“Home Grown”

Thursday, February 25, 2016

I have a question about going to church.  My family and I want to start having church, however we were thinking of just having it ourselves.  We wanted to watch church on T.V. on Sundays and then talk about stuff in the Bible ourselves.  Is this okay to do?  Do you have to go to church, or is it okay to have it at home?  Thanks for your time!  God bless!

Sincerely,
Homeward Bound

Dear Homeward Bound,

If you are starting a congregation out of your home, there are Biblical examples of that, but if you are just staying home instead of assembling with other christians… that would be wrong.  Philemon had a congregation that met in his house (Philemon 1:2).  The church in Troas met in a large home (Acts 20:7-8).  The location of a church doesn’t matter because ‘church’ refers to people, not a building, so if you were starting a church in your home, that would be fine.  However, that would come with the responsibilities that belong to the church.  You would need to be willing to have others assemble with you in your home.  The Lord’s church should seek to increase numerically and spiritually (Eph 4:16) whenever possible, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for you to start a church in your home and restrict its membership to your family.  That would be akin to Diotrephes who kicked people out of the church (3 Jn 1:10).

If you aren’t talking about starting a full-fledged congregation, then you need to be a part of one.  It isn’t enough to watch sermons on television and talk about the Bible.  The Lord commanded us to assemble with one another (Heb 10:25).  We are supposed to get together each Sunday and partake of the Lord’s Supper together (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 11:20).  God intended for christians to be a part of a local congregation with elders and deacons to help shepherd them (1 Pet 5:2).  God knows what is best for us, and it is in our best interest to assemble with other christians in a local church.  We are all different, and our differences help to strengthen us, protect us, and better serve Christ (Eph 4:14-16).

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