Christian Military Service

Advice for Serving in the 21st Century Military

For many years, service in the U. S. military has been looked favorably upon by the vast majority of Americans (the “hippie” movement of the 1960’s, notwithstanding). Yet, from a religious standpoint, there has been an ongoing controversy among members of the church as to whether a Christian can serve in the military and / or fight in war. Many who support a position opposing Christians serving in the military turn to passages such as 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)”  Often, they will point to the fact Christianity allows no hatred, or physical retaliation (Galatians 5:14, Romans 12:17-21, 13:9) and that vengeance belongs to the Lord (Romans 12:19).

First, we need to understand that in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 Paul is speaking of our spiritual warfare against the spiritual forces of evil: temptation, false religion, the lusts of the flesh, etc. In that war, our weapons are not carnal, because it is not a carnal war. Physical warfare will not defeat spiritual foes. This passage does not even address physical war among nations.

With regard to the second argument they are right about that fact that Christianity allows no hatred at all nor does it allow retaliation on an individual basis. That is what Romans 12 teaches. Romans 12:19 “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”  Vengeance belongs to the Lord – that is why we are not to seek personal vengeance.

The Lord executes vengeance and punishes evil doers. How does He do this? In many cases, He accomplishes it through the ministry of civil government. God allows civil government to rule over the nations, Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” Romans 13:4 says, “For he…” (the ruler / agent of civil government) “…is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” Civil government is authorized by, and used by, God to execute His wrath upon those who do evil. It executes this wrath both domestically with its police force and abroad with its military force.

If the civil government’s use of force is authorized by God, and it is, then Christians are authorized to participate in it.  If non-Christians can serve as police or in the military without sinning and if non-Christians can use carnal weapons to fight in carnal warfare as authorized by civil government without sinning, then so can Christians.  We are all under the same law of Christ! If it is sin for the non-Christian, then it is sin for the Christian. If it is not sin for the non-Christian, then it is not sin for the Christian. There is not one law for the Christian and a separate law for the non-Christian.

In the New Testament, we encounter several members of the Roman military who are spoken of from a favorable light such as the Centurion in Matthew 8:5-10 and still others that became Christians, such as Cornelius in Acts 10 and the Philippian jailor in Acts 16. Inspiration does not record where they continued in their military service; neither does it record where they were commanded to no longer serve. In 1 Corinthians 7:18-24, Paul states that circumcision or uncircumcision mean nothing: If one comes to Christ in uncircumcision, let him remain in uncircumcision (or vice-versa). He also stated that it did not matter if one were a slave or free: If one comes to Christ a slave, he was to remain in servitude to his master and even more so to God. In both cases, the Christian was to “abide in the same calling wherein he was called…” (1 Cor 7:20) If one were to remain a slave as a Christian, then wouldn’t the same thing apply to a soldier? Now of course if one were a prostitute or a barkeeper or something of that inherently sinful nature, then they would have to change professions, but we have already seen that civil government and the military are not inherently sinful, therefore no inherent need to change profession.

With that preface being made, I do not believe that it is inherently sinful for a Christian to serve in his nation’s armed forces as a general rule; however, I do not believe it is always a good idea for a Christian to serve in the military. Speaking from eight years of military experience, where I served in the U. S. Coast Guard as a non-Christian, I believe it would be exceedingly difficult for one who is not already a very strong and committed Christian to remain faithful while serving in the U. S. military. Paul warns about the Christian being “unequally yoked…” with unbelievers. (2 Cor 6:14) This means that we must not allow those who are outside of Christ to have any undue influence upon our lives.

In the military service one will be surrounded by those who are not Christians, often serving under the authority of those who are hostile to the Christian faith. While this may be true also of civilians in the workforce, but with the civilian there is always the option of resigning, or in some cases being fired for taking a stance. In the military, at least in the sea services, there is a sub-culture of those who are involved in innumerable sins such as heavy binge-drinking and visiting brothels in foreign ports. My first call to a foreign port in the Coast Guard was to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Before we got underway for that first Caribbean patrol, I noticed our captain take off his wedding ring and declare to one of the junior officers that he wanted to get rid of the “tan line” on his ring finger before our first foreign port visit. Why did he not want anyone to know he was married? The morning after the first night in port told the tale…I remember also, before that first port call the reminder over the PA system “What happens in Puerto Plata, stays in Puerto Plata…!” Where do you think Las Vegas got the idea for its slogan? From sailors in a foreign port, that’s where! Also on that first visit to a foreign port, my Chief Petty Officer, a man old enough to be my grandfather, informed me that he was going to make sure I left that port “a man” and then proceeded to try and pressure me into joining in with that culture of corruption. Also my other shipmates got involved in the attempt to pressure and ridicule me into going along with that sub-culture. Fortunately, the Executive Officer heard this Chief pressuring me and told him to back-off.

You may be familiar with the recent news stories about the behavior of the President’s Secret Service and Military Security teams in advance of his visits to Central America – how that they routinely were involved in hiring prostitutes and binge-drinking. In those reports, the statement was made that this behavior is “ingrained” in the “culture” of those advance teams. The same thing is “ingrained” – I speak from experience, I’m sorry to say -with many members of the U.S. Coast Guard, Navy and Marine Corps “culture.” I can’t speak for the Army and Air Force because I never worked with them, but the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard are often involved in joint-service operations and I was around and working with men and women from each of these branches frequently. I have little doubt that the same things are true with some members of the Army and Air Force.

Another, more insidious pressure on the Christian in the military, is that if a “lawful” order is given (as the UCMJ defines lawful) which would cause him to violate one of God’s laws, then he has little choice but to obey that order or face court martial and possible jail time or dishonorable discharge from the service. Also the Christian in the military, upon his or her enlistment, must give up some of their First Amendment rights – the right to free-expression when it comes to speaking out against the military or government policy outside of the Chain of Command. The Christian military member is placed in a situation where they are under the authority of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (U.C.M.J.), which would punish those who speak openly against military policies outside of the Chain of Command.

Also, the UCMJ at one time under Article 125, prohibited the practice of sodomy, punishing offenders with a prison sentence and / or a dishonorable discharge from the service. The military rule was changed in the 1990’s to a policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Under that policy, the military was not allowed to ask questions regarding “sexual preference” and service members were not allowed to serve if they were openly homosexual. Openly practicing homosexuals, at that time, were generally given an “administrative discharge.”  But now that Article 125 has been modified to only ban “non-consensual” sodomy and “don’t ask, don’t tell” has been repealed, the U. S. Military is moving forward with a very liberal homosexual agenda. Not only is homosexuality not against the U.C.M.J., but discriminating against homosexuals is now a violation of the U.C.M.J.! Whether or not a Christian military member, by speaking what the Bible speaks about homosexuality, is discriminating against homosexuals is up to interpretation by the Judge Advocate General of the armed services. To my knowledge, this has yet to be challenged under the new military regulations. Already, though, the military is allowing its chaplains to perform gay marriages for service members in states where gay marriage is legal. For now they are not forcing chaplains who would object to gay marriage on religious grounds to perform gay weddings, but how long will that continue? According to several news sources, military chaplains have been told that by refusing to perform gay marriages for military members their careers are basically over – i.e. they will be “passed over” for promotions.

Since the 1950’s the U. S. Military has been at the fore-front of “social engineering” by liberal policy makers in the government. If the military pursues open acceptance of homosexuality by service members as aggressively it has pursued acceptance of racial integration since the 1950’s then Christians who object to homosexuality may be in for some trouble. In the 1970’s and 1980’s the military rightfully “cracked down” on racial discrimination, pursuing a policy of punishing military members for making racist remarks and such like. In the 1990’s it began to do the same with regard to the integration of women in the military service – any form of perceived sexual discrimination or harassment has been aggressively prosecuted by the military since that time.

It is unknown, at this time, what will be the wide-ranging effects of openly practicing homosexuals being allowed to serve. The upheaval of the military structure may settle down somewhat in time and all this may have no real impact on the military itself. I served in the Coast Guard with a fellow who was discharged for practicing homosexuality and never given any indication that he was a homosexual and his shipmates never had reason to complain on the way he fulfilled his duties. I seriously doubt that he was the only homosexual I served with. I did notice, however, that a double standard was in place. We had several female service members who were for all intents and purposes openly practicing homosexuals, yet without censure.

I am not writing this to say that a Christian cannot serve in the military without compromising his or her faith. But I am writing to encourage Christian young people who are considering serving in the military to be sure they are spiritually ready to face the trials and temptations that are endemic to service in the military. I know several current active duty military men and women who continue to be steadfast and uncompromising in their Christian faith and duty. I know of young Christians who have gone off into military services and been killed in the line of duty. But worse than that, I have known of young Christians who have gone off into military service and lost their soul on account of sin when they gave up their faith because of the sinfulness of their environment. I also know one Christian brother who still wakes up terrified by nightmares, 60 years later; about the men he killed while serving as a sniper during the Korean conflict. Service in the military can have grave consequences, as with the Christian brother who is still suffering 60 years after his service ended. As well, the military has one of the highest suicide rates of any group of people in the United States, due to the stress of military service in the midst of a now decade-long war or terrorism.

It takes a special kind of person to serve in the military. One who is willing to lay down their life for their country. One who is willing to sacrifice their own freedom to preserve ours. But it takes an even more special kind of person, to do so while not compromising his or her Christian faith and duty!

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What is the Goal?

We’ve lost our calling. We’ve lost our vision. We’ve lost our sense of purpose. We’ve moved the goal posts.

Those are the first few thoughts that went through my head as I read the weekend’s entertainment headlines. Among all of the godlessness in Hollywood and the entire entertainment industry, anything Christians can latch onto usually makes its way onto social media. Christians have mainly zeroed in on two particular news items. First, much has been said about the release of the “Son of God” movie. This film extension of last year’s History Channel program “The Bible” did very well at the box office and has a number of Christians excited about the return of Bible-based films to the big screen. Though the inaccuracies and doctrinal missteps are frustrating, there is no denying the fact that movies that use the Bible as a launching point are making their way back into the mainstream. Within a month, “Son of God,” “Noah,” and “God’s Not Dead” will all be released in theaters, and all are projected to do quite well.

Second, a number of tweets and Facebook posts have been sent to remark on the importance of Matthew McConaughey thanking God in His acceptance speech for winning the Best Actor Oscar award. In a room full of people who regularly mock God and on national television, McConaughey started his speech by showing gratitude for “God, because that’s who I look up to.” Aside from the fact that he won the award for an R-rated movie filled with drugs, sex, and profanity, many saw his acknowledgement of the creator as a breath of fresh air in a place where God is usually not mentioned. A number of Bible-based organizations picked up the news story and discussed the importance of God’s name being mentioned.

While “Son of God” isn’t entirely accurate, I get why many believe it’s good to have Jesus in the theaters. And though the Oscars are filled with the glorification of immorality, it’s good to know that God was brought into the ceremony at least once. Why do these stories stand as an example as to why we have lost our vision, then? Consider what we count as victories these days. Rather than aiming to turn the tide of the culture back to Jesus Christ, we are content to merely have a place at the table. Instead of accepting the fact that pop culture is running away from God at 500 miles per hour, the church has been called to preach God’s message to that culture and bring God’s influence into the world. Should we be so easily satisfied?

We are the sports team that loses every game but congratulates ourselves on the “moral victories” gained amidst the losses. We are the political candidate who loses the election but feels good because he “energized the base.” Our rush to point out the smallest of victories while we continue to lose the culture war and get pushed back further and further from the line drawn in the sand by God’s Word shows that we’ve lost sight of what our goal should be.

We weren’t called to celebrate small, meaningless victories. We were called to overcome the world.

Yes, the way is narrow (Matthew 7:14), but God didn’t set apart a people for His own possession to be a small, quiet group who make a splash every now and then. He called us to be the light of the world (5:14). Consider that analogy – anyone who has his or her eyes open will be able to see that city set on a hill. The light will be undeniable, regardless of how they feel on it. The church Jesus died for can’t be an unseen sect that is only heard from on occasion. We are to turn their world upside down (Acts 17:6).

How? Through the power of the Spirit that Jesus has given us. We are not good enough, smart enough, or eloquent enough to change the world. No one ever changed the world for God without His power working through them. It’s time we tap into that power by turning our hearts over to His command. What He says goes. What He expects from us is what we strive for in all things. Rather than settling for little victories along the way, we need to remember Whose we are and the victory over the world that He has already promised us (1 John 4:4; 5:4-5).

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Proud and Unloving

Proud and Unloving

College football player, Michael Sam recently came out and publicly made known that he practices homosexuality. Immediately it seemed like everyone – from the major sports and news media outlets, to friends and former coaches, to some of the highest government officials of our once godly and God-fearing nation – came out and expressed how “ proud ” they were of this “bold” and courageous young man… And all I could think about was how incredibly sad I was for this hard-working young man, who appears (at least according to the reports I heard and read) to have no one in the world who really loves him; how sorrowful it must be for this young man, to be so vehemently and violently hated, by so many in his young life… Please permit me to explain…

As loving parents, when our children are just beginning to learn and grow, we incessantly warn them of the impending and deadly danger inherent in certain courses of action, don’t we? We endlessly repeat, reiterate, re-introduce and reinforce the admonitions that they are not to play near or chase a ball into traffic; that they are not to talk to strangers; they are not to play with household poisons, electrical sockets, or matches because of the potential, ever-present, and inevitable life threatening danger inherent in those practices. And we do this out of genuine, true, and heartfelt love because we don’t want to see them endlessly and needlessly suffer, don’t we? That’s what the highest level of true love does, doesn’t it? Yes… period.

And so, I would lovingly ask, “What is the inevitable, unchangeable, and eternal end result, of a life lived while choosing to indulge in the abominable sin (according to God; please see: www.clevelandcoc.com/?page_id=170) of homosexuality?” God answers that question clearly, concisely, and unmistakably in His eternal and “forever firmly fixed in heaven” word (See Ps. 19:7-11, 119:89 ESV). His unchanging and unalterable answer is:

You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination (Lev. 18:22). If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination… (Lev. 20:13). Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-10). But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Rev 21:8).

This is God’s answer. It is forever. It will neither change, be altered, suspended or circumvented. And no earthly government, court, leader, or group of powerful people will ever be able to even edit it one iota – ever. And so, if anyone truly loves such homosexuals as Michael Sam, what will they do? Warn him of the eternal outcome of choosing to continue in his sin, and let him know he has a choice!

But what do these apparently unloving coaches, politicians, and professional sports reporters and players do instead? They spread their hateful and spiteful encouragement and acceptance of his self-destructive course of choice, instead of expressing to him the love of God which demands choosing a change of course because God doesn’t want to see him eternally suffer the consequences of his sin.

They tell him how proud they are of him… proud of him for continuing to defy and resist the almighty God of heaven and earth – something no one has ever continually done and won, but have always been destroyed for doing in the process.

They say what a wonderful thing his abhorrent-to-God sin is; but God says “Woe to those who call evil good, and good, evil… Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight (Prov. 5:20-21).

They say how proud they are of him; but God says of them: Professing to be wise, they became fools… Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie… For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; …who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them (excerpted from Romans 1:22-32).

God’s unchangeable truth is both forever firmly fixed in heaven (Ps. 119:89), and has been divinely dictated and placed in plain and simple black and white in all of our holy bibles (II Tim. 3:16-17) for our inevitable and infinite benefit. It is straight from the heart of an all-knowing God and Father who lovingly warns us all about the eternal outcome of continuing to commit such heinous and horrific sins against Him and His holy statutes – and it is there in plain sight for all honest men and women to read and heed for themselves. And Michael Sam, Jason Collins, and any of the other possible professional sports homosexual athletes around, please pay careful, honest, and complete attention – because your eternal life or death destination depends on it: You can watch the sales of your jerseys spiralingly skyrocket; you can appear on the cover of every major magazine from now until judgment day; you can even enjoy the endearing support of every godless high government official imaginable, “but what will you do in the end” (Jer. 5:31), when God’s unalterable word and unavoidable judgment comes completely to pass, causing the impenitent of the abhorrent to eternally perish (Lk. 9:25-26)?

Please understand that despite the uncaring and unloving masses you have perhaps surrounded yourselves with who couldn’t care less about your eternal soul, there are those that do truly love you enough to want to see you saved; who do truly love you enough to tell you the truth; and do truly love you enough to extend to you God’s love and grace – so that you can at least have the opportunity to accept it by repenting and be washed and forever changed (Acts 2:38; I Cor. 6:9-11). For more on this real love, please see www.clevelandcoc.com/?page_id=2856.

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Recognizing the Church

Recognizing the Church

Jesus promised to build only one church.  Matthew 16:18, “and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Jesus shed His blood and died for only one church.   Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it“, [Singular].  Christ only purchased one church with His blood, Acts 20:28, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”  And Christ is the head of and the savior of only one church.  Ephesians 5:22-24, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.”  The body of Christ is the church.  Since Christ only built, bled for, died for, rules and saves one church then doesn’t it make sense that we must be a part of that church and no other?

OK, so if I am not a follower of Christ and I want to be, then how do I find one?  Or, am I trying to live for Christ and I want to know if the one I am associated with now is the church Jesus built, bled for, died for, rules and saves?   How do I recognize it when I see it?  What does it look like?  Where can I find it?  How do I join it?  The purpose of this lesson is to help us and others who may not know, learn to determine what the Lord’s church is and how to determine if it is a genuine, authentic new testament church.

The short answer to this question is that it needs to look just like the church Jesus built, bled for, died for, rules and saves as it appears in the new testament.  It makes perfect sense that if we are a member of the new testament church that worshiped, lived, taught and believed as it appears in the scripture then we will be in the church that Jesus built, bled for, died for, rules and saves.  In short, a church that looks and acts just like the church of the new testament must be the church of the new testament.  A church which looks and acts just like the church that Jesus built, bled for, died for, rules and saves must be the church of Jesus Christ.

Not only does this make perfect sense, it is also a Biblical way of approaching this.  In 1 Thessalonians 2:13-14 Paul wrote, “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. 14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus.”  The church in Thessalonica patterned itself after the churches in Judea and Paul was thankful for that and he praised them for it.  The application for us is that we can do the same thing by examining the church of the new testament and using it, we can imitate it in the same fashion and know beyond any doubt whatsoever that we are in the church Jesus built, bled for, died for, rules and saves.

What is the New Testament church?

The Bible was written in a language known today as Koine Greek.  In the first century, this was the language of the common man on the street in this period of history.  The Greek word for ‘church’ is pronounced ‘Ekklesia’.  This word has two distinct meanings depending on the context in which it is used.  The word ‘Ekklesia’ does not automatically have a religious association at all.  This word is used to describe a mob of people who were upset with Paul’s teachings in Acts 19, verses 32, 39 and 41.  In this context, the word Ekklesia is translated as an assembly in KJV.   Therefore the word carries the meaning of an assembly of people in some contexts.  It can mean as assembly of Christians or just a general assembly of people for any given reason.   In Romans 16:16 we have an example of this word being used to represent individual assemblies of Christians.  “…The churches of Christ greet you” (NKJV).

This word is also used in scripture to represent the one universal body of Christ.  In Colossians 1:24, Paul wrote, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body [singular], which is the church [Ekklesia]”  There is only one body of Christ, or church [Ekklesia] and individual assemblies of the one church are also called churches [Ekklesia].  The context is used to determine which meaning of the word applies.

This teaches us that the church is a people and not a physical thing.  The word Ekklesia was never used to describe anything physical in the new testament.  The church is not a building, it’s not a temple, it’s not a place or a location.   An Ekklesia is a group or assembly of people regardless of whether it was for a religious purpose or not.  The church is not the building, rather it’s the assembly of people within.  We are the assembly therefore we are the church.

How did the New Testament church Worship?

One can tell a lot by how a church worships.  The worship period is when the local body has assembled to offer worship to God.  Regarding worship, Jesus said in Matthew 15:9, “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”  From this we learn that it is possible to worship God in a manner which is vain or worthless.  In Colossians 2:22-23, Paul wrote, “Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.”  The NKJV translated “will worship” as “self imposed” worship.  Paul connects this with the commandments and doctrines of men in V22 and he he said all who did such things were going to perish.  Jesus said it was vain.  So “vain worship” and “will worship” or “self imposed worship” according to the commandments and doctrine of men are no only vain, it is condemned.   So if one is worshipping God in such a manner that cannot be observed in scripture then it had to come from the mind of men and therefore results in that worship being rejected by God.

Scripture mentions the kind of worship that is acceptable to God.  Jesus declared in John 4:23-24, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  So we have vain worshipper and we have well worshippers who worship according to the commandments and doctrine of men.  And on the other side of the fence, we have true worshippers who worship in Spirit, meaning from the heart, and in truth, meaning in accordance or agreement with God’s word.  God’s word is truth, (John 17:17).  So we know that the new testament church was required to worship in spirit and in truth.  So with that said, let’s have a look at how they worshipped when they assembled.

The new testament church met on the first day of every week

We know from scripture that the new testament church assembled to offer organized worship to God.  Paul gave explicit instructions for them to follow in numerous places such as 1 Corinthians chapters 11 through 14.  These chapters are devoted wholly to the conduct of Christians in the assembly.  James made reference to conduct in these assemblies in chapter 2:2-3.  In Philemon we learn that the church assembled in his house.  In Colossians 4:14 we read of another church that assembled in someone’s home so we know that the church gathered into local assemblies on a regular basis.

Acts 20 verse seven teaches us this this regular assembly took place on the first day of the week; “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together..”  In 1 Corinthians 16:2-3 Paul wrote, “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.”   In the original language it really means the “the first day of every week”.  The Greek word “Kata” is in the original language it means “every”  The NASB translates this verse correctly, “On the first day of every week“.  So we know that the new testament church assembled on the first day of every week to offer worship to God.  And we know from 1 Thessalonians 2:14 that we can imitate this practice today and be sure that we are assembling in accordance with God’s will.

The new testament Christians prayed to God in their assemblies

The new testament Christians prayed at all times, both good and bad, (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18).  Prayer is requested by Paul on his own behalf on several occasions, and he prayed for his brethren always.  We are told to “pray without ceasing” in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.  Paul desired that “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men” (1 Timothy 2:1).  1 Timothy 2:8 is an example of instructions on prayer in the assembly, “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting”.  So we know from these verses that prayer was a part of the first day of the week assemblies of the new testament church.  And we know from 1 Thessalonians 2:14 that we can imitate this practice today and be sure that we are worshipping in accordance with God’s will.

The new testament Christians sang praises to God in their assemblies

Christians were given explicit instructions to sing in the assembly in Hebrews 2:12, “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You“.  Paul gave instructions to the Ephesians and the Colossians regarding their singing, Ephesians 5:19, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” and in Colossians 3:16-17, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”  

Verse 17 goes on to say , “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”  The scriptures never ever said to play anything during new testament worship.  And Paul went on to say right after he commanded singing that whatsoever we do should be backed up by the authority of Jesus.  The scriptures never authorize manmade musical instruments in worship and secular history proves that they were never used for centuries after the new testament church was established.   We also know from scripture that is forbidden to go beyond what is written in 1 Corinthians 4:6 and 2 John 9.  With all this in mind, we know that if we simply sing in our worship to God, we are absolutely assured of our worship being both in spirit and in truth.  Let’s keep in mind that Jesus said our worship MUST be in spirit and in truth.  We must be sure on this.  Adding manmade musical instruments is a violation of God’s word to refrain from going beyond what is written.

The new testament church sang and we know from 1 Thessalonians 2:14 that we can imitate this practice today and be sure that we are worshipping in accordance with God’s will.

The new testament Christians partook of the Lord’s supper every first day of the week

The Lord’s supper is the memorial Christ established to commemorate his death.  Matthew 26:26-29, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”  New Testament Christians assembled every first day of the week to remember this and to “proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).  Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 gives instructions regarding the observance of that feast in the assembly, and Acts 20:7 sets the time of its observance to be the first day of the week.   Acts 20:7, “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.”

The new testament Church had preaching in their assemblies

One of the primary purposes of assembly is to edify the body of Christ.  Ephesians 4:11-13, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ“.   Paul came to Troas, and in the assembly, “spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.” (Acts 20:7).  Preaching is an important part of the worship.

The new testament church had preaching in their Lord’s day assemblies and we know from 1 Thessalonians 2:14 that we can imitate this practice today and be sure that we are worshipping in accordance with God’s will.

The new testament Christians gave of their means on the first day of every week

Paul established the first day of the week contribution as something Christians “must do” 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, “Now concerning  the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up as he may prosper so that there will be no collecting when I come.”

Christians are instructed to “give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).  Giving is a rewarding and necessary part of Christian worship.  The new testament church gave in their Lord’s day assemblies and we know from 1 Thessalonians 2:14 that we can imitate this practice today and be sure that we are worshipping in accordance with God’s will.

That is all we are authorized to do in scripture in the Lord’s day assemblies that pertains to worship. Anything more than this is a violation of the commands not to exceed what is written and add to the word of God. Anything more than this had to come from the mind of man and is a commandment and doctrine of men. Anything less is a violation of the command not to leave anything out. By doing these five things and only these five things in worship we can be sure that we have fully obeyed all of what God’s will is on the worship we offer. We need to remember that God is the object of our worship. It is directed towards Him and He directs how it is to be done.

The new testament Christians did not worship in temples

Many people today think God must be worshipped in a large magnificent building. That is not how new testament Christians often worshipped. Sometimes then met in homes sometimes, they met in other places. Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” In Acts 17:23-25, “Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything” God says He does not dwell in manmade temples nor is He worshipped in or with things made by men’s hands. We can worship God anywhere we want as long as we do it in spirit and in truth.  We can gather in a home and with nothing more than our hearts, voices and the word of God offer acceptable worship to God and be sure that He is pleased with it.

The new testament church taught and practiced the Biblical way of salvation. 

Following the principle of not adding anything to or taking anything away from scripture we can know how new testament Christians were saved.  New testament Christians were required to believe in Christ.

The new testament church taught and practiced that we must believe in Christ

John 3:16-19, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

But it doesn’t stop there.  If we stop there, we have left something out of the word of God.  We can’t do that if we want to be sure of our salvation.

The new testament church believed and practiced that Christians must confess Jesus Christ before men

Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

Paul wrote in Romans 10:9-11, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Paul says right there that confessing Jesus is a part of one’s salvation.

The new testament church baptized believers for the remission of sins

Acts 2:38, “Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins”  After Paul was confronted on the road to Damascus, Ananias told him in Acts 22:16, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

The new testament church believed that baptism placed the believer “into Jesus Christ” 

Galatians 3:27, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”  Romans 6:3-4, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

The new testament church believed that baptism was essential to salvation

Mark 16:16, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”  1 Peter 3:21, “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ”

The new testament church believed that members were added to the church by God

Acts 2:47, “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”  No one votes on church membership.  Anyone who is saved is a member of the church by the operation of God.  Man has nothing to do with it.

The new testament church believed that one had to remain faithful until death to be saved

Matthew 10:22, “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved“.  Revelation 2:10, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

In part 1 of this lesson we saw how scripture teaches us that we can be sure of our salvation.  We can know beyond any doubt that we have God.  We can have that confidence through knowing the word of God and being obedient to it.  We must be obedient to the gospel.  Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, “and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”

Eternity is a long time.  We only get one chance to get it right.  When we pass from this existence, all that will matter then is whether or not we lived in accordance to God’s will.  The stakes are high, the rewards or punishments are for ever.  We must be sure.  And John made it crystal clear in 1 John 2:3-5 that our assurance comes from obedience to His commands: “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.”

In conclusion, let’s look at a verse we read earlier and let’s make an application to it.

1 Thessalonians 2:14, “For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus.”  We can do the same thing and be sure that we are right with God.  That’s how they did it in Thessalonica and we can do it today.  If we study the new testament church and believe what it believed, teach what it taught, practice what it practiced and be what it was, then we can be sure that we are part of the one body of Christ.  The one church that Jesus established, bled for, died for, rules and saves.

We can be sure.  We must be sure.  And the Bible tells us exactly how to do it.

 

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Why Worry?

I dare say that there’s not a single one of us that hasn’t been overwhelmed with worry at one time or another.  Yet with some people, worry is a daily occurrence.  Let me ask you, friend: are you a worrywart?

Some time ago I read an interesting article that I believe puts worry into perspective.  Evidently (according to the National Bureau of Standards), a dense fog covering seven city blocks to a depth of 100 feet is composed of something less than one glass of water.  Now I don’t know much about fog (other than the fact it’s often a burden to drive in), but if that is true, that’s an amazing statistic.  I believe this illustration is a fair comparison to our worry or anxiety about worldly matters.  If all our worry about earthly things were reduced to its true value, most of it wouldn’t be worth our time.

According to Luke 10:41 Martha was much like that fog: “And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.” Jesus tells us not to worry (Matt. 6:25-34). Put God first, and things will fall into place.  Paul puts it this way, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6).

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