Neglecting the temple
The Great Revealing - Part 4
The dearest place on earth
I love the local church. I love my local church. I am keenly aware of the fact that the language I have expressed is both unique and abnormal for many professing Christians. First of all, my local church is MY church, not because I own it, but because I belong to it, and those in that body belong to me, and together we belong to Christ. Second, I LOVE my church. I do not merely endure it, or attend it. No, I am invested, with my mind and affections, in my local church. You might be thinking, “Why do you love your local church, and why do you speak of it in such strong and personal terms?” In order to avoid what should be a separate post, let me boil it down to three main reasons.
The local church is, by God’s design, to be the best and primary place where the people of God:
Use the gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit to equip one another and then work together to build up their church (1 Corinthians 12:4-27; Ephesians 4:11-14).
Meet to worship God in the following ways: singing, prayer, reading and studying Scripture, celebrating baptisms and the Lord’s Supper, receiving offerings, and fellowship (Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Colossians 3:12-17).
Find a haven and oasis from the spiritual war waged in the world, where those people are bandaged and repaired, and then sent out to engage in the battle and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ with boldness and conviction (Acts 20:28-32; Philippians 2:1-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:5-11).
Playing “church”
COVID has made something painfully obvious; something that was better-hidden when circumstances were more comfortable and easier. The pandemic has revealed what I believe to be one of the saddest and most pervasive realities in Christendom. Most professing Christians and church-goers have a sub-biblical ecclesiology; their doctrine of the local church is not firmly grounded in the Word of God. I am aware of the audacity of that claim, and I am also aware, that it is at this point where I anticipate pushback and indignation. So, let me support my assertion.
Most churches suspended in-person worship services for quite a long time, and many since March 2020. There were three main reasons for this decision. First, the government required churches to not meet at all or meet with very few people. The sentiment went something like, “Obeying Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 require Christians to submit to the civil magistrate.” Second, because the virus was (supposedly) so deadly, and out of a concern of spreading it to others within the church, in-person gatherings were suspended. Third, because many churches could not have, with those limitations, produced a service and experience that met their standards, so they decided to wait for the restrictions to expire and “get back to normal.”
A simple obedience
Any thoughtful churchgoer must concede that submission to the governing authorities only goes so far. When the State commands Christians to do what God forbids OR forbids what God commands, Christians are required to disobey the government. Throwing Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 around like confetti is spiritually immature and biblically juvenile. Did the State require us to disobey God in suspending our weekly gatherings? Yes, unequivocally and undoubtedly. Christians are commanded, by the Lord in His Word, to celebrate the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:17-34), to use their spiritual gifts to edify the body (1 Corinthians 12:1-11), to sing together AND to one another (Ephesians 5:15-21; Colossians 3:16), to engage in the laying on of hands for prayer and encouragement (Acts 6:6; Acts 13:3; James 5:13-16), and to physically greet one another (Romans 16:16).
Fear not!
How about the nature of the virus itself and the decision to suspend meeting out of either fear or safety? I don’t want to get into the data regarding contagiousness, death rates, and testing. What I want to do is discuss principles that must guide how the believer lives and how the local church operates. First, believers are not, I repeat NOT, to be driven by fear. The Holy Spirit within us does not drive us by fear (2 Timothy 1:7). Allowing worry to direct our decisions is to evidence a lack of faith (Matthew 6:25-24). Second, the Christian life is not to be lived avoiding death at all costs. If the Early Church or the Reformers tried to mitigate death as much as churches did during COVID, not only would the Church have died, but if it survived, it would not have produced the New Testament. The only reason life is to be preferred to death is to serve the Lord faithfully. Death is a gain, because we get to be with Christ (Philippians 1:21). Third, there are worse things for a follower of Jesus than to contract a virus and maybe even die from it. Being alone and depressed can crush spiritual vitality. Neglecting the corporate gathering can starve you spiritually. Not availing oneself of the means of grace made available to the people of God has profound and lasting effects.
Church clarity
Regarding those churches who refused to meet because they could not achieve a production level or secure a certain experience, let me be brief: they clearly don’t understand the mission of the church, the purpose of the church, and the nature of the church.
The local church is God’s field, where He does His best work at spiritual growth (1 Corinthians 3:9). The local church is God’s temple, a structure being built up into spiritual maturity where God does His best construction (1 Corinthians 3:16). The local church is the gathering of God’s called-out ones (that’s what ekklesia means in the original Greek), where those called out of darkness and into the light of Christ are a spiritual family together (1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10). Yes, the local church must exercise wisdom and discernment with regards to viruses. But the local church must not bend to the orders of the civil magistrate when commanded to disobey Christ. The local church must not encourage its people to be driven by fear and worry. The local church must be grounded upon the Gospel, and not high production value. In God’s mercy He has brought about great clarity with regards to COVID and local churches. May many Christians and local churches, by His grace, no longer neglect the temple.