 Help
Everyone needs help sometimes. I know there are those people who seem to have everything together to such a degree that they never need a hand. But in reality we all need help in one way or another. We were not created to operate as independent islands and entities but rather as a real community. But a real community must also include some real loyalty and tangible investment. Most if not all work is easier when everyone helps do a part of the job. This means that instead of looking for a reason not to lend a hand, we are eagerly looking for ways to serve one another (1 Peter 4:10-11). This can be seen in cultures, societies, and civilizations even outside of the influence of Christianity. But this is because it is a part of the basic nature of how we are created in the image of God. Even in Eden, God concluded that Adam needed a companion to accomplish the God glorifying tasks that He had been assigned (Genesis 2:20-25). Physical Often support means that there are tangible physical needs that can be met by other people. This can come in the form of financial support, such as the Macedonian churches taking up funds to help the starving Jerusalem church in the first century (2 Corinthians 8-9). Today there are always more ways to give than we have resources to use but generosity should be at the heart of our desire to help. However, even beyond finances we can be a physical blessing to other believers through manual labor. Whether the need is caused by a disability or even just a lack of time we can work to help other brothers and sisters to clear the chore list. We could even see this in a large group getting together to help a friend or brother accomplish a task that one or two people could never do. The point is that we should be looking for tangible ways to bless other people. Emotional The fast pace of our modern society and the burden of our information economy means that most people are carrying around some significant stress. There may be all kinds of ways to cope with stress but at some point we need emotional support. The proverbial shoulder to cry on might not be so proverbial. We need people in whom we can confide knowing that we can trust them and that they care for us. Just knowing that we are not alone can be critical in giving us the necessary strength to make it through the trails that we are facing. However, if we are not cultivating real deep relationships ahead of time, then even in the church we may find ourselves lonely and abandoned even while surrounded by friends. This is not because those around us do not want to support us but usually it is because our relationships lack the bonding and building to promote deeper connections and investment. Spiritual This is the support that the world knows nothing about. They will claim to understand it. Even boasting about their spiritual rituals and practices. But without the peace with the Father through the provision of the Son giving us the presence of the Holy Spirit, the reality is that the world does not know true spirituality (1 John 5:5-11). So the true spiritual support that we need comes from the Lord Himself and through His people praying for our spiritual progress (Hebrews 13:18-21). The greatest spiritual support that anyone can ever receive is to hear the glorious good news that even while we were sinners, meaning vile, disgusting and evil, Christ died for the ungodly and made reconciliation and peace for everyone who trusts in Him..meaning in His perfect life and resurrection (Romans 5:1-11).
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 Seasons
We have all heard the question, “Are you working hard or hardly working?” The reality is that our modern lives are always busy even when not much profitable work is being accomplished. But most of us probably do go through seasons with both our employment and our home lives where the load ebbs and flows. For you it may correspond with certain times of the year or a specific stage of life, but even if you find yourself in one of those time periods that is overwhelming and exhausting it is important to remember that this will pass soon enough. FOMO Do you ever deal with a fear of missing out? Well, let me encourage you not to miss the blessing of your hectic and busy schedule. Consider the blessings that are making it so busy. If you are busy because of a demanding load at a job that you enjoy and that provides for you and your family then be glad you have the opportunity not only to work but to do so as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). Of course, it is possible to sinfully put work in a priority that it doesn’t deserve but if we are simply working faithfully then we should be thankful for the strength and the work. If you are busy because of the needs of children, whether the needy hands of infants and toddlers or the energetic lives of teenagers, be glad for the blessing of God that those image bearers are. The Bible is replete with the reality of the blessing children are for their parents at every stage of life. Children are a blessing in our youth (Psalm 127:2-4) and even when we are old (Proverbs 17:6). If you are busy because of certain trails that God has allowed to enter your life through His loving and providential hands then I would urge you to recognize that He has a purpose. There are many purposes in this that you cannot now see, but that will ultimately be for your good and His glory (Romans 8:26-28). If you are busy because God is blessing your family or career or ministry with some success then praise God for this season of growth and success. We must remember with humility that the growth is from the Lord’s blessing and glory is the Lord’s glory. The labor of love in which we are engaged is not something we have to do but rather something that we get to do (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3)! Hard Things But what if your labors are the consequence of sin? First of all, it is possible that you are suffering some trials that are the natural and necessary consequences of your own sinful behavior, attitude, or lifestyle. If this is the case, even if you have repented you must remember that this trail is not punitive but redemptive. What I mean is that God is not punishing you for your sin. Jesus took all the punishment for believers' sins but He is disciplining you for your growth and maturity (Hebrews 12:3-14). It is also possible that you are bearing a burden because of how someone else has sinned against you. The reality is that there is no help in holding on to resentment or bitterness for this only makes the load harder to bear. Instead, we must cast these cares also on the Lord trusting His promise that He cares for us (1 Peter 5:6-11). So as we enter this labor day weekend let me encourage you to rest yourself in the Lord and enjoy the love, peace, and hope that only He can give (Hebrews 4:9-11)!  Memories
Familiar tunes can evoke a range of powerful emotions. These melodies can conjure long lost emotions harkening back to some deep memory. It is amazing the power that the Lord has put into music. I have seen people debilitated by dementia, but still being able to sing their favorite hymn or play their trusty instrument. I’m sure that scientists have studied and theorized some mechanism or material explanation. However, maybe the reason is because music reaches beyond the mere physical structure of our brain to our heart and soul. We really have very little understanding of the link between our physical body and our soul and spirit. Even in the pages of scripture, this is not explained in a detailed way. But certainly it could be that as God has formed us as both body and soul, He intended for certain things to be specially powerful in traversing the distinction between the two parts. Since we were created to be worshiping beings this seems like the kind of thing that we should expect to be true. Meaning While we often think of music in terms of entertainment, it certainly carries more meaning than that! The right song at the right moment can fill us with joy or help us to grieve or express sincere anger. So the truly great music is usually more than the notes on an instrument, it is a story being told both in rhythm and rhyme. The lyrics that drive the points of the artist home to the soul of the listener. This is possibly the explanation of the phenomenal success of the song, “Rich Men North of Richmond” that has blown up on the internet lately. Many people are resonating with the message of the lyrics. The song has garnered a lot of praise and some criticism. The criticism has come either because of political disagreements with the message of the song, or because of the presence of certain course terminology, or because of the hard and frustrated tone. Ironically, it is probably these very elements that have also been the reason that the song has earned so much attention and acceptance. It is not my purpose in this article to evaluate the song although I will say that there are many insightful and true points being made. But I want to focus on the power that music can have in driving public discussion and galvanizing people in the way they think. This is why jingles and slogans are so popular in advertising because they can gain a loyal following. Even throughout the history of the church, music has been used both in the promotion of true theology and out right heresy. Majesty Ultimately, the purpose of music is to praise and worship God. There can be no higher or better purpose for which an instrument or a voice could ever be used. David uses music to extol the attributes of God throughout the Psalms particularly His steadfast love and justice (Psalm 101:1). We are also instructed that singing is at the heart of our corporate worship when we meet together as the Lord’s people. Paul instructs both the Colossians and the Ephesians about the importance of them singing not only to God but to one another when they come together to learn, fellowship, and worship! Finally, when the Lord reveals to us a glimpse of the eternal activity of worship around His throne there is a song being sung! God is being glorified as the angels, the living creatures, the elders and the saints are crying out in a loud voice the glory and attributes of Almighty God (Revelation 7:9-12)!  Melting Pot
As the kids are beginning a new year of academic education I feel that it is important to remind us of a key distinction between believing and unbelieving thought. The secular world believes, or at least pretends to believe, that the distinction between sacred and secular means that it is possible for us to engage with one another on a neutral philosophical basis. They think that if believers will check their faith at the door, then we will on be on neutral territory. But in actuality, when we agree to step out of our worldview which is defined by the lordship of Jesus Christ we have given them home court advantage (1 Peter 3:14-16). Our public spaces are often considered a melting pot where various distinctions and disagreements are supposed to melt away. It is ironic that many people coming from a secular worldview have adopted a definition for tolerance that is not actually tolerant at all. Tolerance is when people with differing opinions and perspectives can tolerate each other's freedom to not only have that view, but to also express that view. Most secularists today define toleration as affirmation and acceptance. They will openly acknowledge that they do not need to be affirming or accepting of religious or Christian perspectives but that we should affirm their secular perspective. Software A couple of months ago I was engaged in a conversation with a young homosexual man who was wearing the slogan “All are Welcome,” but he quickly told me that my view was not welcome. This is the kind of hypocrisy that the secular tolerance view leads to. The reality is that there cannot be any real neutrality. This is because everyone has to operate with certain foundational assumptions. A computer cannot operate without an operating system. I am not a computer scientist, but as far as I can tell even with all the necessary hardware in place you must have the information in the software for actual computation to take place. It is the same way with us. We must function from a basic framework of reality. For the Christian, our God and Lord Jesus Christ is at the center of that reality and we cannot abandon this fundamental presupposition. Slogans The danger is that people can easily be taken in by a catchy slogan if they are not grounded in the basic principles of the truth. Paul warned the Colossian Christians to not be taken captive by philosophy, deception, tradition, or worldliness (Colossians 2:8). The point is that catchy and sugary words can be used to trap us into believing things that are not true. But this can only be the case if we are not established in the faith. The myth of neutrality is nothing but a trojan horse meant to catch us unarmed and off guard for the spiritual war that we are all involved in. Savior The truth is the person of Jesus Christ. Notice, I did not say the truth is in the person of Jesus Christ. He said that He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Since Jesus is the truth, all our wisdom, knowledge, and understanding must be based on Him and His revelation in the Scriptures. Again, Paul told the Colossians that in Jesus Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). As Christians, we cannot abandon the solid ground of the Lordship of Jesus Christ for the shifting sand of secularism, false religion, or even so called tolerant neutrality!  Misplaced
Have you ever found yourself frantically searching for your keys or your wallet? You're late to work or to church and you just can’t find them. I’m sure that all of us have been in that situation before. In these cases we know that the item is simply misplaced and we must calm down and conduct a thorough search to retrieve our possession. But what happens when you have searched and yet you didn’t find it? In this case, at some point, we must face the reality that it is lost forever. We are not going to find it. Now, we must deal with replacing the lost item or for something irreplaceable or of sentimental value we must grieve our loss. In this case, we are thinking of loss in terms of something that we have failed to keep track of or adequately protect. Certainly this was accidental, but it is gone just the same and we must deal with the consequences. Discarded But there are also times when we lose things because we purposely let them go. I am speaking more philosophically at this point. We may come to realize that some dream or goal or relationship is simply not worth the effort and cost of us holding on to it. This should be especially true for us as Christians for we have found the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46). The gospel is the message of a treasure that is infinitely more valuable than anything we have or could ever even want. This treasure is Jesus! Because Jesus is God. He is of infinitely more value and importance than everything in creation because He is the creator and not simply a created thing (Colossians 1:15-18). Once we understand this truth, then it should be clear that nothing is valuable enough, important enough, good enough, or glorious enough to keep us from abandoning it for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:8). As the old song says, “nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling (Rock of Ages).” Unsaved But what if you are not the one who lost something, but rather the thing which is lost? In Luke 15, the Lord Jesus uses 3 parables about lost things to teach us to understand the heavenly joy produced by genuine repentance and conversion. In the first parable, Jesus tells us about a shepherd who leaves the flock of 99 sheep in safety and proceeds to search out and recover the one lost sheep followed by the great rejoicing because the lost sheep has been found (Luke 15:4-7). The second parable deals with a lost coin. Again the woman searches and finds the coin and calls her friends to rejoice with her that she has found her lost coin. In heaven there is great rejoicing over every one who is found (Luke 15:8-10). The final parable, while significantly more complex, is also about the great rejoicing in heaven when God’s people are found (Luke 15:11-32). So, there are two ways that this could apply to you. First, if you are not an actual believer in Jesus Christ then you must understand that you are lost. You are far from God and you desperately need to be found, rescued and reconciled to God. And the message of these parables is that God and His hosts are ready to rejoice over your salvation. The Bible is clear that every person who turns from their sin trusting in Jesus' vicious death and victorious resurrection and calling on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:9-13). The second application is for us who do believe. We need to rejoice at the conversion of lost souls and go out seeking to find more (Proverbs 11:30)!  Sweet
We often use this term about the flavor of food to refer to things that we find pleasing. It may be that some friend has done something gracious for us and we respond “sweet.” At this moment we are pointing out the kindness that has been done for us. All of us like to have people show us kindness. Kindness is especially appreciated in the moments when we recognize the greatness of our need. Another way to say this is that during vulnerable and humbling experiences we are more likely to notice the kind things done by other people. Whether these people are those closest to us or complete strangers, we enjoy the sweetness of their kind attention. Preemptive Love One way that we could understand kindness is that it is preemptive love. What I mean by preemptive love is that it runs ahead of the parameters of the relationship or the response of the recipient. When we show kindness or are shown kindness it is not as a reward for our accomplishments or behavior, for that would be honor not kindness. Honor should always be given to the one deserving it (Romans 13:7), but kindness is the reward of the undeserving. It is carrying implicit grace. In this way, kindness is the preemptive expression of love. You have probably had experiences where you were shown kindness by complete strangers. In these instances, you have experienced this concept of kindness going beyond the parameters of the relationship. The person treated you as fitting another image bearer of God even if the relationship was not yet established to earn such privileged treatment. Kindness is also particularly sweet when it comes from someone who is not seeking repayment or someone who, to some degree, could not be repaid. Here, kindness is not shown in anticipation of some future reward but only as the right treatment of another human being. God’s Kindness In both of these instances kindness is a preemptive act of love for the humbled recipient. This is also how God shows kindness to us. God comes to us with preemptive love. The Apostle John tells us that we love God because He FIRST loved us (1 John 4:19). The Apostle Paul also reminds us that while we were still enemies of God, Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:8). God clearly shows humanity abundant kindness before we have any relationship, reward, or response to offer. But Why? What is the purpose of God’s kindness? An exhaustive list of God’s purposes will only fully be known in the glory of eternity but I would like to consider two today. First, God shows us such abundant kindness because of the kind nature of who He is. God has revealed to us that He is full of loving kindness (Titus 3:4). This is a reference to His merciful nature that is an attribute of who God is. So God does not simply act kindly, but is Himself kind. The second aspect is that God’s kindness has an intention. Paul again tells us that God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4). God intends to bring us to the point of repentant saving faith, not through wrathful threats but by demonstrations of kindness toward sinners deserving His wrath and judgment. Be sure, God is wrathful and He warns us about the danger and destruction awaiting those who do not repent and trust Christ, but He also gives us an earnest reason to know that He will receive us with grace, mercy, and kindness. Paul goes on to call the believers to behold both the kindness and severity of God (Romans 11:22). So today, which will you have, the severity of God’s judgment made worse by your rejection of His kindness? Or would you enjoy His kindness forever as a ransomed, redeemed, and reconciled saint?!  Warning
So much of the wisdom literature in the Scripture, particularly in Proverbs, is concerned with warning the people of God to steer clear of foolish and sinful snares. Essentially, wisdom is knowing how to rightly apply knowledge and information to make the best decision possible. The warnings in Scripture are not meant to make believers timid people who will not ever take a risk, but rather courageous people who do the righteous thing regardless of the risk. The warnings in Scripture are to protect the person from the seductive lie that sin presents. Sin almost always presents itself as something we should desire. But that desire can turn into the foolish person’s undoing. The progression can even lead to the grave (James 1:14-15). Jesus also warned those who were spiritually blind and arrogant of the danger not only for this life but the next. The Lord particularly pointed out the danger of leading others into the same kind of error (Matthew 23). Warnings in Scripture are serious pleas for those who are in great danger of both temporal and eternal destruction. Wisdom A part of the problem is that it takes a level of humility and wisdom, not only to be able to give wise counsel, but also to accept it. It is truly a sad reality that many people do not have the advantage, and dare I say privilege, of people that will wisely, honestly, and lovingly give them good counsel. In many cases, it is because of a lack of truly wise people. In some cases, there are wise people who unfortunately do not have the courage or the love to confront the person with the advice they need. However, even more common is the person who does have access to this sage advice, but does not have the wisdom and humility to receive it. Oh, please do not misunderstand me, I am not saying that these individuals are not experienced or intelligent. It may actually be the case that their worldly experience and high intelligence is the barrier keeping them from taking such good instruction. The reason for this is because this advice usually comes from someone that these people would consider rather simple, unsophisticated, and not really aware of current trends. My point is that this kind of wise advice usually comes from grandma or grandpa and many fools can’t see the timelessness of the truths they are telling. The irony is that these foolish people are blinded by their sight. They can see so well the enticing glimmer of the trap. And they can hear so well the alluring serenade of the siren that they just can’t believe that there is a deadly catch in the deal. They have already grabbed hold of the promises before they even considered reading the fine print. Watchfulness Caution does not mean always taking the safe path or the better straighter road. But it does mean counting the cost and assessing the risk and rewards of the decisions we make in our lives. This does not only mean considering the wrong things, but also the good opportunities that come our way. The Lord Jesus taught that even in response to His preaching, people should count the cost of whether or not they should be His disciples. Just think about that! Often we say everyone should worship Christ because He is worthy of everyone’s worship, and this is true. We say everyone should trust in Christ because no one should want to go to a place of torment and suffering called hell, and that is true. We say everyone should look to Christ and receive the love, joy, and peace that we can have in Christ, and that is true. But Jesus said that everyone should consider the cost of following Him (Luke 14:25-33)! Much of modern day evangelism is built on a kind of salesmanship that focuses simply on getting the person to make a hasty and emotional decision. But Jesus doesn’t receive disciples that way! Jesus makes disciples who have come to the end of themselves and are His from the inside out. This only happens when we turn from our sin and surrender ourselves to Christ fully and completely. What has it cost you to follow Christ?  Born Again
The Lord Jesus told the Pharisee Nicodemus that he must be born again (John 3:1-16). It is important that we understand Nicodemus is a moral man seeking to obey the laws of both Moses and tradition. Nicodemus is also a theologian and teacher. Jesus even points this out referring to Nicodemus as the “teacher of Israel”. But Jesus still tells him that he must be born again. Jesus' point is really that being born again is the only way to see or enter the Kingdom of God. Since this is the case not only for Nicodemus but also for us, the most important question is have you been born again? If your answer is yes, then how do you know that you have been born again? Many people relate this with some experience or feeling but we have all had experiences in our lives that later proved false and we have all had feelings that were not valid. So is there something more objective that we can use to validate our subjective experience and give us confidence in our spiritual life? New Hearts In Ezekiel 36:25-28, the Prophet proclaims the coming new covenant that God will make with His people. God promises that in this new covenant He will cleanse away all uncleanness and idolatry and give the covenant people new hearts. God is going to perform spiritual heart transplants on those who are brought into this new relationship with God. This is the same thing as the new birth that Jesus is telling Nicodemus about in John 3. So if Ezekiel tells us about the fruit of these new hearts then we should be able to conclude that we have been truly born again from the consequences of the new heart being evident in our lives. The Holy Spirit The text in Ezekiel tells us that with the coming of the new heart we also receive the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. In the New Covenant, we have the Holy Spirit living us as believers. The new living heart is a hospitable home for the Holy Spirit. We are no longer spiritually dead people but we are made alive by the Holy Spirit who lives in us. If you have the Holy Spirit living in you then you have been born again. Holiness The second thing that the scripture tells us about the effect of having a new heart is that the presence of the Spirit will cause us to walk in God’s statutes and keep His rules. This means that those who have been truly born again are also people who are growing in obedience and holiness. While born again people do not live in sinless perfection, we must sin less. Those who continue in willful rebellion against God’s commands and character are not born again. A New Relationship God’s promise in this new covenant is that those who are born again are now His people and He is our God! Just imagine how amazing this is! God is bringing us back into the right relationship with Him through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and the victory of Christ from the grave. In this we are now able to enjoy a fully restored relationship with our thrice holy God and even be called His people. Not only do we have a new relationship with Him but He has a new relationship with us as our gracious Lord! But how are we born again and receive this new heart? In short, this is a miraculous gift from God that He gives to us of His own will. But we receive it by faith. In the famous verse from Jesus' discussion with Nicodemus we are told that the hearts belong to whosoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ!  Politics
So often, in the church, we say that we do not want to get involved in politics. However, it really is not possible to be truly severed from politics while holding any genuine convictions. What is really meant by “not getting politica”l is that we don’t want to get into partisan division. In truth, I don’t trust either party or very many politicians, regardless of their party affiliation. With that said, the real issue is do we as God’s new covenant people have anything to say to the political entity of our local, state, and national governments? The answer is yes! We should bring the truth and ethical stipulations taught to us in the word of God and call out to the government to enact laws that are in keeping with the moral equity of the word of God. I believe that we can call on the government to enact moral laws in keeping with the Scripture without the government establishing any preference or prejudice toward any religious entity. Governance I can hear ‘theonomists’ now saying that they were right with me up to the point when they would see it as a claim to moral or religious neutrality. But I am not granting neutrality. We as Christian citizens certainly are not neutral in arguing for moral and just laws and our Christian legislators and political executives are not to act in a neutral manner either. They should call for and vote for moral and just laws and state that they do so because Christ is King and Lord! But the state itself is not an entity with a soul and as such the state cannot become a disciple of Jesus, cannot be baptized, and cannot be taught to observe everything that Christ commanded; only individuals who are a part of the new covenant through regeneration can do that.(Matthew 28:18-20) This means that to see the kind of just and moral legislation that we all long for in our land we must be proclaiming the gospel and seeking the salvation of our families, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers. Only if God is so pleased to grant that many more individuals would become born again disciples would we see the government coming under the general influence of a true Christian majority. Our goal is not for the state to become Christian, but for the people of our country to become Christians who are baptized and taught to obey everything commanded by Jesus and enjoy His promise even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20). The Gospel This means that the hope for our nation is not a quasi-christian political movement or moral majority coalition of co belligerents but rather our hope is the proclamation of the gospel by individual believers who are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15), the raising of godly families under the Lordship of Christ (Ephesians 5:22-33), the building and strengthening of local churches under the head of the church the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-20), all influencing the governing authorities who regardless of their affirmation or submission are under the sovereign reign of the Lord Jesus Christ!  Fellowship
In the last installment of this blog, we discussed the importance of the home and family for the passing on of the faith generationally. Of course we want to see the gospel go far beyond already believing families, but we certainly desire to see those brought to the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4) following Christ faithfully for generations to come. But our immediate families are not the only group where we should find close relationships in the Lord. It is amazing how two people who have never met can connect almost instantly when they discover that they are both true believers in Christ. I am sure sociologists could offer many theories relating our mutually held beliefs and common lifestyles to explain this phenomenon. However, I think it is the fact that both people are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and even if parts of their lifestyles and cultures may be different, the unity is found in their shared love for Christ, trust in His word, and experience of saving grace. In the Scripture, we are told that at the very beginning the church was focused and devoted to fellowship. I know we love to emphasize doctrine and we should! But in the book of Acts (2:42) it seems that doctrine, breaking of bread (Lord’s Supper), prayer and fellowship are equal in importance and devotion by the church. The reality is that no church can be strong and healthy without devotion to the truth of God revealed in the Scripture and taught authoritatively in the church, but neither can a church be a healthy, organic, spiritual body without genuine biblical fellowship. This is one of my favorite topics so I may end up repeating some things you have heard before, but we all need to hear it again I’m sure. Dr. Donald Whitney has a very helpful definition of Christian or Biblical fellowship in his book on Spiritual Disciplines. He says that biblical fellowship is more than Christians socializing because it involves talking about God and the things of God. The church is where like minded and life hearted believers enjoy true fellowship which is a blessing to the believers and glorifying to God. Meeting Together The church can be defined in terms of the universal or invisible church which consists of all believers of all time. But in terms of our experience and the usual way that the New Testament is speaking about church the emphasis is on the local church. Believers ought to think first about the brothers and sisters with whom they meet weekly when we think about the church. The church is these people whom I love and who love me. The church is these people who we pray with, and sing with, and study with, and share with, and eat with, week in and week out. When the Apostle Paul is dealing with the problems in the Corinthian church surrounding their observance of the Lord’s Supper (remember their sin concerning the Lord's Supper had even the punishment of death), in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Paul keeps pointing to when you “come together.” The sin of the Corinthians was not a blasphemous dismissal of the bread and wine but a breakdown of fellowship and sharing in the body of the church. We also see that in the letter to the Hebrews we are instructed to keep meeting together and even more as we see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25). Regardless of how we interpret the day that we see approaching, this text is certainly an encouragement for Christians to meet together more not less. And when we meet together I see no good reason from the Scripture why we would not devote ourselves to the Apostle’s doctrine, the Lord’s Supper, fervent prayer and deep biblical fellowship (Acts 2:42). The Temple of God Again, the issue in understanding the church involves a right view of the shift from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. The Old Covenant was marked by physical forms, functions, and facilities that pointed forward to greater spiritual realities contained in the promises given by Christ. This means that while God met with His people in specific places in the Old Testament such as the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem, now we are the temple of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 6:14-18) and the spiritual house in which the Lord dwells on earth (1 Peter 2:4-10). Since this is the case, then we all need to regularly and weekly (at least every Lord’s day) gather with our local church for the unique fellowship of the saints and the unique presence of our Lord! |