even a small group of
two or three, Jesus tells us that large numbers are not important.
The numbers are irrelevant. Either Jesus is in the midst, or He is
not. If Jesus is not in our midst then having a large group of
people will not compensate for Him not being there. Of course,
Jesus can sometimes be in large groups of people. Jesus is
building His Church (ecclesia), and it is a spiritual house, not a
physical house.
What is a church?
The word “church” is most frequently applied to a building rather
than to the occupants of a building. The word has been adopted
by almost every denomination to represent its own particular brand
of worship; thus we have the “Roman Catholic Church,” the “Baptist
Church,” ,” the “Anglican Church” and many others. The Word of God
knows no such distinctions.
Church is commonly defined in dictionaries as a building used for
public Christian worship. But what is the bible definition of
church?
The word church in the Bible comes from the Greek word ecclesia,
which means a called out company or assembly, literally “out-called”
in Greek. Whenever it is used in the Bible, it refers to people and
not necessarily His church. The word ecclesia occurs 115 times in
the original text. However in the King James version, as well as the
American Standard version, it has been rendered 112 times by the
English word “church” and 3 times by the word “assembly”. The
translators translated the word ecclesia as “assembly” in three
verses because they falsely assumed that ecclesia should on be
translated “church” if it was a part of the called of God.
Here is one example where the word ecclesia refers to a group having
no relation to the church as most understand what the church is.
This is referring to the city council of
Ephesus.
Acts 19:39 (KJV) But if ye enquire any thing concerning other
matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly (Greek word
ecclesia).
Acts 19:39 (CLV) Now if you are seeking for anything concerning
other things, in the legal ecclesia will it be explained.
This is why it is so important to examine the original Greek words
in scripture.
The book of Ephesians reveals to us the ecclesia as the body of
Christ. Seven times in Ephesians the ecclesia is linked with
the glory of God.
Eph 1:22 – 23 (KJV) And hath put all things under
his feet, and gave him to
be the
head over all things to
the church (ecclesia), Which is his body, the fulness of
him that filleth all in all.
Ephesians 1:22 – 23 (CLV) and subjects all under His
feet, and gives Him, as Head over all, to the ecclesia”
which is His body, the complement of the One completing the all in
all.”
Also in Colossians:
Colossians 1:18 (CLV) And He is the Head of the body, the
ecclesia, Who is Sovereign, Firstborn from among the dead, that in
all He may be becoming first,
The ecclesia (church) is the body of Christ. Just as a human body
has many parts, so to does the ecclesia.
Rom 12:4 – 5 (KJV) For as we have many members in one body,
and all members have not the same office: So we, being
many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
The book of Ephesians also stresses the unity and oneness of
the ecclesia. It tells of the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace, one body, one Spirit, one hope, One Lord,
one faith, one baptism,
One God
and Father of all.
Similarly 1 Corinthians 12, tells us of the composition of the
ecclesia and each individual member has a specific function.
The emphasis is on the diversity in the body. None can be
dispensed with–none can say to another, “I have no need of you”–all
are essential to the well-being of the body, and they are united by
being under the direction of the head, Jesus Christ.
A
Need to Fellowship
A scripture that is often mentioned to show the need to fellowship
as a group with like minded believers is Hebrews 10:25.
Heb 10:25
(KJV) Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and
so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
The usual interpretation of this passage associates it with
attendance at a Christian place of worship. This verse is taken by
virtually every church and every leader to mean that we should not
stop attending church; that we should be in “church” every Sunday or
Saturday. I confess that I taught that same thing in the
fellowship I was part of. So let us have an unbiased
exposition of this verse. Hebrews
10:25
doesn’t address going to church at all. This verse addresses
something altogether different.
The word “assembling” is from the Greek word ἐπισυναγωγή
(episunagōgē Strongs
G1997). It is never used of an “assembling” in the sense of
attending service at church. The only other place where
episunagoge occurs is II Thessalonians 2:1
2Th 2:1 (KJV) Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering (episunagōgē)
together unto him,
The word episunagōgē,
literally, means to synagogue. It is a compound of the Greek prefix
“epi”
with the word “sunagoge”
from which we get our transliterated English word synagogue. Epimeans
higher than, highest, and “sunagoge”
means an assembly, or gathering. Putting these two words together
gives us the meaning “the highest assembly”. It means
something far greater than merely having a group of church goers
together in one place. It is a meeting in a higher realm and on a
higher plane. It indicates an assembling in the spirit, as Paul also
testified in Ephesians 2:6.
Eph 2:6 (KJV) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
It is the called out ones, the Elect who will worship God in Spirit
and in Truth. Jesus is setting them free from vain worship and
traditions of men, and He is gathering them together into a
spiritual house of living stones. The Holy Spirit is leading them
into an ever deepening, ever increasing relationship with Christ
every day.
It is our duty to be part of building of the body of Christ, unto
the end that we should all attain to the unity of the faith and of
the realization of the son of God, to a mature man, to the measure
of the stature of the complement of the Christ” (Eph.4:11-13).
That is the divinely ordained standard of maturity for the saints of
today.
Anyone who claims to be able to worship God at any time and in any
place becomes a heretic to the organized religious system. Consider
this, if the places of worship were taken away, and men truly
worshipped in spirit and in truth, the whole religious system would
fall apart. There would be no reason for it to continue. The whole
religious system is built upon having a “place” for people to come
to so that the works of church leaders may continue to be carried
out. Religion always tell us where, when and how to worship. But let
us praise God for the privilege of gathering together with those of
“like precious faith,” and rejoice in any assembling of saints that
is truly unto Him.
Christ-based fellowship continues as long as you are abiding in
Jesus, while church-based fellowship only lasts as long as you are
attending that church. When you go to their services and support
their agenda then they embrace you. Once you leave, and they
realize you are not returning, they want nothing more to do with
you. That is the simple reality. In most cases their
fellowship with you is church-based, human leadership-based, or
money-based, but it is likely NOT Christ-based.
Be not distressed because of those who would use the scripture in
Hebrews
10:25
as a hammer to bring disapproval on you because you do not attend
their times or place of meeting.
The true character of a church, fellowship, or ministry is not
judged by how they receive you when you join, or how they treat you
when you are there, but rather, how they treat you when you go, and
how they relate to you after you have left.
Occasionally we may feel that we are not doing enough in obedience
and worship of God, but we should not get discouraged. God
works all according to the council of His own will (Eph.
1:11).
We need to recognize that God does indeed gather His people together
when and how it pleases Him, but such gathering together is unto
him, and the place and order becomes inconsequential.
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