“Too Much Worship”

Wednesday, December 02, 2015

The elders at the church I go to are on my case.  I don't think my family needs to go to church all day on Sunday.  God says I'm in charge of my own family.  What verse can I use to remind them that it's my right to decide?

 

Sincerely,
Head Of My House

Dear Head Of My House,

If it is a question of what is your right – just explain to them that you have freewill like every human since Adam and Eve, and nobody can make you do anything you don’t want to do.  However, I think your real question is if there are any verses that explain that your family doesn’t need to go to services all day on Sunday.  That is a slightly different question.

Every congregation must decide for itself how often and how long it will meet.  This is an issue of expediency and wisdom.  Some congregations may choose to meet only once on a Sunday; others may choose to meet twice… or even more!  The Bible does not give any specific guidelines.  It does, however, provide some principles that must be contemplated by every individual and every congregation.

1. Sunday is “The Lord’s Day” (Rev 1:10).  Though there is some debate over what the apostle John meant by using the term ‘the Lord’s Day’, most commentators (including some of the earliest church writers) agree that the term ‘the Lord’s Day’ refers to ‘Sunday’.  Sunday is intended to be a day dedicated and set aside by christians for the worship and service of God.  If we only meet for 45 to 60 minutes in the morning, can we fairly say that we treated the whole day as belonging to the Lord?
2. The Old Testament Sabbath example.  We no longer have the Sabbath in the New Testament (no matter what the Seventh Day Adventists say).  However, the Sabbath does teach a principle.  God, in His infinite wisdom, thought it was important for the Jews to set aside one entire day every week to rest, reflect, and worship God.  Even though we are not bound by the Sabbath laws, that practice was given to us as an example to teach us something about the spiritual needs of mankind (1 Cor 10:11).  How much of our time are we setting aside for the pure and undistracted worship of God?
3. The assembly and worship service is not merely a duty; it is an essential tool God has given us to protect our souls.  When christians forsake the assembly, they are headed down a path that leads to destruction (Heb 10:25-27).  When we assemble together on a regular basis, we provoke one another to love and good works (Heb 10:24).  When christians come together to sing songs to God, they admonish each other as a side-effect (Col 3:16).  The church doesn’t just need you; you need the church.

When the elders of a congregation set the meeting times, they should be considering these principles for the health of the congregation.  There is no hard and fast rule for how much time to set aside, but it is important to consider whether we are devoting enough time to worshipping God.  In general, we here at AYP err on the side of liberality.  We would rather hear, “You worshipped more than was needed” than “You didn’t worship enough” on the Day of Judgment.

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