Another theologically blind post from Dan regarding John MacArthur, and by generalization, the whole construct of “church attendance” on meeting together for instruction, fellowship, and accountability. Why bother. Below is my response.
When I was first saved (4/15/89), I resisted going to church. My wife, kids, and I sat in front of a TV and watched John MacArthur or others we trusted. However, I found 1 Cor. 12:12-31 to be in play. It uses the illustration of the church as a human body, made up of hands, ears, eyes, etc. each with a different function. Similarly, we, as believers are each given unique gifts (1 Peter 4:10), for the common good of all (1 Cor. 12:7). Christians need to function as one body, in Christ. I could not do that from my sofa watching TV on Sunday mornings. I did not have enough body parts. The result was that our family suffered from a lack of spiritual growth. The Bible is full of Scripture on the importance of Fellowship (1 Thes. 5:11, Hebrews 10:25). Meeting as a group of Biblical Christians strengthens accountability and encouragement (Ecc. 4:9-12, Proverbs 27:17, Gal. 6:2, Heb. 13:17). The Bible is clear, meeting together is an important part of worshiping the Lord (1 John 1:7, Matt. 18:20, Acts 2:42, Psalm 22:22).
There is no quesiton that we needed to accept Zoom as an alternative to physical church attendance during COVID. And for those who continue to feel uncomfortable, its understandable that online services be made available. However, to say that Zoom is a long term alternative to past practices of being “present” in church ignores the value of fellowship and weakens our theological underpinnings over time.
Jeff Hilles | BCWorldview.org
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