Use this guideline as a measure...
*It was founded by Jesus Christ Himself in Mt 16:18.
*It would be built on Simon Peter, Mt 16:18.
*It would be defended by GOD Himself, Mt 16:18-19.
*It would have authority given by Jesus Christ, Mt 16:19,18:17-18.
*It would be guided by the Holy Spirit who will dwell within it, Jn 14:15-17, Act 15:28,16:6.
*It would be one and undivided, Mk 3:24-25.
*It would have one fold and one shepherd, Jn 10:16.
*It would have Priests, Bishops, and Deacons, 1Tim 3:1-13.
*It must have the Holy Eucharist celebration, Jn 6:42-70, Acts 2:42.
*It must be found in all nations, Mt 28:19.
*It must be found in all centuries, Mt 28:20.
*Jesus Christ said He would be with His Church every day, in every year, until the end of the world, Mt 28:20. (This means no gaps in time.)
Thank you for posting!!!
I’ve felt the same way for years but you have articulated it perfectly!
If you watched “The Passion of Christ” by Mel Gibson, what did you think of it?
Maybe people who look around on a Sunday, may be worshipping in vain, transgressing His 4th Command regarding His Sabbath- all the while thinking they aren’t.. But that might go also for those who would look around on Saturday too..it does in this 5th month of His.
Now that would be interesting if those ‘traditions of men’ in church or synagogues today would be considered vain worship by Him..
It would be easier to see if the World used His Calendar and not Rome’s to know when His Sabbaths were (and this month, the amuslims and their Friday prayers stumbled into His Sabbath-ironic to be sure)
Amazing what can be seen when traditions of men are replaced with scriptural templates..
But traditions of men would call today Thor’s Day, caesar augustus’ 6th.
Not what Scripture would call today as His 6th Day, the 21st Day of His 5th month- a Day commemorating when He made the living creatures ,cattle, creeping, things and beasts. And man in His image.
Worship Him who made Heaven, the sea and the fountains of water
Angel in Revelation 14:7
Pretty similar to why the Sabbath was to be holy and set apart- Exodus 20:8-11
Interesting traditions the world has today.
Churches are for sinners. Prayers are for God. Where two or more are gathered in His name, He is present.
I am, and will always be, unworthy. Though I work at it every day, I will always be unworthy. Through the perfect grace of Jesus Christ, however, I am saved. It is only through Christ that I am saved.
I always find it helpful to read the context of Matthew 15:1-6 in understanding vv. 7-9.
Specifically, understanding the word Corban (rendered “gift” in the KJV and DRB), and how that was mis-used to exempt somebody of their 4th Commandment duties, really adds a huge depth of understanding to why Jesus took that specific moment to rant at the Pharisees. The utter hypocrisy they displayed would be maddening, wouldn’t it?
What makes it particularly interesting is if you take the time to understand the Torah and, if you can, the Babylonian Talmud, about the practice...
we may as well stay home and sleep in on Sunday. After all, they both accomplish the same goal in the way of worship.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Gen 2:3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
Which day?
Exo 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
Exo 20:10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
Which day? The seventh. One of the ten commandments of God.
Luk_6:5 And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
Traditional Christianity has abandoned the biblical sabbath and prefers their own sabbath. They've made the commandment of Christ of no effect.
If you think about it, such actions are vain because they call God a liar, claiming He said something He didn’t say and that He didn’t say something He said. That’s the definition of being a false prophet, a ravening wolf, according to Christ. In Matt. 7:15-23 Christ condemns unrepentant false prophets to hell.
Doing the works of the law do not render someone pleasing to God. The Lord said He seeks those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Being made pleasing to God is another way to express the idea of justification. Our justification is through faith in the finished work of Christ, not in our sin-corrupted works. Our worship is not in vain if we worship in spirit and in truth, as Jesus said. Such worship is impossible for those who are “in the flesh” and not in the Spirit, as Paul says, because the natural man is at war with God, has no faith, and therefore cannot please Him, no matter what they try to do.
Remember what Jesus said about being justified? The man who went to the place of worship and was able to list off al his righteous acts. Was he justified? Or was it the guy in the back row, who couldn’t even bear to look heavenward, but yet he begged God for mercy, knowing he was just a sinful man? Who went home justified that day?
The regulative principle is a great thing, and no one should invent modes of worship not prescribed by Scripture. On the other hand, the NT model for worship is very open-ended, and has far more to do with love than liturgy. But even if we granted some precise form of worship, when precise observance overtakes the weightier matters of the law, Justice, mercy, and faith, one can become a blind guide to the blind, and together both will fall in the pit.
Peace,
SR
How can a brick and mortar building worship God...
The “church” is made up of believers...
“Where two or more are gathered in my name”...
How can a brick and mortar building worship God...
The “church” is made up of believers...
“Where two or more are gathered in my name”...
Certainly wise words in your post. Begs the question though: HOW can we know the best way to worship God? And I’m not talking about just “not sinning” (which, while certainly difficult, at least has plenty of Scripture to validate such a desire)
But worshipping God? The actual act, as to what it means specifically HOW it’s done? I don’t see that in Scripture (at least not very much, other than the occasional, almost in passing mentions of “assembling on the first day of the week” and/or “not forsaking the assembly of each other”).
No, we don’t read, for example: whether or not women can be pastors or...
...what kind of music is most pleasing to God, if any (classical, contemporary rock, heavy metal...) or no music during worship or...
...what time of the day, and indeed what day of the week or...
...is it even compulsory to GO and worship Him at a church building or can He be appropriately worshipped in someone’s house or...
...what Bible readings are best for the worship service and when should one passage be used over another. Or should the Bible be read aloud at the worship at all? Or...
...what prayers should be used? Should they be informal prayers or formalized prayers composed by some individual or committee beforehand? Should they be read aloud or only in silence? Or...
...what posture should be taken at the worship service, and when should different postures be implimented? Or doesn’t posture matter?
I don’t see these questions answered in the Bible. I don’t see the Bible saying explicitly “It doesn’t matter how you worship the Lord” either.
It’s just silent on the matter. Scripture is silent on how it should be done, how one of the most important things we SHOULD be doing is done, even in the most basic of questions above.
Much less any more that might come up in a group of people, all of whom love the Lord with all their heart, so desire to worship Him the best way possible, the way that is pleasing to Him, but have no idea of how this is manifest in a practical sense.
These answers are not forthcoming from Scripture alone. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t important. Because truly, when one loves another, one desires to do what the Other wants, not what oneself wants.
So again, I commend you for your post. It brings up a vital question, a question so obvious it’s often overlooked in its simplicity. Seems to me it begs more exploration. It will be interesting to see if reasoned exploration is forthcoming.
Sounds like another opinion hit piece on everyone else’s religious practices. “You’re not a Christian because you don’t worship like I do!”
Matthew 9:16-17
16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”