God required the ancient Israelites, and later the first-century Christians, to congregate for worship. (Leviticus 23:2, 4; Hebrews 10:24, 25) Those occasions for organized worship included singing, readings from the Scriptures, and public prayer. (Nehemiah 8:1-8; Colossians 3:16) The Scriptures also prescribed that a qualified body of men lead the congregation in worship.—1 Timothy 3:1-10.
Based on these Scriptural patterns, it is reasonable to conclude that today, too, God would expect his friends to worship him in an organized fashion. And there are benefits from worshipping God as part of a congregation.
For instance, the Scriptures liken the genuine worshipper to one who is traveling over a cramped road; and in another instance, to a runner in a race. (Matthew 7:14; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27) When running a long, hard race over difficult terrain, a runner may easily tire out and eventually give out. However, a runner can often push himself beyond his personal threshold if he has encouragement from others. Likewise, a spiritually-minded person can successfully maintain his relationship with God despite adversities if he has encouragement from other worshippers.
This explains the words at Hebrews 10:24, 25, where the Bible says: “Let us consider one another to incite to love and fine works, not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together.” In fact, the Scriptures state that true worshippers would render worship as brothers and sisters, united as a figurative body.
The Bible describes that body, or congregation, as being united by a bond of love and peace. For instance, Ephesians 4:2, 3 admonishes true worshippers to act “with complete lowliness of mind and mildness, with long-suffering, putting up with one another in love, earnestly endeavoring to observe the oneness of the spirit in the uniting bond of peace.” How could you comply with this admonition if your worship were independent and detached from other worshippers?
It is God’s will that instead of being a loose association of spiritually-minded individuals, true worshippers merge into a tight community of faith. The Bible exhorts worshippers to speak in agreement, to avoid divisions, and to be “fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought.” (1 Corinthians 1:10) Those words would make little sense if God wanted people to worship him only as individuals apart from one another.
Clearly, evidence from the Bible points to an organized form of worship as the kind that is acceptable to God. And the organized religion that the Scriptures describe, the one that God sponsors, can give you the support you require to be successful in satisfying your spiritual needs.—Matthew 5:3.
Originally posted by robbie carrobieGood stuff Robbie.
God required the ancient Israelites, and later the first-century Christians, to congregate for worship. (Leviticus 23:2, 4; Hebrews 10:24, 25) Those occasions for organized worship included singing, readings from the Scriptures, and public prayer. (Nehemiah 8:1-8; Colossians 3:16) The Scriptures also prescribed that a qualified body of men lead the c ...[text shortened]... ve you the support you require to be successful in satisfying your spiritual needs.—Matthew 5:3.
Also the scriptures tell us to "not forsake the gathering of ourselves as most have the custom to do".
This has two points to it. First this is God telling us what to do and this is for our spiritual benifit. We need to be where we can be taught the Bible and even the more so as the "light get's brighter and brighter" with new knowledge of what God is doing and enlightening us with these new things.
Secondly this scripture tells us it is the "custom" is that most will be doing spiritually and that is not doing much. The Bible says that many will "become lovers of pleasures rather then lovers of God".
A Christian cannot ignor these scriptures and it cleary shows an organised effort has to be in affect for these scriptures to apply.
bump for divesgeester
you state that it is not a requirement that one belongs to a religious organisation, you will now state how the following are possible,
1. How is it possible to incite others to love and fine works if you are detached and independent of others (Hebrews 10:24, 25)
2. How could you comply with this admonition (Ephesians 4:2,3) if your worship were independent and detached from other worshippers?
3. How could you comply with the admonition at (1 Corinthians 1:10) if God wanted people to worship him only as individuals apart from one another.
oh dear can divegeester not bring himself to answer some simple questions, ironic really considering his insistence that others do so when he asks them, never the less the thread remains as a testimony to his error and will be produced every time that he makes the false assertion that one does not need to belong to an organisation.
