ECT Must one "go to church" to be with God?
- Thread starter musterion
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Amen, journey, me too !!
Ask Mr. Religion
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The passage and its context is related to church discipline, in that Our Lord said that He Himself works personally in the discipline process. Lifting Matthew 18:20 from its context to imply "church" is happening with 2-3 persons doing devotionals at the coffee shop is mistaken. The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
AMR
Yes,
Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised
Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Act 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Act 2:40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Act 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Act 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Act 2:43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
Act 2:44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
Act 2:45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
Act 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Act 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Jud 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
LA
Just where do you get the idea that people should go to church to be disciplined? Where do you get that kind of generalization?
Yes,
Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised
Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Act 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Act 2:40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Act 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Act 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Act 2:43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
Act 2:44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
Act 2:45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
Act 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Act 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Jud 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
LA
You sure use a lot of passages that were meant for members of the House of Israel, don't ya?
Amen Brother.
Hey Faither, are you a real Faither?
There are Faithers and there are Workers. Which one are you?
A Christian apart from the assembly is an eye or an ear or a hand or a foot.
God loves His assembly, know that
God loves His assembly, know that
musterion
Well-known member
As I figured. So let's correct that text to reflect reality.
Footnote for Matthew 18:20, The Reformed Amplified Bible, Eisegesis Publishing.
musterion
Well-known member
Some of you are showing great difficulty grasping the point of the OP. It plainly says that it has nothing to do with an assembly of like-minded people or even where they meet, but is asking about the specific building or meeting place itself (or, possibly, something contained within that building) where a believer can, should or must meet with God.
musterion
Well-known member
SaulToPaul 2
Well-known member
musterion
Well-known member
Well now hold on there, sir. Since the believer is the Lord's temple, and since as far as we know McDonald's didn't exist in the Acts era, we can safely analogize the context of that verse for "temple" to mean the right kind of modern day churches.
View attachment 23544
nikolai_42
Well-known member
Doesn't I Corinthians 6:1-4 say precisely that and isn't I Corinthians 5 a good example of that discipline? Wasn't Ananias and Sapphira an example (though extreme in consequence) of church discipline? If you think that was just of God (as opposed to church) what about the binding and loosing of Matthew 18:18 (which is a part of the 2 or 3 in Matthew 18:20)? Or what of the Jerusalem council of Acts 15? That was all a question of commands (Acts 15:5). Will the church command but not enforce? Will it command (for example) that the offices of bishop and deacon (I Timothy 3) conform to scripture yet not enforce that decree?
EDIT : I would think that anyone following the Lord would take comfort in church discipline. If the Lord chastens all those He loves, then who better than His people to be involved in it?
musterion
Well-known member
Why?
Colossians 1:27--"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"
You haven't convinced me? Try harder, you're to vague here.