Can’t Christians meet on other days of the week?
Question:
In regards to "Can I attend an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship instead of a church while at college?"
My first question is on “One departure from the Lord's church that you mention is that they have services on Tuesdays, but the church meets on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 16:1).” What about this and other Scriptures that show they also meet at other times? "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts" (Acts 2:46).
The other question is that you said, " Reading through the material, the group is more like a club with a strong Christian focus.” If there are real Christians there, is that not the church?
Your answer I feel was confusing. What about if there were no Lord's churches in the area?
Thank you.
Answer:
I believe the actual question to be asked is what constitutes a church. Is it just the meeting of some Christians together or is the church something more?
Some of the misconceptions regarding the church come from a very loose concept of exactly what the church is. It is called by a variety of names. Most translations use the word “church” to translate the Greek word ekklesia. That word simply means “the assembly,” or a group of people who come together to meet. This is why the church is sometimes referred to as the “called out”(I Peter 2:9). It is an assembly of people called out of sin and into salvation.
The same group is also referred to as a kingdom (Colossians 1:13-14). This emphasizes that Christ is our king, our Lord (Ephesians 1:19-23). And we are citizens in that kingdom (Ephesians 2:19).
It is also called a body (Colossians 1:18). The emphasis here is that Christ is in control of the group and is the most important part -- the head. We are members of the body. Each unique, fulfilling different roles, yet at the same time working in harmony (I Corinthians 12:12-14).
The group is also a household (I Timothy 3:14-15). God is the Father of the house (Ephesians 3:14-15) and Christ is the firstborn Son (Romans 8:29). We are God’s adopted children, who will receive an inheritance (Romans 8:16-17).
This group is composed of all the saints of all the times, throughout the world (Hebrews 12:23). But the word "church" can be applied to an assembly of Christians in a given location (I Corinthians 1:2). The individual Christian is not a church. He is only a part of the church. The church itself is something different from the individual. This is seen in the difference in the way problems are handled. In Matthew 18:15-17, problems are first to be solved individually. If that doesn't succeed, then a small group of Christians is to try to resolve it. If that still doesn't work, then the problem is brought before the church. Thus, the church is neither an individual Christian nor a group of Christians. It is something different. The difference can also be seen in the handling of the needy (I Timothy 5:16). The church is also different from an individual's home (I Corinthians 11:22)
The church meets together on the first day of the week to partake of the Lord's Supper (Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 11:20,33). It comes together as a church (I Corinthians 11:18). And the church comes together to worship together (I Corinthians 14:23,26).
While the church is assembled on the first day of the week, a collection of funds is gathered (I Corinthians 16:1-2). Those funds are placed in a treasury until they are used to accomplish the duties of a church.
Being a member of a local church is seen in the Bible. "And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus" (Acts 9:26-27). The fact that Saul, who later changed his name to Paul, was not initially accepted shows that the church in Jerusalem had a recognized membership. In this particular case, they made the mistake of excluding someone who should not have been excluded, but Barnabas did correct the problem.
Saul's example shows that the concept of a long-term visitor is foreign to the idea of being a Christian. When one goes someplace, he joins himself to a local congregation to participate in the effort of the church. Joining isn't merely a matter of sitting in a pew during worship. As Saul demonstrates, joining is becoming involved in the work.
Churches are also to receive Christians who are in their area. "We therefore ought to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth" (III John 8). That is why Diotrephes was in the wrong. He prevents Christians from being a part of the local church where he was at.
Now, going back to the original question. The InterVarsity Christian Fellowship states in its literature that it is not a church. They don't meet on the first day of the week as the church is commanded. Yes, Christians can get together any day of the week and worship individually or as a group, but the church is commanded to gather on the first day of the week to worship, partake of the Lord's Supper, and collect funds. Nor is it organized as a church.
Churches have a specific organization of roles (Ephesians 4:11) focused on specific duties (Ephesians 4:12-16; 3:10). Every Christian is expected to become a part of a local work to lend his abilities to the effort.
When a Christian finds himself in an area without a local church, he sets about teaching his neighbors until there is a group of Christians that can band together and form a church. That is how the word of Christ has spread through the ages across the entire globe.
