Many Christians have never understood the importance of the local church assembly. Attention, or lack thereof, to this aspect of the Christian life is a good thermometer by which to gage the spiritual temperature--hot, lukewarm, or cold? This is evidenced in an individual's attendance record. Very few cold, or even lukewarm, Christians faithfully attend every service. In this short article, let's examine " The Assembly."
The early church, which pleased God and followed the apostles' examples and teaching, was a church that assembled. Please read Acts 2:46, 4:31, 6:2, 11:26, 20:7; 1 Cor. 5:4, 11:17-18, 20, 33-34. These scriptures attest to the early practices in the Lord's church. Paul admonished Peter for not living what he preached; in Gal. 2:14, he states "I said unto Peter before them all ..." This indicates that the church was assembled. Hebrews 2:12 says "In the midst of the church (assembly) will I sing praise." Hebrews 10:25 says "Not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." James 2:2 "For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, ..." All these passages establish, not only the assembling of the early church, but also its importance.
Where should the church assemble? In one sense, the place we assemble is not important! John 4:20-24 "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship Jesus said unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a spirit: and they that worship Him must worship him in spirit and truth."
In another sense, the place we assemble is important! An assembly necessitates a place to meet. In order for the Christian to fulfill his duty to assemble, it must be in a place that is "known" and can be found. Throughout the New Testament, we find the Christians meeting in various places. They met in their homes (Philemon 2; Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15), in the Jewish Temple (Acts 2:46), an upper room (Acts 20:7-9), and in a school building (Acts 9:9-10). The bottom line is that the early Christians met where they could and did not let the lack of a building deter their efforts to worship God.
We must also determine when the church is to assemble. Too many Christians fail to learn this important lesson. Once again, when we return to the New Testament and read of those early Christians, we find that they assembled upon the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2), but we would also find that they met daily (Acts 2:46; 19:9-10), and on special occasions (Acts 6:14,17). These last three noted chapters in Acts show that the early Christians considered meetings to determine policy (business meetings) and to listen to a visiting preacher (gospel meetings) important enough to assemble for, and they made an effort to attend. If those were pleasing to God then, why would it not be so today?
The next area of study would be: Why would the church assemble? Once again, a New Testament study reveals numerous reasons for worship (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; Hebrews 2:12). They assembled to discipline the unruly (Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5:4); to conduct church business (Acts 6:1-4); for teaching (Acts 11:26); to report the results of evangelism (Acts 14:17); to discuss matters of difference between and among brethren: "And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, 'It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses'. Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter." (Acts 15:4-6); to read scriptures: "I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren." (1 Thessalonians 5:27) "Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea." (Colossians 4:16); to provoke unto love and good works: "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works..." (Hebrews 10:24) Brethren, how can one partake of each of these Christian duties if he fails to assemble as taught by examples in the scriptures?
It is the Christian's duty to be present, because it is, quite simply, the right thing
to do! If one, through neglect, fails to assemble, he does not perform the duties to be
discharged in the assembly; nor does he receive the benefits afforded by the assembly.
This being true, how many assemblies must we neglect before we sin--1, 2, 5, 10,
100, or quit altogether? The only consistent answer is that we sin when we
miss, due to negligence, the first one.
(Edited--KG)
Every preacher who is doing the work God commanded him to do preaches sermons about brethren's attendance. Everywhere I have preached, the problem is always the same--good attendance on Sunday morning; fewer on Sunday evening; and even fewer for Wednesday Bible class. The church always has some who come to the Sunday morning worship service, but not to Bible study. Does it concern us preachers? Of course! So what do we do?
Brethren, when questioned about their attendance, have a standard argument. "Where does the Bible say I must attend on Sunday night, Wednesday night, and during a gospel meeting?" My answer is always the same. "You don't have to do anything!" For years, I've pled, begged, given plain lessons on the subject, tried to make brethren feel bad, and a host of other things. Has it worked? No! Those who want to attend do, and those who don't, won't. A preacher cannot force people to attend church services. I can't even get them to see, if they don't wish to, the importance of their being present. So do I just give up? No, brethren are not going to get off that easy!
God told me to "preach the word." Part of that word tells me not to allow people to feel comfortable in their sins! "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." {Hebrews 4:13} "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us."{1 John 3:22-24} If we truly love God, truly love our brethren, when the church meets together for worship, teaching, and edification; if we are able to be present, where will we be? To ask the question is to answer it!
Just one more thought. How do we convince God we want to be with Him forever, with His children, when we can't stand to be with them just three hours per week? Do you still feel comfortable missing when you could be here? --KG