Gathering with the Saints, Worship, and Preaching-

(how the modern redefining of terms has caused a misrepresentation of the Church, and a misconception of Biblical principles.)

Introduction

Let me say from the outset, that I did not get excited about posting this article to the public. This has been a topic heavy on my mind for the past 2-3 years now. I did not know how to, or if I should even try to confront it. I am writing with grief, and frustration towards myself in regards to my own ignorance of this for the past nearly 10 years of being saved by God’s grace.

I say what I say here from my own experience and Bible reading. I once believed the opposite of what I contend for now regarding the things I mention in this article. You could say I went along with the trend. There exist many Christians who are still ignorant to it being trendy, a fad, or like jumping on a bandwagon as they say. Some Christians wouldn’t touch the subject with a 10 foot pole as long as things are “going smoothly already”. Some will not like even the slightest thought of this due to the possible heartache it may cause, or feelings of having been lied to or led astray in their understanding when reading the Word of God regarding these specific topics. However, I do not argue that here, nor is that my intention. I will let you come to your own conclusion of how you will handle these realities that I personally believe are questionable regarding how they are carried out today in many Christian gatherings.

We are all guilty of it. Many of us are doing it even now. Many pastors “preach” right past it. As professing believers professing to have a “love” for God’s Word, this is actually our own fault. These errors specifically find a starting point centuries before those reading this article were born. I pray that we keep studying and keep reforming to the Word of God; being sanctified by the Word of God! I desire for myself, and that also my brothers and sisters in the faith would desire the same- to be as close to having a Biblical understanding as possible.

A great help and favor we can do for ourselves, is getting these westernized definitions and terminology corrected. This is not so much an issue to Christian orthodoxy as it is of Christian orthopraxy in how it is carried out from orthodoxy. However, in the Christian life, they both matter. One doesn’t thrive well for a believer’s testimony, growth, or experience, without the other.

I personally could not go any longer without sitting down and writing out my own thoughts for myself, and now also in hopes to maybe shed some light for others. It has been with much grief that I have discovered as I read Scripture, and in my own ignorance for many years being a Christian, the modern error of our use of the terms “gathering with the saints”, “worship”, and “preaching”. Not only are these words foundational in their application to our lives as believers, but are also among the most misrepresented terms found in the Scriptures. These three specifically have caused what is called the “whack-a-mole effect”.

The title I’ve given this article is in regards to these three main terms that have created major unbiblical interpretations of the simplicity of Christian living inside of their misuse. I would venture to say, and would truly like to believe that their misuse is quite possibly unintentional however; if I’m to give the benefit of the doubt. I do not like to think that Christian men have arrogantly done so.

What is really wild to me, is that I have learned none of what I will contend for in this article, from a man behind a pulpit. Nor from group Bible studies. Nor from great modern day Bible teachers. Nor seminaries. Many of us have learned to be comfortable with being taught what to think, not how to think. We’ve learned to depend on the Holy Spirit, yet only in our prayers for the man behind a box on Sunday in a building, to get it right, or at least make Biblical application to our life today with whatever he is saying. We have downplayed the Holy Spirit to a man’s insight, rather than the Holy Spirit Himself teaching us all things for life and godliness.

(Ref. 1 John 2:27; John 14:26; 2 Peter 1:3)

Nonetheless, there are also several whack-a-moles that have snowballed off of these main three in my title, which I will expound on further in the recap towards the end of this article. There are also many other whack-a-moles that I do not mention in this article. As the play-off of words we hear often from Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through a “verse taken out of context”. Do you see where I’m going here? I would also venture to say that such use of these terms today specifically, has caused detrimental illiteracy in how some read and understand Scripture.

Preaching, for example, is indeed nowhere in Scripture described as being behind a pulpit in a building voicing interpretations a man makes in his box at home, to then being presented to a congregation of believers as if they somehow have less of the Holy Spirit than the man speaking behind the box on a stage. Much less, in a building made with hands called a “church”. This is where our whacky whack-a-mole man-centered ideologies start-”behind an elevated box, in a building made with hands, called a church”.

This has only been man’s tradition since about the 3rd century. These traditions have been continuously infused into the minds of modern day Christians who either do not read and study their Bible for themselves, think their pastor is the Bible’s final interpreter, or who have decided to interpret such plain texts as fits their own profile of life. I am convinced that we are not to take a verse of Scripture and apply it with the westernized modern lens and come away with fanciful and eloquent words that seem to make sense to the modern culture and time we live in, to then present it to those who may not understand how to read and compare the original languages of translated Scripture.

This approach can easily be compared to Roman Catholicism in how they read from Latin by thinking it is some holy sacred language, and that possibly and hopefully the hearers will take the men who stand behind the box at their word since they are “holier than the people in the seats” being still and listening intently. Because well, there is no way the man behind the box could get it wrong, right? No! Still wrong. Not to mention, that’s barely scratching the surface of the per-person average of $15,000-$40,000 a year spent on seminary and Bible colleges by uncalled men who think a degree will help them get the position. I won’t go in depth on that as this article should help shape our understanding in that regard, and open our eyes to the gross mishandling of our giving that isn’t actually being used for its Biblical intent.

When thinking about where you are in your reading and understanding of Scripture, which the Holy Spirit can do for you all by Himself, think about this next statement and judge rightly of yourself from here.

To be convinced something is true, is never the same as being convicted about what is true. To be convinced is to believe, yet with a possibility of change, or to ”believe until” something different comes along that would seem to make more sense. Then, the cycle repeats. 

To be convicted however,  is to believe something whatever the cost, no matter how much opposition comes with it. Might I add, even if death threatens you for that conviction. 

Are you convinced, or convicted of what you say you believe?

With that, let me ask a few questions and make a few statements you may consider thought provoking. You may disagree. Or perhaps, you may be convinced and possibly convicted to some degree about these questions. You may already be where I myself am in this. If anything, may it provoke more Berean mindedness when reading the Scriptures.

Regarding the Gathering of the Saints- (not “going to church”)

If one would interject that the Apostle Paul’s command to New Testament saints to edify and encourage one another when they meet, is merely “descriptive”, or as “one way to do it, but not the only way”, who then is to say that ‘Sunday’ is prescriptive as “The Lord’s Day”, when Christ is the true Sabbath of the believer all day everyday, and everyday is the Lord’s day?

However, the Apostle Paul only gives every local church in Scripture one and the same command for when they gather. “When you gather, do this”. That itself being a command, seems to be clear that it is prescriptive and not merely optional to edify, encourage , and build up one another when Christians gather. I do not believe Paul ever meant “this is how I do this, but just do this however it works for you”. Paul’s exhortation for the New Testament believers’ gathering is descriptive only if it is given a different option on how to do so. There isn’t one in the New Testament. Therefore, we can only conclude that it is a prescriptive command.

What we do have a description of however, is a precise and peculiar focus that I believe should cause all other fanciful materialistic thinking to cease. (Ref. Phil. 4:9).

Let’s look at this a little closer. We will take 1 Corinthians 14:26 and Hebrews 10:25.

We see in 1 Corinthians 14:26 Paul asserts, “How is it then brethren? Whenever you come together, [each of you] has a psalm, a teaching, a tongue, or a revelation, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification”. Verse 31 would allude to the same and say,

“For [you can all] prophesy one by one, that all may be encouraged”; or built up.

By the way, we do not see any resemblance in these verses as a means among Christian gatherings today. There is more of a slim chance than not, but slim nonetheless. The majority of Christians gather today to only sit in pews quietly while a man talks for 1-2 hours. How long something has been done, or has been happening, does not suddenly validate it. What most Christians today would say of the fellowship time is, “that is what we do “after” church.” Well, Biblically, Paul asserts this fellowship as what Christians are to be doing during the whole time they’re gathered.

With that, most would assume almost immediately that someone who is voicing such, would be one who has become rebellious of the gathering of the saints and the warnings of doing such, as we see in Hebrews 10:25. It would be reasonable that the neglect of any Christian gathering by a Christian, should only be done first by a personal conviction in their reading of Scripture being different from what is happening when Christian gathering happens. Approaching the elders with the issue, questioning their structure, and holding it next to the Scriptures would initiate a valid need for clarity. Neglect in regards to “leaving the group” would then be commendable only in that one has come to a biblical understanding of the Church, who the Church is, who she is made up of, and what is to be happening when the Church gathers if it is indeed not being done among them, according to Scripture.

If we want to ignorantly say that someone would be neglecting the gathering of the saints by “not going to church”, or even visiting another like-minded gathering of believers, we can also say on the other hand that those on the defense would also be neglecting the gathering by not doing what Scripture prescribes for the saints to do when they do gather, which 1 Corinthians 14:26 makes clear. What is really the foundation of the argument then? Would this also not be considered unwholesome? (Ref. Ephesians 4:29).

This would help us to understand more clearly the correlation between “When you gather”, (or “come together” in some translations; 1 Cor. 14:26) and “not the forsaking of the assembling of yourselves together”, (or “let us not neglect meeting together” in some translations; Hebrews 10:25). These verses both specify the gathering. With that, we must conclude that both 1 Corinthians 14:26 and Hebrews 10:25 would have us contextually doing this same edification, encouraging, and building up that we see communicated.

So, if we want to look at these verses and apply them to how we function as the body of Christ, let’s not take part of a verse out of context and guilt trip a brother or sister in Christ of neglect of one without the consideration also of the defense would be doing in neglect of the other. Therefore, to stop “going to church”, clearly does not suddenly assume one has rebelled against or abandoned the Scriptures, or the Flock of God. You simply cannot have one verse without applying the other. They indeed go hand in hand. Scripture does not contradict itself. Ever.

Even with that cleared up for seemingly shallow Bible readers who make much of commentaries in today’s Christian culture as if they are infallible Scripture, we still have a much deeper rooted issue when it comes to the context of Hebrews 10. A lot of what american christianity is today, is a forsaking of the gathering of the true saints in Christ, to doing things that attribute back to the law, or the ‘system’ which true Christians are in fact freed from. It is quite evident that many ‘professing’ to be Christians today, love the outward work they do pertaining to the law, more than they love the Lord Jesus Christ, who fulfilled it. Hebrews 10 alludes to those who have actually abandoned the faith. These were never true believers, but brushed up pagans all the while hiding in the crowd professing belief while possessing hatred towards the Bride of Christ; The Church. It’s an act of christianity that isn’t real, but a counterfeit. (Ref. Matthew 5:17, Matthew 15:8-9; Hebrews 8:13.)

Hence can we not, as a local body of gathered believers, meet on Tuesday instead of Sunday? Or Thursday or Friday? Or whenever we want for that matter? Who is to really say? Yet man’s great traditional ideas have completely redefined ‘church’ in the 21st Century. Most of these ideas, no matter how good they are, are not from the Scriptures, nor are they to be adhered to as if they are. Simply put, it says “when you come together”. That does not reference where or when, because it is really wherever, whenever, and freely at that! Why not just keep it simple and trust the Lord’s use of Paul as an Apostle? I guarantee you Jesus would! They both taught the same message!

Regarding worship-

There isn’t much to say here to totally debunk “worship” because this is a term that does have a place personally in the hearts of all true believers. However, this term also has nothing to do with going to a building or defining what we do outwardly when we get there. I’ll just say this- those who worship, worship in Spirit and in Truth. Others do not “see” your worship outwardly. New Testament worship is an inward personal reality for each individual believer. A much better way to read this word, and I would assert is closer to the actual definition regarding its use for describing what we do before God as believers, is to glorify, to honor, and to give thanks from the heart. All that to say, when we look deeper into this word, we can see that Christians do not physically bow down, or “worship”, today.

The typical comeback of “well, you know what I mean” isn’t going to cut it anymore, because actually no, a lot of people do not know what you mean! Seemingly, it is going to be bumpy along this winding and continuous road of reform due to how we have used such words ever since we were old enough to hear it! Can we simply say what we mean? Can we truly know what we are talking about when we use these terms as a one-off? We all know what assuming does. Let’s not continue to look like illiterate fools! There is enough of that!

Regarding preaching Pt. 1-  (what it Biblically is, what it Biblically is not.)

Why do New Testament elders today “preach” in buildings that are specifically and purposefully designed to resemble a temple/synagogue aesthetic? The New Testament calls believers the temple of God wherein His Spirit dwells. This has been fulfilled in Christ for all eternity.

(Ref. 1 Corinthians 3:16 and Ephesians 2:19-22).

From there the question would be, “Why do men “preach” to believers?” Everywhere in Scripture, specifically the book of Acts, when we see the Apostle Paul “preaching”, it is in the context of doing so in the presence of unbelievers. This would specify that he is evangelizing; or sharing the Gospel in hopes that he may win some. (1 Corinthians 9:19.) The New Testament does not allude anywhere to Paul ‘preaching’ to believers. That is more than likely very surprising to many.

Do we not realize how much fellowship time is taken away from the gathering? We see that man-made traditions and great ideas have redefined not only 21st Century gatherings and what they are to be doing when they gather, but also how terms are defined. I have seen so many posts with Scripture attached to it to try and justify why men stand behind a box every Sunday and boast about their gifts, while others sit quietly for 1-2 hours wondering what their gift even is. What is largely missing in the Church universal, is the reality of the Biblical command for evangelism, or “preaching” to the lost, and is scarcely done in our church culture today.

Someone may then interject this statement with Acts 20:7 which says, “Paul was teaching a message until midnight.” Paul was not “preaching”, he was teaching. Not a “sermon”, but giving a message. The word “sermon” actually appears nowhere in the original languages. By the way, even at that, we clearly see what happens when Paul talks “until midnight”. The guy fell asleep! That if anything, is very prevalent with today’s gatherings. People fall asleep more than likely because pastors talk too long! It is embarrassingly laughable.

However, it amazes me that pastors would go headstrong to this verse to somehow justify how long they can “dialog” with the believers among them on a given Sunday, call it “preaching”, to thinking that it somehow also justifies their bragging of how long they “preached” a “sermon”.

News flash- This is not a proof text! By the way, that word dialog, translated correctly from the Greek, is never applied by most pastors behind a pulpit today. Why? Well, that is their “monologue” moment, so you better not ruin it. You would also be displeasing to God at that point, as they would assert. It grieves me to sickness how such supposed “godly” men crave such a high position. It is not godly in the least!

Where else in Scripture do we see Paul doing this? I cannot find it. Keep in mind that this was Paul’s farewell message to the believers there. Do pastors give farewell messages (or “sermons” if you want to argue that word into the text) every week? Or, am I missing something? Paul did not continue to do this among them. We have to also remember that this was the time of the official establishment of the Christian church community, and many were being saved while vicious false teachers were in their very midst trying to distort the Gospel message, and discourage new converts.

To my point, lots of well known men who would call themselves “preachers”, do not realize this verse contradicts what they assert as their charge from behind a box in a gathering of Christians they gladly call church members. It did not, in fact, say he preached until midnight. This was specifically a believers gathering. So contextually, teaching and/or giving a message would be the correct wording. It has nothing to do with preaching, and therefore cannot be used to justify men doing such.

Much less, evangelizing (used interchangeably with preaching) in a gathering of believers behind an elevated box over them “for several hours” while they sit and be quiet. Might I add that there is also nothing in Scripture explicitly regarding the gathering of the saints asserting that someone needs to go to seminary, build buildings, get as many people in the door as possible, or make business free-loader platforms and take advantage of the poor among them.

Yet, as I can at least speak for the reformed circles which I have been among over the last 9.5 years, this is done in a nonchalant manner without a second thought while also having “explicit” man written documents and confessions that are so tightly embraced. These would assert a “regulative principle of worship”, or not doing that which is not explicit in Scripture, to therefore doing that which is explicit in Scripture regarding what the saints “do” when they gather, and also how they live as Christians. All while actually not doing that which Scripture explicitly commands of them when they do gather. If we cannot see the contradiction here, we have truly lost our way.

Christian, it is very alarming to demand that our orthodoxy be defined by Sola Scriptura, yet have no evidence of love or consideration in our orthopraxy. That to say, we must be wise and discerning because not all unity is based on truth. As the Apostle Paul himself asserts of this reality, we are nothing but a sounding gong! (1 Corinthians 13). May it not be named among us any longer!

Regarding preaching Pt. 2- (Can women preach?)

When it comes to the question of preaching between men and women today, there are typically two sides of the pendulum that both men and women swing towards. Some will go headlong to 1 Timothy 2 while vehemently rejecting the thought, while some will go all the way to women being in the position of pastor/elder, ripping Galatians 3:28 out of context, while vehemently defending the thought. 

 However, both of these approaches to the Scriptures are wrong interpretations, and are misunderstandings of what it universally means “to preach”. This would then seem to promote a misrepresentation of the Word of God regarding its infallibility, because it’s as if one would seem to be saying that the Scriptures have contradictions, and we know that isn’t true.

1 Timothy 2:11-12 simply refers to women who are believers and of the body of Christ among the gathering of the saints. Contextually, based on the creation order that God Himself put into place, and made to the Church, men are given the authority when speaking to, or teaching the saints gathered. 

Preaching, on the other hand, does not mean the one preaching is a pastor/elder, or a man for that matter. Many would assume it means something of the sort by their rebuttal of someone asserting that “women can preach”. 

1 Timothy 2:11-12 doesn’t even say preach. It says teach. So why is that verse used as a defense anyways? This is made much clearer once the words preach and teach are recognized as not the same thing. All we have to do is read the passage contextually. Read the Book of Acts and highlight the word preach every time you see it,  and you can do so for the word teach if you’d like, so that you can both read it in context, and also see that they are not used interchangeably. If they were used this way, Paul would have probably used them in such a way, but he didn’t do that either. Nor did he even allude to them meaning the same thing. I believe a big part of this misuse is how we have used the terminology in an interchangeable way for so long! The terms “evangelism” and “sharing the Gospel” however, are the terms that make sense when used interchangeably. 

 One can preach without being in the position of a pastor/elder, and also without being a man for that matter. Let me make it clear that I am not saying that women can be in the position of pastor/elder. Scripture is clear in 1 Timothy 3, that a pastor/elder is “the husband of one wife”, and women are not that! To “preach” also doesn’t mean someone has authority over anybody.

As Christians, we are to desire peace with all whom we share the Gospel with, and that truth will be what convicts one of sin, not the preacher! 

To “preach”, simply means to evangelize, and why would we do that when we gather with the saints who have been saved by this Gospel? Remind struggling saints of the Gospel, and the saints gathered of its importance to dwell on, sure. But you’re not sharing with a born again believer something they do not already know, or should know.

Evangelism is what Paul calls it in the context of his letters. Why do we think we have authority to change that? Every born again believer can share the Gospel, i.e evangelize. Paul also never mentions preaching as something he did in the local gatherings. Preaching the Gospel is always and contextually, to the unbeliever. Teaching is always and contextually, for the believer.

A surprising Biblical reality for some, is that indeed both men and women can preach, i.e share the Gospel. This word preach isn’t the only word that has been butchered by western American terminology when approaching the Scriptures. With that, I would hope we could better interpret the Scriptures we turn to when arguing whether or not preaching has been given to men only. Galatians 3:28 in this context can suffice, because the Gospel literally belongs to all of those who are in Christ. We are all one in Christ and are told as disciples of Christ, to “preach the Gospel”. When we stay with the context, all other Scriptures we use to defend this position suddenly come to light, help it make sense rather than shut it down, and we realize we’ve ignorantly decided for ourselves what Scripture means with misused terminology. It has confused the masses! Let’s not do that. Let’s do better. We must always keep reforming according to the Scriptures, not man’s traditions.

Now, with these things in mind, I want to take a closer look at the more relatable structure in our own personal circles regarding the local church, its functions now, and the whack-a-moles it has incorporated for many centuries. These whack-a-moles contribute even further back in history long before the protestant reformation, which sits at almost 510 years ago at this point. As mentioned in my introduction, let’s go at least to the 3rd century, and flesh out what they looked like.

The Local Church and their Activity- (the gathering of the saints- not “going to church”; continued..)

The coming together of the saints who individually gather in local buildings outside of their home, must have utmost faithfulness to be Biblical in their orthopraxy, (or practical applications of Scripture) for their own character, in their homes, and for their families first. I say this here, because how we do family life sets the stage for faithfulness when others are not looking. I say this also because our home is where we are most vulnerable. For most, they may describe it as a secret place, or a private place. This is one of the reasons I believe Paul was satisfied with home gatherings, and never flinched on it. Christianity is meant to bring people together, not separate them from one another, nor cause them to feel as if they are. The separation is only physical and temporary, and not spiritual, if and when a local church is planted in another member’s home due to growth of the people count.

We see in Acts 8:3 where the local gathering of believers came under many threats by the seeking out of Christians by Saul (before his conversion, and then called Paul; Acts 9) going to homes to do so, not just local buildings. This in and of itself knocks out the notions that they gathered in homes “solely because”, as some claim, they were being persecuted. Persecution did happen, but the meeting in homes was simply the norm. Paul himself never changed that, nor said anything of the sort regarding change. Paul also did not start a building fund once he was converted. We are far from persecution in America, so there should be no issues with gathering in homes.

Christians were also persecuted in the local synagogues by the unconverted Jews and Gentiles who gathered there, as well as by those in new cities they entered when they went to preach the Gospel. We can see this is clear when we read Acts 9. I do not think the places where they gathered is as bothersome as it is where they went to preach regarding most justifications made today when it comes to where preaching takes place. These are not the same type of gathering. The ‘going’ to the synagogue was a much different approach to the biblical topic than the ‘gathering’ of the saints. One message was a preaching moment, the other a teaching moment.

If buildings were so important to Paul, and Jesus Himself for that matter, buildings indeed would have been emphasized and made a point, but that isn’t the case. He simply desired to gather with the saints for fellowship, edification, encouragement, and teaching. He went to synagogues as he was able to do so, to preach the Gospel; or evangelize. Buildings were also types and shadows of a much deeper and more peculiar reality than we tend to realize. They were indeed “passing away”. (Ref. Colossians 2:16-17).

This same Paul, who we understand to have been a tent maker, saw no need to build buildings for their gatherings. Nothing of the sort is ever mentioned in New Testament Scripture! Local church expansion seemed to happen organically by planting local gatherings in homes. It is then understood why church planting is not vibrant, nor organic among Christianity in our culture today. It is merely concluded as “let’s raise a lot of money and buy or build a bigger building.” This also is antithetical to the Apostle Paul’s Biblical church model.

If the Biblical model doesn’t exist as a preeminent and most important endeavor in the heart of God’s people for the people, of the called out and peculiar local Christian assembly as first priority from the outset of encouragement towards the Biblical realities of Church life as a whole, on down to the practicality of the local gathering, it will be difficult and seemingly impossible for a mere man like myself, to try and convince his brothers and sisters in Christ of Biblical things absent of traditions regarding what they do or say simply because it’s just “what they’ve always done and said”. This also goes for any other things brought into or done among the local assembly that do not belong there. It seems to be well applicable to the violation of the 2nd Commandment regarding idols.

The local body of Christ should prioritize as utmost important to know the saints around them, and indeed the saints among them in their own gatherings. Unfortunately, this is not a reality in most evangelical gatherings in the 21st century. Think about this. Local communities typically have at least 6-8 “church gatherings” or local Christian bodies of professing believers, gathering around them in the same local community, yet at different “buildings”. Why is that!?

If we all profess and agree on the unity of Ephesians 4:5, “One Lord, One Faith, and One Baptism”, and know Christ Himself as the one true and living God (ref, Jer.10:10; John 17:3), why then do we not fellowship with and know other Christians in our local communities? This is alarming, and it grieves. It has often puzzled me how this issue goes unattended in today’s modern Christian culture, specifically in North America.

There is a very peculiar reason I believe, in why Paul so heavily emphasized the Body of Christ being of the same Spirit. We are Spiritually a peculiar, set-apart people by the grace and mercy of God alone, for the glory of God alone, and not for ourselves. However, we are still in this flesh and we desperately need one another for encouragement, edification, and building up in love. As I have heard said before, there is no such thing as a lone-ranger Christian.

Overseers & Church Membership

Overseers, or elders/pastors, are given to a local body of believers to keep watch over them in their growth and sanctification in Christ. This is for the purpose of discipleship and encouragement in the gift faith Christ has given them.

In today’s churches here in the U.S, there is a very slim chance you’ll find this being done passionately with a heart bent towards honoring Christ and His Church as a whole. Most of what we see today is that which I argue in most of this article. So I won’t write much more about it here.

True believers are members of the Church only by way of God’s mercy towards them. He regenerates their heart to love Him, to love His people, and to serve others from a genuine desire to sympathize and pray with them, that they may overcome life’s obstacles that would cause them to be weary in some way or other. However, when one desires to become part of the local church gathering, we must not neglect the important reality of having discernment in how the person understands the Gospel, who God is, and the foundational realities of the Christian faith. I would contend also, with the power that comes in salvation, new believers should be able to understand these realities as well.

My argument is indeed not to agree with an all inclusive welcoming and supporting merely of someone’s feelings. That is never how the body of Christ went about people and membership. This is not to fully oppose unbelieving visitors, however. We can have grace in understanding that most unsaved visitors are seeking an antidote to a deeper need than we may see on the surface. With that, believers who are under-shepherds/elders, must have no disagreements on foundational staples of the Christian faith.

There are at least (4) Foundational Staples That Must Exist Among all Believers:

•Salvation in regards to justification is by grace alone through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone. The Holy Spirit does the work, not man. (ref. 1 Cor. 3:7).

•We are faithless, but Christ remains faithful to His own, forever, (ref. 2 Tim. 2:13; John 6). Believers are to walk by faith and not by sight, keeping their mind on things above, not things below. Christians are pilgrims passing through in this world, not of this world, (ref. 2 Corinthians 5:7; Colossians 3:2; John 17:15-16).

•Jesus Christ is God, and He is Holy, Holy, Holy. God is The Triune God. He is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 3 persons, yet one Being. (Ref. Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8; 1 John 5:7).

•Jesus Christ, the God-man, died and rose again on the third day for the sins of His people according to the Scriptures, and that Christ has died, Christ has risen, and He will come again in glory for His Church, those who He knows, only being those who are regenerated and have been given life in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, (ref. Matt. 16:27; 24:30; 25:31; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Titus 2:13).

Money in the Church (its uses and abuses)

When it comes to finances in the local gathering, I believe a Biblical church model is to look like the model we see in the book of Acts- having and sharing all things in common for the building up of the body of Christ! The early church held a high conviction on how people of the Body of Christ cared for one another. They shared whatever they had. An accurate handling of the Word of God can be concluded as a Biblical handling of all things done in honor to Christ to the edification and encouragement of His bride- The Church. Following this, would be the resources of local gatherings being given one to another as they had need, and for use towards the necessary items for having meals together. In regards to this, as the saying goes, we as believers need to ‘put our money where our mouth is.’ (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-35).

Biblical giving is also not giving 10% as a “tithe” to your local church. It is simply being available should a need arise. “Tithing” is not a New Testament concept. This is a word that has been abused majorly in today’s Christian gatherings across North America. I heard once in a small men’s Bible study I was among, one man told another man who was telling us about his struggles with money issues, his character, and being a better man, that he should start “tithing” as if it was going to help God help him by doing this “good deed”. This type of assumption is not only unbiblical, but is a dangerous and false concept of who God is, and who we are as mere men in this sin-filled flesh.

We must be wise as serpents and innocent as doves in this regard. When these things are carefully reviewed and in their rightful and BIblical place, and therein agreed upon in one accord as represented by the Biblical New Testament Church model, moving forward is simple. That is why this can also be called the ‘simple Church model’. It is indeed the Biblical Model of the Ekklesia that we see in Scripture.

Duties of the Saints in our modern church culture have become so conflated with “ideas” of what people think people need, over Christians “knowing” what Christians need, and meeting those needs in a timely manner without “filling out an application for funds”. If you think about this, you can see that we have mixed the people of the Church with the pomp of the culture, and that is far from the Biblical representation of the Body of Christ. In reality, what has been produced today (because of the seeker friendly emotional nostalgia) is nothing more than the worldly desire of a heart that lacks communion with its Lord, and communion with its brothers and sisters in Christ.

If anything is to make involvement in the local gatherings easy, it is to make the necessary changes, despite tradition (or getting rid of the stumbling block of tradition if necessary) to have all of the Saints involved in community, conversation, and the working out of gifts. Would we rather try to continue to have saints merely search for things to do or wish another program existed just so they feel like they belong? No! We would not need to keep adding things to our gatherings if this was done Biblically. Paul has laid it out plainly that people need people. Sadly, it seems that a worldly love for self does that better in our culture than a born again believer’s love for the Church. The pressure of grief lies heavily upon my heart not just because of the thought, but because of the reality of this happening in my lifetime as a believer.

Church Building History (Money in the Church- sidenote)

I have discussed most of my nuances regarding spending money on physical structures, or “church buildings”. However, let me add this as a sidenote.

When did this meeting in other buildings (or today known as church buildings) happen? Who started all of this? Well, a little bit of history takes us back to about 310-325AD to what Constantine did once he converted, from a Roman Emperor, to Christianity. Maybe he had a good idea in mind to blow this thing up after seeing the heresy of the papacy of the Catholic Church, but loved its architectural structure and aesthetic beauty of the local synagogues? I would consider this as the beginning of the destruction of the local gathering in homes. Why? It is because once the local gatherings started meeting in buildings other than homes, we see the local and extended government and their (501c3) contracts getting involved, and men sitting in high positions like a government corporation model. Or rather, the technical meaning would be the clergy over the laity model. This has done nothing but drive the gathering of the Saints apart in doctrine, their devotion to Christ in their own homes, and the neglect of fellowship, discipleship, and love for one another. This would then lend to the separate sects of denominational-ism we see today. We are warned in 1 Corinthians 3 against this mistake among us, which Scripture calls Sectarianism.

I would like to hope that this “building” would be free and clear of any purchase amount outside of local homes. If we insist on having buildings other than homes of members of the local church to gather in, may there be no need for the money of those who give, so that the financial burdens of members are easily met without worry. However, that isn’t really an exception. Realistically, someone paid for that building to be built as a “church building”, or for a building to become defined as such. If I had to give any possible exception, that would be the most reasonable one I could give.

Although now, it wouldn’t be my personal idea or excuse to have a “church building” made by hand due to a continuous need for overhead and maintenance of the building. I am convinced that if we stop building and buying buildings, writing books for profit, paying for seminary, and charging for conferences with the sickening celebrity pastor status fees within the Christian community, we as the people of God would be more glorifying to Christ, and on to something in getting back to the basics of what the Biblical church model is to actually look like. With wisdom, we must be considerate of the day to day distribution of funds also to those in the midst of a local christian community who are not believers while evangelizing that local community so that no one goes without. The believers’ desire should be for Christ to be known and represented among us, and all things shared in agreement among them as the community has need, no matter their status.

I would consider this as “a benevolence to the poor and needy”. We recognize and know of these needs because we know this need all too well. We were once as they are! We know the need is truly spiritual more than it is physical or financial. So with wisdom, we share our love for them in representing Christ as we work, help, and pray for their spiritual hunger to cease! This benevolence idea is explained towards the end of this article.

Sectarianism Among the Church– (a crucial reality missed)

What we have today in modern Christian culture, is the reality and practice, (although many be ignorant to it) of sectarianism. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians argues against this very thing that was happening among the believers in his day. This reality is readily available for application to our modern culture and practise in Christendom today.

The saints would bicker over whose local gathering they belonged to as if there was competition between them. Paul is desperately desiring to correct their thinking in this regard. This is what local churches do today, and it goes widely unnoticed in the 21st century.

Most of those things we ask of other believers all the time. Such as, “where is your church located?” “Mine is on this street or mine is on that street,” etc etc. Do you hear the reality of those statements? Both the Church universal, and the local church is a Who, not a thing; a People, not a physical place. 1 Corinthians 3:9 is clear as day. The building, aka the Church, is the very people gathered! Sadly, the 21st Century ‘church’ in western America is not a Biblical one. This modern model of the body of Christ is not a Pauline model by a long stretch.

This is recognized by seeing bigger buildings built or bought, instead of church planting in local communities within homes. To think that one needs buildings specifically designed to look like a “temple”, or be referred to as “sacred” is to go back under the law, and represent a distrust that all of the types and shadows have been fulfilled in Christ. If a man wants a building, let him build his own with his own money. Even then, I am convinced it is unnecessary, and a misuse of our resources, our gifts, and our gatherings to do so, or to seek this out. The Bible never alludes to doing such. Not even descriptive of it. So why is it still being done to this day? May we seek to know one another in our local home gatherings, and have church plants in homes within local cities led by men who are desirous, qualified, and selected by the saints among them according to the Scriptures, with all the saints being like-minded in all things, as well as knowing each person represented among the surrounding local gatherings, and done in agreement as the local body of believers grow in Christ.

Denominationalism

Let us now look at this from a denominational perspective. What causes denominational-ism? Why in the world has this happened? Well, at best bet, the pride of man makes a stab at being in control. Worst of all, it does not represent the biblical model.

If Christians be “people of the Book”, we all must agree on the foundational essentials of the faith once handed down to the saints. No questions asked! From the outset, the most common reality we have together as believers in Christ, is salvation. No one is “saved a different way”. So with denominational-ism, if the latter be the case, secondary and tertiary issues should be defined clearly, and laid to rest charitably and agreeably. This is why we have Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, etc. What we do not realize, is all of this breaking off into differing views, actually hurts the body of Christ more than it helps, if at all. Unless that is, a particular view is argued vehemently to the point of making a secondary or tertiary issue seem as if it is being held up to the foundational position, and to suppose that all Christians should hold to it as such, then we may issue true concerns as to why that is. To which I would say, is why we are where we are today in Christianity, at least in North America.

I believe the Church would be much more personal in their care and love towards the ‘one anothers’ of Scripture in practical Christian living, if we would have stuck with Scripture regarding what the gathering of the saints is supposed to look like. Yet we see a continual downward slope in Christian literacy even among supposed Christian universities, seminaries and colleges that create man’s interpretations of Scripture. Men sit in their quiet boxes reading commentaries of dead men who did likewise while writing their own commentaries.

What is truly missing here is the reality of trust in the Person of the Holy Spirit to communicate accurately through His Word what it is He has called each Christian to do in this life. All Christians have all they need for life and godliness in Christ Jesus. The only thing we have to do as believers, is rest in Him. Christian living according to the Holy Spirit’s work and power in the life of the believer, must be understood as sacred and set apart in reality. The outworking of such an application is wild to grapple with as we ponder thoughts of how we got to where we are today, and why we are still in this predicament. (Ref. 1 Corinthians 1:10-17; 2:1-5; 3:1-3; Acts 2:44-47; 4:32-37).

Practical Applications of Biblical Principles

Paul warns against the very things the protestant gatherings do today. It’s a knock off of the old block, so to speak, of some of the heretical Roman Catholic practices. If anyone is to look inward, it is those very protestants who preach against Rome. Not because Rome is right, but because of the blindness of our own pride when doing so. We say we don’t do what they do, yet have some remnants of the very things they are doing, wrapped up in our practical theology! Christians today say they hold to a confession of faith, which then goes incomplete in its practicality when its application is brought into question. This is what I am desirous to help us see, and hopefully eventually un-see. (Romans 2:1).

Why does this have to be such a difficult endeavor? We as Christians need to get back to the Biblical model of the local church gathered. It is an utmost necessity desperately needed if we are ever going to bring the saints together in Biblical unity again. We must start by doing this Biblically, and in the humility which Christ represents the fullness of. Below are a few suggestions on getting back to a more Biblical reality of the gathering of the saints as it was in the 1st Century.

For me, it would be like entering into a colorful, crisp, cool fall season after a harsh hot summer, bringing simplicity and relaxation from all of our man-made nostalgia, to finally resting in the finished work of Christ for the purpose of the Christians enjoyment of one-anothering in like-mindedness to the glory of God.

A Simple 1st Century Vital Church Growth Strategy- (an idea revisited)

Practical Application of Giving:

• Benevolence: -to the local Saints. Saints for Saints in need. (helping to pay bills, buy food etc)

-to the local community among our evangelism efforts (after immediate needs of the Saints have been met.

My practical encouragement in this regard, in our 21st century culture, is the idea to pay bills directly to the lenders of the services of these needs. This will help clear up anyone possibly use of these resources in a way that doesn’t honor God, and using those, so to speak, who have generously given it towards a specific need.

Practical Application of Going:

• Preaching/Evangelism: The Local Church giving to the local community, must not go without sharing the good news of Christ our Lord and Savior and God’s requirement of perfect righteousness and obedience so that sinners may be able to be in His presence when they die! Share the Gospel, or you are not helping at ALL! People do not merely need physical food temporarily satisfying their physical hunger, but they are most in need of Spiritual food, the bread of Life, which satisfies the soul forever! Share the GOSPEL, not your “testimony”!

Practical Application for Growing:

• Christ Alone: Short and to the point is this- Man’s ideas, no matter how brilliant they may seem, cannot make the Church grow. Christ alone does this! We join with Christ by knowing the Word of God, having all things in common as Believers, encouraging the Saints in our midst, and boldly proclaiming Him to the lost. (ref. Romans 1:16).

All this to say, what I am not saying is that Scripture prescribes or commands to gather in homes only. My main contention would be that true believers in local gatherings have relaxed too much like the pagans in their love and care for their struggling brothers and sisters, and care too much about self, and the comfort of beautiful buildings more than creating welcoming, tight-nit, vulnerable home environments. I truly believe this is how we will experience the love of Christ. I would hope that we as the body of Christ can come together on blatant issues, and make our best strive and effort to practise the one-anothers of Scripture more strongly, practically and Biblically.

The topic in this article of “The Local Church and its Activity”, is what I believe will have flow from it a more genuine love for the saints and how we do life together when applied Biblically without compromise, or disparagement of those in need around us.The greatest challenge for this article, will be bringing the Biblical model back to life, or perhaps, finding this model already existing somewhere near us in today’s culture.

              Quick Notes and Recap of

                Topics in this Article:

             TERMINOLOGY MAKES A BIG IMPACT ON APPLICATIONS REALITY– (Monkey see monkey do, monkey hear monkey say.)

Does terminology really matter when it comes to English words/wording?

Below are reasons why it absolutely matters today!

-“Going to church” is antithetical to who believers are in Christ. 

“Ekklesia”  -“The Church” (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4).

-“Building buildings” is antithetical to what believers represent as the temple of God; they are His dwelling place. 

The Ekklesia, or the Church, is described in Scripture with all of the things necessary for a building. Believers are all different parts making up that building among each local body of believers, and also the universal body of believers, or believers throughout the world. (1 Cor. 3:9; 1 Peter 2:5; Eph. 2:20-22). The Scriptures are explicit on this matter. We need to stop looking at Scriptures as a mere analogy or an optional guideline to then making up our own doctrines in how we do life together as Christians.

-“To worship” is antithetical to Christ being physically resurrected and seated at the right hand of God the Father. We can understand “what people mean” when they say that they are “going to worship”, but that is far from its original meaning, and is not the correct word to describe what they are actually doing. As I mentioned earlier in “regarding worship”, we must revisit the true context of John 4:23!

It is not explicitly noted in Scripture that those who physically bowed down to Jesus in the NT were actually honoring Him as if they actually believed in Him, as it was to note that they recognized in awe the things He did in their midst. We can conclude that it was typically after Jesus performed, did they actually show respect towards Him. Did they literally know Him to be God? That is merely assumed and the text isn’t always explicit. Bowing down was something they did merely towards a noticed “higher power”. 

This however, doesn’t mean the “worshiper”, or the one bowing, actually believed Jesus was God, or anyone else they bowed to for that matter. This type of bowing down can be understood in (Matthew 15:8-9). Note again, this is bowing before a “physical” person noted as worthy of some sort of praise for what they did before man. People still do this to this day. However, as believers we must realize the true reality of Christ seated at the right hand of God the Father. He isn’t physically here in person. I would say “worship” is not a great translation of the Greek whatsoever, and should stop being used in our modern day gatherings if it isn’t Biblically noted among those gathered. 

-“To preach” is antithetical to a man standing on a stage behind a box talking for an hour or more to men and women who are already regenerated. 

I am curious what Scripture or verse man has used, specifically a pastor, to justify this for centuries now? If we do an easy word study, and remove all presuppositions from our brain for a minute, we can see that every passage in which we see the word “preach”, other than maybe 2 that only refer to what “was preached”, is every time contextually referred to as “evangelism”.

Help me understand why believers need to be evangelized? Especially for an hour or more from a single man behind a box on an elevated stage above the people? This only replicates Jewish synagogue and pagan tradition, not Christianity. 

-“People being quiet in the pews” is antithetical to gathering with the saints for edifying,

encouraging, and building up one another. 

We as believers hear often about the “one another’s” of Scripture. Yet, we skirt around actually one anothering by doing other distracting things we think need to get done “before” we get to “that part”. The reality is that one-anothering is indeed the whole point, and nothing besides the point of gathering!

There is no justification to replace the ‘one another’s’ with man’s tradition. It is encouraged in the New Testament that when believers come together, let all that you do be done for edification, encouragement, and building up one another. Not sitting and listening to a man share the Gospel with believers. We cannot ‘one-another’, and use our gifts freely, while sitting in pews for an hour plus, listening to one man talk. (Ref. 1 Corinthians 14:26).

What has this created today?

This has caused major illiteracy among many today who profess to be Christians. It is due to the unfortunate reality of men seemingly stepping into the place of the Holy Spirit, Who alone gives man understanding according to His word! This has also created a sour and unbiblical way of “growing” a local church. There is so much competition and advertisement today for this church and for that church. “We do this at this church, and but we do this at that church.” This is not how a Biblical local church grows! It seems evangelicalism has exchanged the truth of God for a lie, worshiping and serving created pomp and fluff rather than the Creator, while stamping His name on good ideas and calling them “holy”. (Romans 1)

When a Christian has truly stopped “going to church” regarding the points of this article, it is because they’ve compared the reality of the cultures interpretations of the Scriptures with the Scriptures context of the Scriptures. Therein they find that the culture has fallen very short. We find that most leaders have no regard for the most exemplary men that God uses, even to the humble reality of their servanthood before God and to the people, nor the clear details given us in Scripture, of how the church is to function due to the overstepping of Biblical authority and application.

Pride is largely at the root. It still exists in those some would consider the best men for the job. Bring it up to them. Listen to their response demeanor. Weakness, not clarity. Frustration, not love. Nor sympathy. Nor a desire to help one understand except that of their own modern interpretations on the matter. Something truly needs to change about Christianity in our day. It has continued to get worse as the “system” seems to advance. We tend to appreciate ease more than effort, and it shows!

This skimmed over reality may just be a huge reason why we can still feel empty, or why we can still feel stuck with our misunderstandings, or why we wonder if we are really useful to the Body of Christ. It is also a huge reason as to why we have to be vigilant seekers and diligent readers who search the Scriptures as Bereans, and see for ourselves what is and isn’t true among a culture of vibrant rebellion. The Holy Spirit doesn’t need a man’s help in convicting and revealing His truth to His Saints.

Do not be ‘restricted by your own affections’. Come out from among them. (Babylon; the system of death.) (2 Cor. 6:12-17; Rev. 18:4)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

May I add as I end this article, that I am not a confused brother in Christ. I am, however, a convinced brother, of the things I have mentioned here, and a convicted brother of having partaken in that which I have contested here. I simply desire to keep reforming to the Word of God, and the ways of God, as I live through the ebbs and flows of this Christian journey the Lord has graciously gifted me to be part of.

May we not be fooled believers. May we submit to Christ, seek Christ, and seek the understanding and guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that we may together spur one another on to good works acceptable to our great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth.” (John 4:24).

Manere Semper Reformanda Secundum Scripturam, Soli Deo Gloria.

          (Always Keep Reforming According to the Scriptures, for the Glory of God Alone)

In Christ,

-Wretched Redeemed Writer.