A NOTE AND AN INVITATON

We are certainly living in difficult times. Many congregations are being forced to eliminate church services but that doesn't mean we must stop worshipping. The East Ridge congregation where I serve as an elder is streaming a worship service on Sunday morning at 9:00 AM Eastern time and also Wednesday evening at 7:00 Eastern. I would like to invite you to join us if you have no place to worship. In this service we only have the people present that are needed to conduct the worship (less than 10). You can find the service on our Web page: ercoc.com. Remember, the purpose is to worship God. When the song director leads the songs, you should be singing. We are singing to praise God.  RTO

For all of us, we are living in frightening times. How are Christians to react to all of the changes that have been thrown our way? We are hearing our government leaders telling us to stay home, not to be in large groups. Why is this important? Remember that they are considered by God to be there for our protection. Romans 13:1-3 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Remember why the government is asking, or sometimes ordering, citizens to refrain from being in a large group. It is not to curtain worship. It is strictly to protect the health and welfare of its citizens.

There are a few among us that are misusing Hebrews 10:25 to try to frighten Christians into violating what our government and medical agencies have asked us to do. There are many articles that explain the meaning and intent of this passage, but these well-meaning Christians are attempting to cause Christians to not follow the leadership of the eldership where they attend. When an eldership instructs those under their charge, their decisions are to be obeyed as we would obey Christ, for He placed them in charge of their local congregation. (Hebrews 13:17).

In using Hebrews 10:25 to argue Christians are never to miss services for any reason, they are taking a phrase out of its context. This passage is talking about Christians doing everything they can to encourage each other to remain faithful.  Some have forgotten that the church met in houses in the first century (example 1 Corinthians 16:19.) Consider some situations that frequently occur. Suppose a husband and wife are on vacation in a part of our country where the church does not exist. If they worship in their hotel room together, is this wrong? Suppose they are able to worship with a congregation by livestream. Would that make it wrong?  It is just as wrong to try to argue that using livestream in our current situation is wrong as to argue that we should only use one cup on the Lord's table. There was a time when the use of only one cup in a small congregation was the best way to serve that congregation. Technology has offered us a better way (largely safer medically) than using one cup. 

If the phrase in Hebrews 10:25, "not neglecting to meet together" means meeting in family groups because of the present distress is sinful, then it would also be sinful to miss when we are caring for a sick child, spouse, parent, or even friend; miss when we feel fine, but believe we are still contagious from some illness; or perhaps even missing because we are sick. 

Remember, the government is a minister of God for your protection in civil affairs. Elders also have the responsibility to protect you, especially in spiritual matters. Also remember elders are very aware that they must answer to God for the decisions they make on your behalf.

Gary Pollard wrote on a blog an article I would like to share with you. It is taken from Neal Pollard's blog. (preacherpollard.com)

"An alarming number of people today are obsessed with the COVID-19 outbreak. Nearly every post on social media is focused on it, stores are selling out of essentials, and it comes up in nearly every conversation. This article is not about Coronavirus-19. I'm tired of reading about it and I'm assuming you are, too.

Because the virus is particularly dangerous for older people or those with underlying conditions (a healthy demographic in the church), many congregations have cancelled or reduced services until something can be worked out. As a result, some have attempted to use scripture to claim that these measures are unscriptural.

Some have pointed to the early church: despite the threat of death from man, they continued worshipping. This is true, but that threat was persistent for years. Even then, many early churches met at extreme hours and in extreme secrecy during the worst of persecution. This is not the case today.

Some have pointed to Hebrews 10.25 to say that cancelling services is the same as "forsaking the assembly." We will look at this passage closely, but we need to keep something very important in mind: most of writings set after the establishment of the church are focused on Christian living. Our standard of conduct, our speech, our attitude toward the world, our understanding of God, how to employ wisdom, etc. are the focus of the vast majority of the New Testament.

For perhaps more than a few, the sum total of their Christianity is the worship assembly on Sunday and Wednesday. Worship is extremely important to godly living and it would be egregiously false to state otherwise (as some state, "I am dedicated to God, not the church"). However, there is but one fragment of a sentence in all of scripture dedicated to the importance of consistent attendance. It is binding and important, but some place a disproportionate emphasis on this passage to the neglect of the rest of scripture. To use the words of Jesus, "They strain at a gnat and swallow a camel" (Matthew 23.23ff).

Hebrews 10.25 states, "not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near." The next verse says, "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins..." Verse 29 makes it very clear that 10.25 is talking about "trampling underfoot the son of God..."

It is important to note that "forsaking" in 10:25 is ἐγκαταλείποντες (eingkataleipontes), which means to leave, abandon, or desert. The word is also a present active participle in this text, which describes a continuous, willful abandonment of the worship assembly. The same word is to describe a man leaving his father and mother and clinging to his wife. It is a more or less permanent abandonment, not a temporary one.

         What does this mean for Christians in 2020? It means that cancelling a few services to avoid spreading a very contagious virus is not a sin. This does not equal, "trampling the son of God under your foot." It means that trying to bind Hebrews 10.25 in this case is worse than merely bad scholarship - it is binding where God has not bound. It means that, while worship is vital and important, we must focus just as much on godly living and the whole of scripture as we do this one verse.

What is important is that you remember you are to worship God on the first day of the week. If you worship with one of the streaming worship services, be sure you participate and not just observe as other worship. Sing when the church sings, pray with those praying, observe the Lord's Supper. Yes, these are difficult times and they present new challenges to us, but by the grace of God we can still meet and worship together.

It was the shepherds in the nearby fields, and not the wise men from the far away East, who came and found "the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger," -Luke 2:7-18. [And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.]

This month I only want to make a suggestion. There are many people that touch our lives that mean so much to us. I would like to suggest that you reach out to as many as you can and let them know what they mean to you. We often fail to communicate our love to those that are close to us.

         I actually heard of someone that said "God sent the Coronavirus because of man's sin." Others might say, "If there was a God, he would have stopped the Coronavirus." 

         I believe we need to remember from where bad things have come. It was Satan that lied to Eve and brought sin into the world. It was that sin that brought suffering and death. Death came from Satan, not God. We still suffer from the effects of sin and death. Remember Paul wrote that all that we lost in Adam we regained in Christ. Satan brought death and suffering, Christ brought salvation and life. If you want to blame someone for the Coronavirus, blame Satan. That is the result of his work.

Bob Oliver