Tag: Assembly

Romans 2:29

During these times when we cannot meet as often as we would like, here are a few verses and some thoughts to encourage us.

“But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”

Romans 2:29 (NASB)

Under the law delivered through Moses, the people of God were compelled to perform many physical rituals. These rituals were difficult both to keep track of and perform appropriately. Additionally, if anyone were to keep the law perfectly, the law could never completely remove sin. Even still, that law was the only way to be pleasing to God.

Now, since Christ died as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, we are freed from the rituals of the old law. We can’t perform physical rituals in a quest to keep the law perfectly. It wasn’t possible for God’s people then, and it still isn’t possible today.

Of course, we still have commandments to observe today. However, we don’t observe them to somehow make the flesh clean. Instead, we focus on the heart; we allow the gospel to cut away the things that keep us from pleasing God. The process of correcting the heart brings about changes in the flesh. We have chosen, out of love for him, to not let fleshly cares take priority over serving him.

Tomorrow is the first day of the week. Should the world continue, we will have another opportunity to serve him. To those who serve him in spirit, that service won’t be a burden. On the other hand, many people consider serving him to be a burden, so they simply won’t serve. Worse still, many will serve him as if worship is a weekly ritual to check off a list—much like the physical requirements of the law. But those who worship in spirit and in truth will do so simply because they love him.

Philippians 2:4-5

During these times when we cannot meet as often as we would like, here are a few verses and some thoughts to encourage us.

“Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,”

Philippians 2:4-5 (NASB)

A cognitive bias is a systematic deviation from rational judgment. Sometimes biases can help us make faster decisions by narrowing down the possible options. Sometimes biases can help us reject false information because it does not align with previous experience or knowledge. Biases can cause us to overlook otherwise obvious and important information. This unhelpful bias is often called a blind spot. It is a blind spot because it keeps us from seeing the things that we ought to see. One such blind spot is called the distance bias. The distance bias causes things that are closer to be valued over things that are farther away. In other words, things that we can look upon or physically touch are going to appear more valuable to us than things that are out of sight. After all, out of sight, out of mind.

Again, the distance bias causes us to put less value on things we cannot see. Paul writes that we are to look out for the interests of others. What if we never look at the brethren? If we come to the point where we are neglecting or avoiding the brethren, then the next step will be to subconsciously devalue those relationships. God understands how we are made; after all, he is the one who created us. He understood that we would give more consideration to those things that are closer rather than far away. This is just one reason why remote worship services cannot replace an assembly. The distance bias will cause the experience of watching a worship service over the Internet to be less valuable than assembling with brethren locally. It should be obvious that the devil is pleased that many brethren have so easily consented to separate from each other. And while doing so, they have convinced themselves that watching worship from a distance is a suitable replacement for an assembly. Furthermore, this completely neglects the command and example to greet one another physically (Lk 7:45; Ro 16:16; I Co 16:20; II Co 13:12; I Th 5:26; I Pe 5:14).

Paul uses a word that is translated here as “look out.” The connotation of this word is to pay attention to something you can actually see; as in, to be close enough to look upon that thing or person. It stands to reason that we cannot be aware of the interests of those we are never around. If we spend more time with people of the world or alone with ourselves, then we run the risk of putting the world’s or our own interests over the brethren.

During this time of both economic hardship and social disruption, we should be seeking to comfort our brethren in any way possible. The easiest opportunity to meet the needs of others is to provoke one another to love and good works in the assembly. Outside of that, what have each of us done to look after the needs of our spiritual family? Do not ignore the needs of others; the commands of men do not supersede the instructions of God. This time of hardship and adversity offers many opportunities to look after the interests of the brethren. What will you do to look after the needs of your brothers and sisters?

Romans 1:11-12

During these times when we cannot meet as often as we would like, here are a few verses and some thoughts to encourage us.

“For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.”

Romans 1:11-12 (NASB)

In the next verse Paul explains that even though he desires to be with his readers, he has been prevented from getting to Rome. I started this series of articles because of the present situation where we are prevented from meeting as often as we once did. Where we once would meet several times a week, now we are prevented. This situation should be distressing to us as if we have been forcibly separated from our closest family.

Paul wanted to come to them because he desired to participate in their edification. He did not want to be with them simply to check some command-box. Many treat the assembly as if it is some answer to a multiple choice question—a Christian only need to choose one answer, and usually the correct answer is Sunday morning worship, in order to pass the test. Others treat the assembly as a la carte where you can choose any one, but you can also have more if you like. The Christians in the New Testament were distinctly interested in keeping each other’s company and meeting face to face. We read of how they were so excited about the good news that many would even meet daily. It was not a sacrifice to them; instead it was a joyous opportunity.

During this present situation, while we are limited in how often we meet, it should feel like a radical change. Sadly, for many it is not. Even worse, many more are entirely unconcerned with not meeting at all and indefinitely. For us, however, it is distressing. To relieve that distress, I write this, as Paul wrote, to keep each of us connected both to each other and to God. Because Paul could not be with them in person, he wrote to them to let them know he was concerned about them. However, Paul desired to be among them because that is the most effective way to edify those we love. Words from afar cannot long replace the assembling of the saints.

Even though Paul could not be among them, it was not because he was at home being idle. He needed to take the gospel to those who had never heard it (Ro 15:18-22). Let us remember to be about the work of God even more during these challenging times. We can talk to those who do not know our God and are living in fear. We can lift up spirits by writing or calling the brethren or even relieve their physical needs if necessary.

As I write this it is Friday. It has been almost a week since we have last assembled. Our hearts should be filled with anticipation knowing that we will very soon be back together.