I CAN'T GO TO CHURCH

I CAN’T GO TO CHURCH!

Sunday, August 10, 2014

 

Matthew 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 18:17  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

 

  I can’t go to church is a fact; A truth that has nothing to do with transportation or the lack thereof or any other such hindrance.

  Why can’t I, you, or anyone else go to church? Because the reality is that church is not a place, it is a populace; God’s people. When people, including far too many Christians, began thinking of church as a place I don’t know. What I do know is thinking other than according to the Word is never a good thing.

A few points:

• “church” is never mentioned in the OT.
•  It is used 80 times in 79 verses recorded in KJV NT, with first usage by the Lord. (Mt.16:18; 18:17)
• Paul penned “church” more than any other in God’s record.
• James, Peter, and John also scribed “church”.
• In each instance “church” represented people, not place.
    Interestingly, as recorded in Matthew 16:18 & 18:17 Jesus could hardly be considered speaking of physical edifice. Buildings have been destroyed and continue to be and even the most solid brick and mortar speak not to saint or sinner!
    So what does “church” mean? From Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries:

ἐκκλησία

ekklēsia

ek-klay-see'-ah

From a compound of G1537 and a derivative of G2564; a calling out, that is, (concretely) a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation (Jewish synagogue, or Christian community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both): - assembly, church. [ G1577, Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries]

 

  Some of you already understood this, some not. The question I leave both groups is “What differences, if any, does viewing church as people instead of place make?”  EBB4