Proper Church
Do I have to “Go” to Church?
By Eric William King
Not going to
a Church? Are you the kind of person who likes to read about your Christian
faith, visit other view points? Perhaps you are extremely “introverted” with your
spiritual life and do not feel comfortable in a big group of worshipers, or even a small group for that matter.
If this is you then you will find this article interesting.
It is true
that even many Christian couples do not attend a church but do spend time in
God’s word and may even home-school
their children. Some Christians go “when
they feel like it” but still study their Bible’s and perhaps listen to
favored Christian Radio Shows or
watch a preacher or two on television that they enjoy. Is there
anything wrong with this? The short answer; “no”.
First of all
we need to understand just what the word “church”
means. Today people associate the word “church” with a building on some
corner or with a specific “denomination”
or “non-denomination”.
The Christian Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The entire New Testament was written in “common” Greek. When we want to understand the word “church” from a New Testament perspective we need to look at the Greek word for church which is, ecclesia.
What is a “Church”?
The Greek
word ecclesia or ekklesia could be
derived from the Greek word kyriake, meaning ‘belonging to the Lord’. So the first church was a group of people “belonging to the Lord”. The Christian
Church was built by Jesus Christ.
Before Jesus went to the cross to die in our place He stated that; “I will
build MY CHURCH.”
Jesus Christ
Himself stated: “I will build my church and the gates of Hades (or hell) shall not prevail
against it.” (Matt. 16:18) So when did Jesus build this church? Notice
that this church is “His church”, not mans. So first off, Jesus did not start
a “non-profit” organization following
some legal standard. Second, nowhere in Scripture do we read that Christ’s
church was to be “denominated”, or
divided into groups with slightly differing beliefs. So right away we have some
issues with all the so called “denominations” around the globe.
We read that after Jesus resurrected He
appeared to His disciples and told them to go and wait in an upper room where
He would empower them with the “gift of the Holy Spirit” thus charging His
church to begin in the “great commission” to call in others from all over the
world. The “Book of Acts” records that this event did indeed happen and thus
the church began, sometime around 33 AD. (Acts 1:4)
So this means
(going clearly by Scripture) that that same church is still here to this day.
Jesus said that until He comes for His church it would not be destroyed. The
next question becomes, “So where is it amongst all the confusion?” This leads
us to look closely at another teaching of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us that if
we remain in His word we will know the truth and this truth would “set us
free” - free from sin and error. (John
8:31,32; John 15:7)
Early Groups of
Believers
Interestingly
enough, in the early LXX
version of the Bible the word for “church” is qahal, meaning a “convocation” or “assembly”. We notice that there is no mention of specific
organization in these terms – just a bunch of Christians congregating.
Even
during Apostle Paul’s ministry
church organization was still being defined. The word “church” in the Greek has also had a plural
form, meaning “universal (Latin: catholic) assembly”. This shows that early Christians were united and at the
same time extremely diverse. You had Gentiles
from many races and cultures intermingling. It was also “universal”
because it had not been perceived as being divided yet into factions. This in
fact helped the message grow rapidly especially out from its “hub” which was
ancient Antioch where they were in
fact first called “Christian”
[Acts
11:26].
Also there
were older Jewish synagogues that
had become completely Christianized.
It was this early phenomenon which associated the word “church” with being an
actual building. After
time when Christians became a threat to Roman culture
they started meeting in homes, fields and caves or caverns. What
did they do when they came together?
Ancient Antiochene records show that the early church
sought after the knowledge of the New
Covenant as given and taught by
Messiah, Yeshua [Jesus]. They did a
lot more studying than most Christians do today. Scrolls were written on and
passed throughout the Christian communities – when books started coming forth
it was the Christian community that popularized books. Why? Because they could
flip pages and mark pages to compare Scripture with Scripture, something that
could not be easily done with the old Jewish scrolls. Using a book to teach from was to them like having a fast computer.
Not everyone
could go to where books were being used. How would they remember the Gospel
Message in simple form? They taught what was known as “catechisms”. The word
means to “echo back” or “repeat” what you have learned. The early
Apostles wrote “the Apostles Creed” to help
the first Christians remember and to “always be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies
within.” Today, the Antiochene Church still recites the Apostles
Creed.
Though the
very early church did not have the elegant
worship styles of today they did have two very important practices in
common, Water
Baptism and Holy Communion - which in the earliest
church was called “the eucharist [the thanksgiving]”. Apostolic
authority became important to verify whether the teachings were real
or a fraud. Apostle Paul became the
lead authority regarding Gentile
Christianity. In fact, he wrote most all of the New Testament.
The Mission of the
Church
God revealed
to the Apostle Paul much more about church organization as time went on.
Apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor/teachers were chosen (selected) by
the early apostles, particularly Peter, Barnabas and Paul.
These messengers were sent (evangelizing) into the world to call forth “God’s
elect” and to start new assemblies of believers. The message involved
forgiveness of all sins, reconciliation with God through the Messiah, Jesus
Christ - and the acceptance into the coming Kingdom
of God. This was all part of the New Covenant that God was making
with the human race. It became the “Good News” or “Gospel”. Interestingly
the word “Gospel” [good news]
was used before Christianity when announcing a new Caesar. In this sense it was
a slap to the face of Rome. Jesus was
the “real good news!”
After the
first century the Christian church had to fight against many false teachings such as Gnosticism. This is when church
organization became an extremely important issue. Thank God for the early
saints who stood against the early heresies and plowed through; great saints
such as Polycarp, Irenaeus, and Papias.
How Should I Worship
Today?
First, I
truly believe that what you have just read up to this point should be taught in
a true Church of Jesus Christ. We, as Christians, should know about the true
history of our beloved faith. Much of what we teach here is not being taught to
the majority of Christians today.
Sadly, many
believe almost anything that they hear from a pulpit. This is the sad condition
of the Christian Church today. You should study and pray to find a local church
that has all the truth that you truly feel strongly convicted of. All doctrines
must be tested by the Word of God [Sola Scriptura]. You should also go to a
church that properly understands the true doctrine of Baptism and Holy Communion.
This is in fact hard to do with many of the fallen American denominations and “non-denominations”
out there.
The more
conservative Lutheran Churches have
these doctrines correctly practiced
and also understand the “Doctrine of the Keys”. However, I do not
recommend going to most Lutheran churches today because they are not accepting the
fullness of Biblical revelation which includes proper dispensational theology. If you can, find a conservative Lutheran Church. I currently sometimes attend a good Lutheran church - they do exist. You should go and worship with other
Christians but take communion in your own home if the church you attend doesn’t
practice it properly.
As far as
feeling like you have to go to some building every Sunday to worship you don’t IF
you have personal contact and worship with Christians in a home or outside in a
park. True Christians will meet and worship together one way or another. We are
commanded to “meet
together” because we are all part of the greater “body of Christ” on earth.
If you enjoy
certain Christian programs on television and radio, great! But you still need
to meet and pray with other Christians – praying
with others is in fact worship. To have a personal Pastor/teacher is
important but make sure that he or she is teaching the Bible and not nonsense.
Test all by the Word of God.
Finally, you
may continue your personal studies with us here at “The
Shepherds Way” and “Nugget of Truth”.
Listen to Biblical Christian music and pray. Talk and develop friendships with
other Christians. Remember, even though Christians may not always agree on
everything we must still come together if and when we can so that we may GROW
AND LEARN TOGETHER in the BODY OF CHRIST.
I hope this
helps you gain a better understanding of your Christian faith.
Praise God
all the time!
Eric William
King (March 6th 2021)
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