Admonish One Another
Eric (from “A Prilgrim’s Progress”) wrote a post last week called “Able to Admonish One Another.” He is commenting on the following passage from Romans:
I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. (Romans 15:14 ESV)
By the way, “admonish” (or “instruct” as the ESV translates it) carries the idea of teaching someone with the goal of changing something about them – primarily their behavior.
Eric concludes his post with this:
The church gathering is not a show. It should not be a ceremony. Rather, the bible describes it as a time when God is glorified through our building one another up in Jesus Christ. This is something Paul tells us that we should do for the good of the body. It is what we all should do.
So, let us actively admonish and be admonished. In doing this, we all grow closer to Christ together.
I agree with Eric’s post. I’ll add just one thing. Paul had never been to Rome. While he knew a few of the Roman Christians, he did not know them all. He had never met the majority of them. But, he knew that they were able to admonish (instruct) one another.
How did Paul know this? Did he know that they were educated or well-trained? Nope. It’s much simpler than that.
Paul knew that the Roman Christians were indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
In the same way and for the same reason, I’m convinced that any Christian is able to admonish (instruct) any other Christian.
Two Ways to Forsake Meeting Together
One of my favorite passages is Hebrews 10:19-25, which includes this:
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV)
I’ve written about this passage a few times, but I want to point out something that usually not taught.
According to this passage, there are two ways to “forsake (neglect) to meet together.” First, and the one that is often taught, is you can fail to meet with other believers.
But, the second way is just as important. You can also “forsake (neglect) to meet together” by failing to stir up love and good works among one another.
In other words, simply attending a meeting with other Christians (worship service, Bible study, small group, whatever) is not enough. You can still forsake meeting together even when you are attending.
Anabaptists on the Reformation Preacher
After publishing “Things I Didn’t Learn in Baptist History Class,” I became even more interested in the source of the quote on that post. It turns out that the quote is from a Swiss Anabaptist pamphlet from 1532-1538, very early in the Reformation. You can find it in the article “Answer of Some Who Are Called (Ana-)Baptists – Why They Do Not Attend the Churches†by Shem Peachey and Paul Peachey. (Mennonite Quarterly Review 45 (Jan 1971), 5-32)
As I was reading through this pamphlet (which we only have because it was copied by one of their detractors), I noticed that the original authors did not stop at encouraging mutual edification during the church meeting. They also spoke against the practice of one person speaking, especially when the only person allowed to speak is an ordained minister:
And thus, as already mentioned, they [primarily Lutherans and Zwinglians] deny that we possess the evangelical order nor would they permit us to exercise it (if we did attend their preaching), but teach and presume that we also, as those who err, should remain silent in their preaching regardless of what we would have to speak to edification whether or not their preacher defaults from the truth, one must be silent, even though according to 1 Cor. 14 the listeners must judge the preacher’s doctrine. All judgment and everything, yes everyone in his conscience, is bound to the preacher and to his teaching, whether it be good or evil (to accept the same in conscience to believe and to do), and not the teaching of Christ and of his Holy Spirit. (12)
Later, the writers say that requiring everyone but the preacher to remain silent “annuls, transgresses and resists… yes, forbids and then also frustrates and impedes the rivers of living water.”
When most churches practice that only the pastor (or his representative) can speak during the church meeting, I do not think they intentionally do what the Anabaptists claim. Usually, its probably a matter of tradition and pragmatism.
But, were the Anabaptists correct? When we silence everyone (except one) do we hinder the work of God?
What do you think?
Things I Didn’t Learn in Baptist History Class
In the 16th Century, many magesterial Reformers could not understand why the Anabaptists would not attend their church meetings. So, some Swiss Anabaptists wrote a response. In Baptist History class, I learned about many of the Anabaptists’ concerns – such as believers’ baptism. But, I never heard this:
When such believers come together, ‘Everyone of you (note every one) hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation,’ etc…When someone comes to church and constantly hears only one person speaking, and all the listeners are silent, neither speaking nor prophesying, who can or will regard or confess the same to be a spiritual congregation, or confess according to 1 Corinthians 14 that God is dwelling and operating in them through His Holy Spirit with His gifts, impelling them one after another in the above-mentioned order of speaking and prophesying. (From “Answer of Some Who Are Called (Ana-)Baptists – Why They Do Not Attend the Churches”)
Interesting…
(HT: Jon)
Carson on Worship and Edification
Under the terms of the new covenant, worship goes on all the time, including when the people of God gather together. But mutual edification does not go on all the time; it is what takes place when Christians gather together. Edification is the best summary of what occurs in corporate singing, confession, public prayer, the ministry of the Word, and so forth. (D.A. Carson, Worship by the Book)
Any opportunity to ‘one another’
Three years ago, I wrote this post called “Any opportunity to ‘one another’.” The encouragement here is to find any opportunity to care for, teach, build up, disciple one another.
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Any opportunity to ‘one another’
A couple of weeks ago, we were able to spend time on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with other believers. We love to get together with one another to share meals, to talk, to serve… really, any “excuse” to spend time with one another.
Last week, Margaret, my wife, was sick for a couple of days. Then, I caught the bug from her and was sick for a few more days. During that week, we didn’t spend much time with other believers. (Actually, Margaret was able to attend our regular Sunday meeting, and she was also able to have lunch with another couple on Sunday. But, that was all of the interaction that we had with other believers that week.)
So, when Monday rolled around – and we were both finally feeling better – we jumped at the chance to have dinner with some friends of ours. This time, we went to a restaurant, and not just any restaurant, one of our favorites! On the ride to the restaurant, during dinner, and on the way home we had a great conversation about many different topics – from spending time at the beach, to their influence in the lives of our children, to hearing and knowing and following the will of God, and many other topics that flowed naturally (supernaturally?) from our relationships with one another and from our mutual relationships with God.
Occasionally, when we think of church, it is easy to get stuck on the big things: big groups, big meetings, big projects, big results, big presentations, big themes, big sermons… But, if we continue in our life stuck on the idea that “church” is only in the big things, then we may miss some of the most important things that God has for us, those things that can only be found in the intimate relationships that God is building between us and other brothers and sisters in Christ.
Sometimes, God teaches us more from a few words from a friend than from a 30 minute sermon. Sometimes, God uses us more in a simple hug than in an afternoon of working hard with a large group. Sometimes, God reveals himself more in the tears of a friend that we’re consoling than in a large group of people that we do not know as well.
I like the big things. I like to gather with a large group of believers and hear about the many ways that God is working and changing and moving and teaching. I like singing with a large group of believers. I like the big things.
But, God is also – and at times even more – in the small things too. I hope this encourages you to take any opportunity to “one another”. Even “small” opportunities… you might just find God there.
Moving Away from Performance Mentality
Steve Burchett writes a very thought-provoking article called “From First Baptist Church to a House Church.” Steve is one of the elders of a church of house churches in Kansas City called Christ Fellowship. In the section below, he is describing the difference between meeting together for mutual edification and what is typically seen in church meetings:
[In their house church meetings] People are usually not hesitant to participate because no one is expected to “wow†the group with a great performance. A spirit of grace pervades our gatherings as we seek to be led by the Spirit.
The main weekly meeting of a building-based church is usually significantly choreographed. Whether it is a liturgical service or more contemporary, the order of the meeting is not only known in advance, but the hope is that each element will come off looking excellent—even professional. The expectations for a “great†service are often so high that the leadership feels defeated if the music didn’t noticeably move people, or the praying wasn’t eloquent, or the technology miscued, or the transitions between the various parts of the service were awkward. And, above all else, some pastors sit in their studies on Monday and contemplate quitting if their sermon the previous day seemed flat. Success is dependent on a select few who too often fail to live up to the desires of those who sit and spectate.
I am not adverse to just listening when appropriate. In First Corinthians 14, Paul is primarily pleading with the church to meet together “in an orderly manner†(v. 40). Part of orderliness is letting people take their turn (vv. 27-33) and learning from them (v.31), but participation by more than just a few is expected. The result is that a “performance mentality†is removed as the various members of the body come ready to serve and receive from the others.
I’ve been part of traditional church “worship services” and I’ve been part of participatory meetings for mutual edification. His descriptions parallel my experiences with both. What do you think?
Worship and the Gathering of the Church
I wrote the post “Worship and the Gathering of the Church” almost 3 1/2 years ago. I had just begun to study the church assembly from Scripture and was beginning to understand that the purpose that we gather together is to edify one another. I would probably say a few things differently in this post if I wrote it today, but for the most part it still represents my view. In fact, my dissertation is an expansion of this idea.
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Worship and the Gathering of the Church
Many Bible-believing Christians never investigate the purpose for the assembly of believers. “The reason for this is the almost universal assumption that the worship of God is the primary aim of the assembly. In fact the word ‘worship’ is thought to be synonymous with ‘assembly’ and is constantly used in this sense.â€[1] Even in many academic studies of the church, the author includes the gathering of the church as part of “the ministry of worship.â€[2] Some take this understanding even further, stating, “Corporate worship is the energizing center for all the church is and does.â€[3] However, it is incumbent upon all believers to search Scripture—not tradition—for a proper understanding of all things, including the relationship of worship to the gathering of the church.
“Worship†translates various Greek terms in the New Testament (proskuneo, latreuo/latreia, leitourgia, eusebeia). In the Old Testament, the authors connect worship terminology with the tabernacle/temple and priestly service. In the New Testament, Jesus changes this understanding. In John 4, he teaches that worship is no longer connected with a specific location or time. Instead, as Paul instructs the Romans, believers are “to worship God… with [their] lives (Rom. 12:1-2).â€[4]
For the most part, worship terms are not found in the passages of Scripture that describe the gathering of the church.[5] It is possible that Acts 13:2 indicates that believers “worshiped†(leitourgounton) the Lord while meeting together. However, the passage does not state that this worship (or service) was occurring during the meeting. Instead, 13:1 indicates that those listed were part of the church in Antioch, and that they were worshiping (“servingâ€) and fasting as part of that group of believers. Even if this passage is in the context of the meeting, the verb leitourgounton itself does not necessarily indicate “worship†(devotion to God). Instead, the LXX uses this verb to specify priestly service in the temple, and New Testament authors use it in a sense similar to diakoneo (“serveâ€) to specify “practical expressions of faith.â€[6]
Similarly, in 1 Corinthians 14:23-25, Paul uses the verb proskuneo (“worshipâ€) in the context of the meeting of the church. The most important aspect of this passage is that the believers are prophesying during the meeting. In 14:4, Paul taught the Corinthians that prophecy edifies the church. Therefore, in the hypothetical meeting where all are prophesying, the believers are edifying the church. As a result of their words, the unbeliever is converted and begins to worship. The purpose of the gathering is not worship in this passage; instead, worship is the result of the Spirit’s transforming work in a person’s life.
So, the New Testament authors do not designate worship as the purpose of the gathering of the church. Even though believers certainly worshiped together, they did not call their meetings “worship services.â€[7] For the most part, the New Testament writers applied Old Testament terminology for worship and temple service metaphorically to the work of Jesus Christ in his life, ministry, death, burial, resurrection and ascension. Believers began to associate worship terminology with the gathering of the church during the centuries following the writing of the New Testament. Peterson quotes Everett Ferguson’s discussion of the changes in the use of worship terminology:
What began in Christianity as a metaphorical and spiritual conception was by the age of Constantine ready to be taken literally again. The extension of sacrificial language had come to encompass the ministry as a special priesthood (Cyprian), the table as an altar and buildings as temples (Eusebius). Sacrifice was increasingly materialised and traditional content was put into the words. Sacrifice became again not only praise and thanksgiving but also propitiatory (Origen and Cyprian). A blending and transformation of conception – pagan, philosophical, Jewish and Christian – created a new complex of ideas.[8]
He continues by warning contemporary believers against using worship terminology in this way by stating, “We not only use words, but words use us.â€[9]
Frame recognizes that the traditional use of the term “worship†in respect to the meeting of the church derives from the Old Testament tabernacle/temple systems.[10] While he admits that this is “dangerous,†he is not willing to give up the term “worship service.†In caution, he states, “To say this, however, is not to say that there is a sharp distinction between what we do in the meeting and what we do outside of it.â€[11] This is the distinction that many believers have lost, as the meeting of the church has become synonymous with “worship.†For example, one author states, “The primary purpose of worship is to honor God, but as worship is portrayed in the New Testament, it also serves the purpose of edifying believers and evangelizing nonbelievers.â€[12] The author has confused the definition of worship as “honoring God†with the use of the term “worship†as the meeting of the church. “Worship†does not serve the purpose of edifying believers; instead the gathering of the church should serve the purpose of edifying believers. This confusion comes about because the phase “the gathering of the church†has become synonymous with “worship.â€
Banks describes the proper connection between worship and the gathering of the church. He states:
Since all places and times have now become the venue for worship, Paul cannot speak of Christians assembling in church distinctively for this purpose. They are already worshipping God, acceptably or unacceptably, in whatever they are doing. While this means that when they are in church they are worshipping as well, it is not worship per se but something else that marks off their coming together from everything else they are doing.[13]
He describes this “something else that marks off their coming together†as “the growth and edification of its members into Christ and into a common life through their God-given ministry to one another.â€[14] When the church accomplishes this purpose during the meeting, it is worshiping, because it is obeying the command of God.[15] However, in the same way that believers must not equate the Lord’s Supper simply with eating (1 Cor. 11:20-21), they also must not equate worship with the meeting itself. Instead, they are worshiping because they are being obedient during the meeting, not because they are meeting.
Notes:
[1] Ervin Bishop, “The Assembly,†Restoration Quarterly, 18.4 (Winter 1975), 219.
[2] For example, see John S. Hammett, Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2005), 239.
[3] G. Temp Sparkman, “Corporate Worship: The Experience and the Event,†Perspectives in Religious Studies 18 (Fall 1991), 241.
[4] Henry Schellenberg, “Toward a Basic Understanding of Worship,†Didaskalia, 15, 2 (Winter 2004), 17.
[5] See Bishop, “The Assembly,†219-21, and Peterson, Engaging with God, 206.
[6] David Peterson, “Further Reflections on Worship in the New Testament,†The Reformed Theological Review, 44 (May-August 1985), 36-37.
[7] Robert C. Girard, Brethren, Hang Together (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979), 247-48.
[8] Peterson, “Further Reflections on Worship in the New Testament,†35.
[9] Ibid.
[10] John M. Frame, Worship in Spirit and Truth (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1996), 32.
[11] Ibid., 34.
[12] Hammett, Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches, 239.
[13] Robert Banks, Paul’s Idea of Community (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994), 89.
[14] Ibid., 90.
[15] David Peterson, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 221.
Be Prepared: It’s Not Just for Scouts
My friend Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” recently asked the question, “What Are You Bringing?” Eric explains his question:
Assuming that you gather with your church family on Sundays, what are you planning to bring? The above verse from I Corinthians indicates that the folks in that church (despite its myriad problems) actively brought something with them to the church gathering. In many cases, this seems to have been directly related to the exercise of their spiritual gifts. Paul wanted to be sure that this was all done for the purpose of mutual edification.
Eric’s post is good. You should read it. In response, this was my comment:
I was not “scheduled” to teach/preach yesterday. However, I knew that another brother would be teaching on the subject of the Sabbath. I also knew that the church would have an opportunity to take part in the teaching, through asking questions, sharing experiences, or even offering a teaching of their own. So, I prepared for studying the passages in Scripture related to the Sabbath. I also talked with other brothers and sisters about the topic – both my own family and others in person as well as online.
However, besides this preparation, I also spend time with other brothers and sisters throughout the week. I know what’s going on in their lives and they know what’s going on in my life. Specifically through a conversation I had last week, I knew I need to confess something to the church, to ask for prayer in that area, and to exhort the church (as well as myself) toward faithfulness in that area.
So, my preparation included both the study of Scripture and the work that God was doing in my life and the lives of others through our interaction with one another. I’m sure there were others ways that I (and others) prepared, but these are two ways that I try to prepare every day.
As the church, we meet with one another weekly, but we also meet more regularly, sometimes daily. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we should always be prepared (yes, even on Sundays) to encourage one another toward maturity in Christ.
So… to echo Eric’s question… the next time you meet with brothers and sisters in Christ, what are you bringing? Will you be prepared?
Building the church
The church starts with Jesus Christ. He said that he would build his church (Matthew 16:18). Paul said that he laid the foundation of Jesus Christ and that others were building on that foundation (1 Corinthians 3:9-11). He also says that his readers (and us?) should continue building (Ephesians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5).
So, Jesus is still building his church, primarily through us. As God works through us by his Holy Spirit, Jesus builds his church.
But, how can we ensure that Jesus is doing the building and not us? We have good ideas and good plans and good motives and good hopes, but is Jesus building the church or are we building the church? Is there a difference? Should we be concerned?