That's a nice picture of God, but what about church?
Doncha-hafta-go-ta-church?
Follow me on this. It's a different route than what you might be accustomed to taking.
God did it all through Jesus. There's nothing I do to earn, keep, or re-gain my life with him. That's just the truth of the matter.
And plenty of people can kinda, sorta go along with that, but wonder/struggle hard about "church" and how it's possible that it is not the central part of how you live out your faith. Here we go...
The early believers were dominated, population wise, by Jewish people - ethnic Jews whose identity, lifestyle, and just about everything was wrapped up in their "Jewishness".
When you read through the New Testament from the book of Acts on to the end, you see so much of it is devoted to helping those people to stop trusting in their old Jewishness ways and just trust Jesus.
They *already* were used to meeting together weekly for synagogue and *already* had a tightly wound community around their ethnicity. They already "met for church" before church existed, as it were.
Nothing wrong with that! And Paul and other writers capitalized on that and occasionally talked about what their gatherings should look like, when they gathered, so they didn't dominate it all with their Jewishness, as it were, when they were gathering with believers who weren't Jewish. Ditto/vice versa for those cities where there were more pagan background people.
We read back into scripture the idea that all the Christian groups met weekly like we see "church" meeting weekly today. Why? Because that's our filter - we grew up in it and assume that it's "from" back then.
And it is, to a degree - the degree to which people often used to get together back then, depending on what they did before they became "Christians" - some did, some didn't.
I believe there's more evidence for collections of believers that met in homes, as homes - and they occasionally would gather with other home groups for a larger, potentially city-wide, group meeting.
I believe that's what we see in 1 Corinthians 14, where Paul is addressing all sorts of cultural clashes that are occurring when they have these larger meetings, and he's encouraging sanity and love to dominate the planning and doing of any of those gatherings.
The writer of Hebrews talked about not forsaking the getting together with other believers, but instead making it a priority AND thinking ahead of time how you might build up and encourage each other.
Why? Because they, as formerly Jewish-religion practicing people, were leaving it behind and were suffering greatly for it. They were losing jobs, family, community, the ability to buy and sell, etc.
The writer wanted them to be intentional about not just giving up and going back into Judaism, but instead to band together and move ahead into Jesus even more. This was not the injunction to "go to church or else" like we've often made it.
As a whole, the New Testament mentions very little about getting together to "do church". Again, we read that back into it because that's what we've all been told.
And yes, there's a history of people attending church, as it were, for hundreds of years, but that's just as much an add-on from other misguided add-on movements over the centuries.
[Read "Pagan Christianity", an older book by Frank Viola and George Barca for a nice summary of add-on's that have but foisted on to people of faith over the centuries. It's a good intro into all this.]
The words in the New Testament talk about doing life in general with people, including other believers, not just about church, how to do church, going to church, serving as/through the church, etc.
God has a lot of good things for believers that he offers through other believers, but they aren't paid staff members or professionals, if we're looking mainly at the Bible for "proof".
There are "spiritual gifts", shared wisdom, the banding together to provide for one another, and so on. Those are the fruit of getting together and doing life, not "going to church".
Well, how are you gonna access those people and those blessings from God if you aren't "going to church"? I'd say, as an overgeneralization/stereotype, that "church" as we know it in our culture, actually prohibits or at least seriously inhibits the good things from God that are available through his people.
We don't have those things because we're constantly distracted from those things with "church" and we're sometimes taught that what happens at church is those things. Maybe it is for some, but for many it is not.
This has happened to the degree that many in our culture think the most prominent gifts from God are the ability to speak/preach and the ability to sing/"lead worship". That is so messed up.
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Consider what Paul says to the Roman Christians in chapter 12 of his letter. It's a predominantly Jewish slant he's addressing, so keep that in mind. Lots of early Jewish Christians lived in Rome and "started the church" there. They were all booted out of Rome by a governmental decree.
When that boot was lifted and they returned, they came home to a lot of non-Jewish believers who trusted in Jesus, but didn't have that Jewish flavoring and, as a result, there was some conflict about who was more special, how they should live together, etc.
If you take the whole of the letter, note that Paul doesn't really ever talk about "going to church" nor can you easily assume there was a regular gathering like what we'd call church.
Just my opinion, but Paul's whole letter makes a lot more sense and a lot easier read when I don't try to shove them all into a church service every week, but instead hear Paul as encouraging the believers at large who would gather occasionally as a larger group, but not always in a setting like we'd imagine through our current church lens.
He is encouraging them about life in the day to day world as they interact with each other and with outsiders. He is talking about life and not "going to church" as it were.
He's wanting them to see that "worship" isn't just a cultic gathering where we get together, but it is life. "You want to thank God for what he's done for you? Do to other people what he's done for you! Here's what that ought to look like." Read Romans 12 with that in mind...
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Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
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