Love or Truth?

Must we choose?

Can we choose?

It is apparent that some who have rejected the institutional church have not become a more Biblical gathering but have instead become a “Not an Institutional” church body. There is a great danger in being defined by what you are not. We are not this. We are not that. Great, but what are you? So what then is church all about? It is not about dividing ourselves into factions based on where and how we worship, it is not about lording our education over the ignorant sheep (especially since even the most educated of men is no better than a sheep!). Nor is it about being condescending about our rejecting of the institutional church and reveling in ignorance.

What do I advocate? Simplicity in worship. The early church was not fancy. They met in homes because they frankly had nowhere else to meet (but there is nothing inherently correct in meeting in a home or incorrect in meeting in a building). Acts 2:42 tells us what the church was focused on and it was four things: the apostle’s teaching, the fellowship, praying and the breaking of bread. That is pretty simple. They didn’t give these four things passing interest while concentrating on committees or even, dare I say, while doing humanitarian acts of compassion. They were “devoted” to these things (ESV), “continually devoting “ themselves in the NASB, they “continued stedfastly” in the KJV. All of which demonstrates to us that this was not a minor aspect but rather an integral part of the life of the church. The role and life of the church has not changed in 2000 years despite our efforts to complicate it.

As I see it in the Scripture, the church exists to carry out these four functions: teaching one another in the apostles teachings (captured in the Word of God preserved inerrantly for the edification of the church and to convict the elect of their sins when preached). Fellowship among the saints which takes many forms, and in which the form is far less important than the fellowship. Our friend James is coming over to our house tonight, and in that we are in fellowship with the saints. Corporately praying with and for one another, not as a laundry list of aches and pains or other things that are best left to the sovereign mercy of God, but to exhort, lift up, rebuke and comfort one another. The breaking of bread in “love feasts” and in the coming together for the Lord’s Supper. When we add to this list, we risk diluting it. At the risk of causing a stir, is evangelism a function of the church? It certainly is a commandment to believers individually, but is it a role of the church? Think before you answer that one.

These are the four fundamental functions of the church. They are things which rightly cannot/should not be done alone or by the individual believer alone. It is hard to pray together by yourself. You can and should pray personally, but also corporately so that you can lift and be lifted up in prayer, and prayer itself is a vital form of worship. This is the area I struggle in the most. I am not sure what we need to do differently, but I know something needs to change in the prayer life of the church. I think it would certainly help if we knew each other better (see below) and had a more correct view of the sovereignty of God in relation to our prayer life (which can only come through study and teaching).

The apostles teachings are something shared and taught in the church. I don’t see any mandate or any room at all to ignore theology and doctrine in the life of the church. Being saved is not a mandate for being ignorant. Much of what Paul wrote was a reinforcement of doctrines, because evil men will creep in and teach false doctrines. Even in fellowship settings. Look at Jude 1:12-13 where we see the false teachers in te assembly and at the love feasts, pictured in the ESV as hidden reefs, lying under the surface to cause wreckage. False teachers always have and they always will threaten and seek to infiltrate the church, and if the church is not devoted to the apostle’s teachings preserved for us in the Word, they will have no idea when the false teachings are presented by these wolves. The big danger of the emergent church is not only that there are false teachers in their midst but that they have unilaterally surrendered the apostle’s teachings by de-emphasizing theology to such a degree. Certainly it is easy to overemphasize theology, as I have in the past and I still struggle with, and it is a danger that we have knowledge about God instead of a knowledge of God. But our frailties and proclivities should not dissuade us from learning and teaching accompanied with prayer and humility.

I have crabbed a lot about how little we focus on the Lord’s Supper in the (institutional) church. Not only that but just the general breaking of bread with one another is important as well. Think about the New Testament, especially the Gospels, and think how often food and meals are mentioned. It is an enormous part of the life of the church, to sit with one another and eat. Jesus first public miracle was at the wedding feast at Cana where He changed water into wine (John 2: 1-11). The Last Supper (Matt 26: 17-29). The parable of the Wedding Feast (Matt 22:1-14). The wondrous image of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev 19: 6-11). All of the food and wine images of the New Testament. We neglect this to our detriment. I don’t think that a quarterly ceremonial Lord’s Supper observance and a fellowship meal on the fifth Sunday really fulfill the spirit of the “breaking of bread” we see in Acts 2:42.

Fellowship encompasses all three of the above and more. Spending time together other than when mandated to do so by church schedules is an amazing blessing. How many people have you gone to church with for years and never stepped foot in their homes? I have been guilty for too many years of having my “friends” (many of whom were not in any way believers) and my “church family”. I would never take my friends to church and I really had little desire to hang out with the church family except when I was supposed to. I am getting better at this, but I still have a long way to go. The better I get to know someone, the more we share of our lives, the easier it is to pray meaningfully for and with them.

That brings us full circle to simplicity in worship and simplicity in the church. Simplicity and truth in concert. Worship in Spirit and Truth (John 4: 23-24). I yearn for a living, vibrant church life where we love one another because we know one another. A church life where we gather for teaching, for worship, for prayer, for fellowship. A simple church where simple sinners worship their infinitely just and holy God in the manner prescribed by Him in His Word. It is time to shed those things that complicate the church: budgets and salaries, dissension over schedules and silly stuff, committees and programs. We are called as Christians to evangelize a lost world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and as the church to assemble with the saints who have been called. The more stuff we try to pile on that, the more we lose sight of the purpose of the church. Yet we may not, we cannot sacrifice truth for the sake of simplicity in the church.

Can we fulfill the noble mandate given us while meeting in a building?

YES!

Must we meet in a building with an orderly, regulated worship service?

Certainly NOT!

Must we choose between loving one another and knowing more of our Creator?

Unequivocally NO!