A Church is basically a temple made with hands. Does God dwell in temples made with hands? Scripture tells us: Acts 7:48, Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Acts 17:24, God...dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Keep in mind that the real question we seek to ask is not whether we are to worship, but how we are to worship. Perhaps the question is also where we are to do that. Are we able to do these things only in a building whose mortgage payments are being paid by a State-incorporated ecclesiastical institution, or may we obey them in our homes, or in a context of decentralized, informal, voluntary gatherings? The question before us is, need we attend church? Need we hear the sermons of special priests in order to obey the Biblical commands to exhort one another and discuss the Scriptures? Can we obey these commands if we only attend church? Hebrews 10:25 gives a straightforward command: Do not forsake the gathering together of ourselves, and exhort one another. It would seem, then, that the question, Is it our moral obligation to attend church? receives a fairly straightforward answer: Of course! How, then, can somebody assert that one should not attend church? The command in Hebrews 10:25 (namely, to exhort one another) is also found in Hebrews 3:13, where it says we are to exhort one another daily. If we claim to obey Hebrews 10:25 by attending church one day a week, do we also fulfill the command to exhort one another daily, when we see other believers only once a week? Moreover, do we even obey the basic command to exhort one another when we simply listen to the polished oratory of a philosopher? Are we really obeying the Biblical commands concerning exhortation, community, and mutual accountability by once a week watching the performance of a seminary-trained entertainer? Everybody who reads Hebrews 10:25 realizes that isolationism is contrary to Gods Spirit. A family which locks its doors to people, withdraws from the world, and neglects the poor, which spends its time alone in reclusive introspection, is violating the clear commands of the Bible concerning hospitality and the communion of people. But the real question is not whether believers should exhort one another daily, but whether it is required of believers to engage in a certain kind of meeting, with certain credentialed officers, to expose themselves to a specified ritual of acts which are called attending church. Is this a scriptural command?
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 12:28:59 +0000
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