“Church Structure”
A church that focuses on and
administers sound teaching is a structurally sound church. Some of the requirements that God has for His
people to follow do not come with specific instructions on how to implement
them. In these cases, we have a certain
level of liberality in how we choose to carry out these requirements. Unfortunately, many will disagree with the
method that others may use to apply God’s directives.
One command that some differ on is the instruction that believers should meet together.
Some people believe in lengthy church services while others are more
comfortable with time regulated services.
Hebrews 10:25 encourages us to be sure that we assemble ourselves together
so that we may worship together and fulfill God’s purpose in our lives. But, we are not given instructions in regard
to how LONG we should meet. This means
that the length of a church service is to be determined by the leadership at
that location without the influence of anyone OUTSIDE of that assembly.
Another area of dispute is in regard
to the appropriate apparel to be worn for church attendance. Two scriptures that address the appropriate
attire for us to wear are: Deuteronomy 22:5, which instructs us that men are
not permitted to wear women’s clothes and women are not allowed to wear men’s
clothes, and 1 Timothy 2:9, which acknowledges that clothes should be worn in
moderation. The Bible does not determine
that it is essential to wear suits nor does it mention that we are restricted from wearing
jeans. Moderation does mean, however,
that it is inappropriate to expose the parts of your body that were meant to be
covered. It also means that wearing
clothes with profanity etched on them, clothes that promote the use of drugs,
or clothes with explicit messages are inappropriate to wear.
In conclusion, some of the battles
that we fight can and should be avoided.
Galatians 5:15 warns that if we bite and devour one another, we will be
consumed by one another.
Colossians 2:16-19
16 Therefore, no one is to act as
your judge in regard to food and drink, or in respect to
a festival or a new moon, or a Sabbath day— 17 things which are only a shadow of what is to
come; but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Take care that no one keeps defrauding you of your
prize by delighting in humility and the worship of the angels, taking
his stand on visions he
has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding firmly
to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held
together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is
from God.
