The house church: being the church as it was meant to be

Documentation Published on Thursday, 09 April 2021

The house church: Being the church as it was meant to be

The events of the past few months have shown just malicious the world, and its skewed thinking, has become. While the COVID-19 problem is real, the response of those in power worldwide has been unreal and one-sided. Here are some examples:

Churches across America have been closed or have been threatened with closure, the latest being in Edmonton, Canada (Snowdon, 2021), with the excuse that they do not adhere to social distancing.
At the same time uncontrolled, demonically inspired masses (BLM and Antifa) are allowed to roam the streets, pillage and cause chaos wherever they go (Human Events Staff, 2020). Police are quick to step in, armed to the teeth, to prevent unarmed Christians from attending peaceful worship. Why? Because they could be “spreading the virus”. However, it appears that the rioting mobs across America cannot transmit the same virus to anyone else.
The governor of the state of New York is seen on the street without a mask (Bleau, 2020), but ordinary folk cannot attend a family restaurant.

Application of the law applies only in the way that it suits the current leftist agenda. It seems more and more evident from the actions of world leaders: The law applies to thee but not to me.

In all of this, no matter how bad it seems to look for the Church, there are some big lessons be learnt. First, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are hated and you are a target:

⁹Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. ¹¹And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. ¹²And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. ¹³But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. – Matthew 24:9-13

¹⁸If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. – John 15:18-19

What do we learn from this?

The world is not your friend if you are a born-again believer in the saving grace of the blood of Jesus Christ. The world will hate you. If it does not, there is something wrong with your salvation and the way you live out your Christian life! Jesus makes it clear that the world hated Him first.
Because you are not “of the world”, in other words upholding the lost standards of the world and secular society, the world does not love you because you are not “his own”. If you were, then they would not have a problem with you.
Finally, and this is your saving grace, Jesus has chosen YOU out of the world, and in the same way He will remove you from the world and the coming tribulation. You are “His own”. Contrast “His own” here to “his own” in point two.

What does all of this have to do with the title “The House Church: Being the Church as it was meant to be”? I am of the opinion that through many years the church has simply become too institutionalised. We are in awe of the big buildings, wowed by pastors with great oratory skills, and comforted by being in the masses, when this is exactly what the original church was not like. What was the first century church like then? The book of Acts teaches us a lot:

The pouring out of the Holy Spirit took place in a private home and thus set up the model for the church (Acts 2:2).
The first Christians met in private homes (Acts 2:46; 5:46).
They ate together (Acts 2:46).
They shared many things (Acts 2:45).
They held communion (Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 11:24).
They cared for one another (Acts 2:44,46).
They heard the Word (teaching them doctrine according to Matthew 28:20) preached and taught from up close (Acts 20:8,9).
They contributed towards one another’s needs (1 Corinthians 14:26).
They grew in numbers (Acts 2:47). Persecution allowed the church then, and still today, to blossom instead of being suppressed and die. Excellent examples are those of China and Iran. The more governments try to squash the church and uphold communism and atheism (China) and Islam (Iran), the more the church grows.
They were not bothered with things such as the maintenance of big buildings, toddler rooms, Sunday school classes, parking spaces, security, kitchens, tables and chairs, who sat where, galleries, books, organising communion to suit “modern tastes”, sound stages and mixing consoles. All of this is at best not even close to being secondary to the teaching of sound doctrine. (There is no scripture reference for this point as it was never God’s plan for the church. If it was, He would have given instructions as how to manage this. Today’s “church management” is the idea of (hu)man(ism) [man-made religion], not that of God.)

People can be controlled by the authorities when they are in public spaces such as churches and halls, but not when they meet privately. Thus, a home is perfect for spreading the gospel despite us seeing it as an isolated entity. Instead of finding reasons to complain about what is going to happen to the church in the last days when we cannot worship together in large groups, consider that this was never the intention. Nothing beats close up and personal teaching in small groups. We should be glad that large churches are being closed. It proves the power of the gospel:

¹⁶For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. – Romans 1:16

The devil actively works to stop the spreading of the power of the gospel of salvation. As long as he tries to stop it, the church will grow. We should be concerned when there is no persecution or stopping of the spread of this same gospel.

This event is necessary to separate out those who are genuinely interested in continuing to be the church, and those who have always just pretended. The first group will prosper. The second group will be lost forever.

Conclusion

Return to the original concept of “church” – in small groups, in homes where there is doctrinal teaching. The question is this: Has your pastor prepared your church to follow God's origonal plan, by changing to house meetings?

Bibliography

Bleau, H., 2020. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Spotted Without a Mask. [Online]
Available at: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/09/01/new-york-gov-andrew-cuomo-spotted-without-mask/
[Accessed 9 April 2021].

Human Events Staff, 2020. Insurrection Efforts in Portland and Seattle Rage On...Without Democrat Outrage. [Online]
Available at: https://humanevents.com/2021/01/26/insurrection-efforts-in-portland-and-seattle-rage-on-without-democrat-outrage/
[Accessed 9 April 2021].

Snowdon, W., 2021. 'Physically closed': Alberta health officials shut down GraceLife Church west of Edmonton. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/gracelife-church-edmonton-covid-1.5977931
[Accessed 9 April 2021].

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