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NASB | Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as My followers], I am there among them." [Ex 3:14] |
Bible Question: What do Christian people gain from attending and participating in public worship? |
Bible Answer: Hi, moyekoli... The following quote expands on Sister Azure's answer to you. I hope you find it helpful: "By the Gospel of God's grace we can obey the Scriptures. With a strong emphasis upon the need to personally obey the Bible, we need to add a balancing feature to this truth by stating that there are some things in the Bible that cannot be obeyed individually. What I mean by this is that 'it takes a community' to properly obey some things in Scripture. An example of this would be obedience to the ordinances of the church -- baptism and the Lord's Supper. Dr. Donald Whitney writes in his book, Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church, 'A Christian ordinance is a ceremony that the Lord Jesus Christ has commanded to be permanently practiced by the church. Additionally, ordinances are ceremonies given by Christ to the church, and not to individual Christians.' Whitney further adds, 'For people who claim to be Christians, attending the worship of God with the people of God should always be a priority' (Hebrews 10:25). But knowing that one of the ordinances of the church will be observed should only add to your determination to be there. Whitney then quotes Dr. John MacArthur who stoutly states, 'I believe so strongly in a Christian's obedience to those two practices that I think a Christian should question his own commitment to Christ if he does not observe them.' Why would these two men of God frame the issue of observing the ordinances of the church so forcefully? Let me give you a brief explanation of why you and I need to observe the Lord's Supper. "From the passage given above, we need to realize that the Lord's Supper is more than an act of remembering the Lord's death -- it is that, but it is more. Literally, Paul is telling us that we fellowship with Christ through the Lord's Supper. The word 'participation' means fellowship. When we come before the Lord's Table, we have a degree of intimate fellowship with the presence of the Lord that is not described as available to us anywhere else this side of eternity. Prayer and the Word of God, either personally read or publicly proclaimed, while all essential, nevertheless cannot be substituted as a means of bringing us into the Lord's presence in the same way that is done through the Lord's Supper. Our souls are nourished with a sense of the spiritual presence of Christ. Puritan Pastor, Thomas Boston, said, 'Ordinances are the presence of heaven on earth. Christ delights to be there with His people.' Why attend the ordinance of the Lord's Supper? Who would want to ditch the Lord when He says that He will be present?" --Joseph Braden In Him, Doc |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Matt 18:20 | Author | ||
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Mommapbs | ||
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wasted | ||
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SouthernStormMom | ||
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mamasonthree | ||
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mamasonthree | ||
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foxy_2914803 | ||
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moyekoli | ||
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azurelaw | ||
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DocTrinsograce |