In Gods House

22Then Paul stood in the midst of the iAreopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23“for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25“Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26“And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27“so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us 28“for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
Acts 17: 22 - 28 NKJV

Once again, the email chain brought about a good question among our group this week.  If this keeps up I may never run out of material to write about.  This weeks question was one we seem to have tackled before, but every once in awhile we revisit them.  It seemed Dennis came across a article which questioned why we as christians should attend church.  It's an age old question for sure, but one we keep returning to as if to somehow justify our decisions to go or not to go.  It's no secret that church attendance has declined in past years, and many a pulpit pounder has been left wondering how to fill pews and collection plates.  When questions like these come about, I usually turn to scripture in order to verify whatever decision I make.  So, what does the bible say about attending church?  Well, I feel that first of all it is worth mentioning here that the church as we know it today is a man made creation.  That's right, each and every church, praise and worship service and Easter celebration is something we ourselves have created.  Those who argue that "Good" christians should gather in the Lords house weekly for fellowship and worship often point a passage in Hebrews 10 to bolster their claim.  For here the writer of Hebrews encourages us to "Not forsake" our gathering together as is the habit of some.  But does our "Gathering togther" necessarily mean to come together in our man made houses of worship?  The apostle Paul himself claimed in Acts 17 that God "Does not dwell in temples made with hands."  Do we really need a ornate building or a quaint country chapel in order to be closer to God as we gather?  Absolutely not!

6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be adone away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV

One of the arguments I always hear from those in favor of "Mandatory" weekly church attendance is that it will bring us closer to God.  Well, excuse me, but we who have accepted Christ Jesus have never been closer to our heavenly Father than we are today...in or out of church. It is Christ HImself who has put to death our old sin nature we were born with, and it is He who we live as today.  How much closer to God could we get than to have God within us?  To make the claim that as christians we are required to attend church weekly borders on legalism.  Unfortunately, it is for this very reason that many a believer has left the church in recent years.  They grew weary of a God that required them to attend on a regular basis, required them to serve AND required them to tithe a certain amount.  Is it no wonder, then, that those who have left the institutional church have felt a sense of freedom?  I know I did.  Friends, these demands placed upon us by church pastors/officials are not what our heavenly Father has in mind for His children.  I believe that true worship for our Lord begins in the heart of the believer and not on a church mandated schedule.  I don't believe that our heavenly Father intended His children to be in bondage to a man made religion or church.  Yet that is what we have made of it.
Recently Dennis and I gathered at the home of an old friend on a Sunday morning.  The purpose of this gathering was simply to come together in fellowship and worship of the Lord without the constraints of the organized church.  It is interesting that each person present, myself included, spoke of the freedom they felt outside of the restrictions of the church.  Freedom to gather and experience God just where we were.

~Scott~