Contact: Dr. Joseph Chavady, 406-204 4671
OPINION, Nov. 22, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by Dr. Joseph Chavady:
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God\'s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9).
Believers without a Genuine Church
All over Europe and North America we see the same trend: true believers, disciples of Christ, are not attending church on Sunday, because they say they cannot find a church that is worthy of the name. Are they just grumblers and criticizers for whom nothing is good enough? Are they misguided and in danger of falling away from the faith? They are often seen as dangerous by those who attend church, as people to avoid so they cannot 'infect' the faithful with their questionable views. The Bible is crystal clear, so it is taught from the pulpit: "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Heb 10:25). This verse certainly seems to call us to church, so could there ever be good reason to stay away from the churches in your town? Worse, could attending church in certain situations even be wrong? How can we understand the Bible's teaching on this critical issue for our time?
True Church and False Religion
That many churches are not all they should be is no secret. Many denominations have simply gone religious, preaching a salvation that can be attained through membership, man-made rules and rituals, financial giving and helping out humanity in need. In the time of Jesus, it was the Pharisees and Sadducees who represented 'religion', in Luther's time it was the corrupted Catholic church, and in the end times religion will flourish like never before as the antichrist establishes his blasphemous global 'faith' (Rev 13). But even in the worst of times, God's church will survive, preaching salvation through the blood of Christ alone. Both the true church and false religion will exist side by side until the very day that Christ returns.
This means that in your town there may be a church, or even several churches that may not represent the true church, the beloved Bride of Christ. In fact, it is quite possible that none of them do, and this is when we have to face the question: should I attend church or not? If we read the verse above again carefully, we see that we should not "give up meeting together." We do not see the command here to go to a specific church building. In fact, the Word makes clear that God does not dwell in houses made by hands (Acts 7:48), but rather that He dwells inside those who have given their life over to Him and that He is there where two or three gather in His name (1 Cor 6:19; Mt 18:20). The verse also is an appeal to the brothers, those who have truly surrendered to Christ. Are there other verses then that command us to do more than meet regularly with true brothers and sisters in the Lord? To find the answer, let us look at how it all started.
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