| I normally do not post here but I wanted you Xanga folk's oppinion.
I consider myself to be slightly to the left of center when it comes to politics and middle of the road when it comes to religion. Many religious things puzzle me. Recently we gathered with the saints to worship and study the Bible. The topic of study was differing the institutional and non-institutional churches of Christ, but mainly incidentals and gathering for the purpose of eating in the “Lord’s Property.” My question is, what is the “Lord’s Property?”
An incidental, he described as something that happens with out planning. The first example he used was if some of the saints gathered with the purpose of cleaning and repairing the “Lord’s Property” in a workday. “At noon,” he said, “surely we will hunger and one might say, ‘I am going to McDonald’s do y’all want anything?’” The main purpose for the gathering was for a workday and eating was incidental to the cleaning. A second example of an incidental is if a preacher came to the building to study and he brought his lunch in a brown bag. He came to the building with the purpose of studying and his hunger was incidental to his main objective.
I can see the reasoning to a certain extent. The teacher made the generalization, which I believe to be wrong, that all institutional churches invite the community to participate in these fellowship meals. Ephesians 5:11 tells us to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.” I agree we are not to invite the community of sinners, the unfruitful works of darkness to fellowship with the saints. Are we not to be “in the world but not of the world.” How can we fulfill the great commission if we cannot as much as have a common meal with those in the world. If it were a sin to have a common meal with in the “Property of the Lord” than the vary Son of God would have been in violation of the will of God. Wait, how can God in the flesh sin? How can Jesus violate the will of his father? (Mat 26:39, John 5:30) He can’t.
That brings me to my next question: what is the Lord’s Property? Lets review some scripture, shall we? I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King (Isa 43:15). For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (Rom 1:20). In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth (Gen 1:1). If God is the creator of the heavens and earth, is not everything in the heavens and earth the Lord’s Property? If God is the creator what are we? Borrowers? Tenants? How is a building where the saints meet any different than a house, a school, a field, or a river? My point is that it isn’t any different. No one is gathering on the First Day of the week to have a common meal together. We gather on the first day to break bread as the disciples in the first century did. As for a social get together in the building where the saints meet, it is just another building, yes, it is the Lord’s Property, but so is everything else. These arguments are nothing more than ludicrous. |
