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Sabbath Day Devotion
January 14, 2012
What the Church is NOT (part 20) –
We continue to receive a tremendous amount of encouragement and support in response to this series. Because these devotions are being forwarded to many, many people, we are receiving a multitude of new subscribers every week.
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Hundreds of people are getting a glimpse of what an unconstrained Holy Spirit led church is capable of doing. Unfortunately,
most of these people are trying to make their new concept of what the
church should be fit their old paradigm of what they have always thought
the church was. Understandably, they don’t know how to go from where they are to where they want to be.
I have thought about this a lot. I have discussed it with others. I hope God will enlighten me and make it possible for me to discuss it in more detail in a future devotion. At
this point, though, I am led to believe that what we are most inclined
to do will be similar to pouring new wine into an old wine skin.
The Church is NOT:
- a man-made building
- a man-made denomination
- a set of man-made doctrines
- for unbelievers (non-Christians)
- a social club or gossip center
- an entertainment center
- an event that has a dress code
- a place to drop off your kids
- a place where large crowds sit in rows staring at the back of someone else’s head
- an organization with a distinction between clergy and laity
- an event that must start at a specific time on a specific day
- a substitute for individual Bible study and prayer time
- the only place you should act Christ-like
- a 501.c.3 organization
- an organization that is based on anyone other than Jesus Christ
- headquartered here on earth
We have discussed the first ten of these “What the Church is NOT” statements. We will discuss the eleventh in today’s devotion. Based on previous experience, this devotion is sure to raise some hackles. Many will label me as a heretic. So be it. It won’t be the first time – and I am sure it won’t be the last.
The Church is NOT…
an event that must start at a specific time on a specific day.
Most Christians meet every Sunday morning for worship. Why is that? Is Sunday the day God set aside for worship? Does the Bible instruct the church to meet every Sunday morning?
Most
Christians are surprised when they discover the real reason they meet
every Sunday morning for church services. The real reason most
churches meet on Sunday is because the Roman Emperor Constantine
mandated that Sunday would be the official day of assembly and rest – in
321 A.D. Constantine is quoted as saying, “On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.” This was not only for Christians, but for the entire Roman Empire.
Since my occupation is in agriculture, I found it very interesting that Constantine went on to say, “But
let those dwelling in the country freely and with full liberty attend
to the culture of their fields; since it frequently happens that no
other day is so fit for the sowing of grain, or the planting of vines;
hence, the favorable time should not be allowed to pass, lest the
provisions of heaven be lost.”
Please keep in mind that I just quoted Constantine – NOT the Lord our God.
Most
church groups have been meeting on Sunday for so long that they fail to
realize that doing so is nothing more than a man-made tradition that
has very little support in the Holy Scriptures. As I have said several
times since we started this series, it’s funny how our traditions (mine
included) will eventually seem “biblical” – if we practice them long
enough.
After
reading and rereading the book of Acts as well as the New Testament
letters, I’m convinced that the early Christians met together as “the
church” whenever it was convenient. There is evidence that some met
every day – at least for a while. It is believed that they often came together as the church before and/or after work.
Every day they continued to meet together in the
temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and
ate together with glad and sincere hearts... And the Lord
added to their numbers daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:46-47
Many
historians believe Constantine was trying to unite pagan sun worship
with Christianity. The wording of his law shows that at the time of
its inception he was wavering between paganism and Christianity. By
calling Sunday "the venerable day of the sun," there is no doubt that Constantine had high esteem for pagan sun worship.
There
were several other man-made Sunday laws between 425 A.D. and the
1600s. For example, in 789 A.D. Charlemagne (King of the Franks)
decreed that even normal "servile" work was to be avoided on Sunday so
that the day could be set aside for holy worship and thanks to God for
His goodness. This Sunday law further expanded the role of State in
church affairs by affecting personal behavior.
I
have often been told that we meet on Sunday because that is the day our
Lord arose from the grave. That is why Easter is always celebrated on
a Sunday. Keep in mind, though, that there was no formal celebration
of the resurrection of Christ (Easter) until the reign of Constantine
during the fourth century. There are also two scripture references
that many church leaders use to try to provide some evidence that the
early church met on Sunday (the first day of the week).
In Acts 20:7, Luke records, "On the first day of the week we came together to break bread..." Please read Acts 20:7-12.
In
biblical times, the Jewish day started at sundown of the previous
day. Concerning these particular verses, most Bible scholars believe
these believers came together after observing the Sabbath (Saturday).
Shortly after sundown (the beginning of Sunday), the Apostle Paul began
to talk. Since he was leaving the next day, Paul kept on talking until
midnight when one of the listeners fell asleep and fell out of a third
story window. The time of this meeting would have been the equivalent
of our Saturday night.
You
can read as much into this as you want to. Personally, I do NOT think
these verses insinuate that every church group met on the first day of
every week. All it says is that this particular group of believers
happened to meet at this time to listen to Paul because he was leaving
the next day. If you are using these verses to support your belief
that the church should meet on the first day of every week, then you
should start your meetings Saturday night – instead of Sunday morning.
In 1 Corinthians 16: 2, the apostle Paul said, "On
the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of
money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no
collections will have to be made." Please read 1 Corinthians 16:1-2.
Paul
instructed the Corinthian believers to set aside money for the
impoverished Christians in Jerusalem. Note that these verses say
nothing about Christians coming together with other Christians on the
first day of the week. They also say nothing about bringing money to a
church meeting or a church building (there were no church buildings).
The Corinthian Christians were simply instructed to set aside some
money on the first day of the week. They were told to save it up “so that when I (Paul) come no collections will have to be made.”
Most of us try to interpret scriptures to fit our preconceived thoughts and ideas. Most of us have been GOING to
a church building at a specific time every Sunday morning. Part of
our weekly agenda is to pass the collection plate. The money that is
collected is handed over to the church treasurer to manage for the
church. Therefore, when we read these two verses, we automatically
visualize what we experience
every Sunday morning. We forget that there were NO church buildings,
NO collection plates and NO church treasurers when the Apostle Paul
wrote these instructions.
Once
again, you can read as much into these two verses as you want to.
Personally, I believe the Apostle Paul was simply instructing each
Christian in Corinth to set aside some money that could be shared with
the Christians in Jerusalem. Each person or family was “saving it up”
so that it would be ready when Paul came. They did NOT take their
money to some church building and hand it over to a church treasurer for
safe keeping.
These
are the only two places in the New Testament that even come close to
talking about believers coming together on Sunday. I am still under
the impression that the early Christians met as often as possible.
They did NOT have a specific day or set time for worship. They were busy BEING the church. The concept of GOING to church had not yet been invented.
Does
this mean it is wrong for modern-day Christians to always meet on
Sunday? No, not necessarily. I think we need to realize, though,
that God was NOT the one who made Sunday the official day of worship for
Christians. Unfortunately, many
of the Christians I have had fellowship with over the years seemed to
be worshipping Sunday more than they worshiped the Lord our God. I’m
sure the same could be said of many Sabbath Keepers about Saturday.
Folks,
you do NOT have to wait until a specific time on a special day of the
week to have fellowship with other Christians – and you do NOT have to
go to a special building to have fellowship with other Christians. In my not-so-humble opinion, these are the two biggest problems with the church today. Those who belong to the religious majority are so obsessed with GOING to church that they don’t realize that they are supposed to BE the church.
Don’t just GO to church; BE the Church
Kit Pharo
Pharo Cattle Co.
Cheyenne Wells, CO
Phone: 1-800-311-0995
Email: Kit@PharoCattle.com
Website: www.PharoCattle.com
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