Obstacles on the Way to God- #11
11. Church attendance equals, or at least is a prerequisite to, salvation.
The idea of weekly church attendance as a commandment cannot be found in the bible. As one of the 10 Commandments, keeping the Sabbath holy is certainly required of a believer, and the main feature of the Sabbath is rest, that no work should be done by anyone (Exo 20:8-11; Deu 5:12-15), along with study, for which Jews went to the temple, where the law was read. Keep in mind that back then, the individual households did no have a copy of the law, but that the people gathered to hear it being read to them instead (Exo 24:7 and 2Ki 23:2/2Ch 34:30). For the same purpose, to teach and to study, Jesus and the Jews of His time went to the temple (Mar 1:21, 29; 3:1; Luk 4:16, 44; 13:10, just as a few examples).
The Israelites kept the Sabbath and the Feasts, as God commanded them, and these included a "holy convocation", in the case of the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the first and last day, for example (Exo 12:15-17), which is, basically, a public gathering for study and offering of sacrifices.
But first and foremost, the Sabbath was a day of rest from work, for the whole household, animals included, and for the aliens that lived within the gates.
Christians nowadays, however, have not only chosen to call the first day of the week their "holy" day instead of the last, but have also largely done away with the Sabbath commandment of rest, and substituted it with the "commandment" of weekly church attendance, after which they are free to do whatever they please. Oftentimes, this includes going out for dinner, shopping, or indulging in some other kind of amusement or recreation that more often than not requires other people to work, waiters and waitresses, shop attendants, ticket seller in amusement parks, and the like. God, on the other hand, commanded us not to do what pleases us, but what pleases Him (Isa 58:13).
In short, church attendance does not meet the requirements of the Sabbath commandment, which makes it a tradition of men. These, especially if they contradicted God's Law, Jesus condemned as being wrong (Mar 7:6-8).
Technorati Tags: God's Law, Sabbath, deception, Christian faith, Church attendance, Joshuah's House
The idea of weekly church attendance as a commandment cannot be found in the bible. As one of the 10 Commandments, keeping the Sabbath holy is certainly required of a believer, and the main feature of the Sabbath is rest, that no work should be done by anyone (Exo 20:8-11; Deu 5:12-15), along with study, for which Jews went to the temple, where the law was read. Keep in mind that back then, the individual households did no have a copy of the law, but that the people gathered to hear it being read to them instead (Exo 24:7 and 2Ki 23:2/2Ch 34:30). For the same purpose, to teach and to study, Jesus and the Jews of His time went to the temple (Mar 1:21, 29; 3:1; Luk 4:16, 44; 13:10, just as a few examples).
The Israelites kept the Sabbath and the Feasts, as God commanded them, and these included a "holy convocation", in the case of the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the first and last day, for example (Exo 12:15-17), which is, basically, a public gathering for study and offering of sacrifices.
But first and foremost, the Sabbath was a day of rest from work, for the whole household, animals included, and for the aliens that lived within the gates.
Christians nowadays, however, have not only chosen to call the first day of the week their "holy" day instead of the last, but have also largely done away with the Sabbath commandment of rest, and substituted it with the "commandment" of weekly church attendance, after which they are free to do whatever they please. Oftentimes, this includes going out for dinner, shopping, or indulging in some other kind of amusement or recreation that more often than not requires other people to work, waiters and waitresses, shop attendants, ticket seller in amusement parks, and the like. God, on the other hand, commanded us not to do what pleases us, but what pleases Him (Isa 58:13).
In short, church attendance does not meet the requirements of the Sabbath commandment, which makes it a tradition of men. These, especially if they contradicted God's Law, Jesus condemned as being wrong (Mar 7:6-8).
Technorati Tags: God's Law, Sabbath, deception, Christian faith, Church attendance, Joshuah's House
