Assembling of the Saints

Michael R Harrison

With the recent scare concerning the coronavirus there has been a mass movement on the part of our society to quarantine. Here in California there has been a ban on any, what the government deems, non essential assemblies. It is no surprise that the government has considered the assembling together of the saints nonessential. We do not expect that the world would share the same respect for the commands of God as that of the faithful. So, as this executive orders of many governors of states throughout our country to shelter in place continues, the faithful must ask themselves to what extent are we, as children of God, to obey such directives from our leaders.

For the preachers and elders there is a natural aversion towards encouraging people to miss church services. After all the preacher’s primary job, as well as that of the elders, is to feed the Church of the living God, which Christ Jesus purchased with his own blood (Eph. 20:28). Thus, the efforts of the elders and preachers, deacons or church leaders is to get brethren to church i.e., the assembly. However, it seems that we are now in a point in time where the church is encouraged to do just the opposite. Many congregations have cancelled their Wednesday night services and even their Sunday evening worship assemblies. If that were not enough, there are congregations that have cancelled all services of the church for the next several weeks or even longer.

As I said, for the gospel preacher or any church leader this is antagonistic to their entire existence. However, simply because something goes against the grain or makes a person a bit uncomfortable does not mean that it is wrong. Some in the first century would not eat meat sacrificed to idols because it made them feel bad, i.e., they felt it was wrong. Paul makes it abundantly clear that eating meat sacrificed to idols was not at all wrong (1 Cor. 8:7-13; 10:23ff). The church today is in the position of cancelling the assembling together of the saints due to the current crisis of the coronavirus. I cannot hep but ask, “Is the church authorized, even out of an act of expediency, to cancel the assembly of God?” Has God given the the elders the authority to make that call?

First, I think it is necessary that the Bible student understand some fundamentals on the subject of authority. From the biblical point of view there is an echelon of authority extending from God, to Christ, to man, to the woman. There is also two realms of authority. There is the realm of expediency and there is the realm of law. God has given the church, whether it be the members or the elders, a great deal of authority in the realm of expediency. We are at liberty to make decisions as to the time of Sunday worship, if we have a bible class, if we have an evening worship, or will we have an all in one service and etc... However, the church has been given no authority in the realm of law. Neither the church collectively, nor its elders may make a decision that the Lord’s supper will be served only once a month. We cannot choose to change

the worship of God from Sunday to Monday. In these matters of law God has spoken and we must obey.

When we consider what God has commanded, within the realm of law, about the meeting and the gathering of ourselves in one place, we must look to scripture. The Hebrew writer said, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir one another up 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.” The obligation to assemble has been a clear command from the beginning of the church on Pentecost. The churches assembling together has been authorized in scripture, not as an option but as an obligation. When Paul wrote to the Church of Christ in the city of Corinth he makes mention of the fact that they came together as a church (1 Cor. 11:17). In that assembly they were obligated to include everyone in the Lord’s Supper memorial (1 Cor. 11:17-18; 33). In Acts 20 Paul traveled from Philippi to Troas where they remained for seven days. In verse 7 Luke makes mention of the fact that on the first day of the week they gathered together to break bread (an illusion to the Lord’s supper Acts 2:42). Paul mentions the fact the church was meeting and even commands the local giving on the first day of every week (1 Cor. 16:1ff). We see that the frequency of the church assembly is a weekly event.

When John was in exile on the Island of Patmos, he wrote to the seven churches of Asia in the book of Revelation about a great many things. In chapter 1 John writes, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day...” (v. 10). This is a reference to the first day of the week and it is called “The Lord’s Day.” Why is Sunday referred to as the Lord’s Day? Sunday is called, “The Lord’s Day,” because it is the day on which Christians come together to remember the Lord Jesus Christ. We do this on the first day of every week when we partake of the Lord’s Supper. Paul refers to the observance of the communion as, “The Lord’s Table” (1 Cor. 10:21). Every person who becomes a child of God must set aside the first day of every week for the observance of this memorial feast among their brothers and sisters.

There are a number of commands issued that are only fulfilled in a congregational setting. First of all, every child of God has the obligation to be under the oversight of the local congregation, via the men or elders. In addition to these obligations we are also required to worship God in song in a reciprocal way. That is to say, we are to engage in congregational singing, “Addressing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). As far as scripture goes, the assembling of the saint is not an optional matter. The assembling of the saints is an obligation and, as far as I can see, there is simply no authority, not for the elders, nor for the church membership, to cancel that obligation; not even for a moment.

There have been those in the past that have made appeals to Matthew 18:20 to sanction the practice of a personal assembly. The obvious error is that Jesus is not even speaking about the assembling of the saints but about church discipline. What has been the response to brethren who try to minimize their own attendance at the

public assembly? A private or personal assembly in place of the congregational assembly is not at all authorized by God and Christians should be members of the local body and so assemble with the local body. Has the church been wrong in their instruction? Must a person be a member of a local body and under its oversight and involved in its work? In response to this I must say that all the information we have in scripture leads this writer to conclude that the church has been absolutely correct about this subject. So far as authority goes we must operate on the basis of authority and not on the basis of opinion. Many have suggested that we may have a temporary set up that will be perfectly pleasing to God and which would fall under the authority of expediency.

We should note that it is true that the church may be authorized to do something and not necessarily obligated to do that particular thing. The church certainly has been authorized to care for a widow who is a widow indeed (1 Tim 5:15). However, the church is not commanded to find a widow to care for. The church is authorized to pay an elder but the church is not commanded to pay an elder. Does the first day of the week assembly fall into the category of expediency? Is it the case that the church is merely authorized to meet on the first day of the week and not commanded to meet on the first day of the week? All the information in scripture reminds us that the church is both authorized and commanded to meet on every first day of every week (Heb. 10:23ff; 1 Cor. 16:1ff; Acts 20:7). Since it is the case that we have been commanded to meet every first day of the week and at that time to observe various commands, we ask, may we suspend this obligation? May an eldership or the leadership of any given congregation, in an act of judgment, suspend the obligation to assemble together? Is whether or not the church meets on the first day of the week an issue that is subject to change or even in the realm of expediency?

As many in the church are struggling with this question and especially in this time of crisis we must always look to scripture. Exactly, what scripture is there to guide us on this issue. If there is authority to suspend this obligation it would be helpful to see the scripture which promotes it. What matters or circumstances would relieve the Christian of the their obligation to assemble on the first day of the week? Who decides what matters or conditions warrant such action as canceling the general assembly? Would the condition of church persecution warrant canceling the assembling of the saints? Furthermore, how long would this condition last? If for three weeks, why not three months, or three years? What biblical authority would we appeal to for such action? In my efforts to search for such authority I have found nothing that would allow for lifting this burden.

Before I get to preachy, I feel that I must defend the brethren. Sometimes we may offer tools that aid members of our congregations but assume that they understand that these are just that, “tools.” For example, there are many churches and brethren that are offering internet resource tools for the brotherhood. These congregations who offer these online resource tools are aware that there is no such thing as internet church. God has not authorized remote assembling of the saints, as though that were even a thing. Thats about like immersion by sprinkling. One is either

immersed or they are sprinkled and we either assemble or we don’t. To be sure, we must give the biblical teaching on the use of such tools as well as the biblical teaching on the assembling of the saints. There is no authority for a drive through church though such action is not sinful it must never take the place of the general assembly.

That being said there are other matters to consider with regard to the assembly. There are times when the ideal will of God cannot be achieved in which case we look to the permissive will of God. The ideal will of God is that God is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance. This is the ideal will of God for all of humanity as found in Second Peter 3:9. However, the permissive will of God allows for all to choose for themselves what they will do. The divine ideal or the ideal will of God is that every congregation of the Lord be endowed with a plurality of elders (Titus 1:5). However, the permissive will of God allows for the men of the congregation leading in lieu of having qualified men to be elders (1 Cor. 11:1ff). As it pertains to the assembly of the saints, is it the case that the assembly of the saints is the ideal will of God and that God’s permissive will allows for other arrangements? Certainly, it is the ideal will of God that every Christian attend the Sunday general assembly but there are times when a Christian is unable to attend. Paul, for example, upon appealing his case to Caesar was shipwrecked on his voyage to Rome and spent several weeks adrift. The apostle John was exiled on the Island of Patmos and was there, “in the Spirit,” on the Lord’s Day. Certainly, they were not violating the command not to forsake the assembly (Heb. 10:24).

Some of my own brethren have challenged me with such thoughts. As I explained to them, the issue is not what an individual might do or not do. The issue is whether or not the command to assemble is an obligation which the church must ever strive to obey. Individuals will always find themselves in unique and strange situations but they are always obligated to obey the command to assemble with the saints. If there was no such obligation there would be little need for the Hebrew writer to issue the command not to forsake such an assembly. God will be the judge of every heart that does not attend the assembly and their unique situation will fall into the hands of God who is capable of discerning the truth of any situation. Certainly, if Paul or John could have attended the assembly they would have. And if they were to arrive and find the saints no longer assembling on the Lord’s Day due to persecution or Covid-19 what might they say? We simply have no biblical example that authorizes the suspension of the Lord’s day assembly.

We must always leave liberty where God has given us liberty. The Elders can instruct the church to do better in their giving but the elders cannot instruct every member of the church to give 200 dollars a week. The elders may counsel members who might be going through economic difficulties but they are not authorized to release the brethren from giving altogether. The elders can offer counsel on the matter of the assembly but have no authority to tell brethren that they don’t have to assemble on the first day of the week.

As in any matter that might catch the church by surprise, and this coronavirus certainly did, we may react without thinking the whole thing through. Missteps in unforeseen matters are certain to happen. I can remember when the Soviet Union was open to the world and the church wanted to send missionaries there. We were unprepared and in our unpreparedness some began using women translators in the worship assembly. Controversy, of course, erupted and rather than admit a misstep people dug their heels in and defended their positions. Let us not repeat the errors of the past rather, we should look to the word of God for the answers to this problem. I am certainly open to the fact that I myself may have failed to consider some principle or passage of scripture that I should have reviewed in considering this matter. In which case I would rather admit a misstep on my part than to characterize my brethren in a bad light.

In our attempts to satisfy our desire to be obedient to the governing authorities, as we have been commanded to do, we are left with the option of expediency. God has left in the hands of the church certain expediency measures that are completely in our hands. The church is free to cancel any assemblies that are not commanded. The church has not been obligated by God to have a mid-week assembly though there is wisdom in such assemblies. This mid-week assembly has been appointed by the elders or the leaders of the church for the purpose of feeding the church of God (Acts 20:28). We have not been obligated to meet twice on Sunday or to have a Sunday bible class. These measures have been assigned for the growth of the church members. We are also at liberty to assemble for what ever time it might take to accomplish the commands that have been issued. There may be on the part of a congregation a desire to break the group up into smaller assemblies. It must have been difficult in the times of persecution to have large assemblies of the church. I can imagine that smaller groups of brethren met in order to keep safe from the dangers that awaited those if they were caught assembling to practice the various acts of obedience every child of God is obligated to practice together.

Any number of assembly arrangements are possible but the assembly of the church can never be replaced by digital conferences or by phone assemblies. In any time of uncertainty the need to continue in faith knowing that God will take care of you is the hallmark of the Christian faith. Someone has said the Hebrew writer is condemning the habitual forsaking of the assembly. I may very well concede that point but after two months how else are we to classify one’s absence from the general assembly of God’s people? Jesus instructed us to pray to the Father, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven...” (Mt. 16:18ff). When I pray to God that his will be done on earth as it is in heaven, yet do not work on accomplishing his perfect will, my words are little short of blasphemous. We must ever be mindful that if there be anything that comes between me and my perfect obedience to God, whether fear or pride or any such thing, then I must struggle to overcome that distraction. And we must remember that trusting God is not about a life free from fear or suffering but knowing that no matter what might come in life or death God is an abiding presence in my life and will ultimately bring me into his glory.