Part Four: Resolve to Gather
One of the questions that 2020-21’s pandemic has raised is whether or not in-person Sunday gatherings matter. Can’t we just observe a worship service of our choice online? Hearing is hearing and viewing is viewing. My eyes and ears work just fine whether I’m looking at a screen or sitting in a pew. Additionally, South Florida is place full of recreational options, especially on a Sunday. Beaches, brunches, and baseball galore. If tantalizing options for my weekend are in abundance and I can watch church online on-demand, is there any point to the Sunday gathering? Here are a few things to consider that we value as a church:
1. Celebrating the Resurrection
Sunday became the day of worship once the disciples saw Jesus resurrected on a Sunday. Jesus was crucified on a Friday, and then on the third day he rose. Because of that, law-abiding Jewish men and women who typically worshiped in synagogues on a Saturday began to gather each and every Sunday to commemorate the Resurrection. Given that Jesus death and resurrection solidifies the fact that Christians are saved by God’s grace and not by any religious actions or performance done by the individual, gathering on Sunday is not eternally binding for salvation. However, worshiping on a day other than Sunday because of its convenience to you does feel a little like celebrating a loved one’s birthday on a day of your choosing rather than theirs.
2. Remember the Sabbath
The 4th Commandment instructs God’s people to “remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” Again, this isn’t a commandment that is binding for salvation (it was given after God saved the Israelites from Egyptian slavery); however, it is beneficial for the believer. Your mind and body need rest and God set the example for us by creating for six days out of seven, choosing to rest on the 7th day. Additionally, passages like Hebrews 4 inform us that worshiping God is rest.
3. Physical Entrance into the Tabernacle
Hebrews 10, amongst other places, makes a point of describing Jesus’ crucifixion in Old Testament sacrificial terms. In the Old Testament system, the high priest entered into a physical temple to sacrifice a physical animal and sprinkle physical blood onto the physical Ark of the Covenant - the physical representation of God’s presence with his people. So the Father sent His Son to physically incarnate a human body in order to physically die on a cross. The physical curtain in the physical temple was, at that time, torn in two, thus allowing all who follow Jesus access into the presence of God. All of this being fully accomplished in Jesus’ physical, bodily resurrection from the grave. Finally he sent his Spirit to inhabit the physical bodies of those who comprise the church. He didn’t immediately take believers into a spiritual kingdom, removing them from this physical planet. Instead, we continue to follow Jesus in our physical bodies, making disciples and modeling the kingdom of God until Jesus returns and we are resurrected physically. These physical elements of how God has chosen to accomplish salvation for us and minister to us are significant. We shouldn’t downplay that when thinking of gathering together physically.
4. Stirring One Another Up
Additionally, Hebrews 10 admonishes believers to “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.” Without needed explanation, it is pretty difficult to “stir up one another” or “[encourage] one another” without being present with each other. Worship isn’t purely a private affair between you and God; it is a communal activity where a collection of believers, all sharing a common confession that Jesus Christ is Lord, gather together to sing, fellowship, pray, read the Bible, and hear it proclaimed. In doing this we are “stirred up” to good works and we are encouraged.
Whether you’ve recognized it as a need or not, your heart needs worship. If you aren’t directing your worship to God, you are directing it toward something or someone else. Maybe it’s your career; maybe it’s your family; maybe it’s the Miami Dolphins. We all worship. Therefore, the best way to direct your worship properly is to gather physically with other believers on a Sunday as you worship, encourage each other, and find rest in the presence of God.