Why Go To Church, Part 5

“I go to church to learn God’s Word.” I love this one. You’d better be learning God’s Word when you go to church, but that better not be the only time you’re learning it! It means nothing that you go “every time the doors are open” to learn God’s Word, if that is the only time you’re learning the Word! There are 168 hours in a week, and a lot can and should be accomplished during such a huge chunk of time. Modern American church services, on average, run 2 to 3 a week. Each service is roughly an hour to an hour and a half long. Sunday School is an extra hour, usually on Sunday morning. Therefore, under such logic, modern church attendees will spend at most 5 hours out of 168 a week “at church.” I will no doubt learn something in 5 hours, but not as much as if I spend 10, 15, 20,  or 25 hours studying any subject.

The question, however, is not as much one of time as it is one of content. The depths of God’s Word are unfathomable, and eternity will not plumb those deep recesses. Though this is true, it should not dissuade the believer from digging, uncovering, cataloging, and using the many truths found in the Bible. Yet, what all to often happens within a modern church service is dictatorial. One person lords over many (nicolaitanism by definition – See Revelation 2 and what God thinks about this spiritual disease). The many come into the service and sit to hear the “preacher” speak his ideas about a topic or a passage – 95% of the time it is a topic with scripture scattered about to prove his point. At no time in such preaching services is a member of the congregation allowed to ask any question. He is in other words, not allowed to think, which is modern church’s gravest error. Recently, a friend of mine so eloquently argued that a child raised in a Christian home, who goes to church those 5 hours a week, attends the Church’s Christian School, and graduates at 18 knows about some Bible, but does not know why the Bible is true. Why? Because he’s been taught “do this, don’t do that” for so long, that when he can now make his own choices, he does not know what to do. People have told him what to do for so long that when he becomes an adult, he has no idea why he should do what he was previously told to do. Any subsequent thought against what he was told to believe will now challenge all that he thought he once knew. This now adult man never learned anything. He is useless, because he cannot defend the truth, nor could he recognize error when it comes.

As a teacher (I was one for many years, and grew up in a teacher’s home as both parents were/are teachers), I learned that if I give the most eloquent lecture for 50 minutes on any topic, without allowing my students to ask questions, when it comes to test time, those same students who heard my amazing 50 minute speeches, usually fail or do average at best. Why is that? Should the student have listened better? Taken better notes? Studied harder? Granted, some of that may be true, but mostly, if my students could not ask questions, then I as the teacher would never know how much my students are learning and understanding. If I allowed questions, and even asked questions which sparked discussions, the student would then THINK. Their meditating on my subject is the highest level of learning possible. It cannot be obtained by my just talking at them, but only by my talking with them. This engagement will also keep the student alert, which most pew sitters are not. I’ve spoken in front of many groups small and great. I know when people are alert, and when people are not – any speaker knows – and most “preachers” know they have at most 30 minutes to reach the majority of any congregation. After 30 minutes of unengaged speaking sleep becomes a real problem. But after just 5-15 minutes of unengaged speaking, minds wander. That’s how the brain works. What’s my point, the modern preaching service is flawed! So, are you really learning the Bible optimally?

Immediately after such an assertion comes the common reply, but Christ preached, Paul preached, Peter preached, etc… So, by the “…foolishness of preaching…” (I Cor. 1:21) the Christian learns. My response is check your premises. Search the scriptures whether those things be so (Acts 17:11). Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (II Timothy 2:15). What does I Corinthians really say? In context the passage begins with verse 18.

18For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

19For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

20Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

21For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

22For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

23But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

24But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

25Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

27But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

28And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

29That no flesh should glory in his presence.

30But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

31That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

This discourse explains why preaching should be done – “to save them that believe” according to verse 21. But aren’t those who believe already saved? No. Many believe, but only a few repent. See John 8:30 ff. Many believed on Christ, but none of those who believed continued in His word, none of them repented. See Matthew 7, “Lord, Lord… depart from me ye workers of iniquity…”! Belief is the first part of salvation, it is essential, but preaching does not stop at belief, it continues thru repentance. This passage in context is not talking about a “preacher” standing behind a pulpit (altar) expounding on some topic. This is talking about what every True Believer is to do after repentance, that is to preach or to define it more – witness. I do not need to witness to those within my church, they’re already born again. I need to witness to those without, who must come to repentance or perish. My preaching to the lost crowd is foolishness. If you’ve spent any time witnessing, you will agree that the words spoken from the Bible are not readily accepted or adhered to. They’re mocked, made fun of, and attacked, which illustrates the foolishness aspect. It’s not foolish to me or any True Believer, but to the world. Yes, Christ, Paul, Peter, and others preached, but they preached to lost people, who needed to be saved. All Christians are to preach, not just one person behind a pulpit a few times a week. In context, this passage is not a support, but an attack against modern church protocol.

In all Bodies of Christ all members are to exhort, encourage, reprove, rebuke, instruct. In so doing, all members learn, and grow. Christ has most certainly created order, but those leaders (elders, pastors, bishops, deacons) are not to lord. See I Peter 5 for further context for how this works.

1The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

 2Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

 3Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

 4And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

 5Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

 6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Verse 3 is illuminating. Not to be a lord, but an ensample. Example and Ensample are not the same word, nor are they synonyms. Some translations incorrectly use example in ensample’splace. A brief Latin lesson will explain. Ex – means from without or out. En – means from within or in. An ensample therefore means that the elder within the body of Christ is to oversee, teach, feed. Not looking for a job or money, but willingly. Example means from without the body of Christ. I do not want an unsaved person teaching me about Christ – nor could that unsaved person understand Christ, it’s foolishness to him, refer back to I Corinthians 1. In context I Peter 5 shows that the elder teach the younger. I Timothy 5 also mentions that this aspect. Also, Elders are not Pastors! Paul called himself an elder, but was not a pastor. I Timothy talks about women elders, but earlier in the book it is explicit that pastors are to be men (I Timothy 2 and 3). I will not belabor that point in this article. The point is clear, however, younger learn from the elder. Question and discussion aids this better than any other method.

Yes, Christians should learn God’s Word when they assemble. Today, under present culture, is that being done optimally? Just a simple look at results loudly answers no!

Why Go to Church, Part 4

5. “I go to church for fellowship”. Hebrews 10:25 after all does state, “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.” So, Christians need to meet with other Christians. Yes. But, in fairness, there is much more than the cut out of context Hebrews 10:25 used by most who claim one must “go to church.” Here’s the rest of the thought leading up to verse 25.

¹⁹Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

 ²⁰By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

 ²¹And having an high priest over the house of God;

 ²²Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

 ²³Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

 ²⁴And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

 ²⁵Not 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.

First, this book was written to Hebrews. The main argument developed throughout the book is that Christ is the Hebrew Messiah, and Salvation is through Him alone. He is the Prophet, Priest, and King spoken of throughout the Old Testament. He is the One who fulfills all prophecy. He is the Savior that Israel is seeking. Keeping the overall book context helps keep the reader from confusion.

Jewish religious groups often became sectarian. Unity was a real problem amongst Jews and is still a problem today. True Christianity, however, does not allow for such division. (Denominations today would be/are condemned as Carnal see I Cor. 3 “I am of Paul, I am of Appollos… sounds like I am of Calvin, I am of Luther, I am of Bob Jones… Notice, most Pastors or “religious workers” first question is “Where did you go to school?” What a ridiculous question, which would by the way rule out all New Testament Christians, except for Paul – who was a trained Pharisee!) James warned that wars and fighting comes from ourselves, which is pride. All recognized denominations have some historic record of contention. Some go so far as to postulate that their “church” is the only place in its respective city where God meets. Though there are true believers in many places throughout the world, they can and do freely meet with fellow believers anywhere. Yes, this does reference the universal church, not the Catholic (which means universal) Church, which is full of doctrinal error. The Body of Christ is as local as each member (those who are saved, see Hebrews 10:19-21). It can meet whenever and wherever (cf. Acts 2:46 which shows that believers went from house to house daily, not only on Sunday or Wednesday, they also had a daily visitation program “daily in the Temple” more on all of this later). New Testament believers were commanded to be unified (again Acts 2:46), and if any “leaven” were found therein, that leaven was to be purged. Why? For the sake of unity. (cf. I, II, III John). Today’s “churches” are amazingly disunified. They try to cater to the needs of everyone, which in turn halts the churches purpose, spreading the gospel! In the physical realm an army illustrates this point. An army may have many “divisions” but they are all working together under one leader. If one division wanted to attack one way, and another wanted to attack a different way, those two divisions would cause confusion, and even death. If, they, however, follow their leaders direction and goals, the objective will be met. Our leader is not the sergeant or the general, it’s the King!

If the church were to maintain unity, how could that be done with unbelievers attending? Simple, Biblically speaking, no one “Goes” to church; they become part of it at Salvation. Acts 2:47 illustrates this point, “…Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” The Lord adds members, only He has that authority, and it’s only extended to the SAVED. A saved person cannot be unified with an unsaved person spiritually speaking. Amos states “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” I John mentions that “Light hath no fellowship with darkness.” Yea, I John was written to distinguish between Light and Darkness, so God must expect His true followers to adhere to the “be unified” command. It cannot be done with unsaved sitting next to the saved. Being part of the true church is an exclusive membership only granted by Christ.

With all of this in mind, with whom are Christians to fellowship in church? Other Christians. A common response to this assertion is “how then do the lost get saved?” As with previous posts, so with this… what a lazy statement! Go out and bring them in… Saved, not lost.

What type of fellowship is to be done? Hebrews 10:24 tells the believer to “consider one another…” A believer is to concern himself with other believers (not gossiping or backbiting), to lift them up, to encourage, to exhort, to pray for, to assist, to teach and so on. Basically,  to concern myself with other believers is to humble myself in order to help bare other’s burdens. In so doing, when others hurt me, it will not affect me as much or hopefully at all, because I’ve laid down my life for friends who are part of the same Body.

“…to provoke unto love…” A far cry from what takes place in most churches. But can it be done? Yes, certainly it can be done. Though, it is impossible once churches become too large. There is the modern movement today that churches should be large and “grow” constantly. What is meant by grow is that numbers must get larger, not that members should grow spiritually, or that the body of Christ should grow – which does include numbers, but not necessarily a local church’s numbers. Many Pastors boast, example Jack Schaap or Jack Hyles, that they’ve got large numbers for their churches. (The way such churches accomplish this is rather nefarious, and sends many to Hell - by preaching a repentanceless false-gospel). Programs are done, shops are opened, and the Law is forsaken in these mega-churches. If, per chance, the Law were mentioned as it should be, sin would be condemned, and the unsaved would flee in droves. (Mark 4:16-17 – Stony ground hearers who are offended at the gospel). This is not love, and it does not provoke. Love would warn the lost of a certain Hell and punishment for eternity. Love would tell the lost the way to be saved. Love would tell the lost that Christ died for their sins, and Repent! Not pray this pray so you can get to Heaven, and never deal with sin. My meeting with any true believe, my further fellowship should and does provoke me to witness “…so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

“…good works:” Again, if a “church” does not provoke unto this, it’s a waste of time. If all the church wants is attendance and money, it’s no better than a social club of which you’re paying to be a part. Fellowship with the believers must have a vital impact on everyone. The New Testament Churches vitally needed this, because they were suffering mortal persecution. Without such refreshing fellowship in Christ, which Christ promised, enduring would have been severely difficult.

“…exhorting one another…” We are commanded to judge. “He that is spiritual judgeth all things.” (I Cor. 2:15). This is not a haughty, super-pious, holier-than-thou attitude. This is done in humility “each esteeming others better than themselves” (Philippians 2:3). In so doing, fellow-believers should take humble exhortation to heart. They must do as the Bereans did in Acts 17:11 and search the scriptures whether those things were so. Exhortation is vitally important, and can only be done through proper fellowship. This level of fellowship takes spending a lot of time together. It is not the fellowship done in churches today. It is not the “Hi brother so and so, how are you? How ‘bout them Cubs? Ok, talk to you later” small talk that pervades time before and after services. Fellowship of this magnitude requires knowing the person. It requires much more than the token aquaintanceship that is falsely so-called fellowship. In truth, this level of Biblical fellowship is impossible in all present day Catholic-based church models. (Yes, this includes your church most likely. The set up was established centuries ago under Constantine, who took that set up from Pagan Temples, and made it “Christian.”) The New Testament Church was conducive for all members to be involved, not just a select few as the rest sit in a pew. This type of a church was immensely involved in every aspect of the service. They all encouraged, they all exhorted, they all taught. This is how fellowship was done. If this is what one means by saying he goes to church for fellowship, are these things being accomplished? If so, then  Praise God! If not, then find a place where this can be and is being done.