.I've heard preachers say that we may have to start meeting in small groups, When persecution starts. REALLY??
I wonder if we really will do that. We say we'll meet in small groups, when persecuted, but maybe not. Why do I sound so pessimistic?
What happened to the Institutional Church--the church had been built around a building? The church that is identified by everyone-- the government-the locality-both friends and foes--with a building. I don't say that this is a grave sin that we need to deal with immediately if at all-- I don't know. This is like Jesus's Parable in Matthew 13-- the kingdom of heaven. to tear out the false seed--the Darnell seed--would bring drastic effects to the surrounding good seed. Sad to say, good Christians will judge me on how often I go into that building, or even my raising any issue on the matter. Good Christians will spend both blood and treasure to defend or maintain that building. No where in the Great Commission or even the Bible are we told to go out and start building buildings or focus our efforts(a lot of the Lord's money) on buildings . Constantine was the first one to start focusing on buildings, and that was in 300 AD.
It's instructive to look at the world and what's happening right now.
The church, under communism in the Soviet Union, had been originally been built up with the institutional Constantinian building ideas. Not surprislng, the totalitarian government recognised the the church-building-relationship, and their Church buildings were made into museums or taken over by the government for government functions. In some cases, the Christians were allowed to meet in the institutional Church Buildings, but they were controlled and used by the ruling government. They suffered greatly under persecution, and, with no buildings or institutions, consequently, the Christians were largely silenced, almost disappearing entirely. This persecution in the Soviet Union was not too different from than that suffered under the Roman Empire. The house churches under the Roman Empire grew Incredibly, spreading world wide. What is happening in Iraq right now? after paying taxes to Muslims for probably centuries, the Muslims have decided to apply more pressure to get rid of them. I don't mean to detract from the fact that they are suffering under this persecution, but it seems like the church's main concern is that they're losing their buildings. What are they doing? the institutional church has been in Iraq since the beginning, and now, they're moving out.
Again, I don't mean to lessen the fact that in both cases good Christian brothers are suffering, but compare the Institution church in Iraq to the house churches in communist China. The house churches in China are thriving! The good Christian Brothers in Iraq are moving their Christ witness out the country. But the good Christian Brothers in China are not only thriving and growing, but any moving that is happening is that they're moving as Christian missionaries.
In the New Testament, in Ephesus, Athens, all through Asia Minor, and the Mediterranean, we read in the New Testament about a thriving Church. From the New Testament and archaeology of that time, it is generally agreed now that they met in house churches. Later archaeology shows that they must have BUILT large Church buildings--after Constantine, but then the Muslims came. Now it's all Muslim country. All of Asia Minor, . there was thriving Christian churches, is now under Muslim domination-- very few if any Christian churches exist there now.
What happened to the Christian church in Asia Minor? Today the land is Turkey and it's all Muslims.
Why?
Obviously, the ruling government will have some rule, if not total domination, in its relationship with any Institution. Most certainly, this is true, especially true, with a ruling Muslim government. While the church did pretty well under a persecuting Roman government-- that is until Constantine, the Muslims cleared them out of Asia Minor. I don't believe that was because the Muslim.
. Constantine did much for the Christian church, perhaps too much. It's certainly true, Constantine did end a terrible persecution, but he started making an institution out of Christianity--'building Cathedrals and basilicas. I believe, that's when these large church regions begin building buildings--we know Constantine's government did. this was the most powerful person in the whole country, the mighty emperor of the Roman Empire, recognized by many as a God. How could anyone, let alone the church that has been persecuted-- which he had stopped, not receive the blessings of Constantine as if they were blessing from God. Stop and think about that situation, they must've loved their church buildings, as if they were the temples of God.
So what would we do under persecution?
I say this because that's the way the Church has been trained to do church. And that's been going on a long time. Since Constantine most have been thinking about the church as a building. After all, that's where the services are. .
CHURCH services mean that we are to come into the building, take a seat and be quiet and listen to a sermon--more often a lecture, until the appropriate time for singing--and now, at least, for me, it's listening to loud noisy drums.
Maybe I'm just showing my age-- I enjoy hymns-love bluegrass gospel, but today's music is mainly just noise for me.
At any rate, it's natural that we measure success of that church by the numbers of people that come to the building-- the services, of course, held in that building.especially designed to listen.
Even when we attempt to start our young Churches-a new church, we build a building, than we will measure our success of that church by how many is coming into the building, and are discouraged or even give up the church if that doesn't happen. That's the way I did it.
Now this is a matter of going along to get along. But we know that that's not really the Bible way. think about this, if you're not doing it in the good times, do we really think that we're going to meet in small HouseChurch
groups in persecution times? I wonder.
The local newspaper has printed things that have desperately needed answers in apologetics. I have yet to see any church elder get up and write anything, let alone do it with any real Bible knowledge.
por-yoo'-om-ahee