Bumby Bible Questions 6

Introduction

Well, again, good morning. As you can see and already saw from the chairs up here and Mark’s announcement, this is our question and answer period. I’m a little bit confused, Greg. What when do we do this? Depends on who’s making announcements. Now it’s our goal to do this every fourth Sunday at the 9 a.m. service to kind of get with some regularity and a schedule there so that you can predict when it’s coming. But we may alter that schedule every once in a while just to keep you on your toes. Last Sunday was actually the fourth Sunday when we were supposed to do this. But Greg was gone. Greg, where were you? I was in Georgia. Georgia. Did you see somebody we knew? The devil went down to Georgia.

Oh, well. Bob and Arlene Harkwright over there, and it was a wonderful week to get to be with people I know many here know and love so well. It’s an awkward segue there. That’s right. Yeah, I’m sure you just had some good time with the Hark Riders and we hope you send our love to them. So but we appreciate the questions that you’ve been supplying. Please keep them coming. Sometimes with this, the initial excitement, you get a lot of questions, and then they kind of drop off a little bit. But if you have more questions you’d like for us to attempt to answer, uh, then by all means get those to us. We make simply one request that you put those in writing, whether that be on a piece of paper or an email.

And the only reason for that is is that Greg may forget. Uh if you don’t write them down for this, but we’d appreciate that. We appreciate the enthusiasm in which you’ve embraced this new format. And we appreciate the questions and your uh receiving of our answers. This shows your interest in the Word of God and your concern about spiritual things. It’s always encouraging to find out what you already know, and that is that you love the Word of God and you want to know more about it. And so we appreciate that. And please keep those questions coming. And we’ll do our best to address them on the fourth Sunday of each month. And our goal this morning, unlike last month, where we had one central theme was should a Christian drink alcohol, is we’re going to try to get through about three or four questions.

1. Should We Spend More Time in Prayer During Worship?

So we’ll see. Neither Ken nor I usually like to give up speaking that much to get through that many. But we’re going to try to get through three or four. One of those questions is should we be spending more time in prayer during worship? So we’re talking about should we be spending more time in prayer during our collective, what we might call bumby worship hours? Should we be spending more time in prayer than in now? And as you think about our prayer and worship right now, the first question is not what do we do. The first question would be, what should we be doing? And so, of course, we’d have to look into what does the Bible say about that. Suffice to say, because we know people here do love Bible reading, we’re not going to look at every one of the passages that the Bible has ever said about prayer or every prayer that somebody in the scriptures has ever said to God.

But suffice to say that there were public groupings of prayer, like we might think of collective Israel coming together to pray. And certainly Jesus many times warns about trying to pray publicly for kudos or for praise. He would say then, instead of praying publicly and sounding a trumpet like the Pharisees would do, to rather go, we might say, in a closet and pray privately to God. So we know there’s different types of prayer. There’s public prayer and private prayer. One particular instance, though, I would like to highlight for just a moment is in Acts 12. And if you look in verse 12, you see a mixture of the two. And you see in this kind of mixture, you have a private group. So there’s a sense in which it’s not entirely private.

It’s not just me in my closet, but it’s also not, you know, the South Bumby church gathering together on a Sunday morning to pray. What’s happened is Peter has been imprisoned. And so what you see in Acts 12 and verse 12 is that several people have gathered together to pray, to trust this deep issue that was bothering them to God who is in control of it all. And so I think what you see there is not only is there public and private prayer, there’s kind of this middle ground to prayer too. And so as we answer this question, we have to think first and foremost, if we’re talking about how much prayer are we doing in worship, should we be doing more? Should we be doing less?

The question is what type of prayer, and that would be public prayer, would be what’s under discussion for a public worship service. And as far as I know, no one would argue that we should eliminate prayer from our public services. And so let’s just examine the question at its face value. How often do we pray in our public services? If I did my math correctly in our Sunday morning services, we’ll have somewhere between seven and eight prayers this morning. We could have upwards to nine depending upon the circumstances, but usually we’ll have seven to eight public prayers led by the men of the congregation here. Again, I think we would argue that that’s a good thing. The question seems to imply: should we be doing more of that?

And I guess the question, I would answer that question twofold. Number one is that we have a limited amount of time in our worship period. The scriptures talk about Jesus praying, others praying all night long. Well, practically we don’t have that option in our public services. And so we’re somewhat limited by time. We have other elements of worship that must be included in those. And so those seven or eight times that we pray on a Sunday morning may feel like an appropriate amount of prayer to you. May feel like we need to do more. But the good option is that public prayer, and I want to make this point this morning, public prayer should never take the place of private prayer. Greg talked about the different instances of private and public prayer in the scriptures, both old and new testament.

It is heavily weighted on the side of private prayer. That should be the primary source, not to argue that we limit or eliminate public prayer, but the primary means of prayer is you going privately with your Father, pouring your heart out to him for as long as is needed. And so the question is no longer just about should we be praying? That’s very true, and we need that, and God wants us to avail ourselves of that wonderful option we have. But then what are some additional ways or settings or options in which we can pray more in a public arena or in a public setting? One such way that we have done in the past is prayer services. Certainly those are worthy of any Christian’s time.

Anyone seeking to know God better or to cast our anxieties upon Him would know that having a service dedicated to prayer is a fantastic use of time. Uh just like a song service is that Lord willing we’ll have next Sunday morning, a song service. Uh, we could have prayer services that have a central theme, or maybe even several themes, but we would get together publicly and have a service in prayer. I think I’ve uh defined prayer service about as much as you can. But as you think then about prayers in group meetings, we have at the Bumby Church, again, we’re thinking publicly, how can we pray? We do have our four groups. And there’s one says to which this might be a little closer to what I call the Acts 12-12 model.

We’re not quite privately, but we’re also not the complete body gathering. But I know you know, at least one group will get together and add names on a board of people who need prayer or just who would like the prayers of the saints in that group in that room on that day. And so we can pray in group meetings, not just on Sunday afternoons when we meet, but maybe when we meet on a Saturday night in a home or a Friday night in a home, or even sending out an email and praying together, set aside setting aside time. And by the way, there’s also time for prayer in Bible studies. Again, if you’re having a Bible study with somebody, that’s not quite private in your closet prayer, and it’s also certainly not collective Bumby prayer, to use the local church phrase again.

But we can set aside time with other Christians or with people seeking to know God better to pray. And there’s a sense in which that’s public, and depending on where you are and how you’re doing it, a sense in which that’s private. But suffice to say, one critical point. Prayer is important to every Christian’s life. And while the weight of Scripture is certainly on having a real relationship with God that manifests itself in that private prayer, even like Jesus, who would often pray deep into the night, we also have to be fellow Christians who say, we need to pray not only for the same things, but pray together for the same things. And so that’s why it’s so valuable to be praying in worship. And also something challenging for us to always examine while we may be saying seven, eight, or nine prayers, should we include maybe a tenth, or maybe allow for longer periods of prayer?

2. What Do People Mean by You’re Being Legalistic?

Or maybe on certain Sundays, allow for four or five prayers and more singing. As Christians, we come together to encourage one another and to trust and exalt God, and prayer is certainly one way to do that. And so to answer the question of should we spend more time in prayer and worship, there is a sense in which, yes, and a sense in which, as long as we are praying, we are doing what God wants to. Again, appreciate that question. It shows an interest in prayer that should be there. And I appreciate challenging us to think about more ways in which we can pray both privately and publicly. And let’s make sure that we’re thinking about those things. All right, question number two asks what do people mean when they say you’re being legalistic?

The follow-up question is are you really legalistic when you reject certain activities because you believe the Bible sets forth principles contrary to those practices? The idea of being legalistic or legalism, it’s a common charge made among some Christians, a common charge made, again, sometimes members of the church. And so let’s examine this. What does it mean when people say you’re being legalistic? Let’s just start with a definition. The word legalism, the dictionary definition means to believe in a and demand a strict literal adherence to rules and regulations. Now that’s the dictionary definition of legalism. To believe in and demand a strict adherence to rules and regulations. Now, that word, when it’s used in a negative or an accusatory way of somebody being legalistic, to my knowledge, I’ve never known of anybody using that in a complimentary way, but using it in a negative way, it usually carries with it the idea of you think you can be saved by a keeping of the law.

That’s all you care about is strictly keeping the rules. There’s no emotion involved in that. There’s no allowance for grace or mercy in that. You’re just a stickler for the rules. That’s the way the term is normally used when it’s applied to somebody being legalistic. But if we really look at the concept of legalism, its dictionary definition, balanced against the way it’s sometimes used in our common vernacular, we have to ask the question is it a good thing or a bad thing? To believe in and demand a strict literal adherence to biblical rules and regulations. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? So, of course, we have to not only break down what does it mean, but separate that definition from the connotation. The definition is strict adherence to law.

The connotation, as used in 2018 and previous years, is a negative thing. You think you can be saved by doing enough good things or doing the law well enough. And so we’re going to answer the question on the one hand, the way it’s usually intended, and perhaps on the other hand, the way it is actually truly defined. And so I’m taking the connotative use, the idea that you would be trying to earn your own salvation. And that from a biblical perspective is clearly a bad thing. We’re not going to look at all these, but suffice to look at with me, Ephesians chapter 2. And Ephesians chapter 2, much has been preached about this. And as you think about grace and the need for grace, we have to insert grace into any discussion about legalism with the connotation that if you do good enough, you can be saved.

That’s certainly not a biblical concept. Now, on the other hand, a misuse of Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 saying all you need is grace, you don’t have to do anything, is also not a biblical concept. So we have to figure out what do we do with a passage like Ephesians chapter 2, all the while knowing we do need to keep the will of God. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8, for by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not your own doing, is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Now, certainly, verse 10 is important, for we are as workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good work. So you see kind of all of the above in this one passage.

We are created for good works. Well, who defines what good works are? God does. That’s why often when the subject comes up, can a good person be saved without following all of God’s will? The answer is no, because nobody is good without God who determines what good is. So in terms of legalism, it can be bad if I think I can do something well enough to where I deserve it or earn it. And Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8 says, we’ve been saved by grace through faith, not as a result of my own doing. We can’t make God give us grace. God has lovingly offered it to those who meet certain circumstances or qualifications, those who trust in Him, those who will rely upon Him. And of course, those words could be further defined if we had more time.

But suffice to say, if you think and if I think that I can go out and do enough percentage of God’s will to be saved, I keep 99% of it, yeah, I mess up once or twice, but I get 98 to 99% of it, I can be saved. That not only is wrong, it certainly destroys the power of Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8, and the love that God shows us in offering us both grace and mercy. And that’s certain something that Paul did not shy away from, whether it’s Galatians 2, Romans 6, or here in Ephesians chapter 2. He constantly emphasized, we as Christians are such because of grace. Because God has offered it, and we have taken him, taken him up on his open hand, offering grace to those who would come up and trust in him for it.

So the term as it’s commonly used as an insult or as a negative does not match up with the scriptures. Being legalistic in the sense that you think you can earn your salvation, and that’s all that matters. No love, no grace, no mercy. But if we go back to the dictionary definition of legalism, I think it can be a good thing. A strict adherence to the rules and regulations. And of course, in this context, we’re talking about the scriptures. There’s passages of scripture, we won’t turn to these first two, but in Acts 2, verse 42, we turn to Acts 2, that day of Pentecost, many times, to see what we need to do in order to be saved and the unveiling of that gospel message for the first time.

Well, there in verse 42 it says, of those disciples who had obeyed the gospel, it says, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine. You could almost say that’s the definition of legalism, couldn’t you? They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine. They followed what the apostles said. Now, this wasn’t in the question, but I’ll throw in for free that this shows that the apostles’ teaching carries as much weight as the teachings of Jesus. Because it really is the teachings of Jesus. And so they continued steadfastly. Paul told the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 9, that he wanted them to be obedient in all things. You see, those passages read almost like the dictionary definition of the idea of legalism. Strict adherence to the word of God.

Now that’s not to say, as Greg pointed out, that we’ve earned our salvation in any way. We might use the example of baptism. Is an insistence that someone be baptized for the remission of their sins in order to receive salvation? Is that legalistic? Is it legalistic in the negative way? Is that saying that I do this one act and I have earned my salvation? That I’ve discarded the grace and the mercy of God, and I’m now being saved by works. Well, any true reading of the scriptures about baptism would show us that baptism is not some using it in negative way, legalistic demand for works-based salvation. But baptism and submitting to the command of baptism is a submission to the will of God. That’s not me saying, God, I’ve done this, you owe me salvation.

That’s me humbly submitting to God’s revealed will. One passage I do want us to turn to is in Matthew chapter 23, because I think it illustrates perfectly both sides of this issue. Matthew chapter 23, Jesus was condemning the Pharisees. And if there was a group of people that we could say were being legalistic in its most negative way, it was the Pharisees. But notice what he says in this condemnation, Matthew 23, verse 23, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For you pay tithe of mint, anis, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law. Justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone. You see, Jesus’ condemnation of them in the most negative way, you’re being legalistic.

You’re tithing even these spices, but you’re not doing these more important things. Faith, mercy, justice. And Jesus says, you ought to have done these things. Don’t neglect the emotion. Don’t neglect the grace and the mercy of God, but don’t leave these other things undone as well. And so can you have a strict adherence to the rules and regulations of the scriptures and still be saved by the mercy and the grace of God? Still have love in your heart for God and your fellow man. That’s exactly what Jesus was challenging the Pharisees to do. And so let’s make sure that we’re careful to be obedient in all things, that we continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, while all along praising God for his grace and mercy, without which we couldn’t be saved.

3. Is Missing Assemblies a Violation of Hebrews 10:25?

So hopefully that helps kind of idea of the way the world might use the term legalistic and the way the word is really to be used in our adherence to the will and the word of God. Makes me think of Jesus saying, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. He certainly understood the weight of his sacrifice, but the need to trust in him in love. Exactly. As we think about our next question, then, what do we do as somebody who has trusted in the grace of God, who is trying to obey God, if forsake, the word forsake means to totally abandon, then is it possible for a person to miss a handful or even one assembly and be in violation of Hebrews 10, verse 25.

Certainly we should read Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 25 here. If we turn to Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 25, perhaps you already know what it is based upon the question. But not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Of course, the English Standard Version says not neglecting to meet together. That’s another way of translating the phrase, forsaking. So not neglecting to meet together or forsaking. That becomes one of the important points right off the bat. And if we look at that word, the new King James has the word forsaking the assembling. It is true that, again, the dictionary definition of that word forsake means to leave behind, to desert, to forsake, or to leave.

And so in this context, it does seem that some of those Jewish brethren, in leaving the faith of Jesus Christ, going back into Judaism, had abandoned and maybe totally abandoned the assembling of the saints on the first day of the week. And the Hebrew writer is telling them that is wrong. To abandon Christ, which was really the whole context of the book of Hebrews, including to abandon these assembling together, was wrong. And absolutely jeopardizing their faith. And so if the idea of forsake means to totally abandon, then the question says, well, what about just missing? Missing occasionally, missing frequently, infrequently. What do we do with that in the light of Hebrews 25? But also, I would say, in the light of other scriptures, what do we do with that idea of just missing the services instead of totally abandoning?

And one other definition of missing the services is a choice to make, to miss a service or to miss a handful of assemblies. Not you’re sick, not you’re in the hospital, but you’re just choosing. I’d rather watch a replay of Florida winning against Mississippi State, rather than going in and worshiping. We’ve got to celebrate it when we do. So this is a willful choice we’re talking about in missing the services, not somebody who can’t help it. So the question then is what do we decide the issue truly is? And if somebody chooses to miss a meeting together with the saints for the purpose of some sort of worldly or selfish goal, then what type of issue is that? Is that just an assembly problem? Well, no, it would be a heart problem of the individual.

In fact, if you look at one verse previous in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 24, what does he say, let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works? So there’s a proactive role and mission that I have and that we all share as individual Christians, that we not only not abandon totally, but that we say, this is an opportunity when I meet together with any Christian, that I encourage you and that you encourage me because we need that so we don’t truly forsake the Lord. So we don’t totally abandon. And so the issue then is if somebody is missing, why? Well, it would be a heart problem. It would be a weighing of the priorities where they chose something over God andor God’s people.

And that’s really going to change the tenor of the conversation if you understand this is a heart problem rather than just some sort of church ruling with an iron fist issue. If we talk about this issue, we really can, I think, categorize missing the assemblies and in maybe two or three categories. There is this idea of just total abandonment, of just leaving and never coming back. Now that may have been the issue in Hebrews 10, verse 25. That may have been what he was talking about. But even if that’s all that’s being talked about in Hebrews 10, verse 25, it would be a great and dangerous leap to say, okay, then I can just miss some. By choice, and that’s okay. We might illustrate it this way.

Imagine you hired onto a new job, and not that you would ever do this, but in the job interview, you ask your prospective employer, now, if I get this job, do I have to show up for work? Or can I just stay at home all the time? And they said, no, you can’t just stay at home all the time. You have to show up for work. Now, would you draw the conclusion from that? Oh, then it’s okay for me to miss once a week, twice a week. No, you wouldn’t draw that ridiculous conclusion. If you did, you wouldn’t have that job very long. Because that employer expects you to be there. There may be, as Greg said, occasions where jury duty, sickness, or whatever that you can’t go to work.

But the idea of desiring to miss is really the source of the issue. There’s another second category of what I’ve kind of called partial neglect. This is not just missing occasionally. This is someone who maybe misses more than they come. That they may come regularly for a month, and that they’re out for a month or two, then they come back for a month, and they’re out for a month or two, or they’re maybe here for one service a month, and that’s it. That’s kind of in that second realm of almost total abandonment, but not really. And as Greg said, that really I think speaks to a heart issue. If these are choices that are being made, if we’re asking what’s the least I can do and please my Savior, I think we need it’s time for us to stop and examine our heart.

Is that the heart of the servant of God? When Jesus said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Am I doing that if I’m partially neglecting the worship services of the church? There can be an attitude of kind of taking every assembly, every opportunity that the Christians come together to take that lightly or even for granted. Let me illustrate that in one way and then make a second point off of that. If we all knew and believed, because believing even basic facts is becoming a problem in our world, but if we knew Jesus was coming tomorrow morning, how many people do you think would be at every church building that is opened? Pretty much every seat would be full standing room only.

Can you imagine if you knew Jesus was coming in one month? Do you think you would make every opportunity to be here? Every opportunity to reach out all the more to fellow Christians trying to stir one another up to love and good works? And by the way, trying to be encouraged yourself also by those who are looking to stir someone else up to love and good works. If we don’t have that mindset, first of all, that Jesus can it can and is going to come again at any time, which is a biblical concept, and we’re also not moved by what we previously talked about, that we are saved by the grace of God, which was a gift from him, yes, that we need to obey and lovingly obey Jesus with.

But if he really saved us, don’t we owe him our everything? Don’t we owe him our all? Why would I look at Jesus who died for me and say, as a matter of convenience, I don’t want to be here to not only worship you, but to encourage others to as well. I think we need to take seriously not only how we need what God set up for us, that we need this encouragement, we need this recharging of our battery, we need to stop and praise Him, but also the fact that other people need that too. And if we’re not thinking about it, it’s time to start. And if we’re not thinking about it and we’re not starting to, that means we’re taking this opportunity that God has blessed us with lightly, to say the least.

Imagine if this one meeting might make the difference in your soul or somebody else’s soul, recognizing what it means to follow God. Wouldn’t that make it worth it? And let me leave one thought with this idea of taking it lightly. If if we can’t choose to be here at every service to worship God now, what do we think we’re going to do in eternity when we’ll spend literally every amount of time for the rest of all existence worshiping God? If we truly have the right priorities, if we’re not taking it lightly, if we do have the right heart, we’re going to come together to worship God, recognizing He deserves it. And I owe him that. And that’s nothing to take lightly. And by the way, we can apply these attitudes, attitudes of the heart, to a lot of subjects rather than just attendance at the assemblies.

Conclusion

We can apply this to Bible study. We can apply it to personal evangelism and the other subject we talked about this morning, prayer. That really is a source of an indication of a heart problem. Where am I putting my priorities? Am I doing these things never? Am I doing these things occasionally? Or do they obviously take a place of priority in my life? Assembling with the saints, studying the Word of God, praying to God, sharing the scriptures and the gospel with others who need to be saved. It’s not a matter of saying, what’s the least I can do, but what can I do to truly love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, and mind. Appreciate these questions and you giving thought to these spiritual matters and to the word of God.

You’ve encouraged us. I hope we’ve answered your questions. And please keep those questions coming. And we’ll be back next month, fourth Sunday of next month in the 9 o’clock hour. Before we dismiss to our Bible classes, Greg, would you lead us in a word of prayer? Let’s pray. Our dear God and most gracious and loving Heavenly Father, we’re so thankful to you for blessing us with this opportunity to come together as fellow Christians to worship you, to look and consider how we can stir one another up to both love and good works, and that we can be an encouragement to one another as we know the day is drawing near in which Jesus will come again and we will be with you forever. Thank you for giving us your word that we can search it and not only learn how to be comforted in times of difficulty and grief, but that we can examine and truly understand what you want for us, how to live our life, and that you are a God who has made it all possible for us to be forgiven of our sin, that if we’ll turn from our selfish ways and turn to your ways of self-denial, that there is true peace, true joy, and everlasting salvation with you.

Thank you for being our God. Be with all of those who are sick, be with all of those who are needing your healing hand and your emotional comfort at this time. Bless us all. Thank you for our family, thank you for our friends. It’s in your Son’s name we pray. Amen.