Assemblies

In our study we've examined a few of the characteristics of God and considered examples of vain worship recorded in the scriptures.  We've examined in detail Matthew 16:18 and Jesus' statement that He will build one church.  In the Bible we learned that the one church Jesus was going to build would become the one body over which He is the Head.  We now know that this one body is made up of individuals who have been obedient to the commandments of God and have fulfilled the requirements for Jesus to add them to His body.  Throughout the world there are congregations of individuals who gather regularly to worship God.  These congregations are overseen by a group of elders, whose authority is limited to the congregation of which they are a part.  The eldership must authorize nothing beyond that which Jesus taught.  We considered warnings against those who would hold fast to any head other than Jesus Christ.  Many sincere people are drawn away from Christ by false teachers, thereby losing their eternal reward.  We've seen how it is entirely possible for one to worship God in vain through exercising the commandments of men in worship rather than the commandments of God.  God demands that those who worship Him do so in spirit and in truth.

As we close our study of the church we will look to the scriptures and identify those worship practices that are authorized by God.  Once we do so, each of us must critically evaluate our own practices and determine if we are faithful to the commandments God has given us.  God through his mercy has told us exactly what He demands from us in worship.  He hasn't left us without a guide, hoping we will stumble on that which He finds pleasing.  All we have to do is study the scriptures and determine to obey what they tell us.

When does the body of Christ meet to worship?

To my knowledge, the majority of religious bodies within the global religion referred to as "Christianity" meet to worship on Sunday, which is also known as the "first day of the week."  There is only one body within "Christianity" which meets on Saturday (again, as far as I am aware); the Seventh Day Adventists.  What do the scriptures say regarding the day God expects us to assemble?  Let's begin by identifying which day of the week is the "first day" of the week.

We can identify the "first day of the week" by considering the day Jesus was crucified and the day he was resurrected.  In Luke 23 we read of Jesus crucifixion.  Verse 54 states that the day on which He was crucified was the "preparation."  Mark 15:42 tells us what this day of preparation was:  It was the day before the Sabbath.   A website entitled everythingjewish.com (http://www.everythingjewish.com/Shabbat/Shabbat_Origins.htm) tells us that Shabbat (Hebrew for Sabbath) begins at sundown on Friday and continues until sundown on Saturday.  Turn to Matthew 28:1.  We read, "In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,”  Now we can apply a modern name to this "first day of the week."  If the Sabbath was Saturday, and the day after the Sabbath was the first day of the week, then the first day of the week falls on Sunday.

Within the NT there are two references to the day of the week upon which the disciples gathered together.  In Acts 20:7 we read, "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread,".  In 1 Corinthians 16:2 Paul tells us, "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store,".  So on Sunday the members of the body of Christ are recorded as having come together to "break bread" and to "lay by him in store."  (See below for a further discussion dealing with these two activities)  So we see by example and by command when the members of the body of Christ assemble together.

Why do the Adventists meet on Saturday?  Pasted below (from a Seventh Day Adventist website, http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/index.html) is a paragraph outlining their reasons for meeting on Saturday:

The beneficent Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God's unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God's kingdom. The Sabbath is God's perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God's creative and redemptive acts.

In our study of the old and new covenants we learned that the old law was given only to the Jews.  The Gentiles were never subject to the law of Moses, which contained the ten commandments.  Therefore the fourth commandment to observe the Sabbath was a commandment a Gentile would never observe.  But what about modern-day Jews?  Again we learned that the law of Moses was destined to cease even before it was written!  It ceased being a valid covenant between God and man upon the death of Jesus Christ.  So the position the Adventists take regarding both the day of worship and the unchangeable nature of God's law is in error.  It's true that the law didn't change while it was in effect.  The error lies in the position they take regarding the ongoing application of the old covenant in our relationship with God today.

In the scriptures we learn that the members of the body of Christ meet upon the first day of the week.  However, we are not limited to meeting on Sunday only.  The elders have the responsibility of feeding the flock.  To do so they may schedule other days throughout the week for us to meet.  So, if the elders decide that the congregation should meet for Bible study on Wednesday night, the members have a responsibility to meet then as well.  If a gospel meeting is scheduled for the week of May 5-12 (for example), then the members of the Lord's body are to meet on those nights to study God's word.  The Hebrews writer warns us against forsaking the assembling of ourselves together in chapter 10, verse 25.  When the elders decide the congregation needs to meet, faithful members of the body of Christ will do all they can to meet on those occasions.

Prayer and Preaching

I'm not going to evaluate these two worship practices in this study.  We have studied prayer in-depth in our lesson entitled "Does God Hear a Sinner's Prayer?".  With regards to preaching, every "Christian" religious organization teaches its doctrine in one form or another during their services.  The important point regarding preaching is not the act of preaching, but rather what is preached.  If the doctrine taught by the preacher is of man then it is of no use in our efforts to worship God as He demands.  Please review our lesson entitled "Why must we use the Bible only?" to see the necessity of preaching only what God has authorized in His word.