“A great number of pastors like to use the verse in Hebrews 10:25,” the Reverend J.A. Layman, evangelist with Sterling Ministries, before The Lay School faculty here in Clinton, Tennessee, “to infer that all Christian believers should attend church. That verse reads:
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
In order to make that assertion one needs to interpret the words “the assembling of ourselves together” to refer to assembling at a church for worship services; for the context of neither the verse nor the chapter make it implicitly so! But for just a few minutes this morning, let us focus our attention on some of the ramifications of that belief and interpretation.
First, we need to remember that the New Testament church did not meet in its own building, but rather, it met in the homes of the local believers. (See Acts 2:46; Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19) The early Christians of the late first century firmly believed in the imminent return of Jesus Christ; they were expecting Him any day. They had absolutely no concept of the Church Age and the 2000 years that, in retrospect, we look back on. This fact meant that the early church did not have the added expense of maintaining a separate building in which to conduct its worship services and therefore the offerings collected were used to help feed and cloth the widows, orphans, and other needy people in the community. The same passages, as well as maybe a couple of others, that speak of the church meeting in the homes of the believers also mentions that the believers had no personal property, but rather, all personal property and assets owned by one were shared amongst them all, being distributed to all as each had need. All of this is mentioned to call attention to the fact that there is not one church in our modern world that operates according to New Testament principles and examples as described in our own New Testament.
Second, the church, if that is truly what the writer of Hebrews was referring to in Hebrews 10:25 would have been the catholic church; the word “catholic” simply meaning “universal”, for that is one of the definitions offered for the word “catholic” by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Yet how many of those same pastors who preach church attendance using this verse are actually suggesting that true believers need to attend a catholic church? Probably not even one, for their true intent is to increase their own church rolls, which should, in turn, also increase the amount of money collected in their offering plates. Closely akin to this is the idea that all church members ought also to be “tithing” in the Old Testament sense of the word, all the while never pointing out to their members that in each and every case where the word “tithing” is mentioned in the New Testament, it is in connection with the Old Testament laws. Since the Christian is NOT under law, but under grace, there is a different guideline for New Testament giving, and it is found in 1 Corinthians 16:2,
2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. [REFERENCE: Deuteronomy 16:17; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7. The Amplified Bible and the American Standard Version translate “he” for “God”. Which is clearer?]
This idea of giving as one is able was also an integral part of the Old Testament law to provide those who could not afford the more expensive sacrifices a means by which they could obey the law as well. And the spirit of the laws concerning tithing is embodied in Deuteronomy 16:17,
17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee. [Give according to your ability; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7] [Talmud, p.867, 1120]
Third, does it matter which church believers choose to “assemble themselves together” with? Does it matter whether that church teaches and preaches the truth(s) of God’s Word? Does it matter whether they teach all of those truths, or only a part of them?
Fourth, is this alleged commandment to attend church fulfilled by attending a church which is primarily a social organization, rather than a vital and active testimony for Jesus Christ and the truths of God’s Word? Church members can be active in all kinds of Christian service, doing good in the local community, yet omitting the very reason that the church exists in the first place, to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ; thereby failing to minister to an individual’s most basic need according to the Bible, the need to be saved from their sin.
Fifth, if we accept this passage in Hebrews 10:25 as being some kind of command to attend church, or not be “right with God”, then we must also explain how such a belief can exist side-by-side with the fact that some people are physically unable to attend church. Some people, due to the rigors of modern society and the need to earn a living, cannot attend church on a regular basis because of their job and/or the schedule that they must keep. Does this then mean that they cannot be “right with God” because they cannot obey this alleged commandment to attend church?
Some critics of those pastors who preach church attendance using this reference in Hebrews 10:25 posit, and rightly so, that this is a means by which the pastor and those faithful in attendance at their church can pat themselves on the back for their faithfulness, regardless of whether their church is a vibrant testimony and witness for Jesus Christ.
All too often the message of such preaching and teaching is that as long as one is “in church” they are safe; they are okay; they are accepted before God; yet is this truly what the message of the Bible teaches?
Have those who preach this kind of message ever considered how such a message may affect those, who for whatever reason, are unable to attend church regularly? And what about those who have attended church regularly sometime in their past and had a bad experience? Do we truly understand that the way we do church allows unbelievers to not only attend our churches, but in a great many instances to also hold office within our churches. Indeed, there have been a number of instances in recent years where pastors of long time standing have “gotten saved” after ministering in the pulpit for years. And if the pulpit is occupied by an alleged man or woman of God who is NOT saved, why should they have any authority whatsoever to tell someone who is saved how to live?
And if these considerations are not enough to boggle your mind, why should someone who believes, understands, and interprets the Bible literally as written attend a church where the pastor, Sunday School teachers, and other members choose to believe, understand, and interpret the Bible in some FASS (Figurative-Allegorical-Symbolic-Spiritual) manner, directly contradicting what the Bible plainly says? All the while taking comfort in the fact that they are IN CHURCH!
The purpose of this devotional is not to spark debate and elicit defensive reactions, but to attempt to get us to consider, to think about what we say, how we interpret Scripture passages, and how those things that we do impact EVERYONE in our hearing! We need to be sensitive to how our message is heard and received, constantly searching for a way to remain faithful to the truths of God’s Word, yet to also NOT place any unnecessary burden upon our listeners because of our own myopic manner in interpreting God’s Word! Truly, the church has a lot to answer for before God Almighty!
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