Why Are You in Church This Morning? Part 1
This is rather long and probably needs to be divided into 2 parts. Cheers.
Why Did You Come to Church Today?
A1 What is church?
A2 What is church supposed to be?
A3 What do we do in church?
A1 What is church?
B1 The Greek word for church is ἐκκλησία ekklēsia. It means originally any public assembly of citizens summoned by a herald (Vocabulary of the Greek Testament by Moulton and Milligan 1914-1929). In the New Testament it is translated assembly, congregation, church.
B2 It is usually used in the sense of properly, people called out from the world and to God, the outcome being the Church (the mystical body of Christ) – i.e. the universal (total) body of believers whom God calls out from the world and into His eternal kingdom. (Source).
B3 Simply put it is believers. It is not simply Christians, because some people call themselves Christians but are not in the Bible use of the word.
B4 A Christian is someone who has been convicted they have broken God’s law and deserves God’s punishment. They must be convinced that they are not a good person. It is someone who then repents, believes in, and trusts into Messiah Jesus for salvation and in no one and nothing else. Doing good works does not save.
A2 What is church supposed to be?
B1 Church is an assembly of believers. It is not for unbelievers. Unbelievers are always welcomed and encouraged, but they are not the reason and purpose for the church.
B2 We are not to stop meeting together. Hebrews 10:19-25 NKJV Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
C1 What Day is this? Some understand day to be the destruction of Israel. Some believe it is the rapture. I believe it refers to 1 Corinthians 3:13 MKJV each one’s work shall be revealed. For the Day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try each one’s work as to what kind it is.
C2 This day is the judgment day for Christians.
D1 Romans 14:10 WPNT But you, why do you judge your brother? And you too, why do you look down on your brother? Because we will all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ.
D2 2 Corinthians 5:10 WPNT Because we must all be exposed before Christ’s Judgment Seat, that each one may receive his due for the things he did while in the body, whether good or bad.
C3 This day is immediately after the rapture.
C4 This is where Christians are judged for what we have done in this life. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 MKJV And if anyone builds on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, 13 each one’s work shall be revealed. For the Day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try each one’s work as to what kind it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he built remains, he shall receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work shall be burned up, he shall suffer loss. But he shall be saved, yet so as by fire.
C5 Wilbur Pickering commenting on 2 Corinthians 5:10 states, “If we are wise, like Paul, we will never forget the Accounting. He was ‘confident’ that upon leaving his physical body he would be at home with the Lord. To have the same confidence we also must consciously live so as to be well pleasing to Him.”
B3 We are to be like our brethren in Acts 2. Acts 2:42 WPNT And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles’ teaching and in the fellowship, both in the breaking of the bread and in the prayers.
C1 Continued steadfastly
C2 Apostle’s teaching (doctrine and lifestyle). We must know what we believe.
C3 Fellowship (with other believers)
C4 Communion (Lord’s Supper)
C5 Prayer (part of worship both as individual and corporate)
B4 We need to be taught. We must not be passive about this, for each one of us is responsible to study the Scriptures. All believers have the Holy Spirit, the greatest of all teachers. Ephesians 4:14 NKJV that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.
C1 We need to know what we believe. What we believe is important. We must be taught, and we must study the Bible and its doctrine.
C2 We need to learn discernment. The pastor must lead in this, but every Christian needs to know what Christians believe. The pastor can go into error.
C3 We all need to be able to defend the faith. We all need to be taught and to be trained. 1 Peter 3:15-17 WPNT Rather, sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready with an answer for everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with meekness and respect; keeping a good conscience, so that wherein they speak against you as evildoers, those who revile your good way of life in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, should the will of God so determine, than for doing evil.
C4 We need to learn to recognize deception. False teachers will try to deceive us. They change the meaning of words, they claim this teaching was only for the New Testament times, they will tell you the Scriptures have been corrupted, they will slowly—I mean slooowly—introduce lies (it might take years, but they will do it. It is how they take over a church), they will promote important people with many doctorates who believe some lie (thus implying that we should believe them), they will assert authority (“We are elders, so you must submit).
D1 Example 1: 1 Timothy 2:4 CSB Who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
E1 Calvinist:
F1 All has different meanings.
F2 Here are some examples of different meanings.
F3 All here means all types.
E2 Plain, normal sense
F1 It states all.
F2 There are no qualifiers to modify the plain, normal sense of all.
F3 Even if it is kinds, types, etc., the Calvinist version fails.
G1 If all refers to gender, then we know there are only 2 genders—male and female. This would indicate that all means each and every male and female.
G2 If all refers to economic status, we know there are the rich, the poor, and everyone else. This would indicate each and every economic class.
G3 If all refers to occupation, we know that some are in the fields of education, legal, medical, government, agriculture, services, engineerings, repair, retired, ill, etc. This would indicate each and every person, since all have some occupation.
D2 Example 2: Acts 10:9-16 WEB Now on the next day as they were on their journey, and got close to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about noon. 10 He became hungry and desired to eat, but while they were preparing, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth, 12 In which were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the sky. 13 A voice came to him, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” 15 A voice came to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean.” 16 This was done three times, and immediately the vessel was received up into heaven.
E1 Hebrew Roots groups teach that this has nothing to do with eating. It deals with how we are to relate to people: This is obviously a touchy subject and you are free to believe or not to believe whatever you feel. However, Jesus never said He made all food clean.
If you read the scripture of Peter’s vision, it says (Acts 10:15) “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” As far as I can see throughout scripture, the unclean animals were never cleansed.
If you read on, Peter is trying to make since out of this vision, because he knew the Lord wouldn’t have him eat unclean meat.
What came about?
In verse 28 Peter says, “Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.”
Peter says here that God showed, in that vision, that he should not call any MAN common or unclean.
I believe the issue of the clean and unclean meats is not a Salvation issue, but God loves us and cares about us enough to show us what is good food to put into our bodies (His Temple) and what is not good. Why would we want to eat things that live off of waste?
E2 The passage in the plain, normal sense was understood by Peter that he, Peter, was to get up, kill, and EAT. Peter was COMMANDED to EAT.
B5 We need to remember Jesus’s death and its purpose. 1 Corinthians 11:20 WEB When therefore you assemble yourselves together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.
C1 We gather for the Lord’s Supper.
C2 This is only for believers.
D1 1 Corinthians 11:28-30 GNB So then, you should each examine yourself first, and then eat the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For if you do not recognize the meaning of the Lord’s body when you eat the bread and drink from the cup, you bring judgment on yourself as you eat and drink. 30 That is why many of you are sick and weak, and several have died.
D2 Matthew 7:6 NKJV Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
B6 We need to live a Christian life.
C1 Good works which glorify our Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 NKJV Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
C2 Care and concern are in this order.
D1 Spouse
D2 My children
D3 The members of my local assembly
D4 The believers everywhere else.
D5 Non-Christians for a witness and testimony.
C3 Some things we are to avoid: Galatians 5:19-21 WPNT Now the works of the flesh are obvious, namely: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, fits of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envyings, murders, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like; about which I am warning you beforehand, as, in fact, I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
C4 Some things needed to be seen in our lives: Galatians 5:22-23 WPNT But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control—against such things there is no law.