Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” (John 5:9-17 ESV)
Jesus had just healed a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years, but it was on the Sabbath day, and the Jews did not like it that Jesus healed people on the Sabbath. But in Jesus’ ministry he made it quite clear that the purpose of the Sabbath (under the Old Covenant) was for people to have a day of rest from their labors, not to overly burden them with strict rules which would keep them from showing love and mercy to people. And Jesus said, in one instance, that he was Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28).
Now, under the New Covenant God has with his people Israel, i.e. all who believe in Jesus Christ with God-given faith in him, we are not under the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, and dietary laws and restrictions that the Jews of old were required to obey, which included the requirement of circumcision. So we are not under the Jewish Sabbath regulations, either. But we are not free from the law because we are under grace. We still have to obey the New Covenant commands of God.
And under the New Covenant, the Christians met daily in the temple courts and from house to house, not in temples made by human hands, and not only one day a week. And the purpose of their gatherings was so that the Christians could encourage one another in their walks of faith and obedience to the Lord, to help one another to grow to maturity in Christ, to not be deceived by false doctrines, and to not give way to the deceitfulness of sin. And every person was to participate in this exhortation of one another.
[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]
Yet today many people have this wrong concept of “church” and the purpose of “the church” and they have turned the gatherings of the church into businesses being marketed to the world just like other businesses. And so they aim to attract the world to their gatherings by entertaining them and by diluting and altering the character of God/Christ, of his church, and of his gospel message. And the gatherings have been largely turned into theatre productions with an audience of spectators, not full participants.
But the Scriptures teach us that we are not to turn the house of God (which is the people of God, not buildings, not denominations, not corporations) into businesses (marketplaces). And we are not to partner with the world and with the ungodly. We are not to be in fellowship with the world. But we are to come out from the midst of these market-driven “churches” (businesses) and God will welcome us and will be a Father to us and we will be his sons and daughters. We are to come out of “Babylon,” not take part in her sins.
[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]
But many “church” people will pull Hebrews 10:25 out of context and they will try to pressure all who believe in Jesus that they must attend the weekly gatherings of these “institutional churches” which are being marketed to the world and which are being run like businesses and which are more like going to a theatre to watch a show, and then going home and leaving “the church” until the next week’s gathering. And it matters not to them if you are serving the Lord in ministry if you are not “in church” (institutional) once a week.
But “the church” is not a building you go to once a week to sit as a spectator and to watch the show. The church is all who believe in Jesus Christ, and the purpose of our gatherings is so that all of us can participate in the encouragement and strengthening and maturity of the body of believers in Christ Jesus, so that we can all draw closer to our Lord in walks of surrender and in obedience to him, and so that we are not led astray by sin’s deceitfulness. All of us are to be the Lord’s ministers to the body of Christ.
But… you can be gathering together with the body of believers in Jesus Christ, and you can be operating as the biblical body of Christ, and you can be in full-time ministry in exhorting and encouraging the body of Christ, and be in daily fellowship with the Lord and with other Christians, helping one another to walk worthy of the Lord in walks of obedience and in submission to his will, but if you don’t attend one of these “institutional market-driven churches,” then you are regarded as not being “in church.”
Do you see the hypocrisy in all of that? The Lord called me out of the institutional market-driven Babylonian “church” of today, and he sent me to the internet where he is using me full-time to minister to Christians and to share the message of the gospel of Christ with the people of the world. But what most “Christians” are concerned about is that I am not “in church,” i.e. in attendance at one of these “institutional market-driven Babylonian churches,” which are not the biblical body of Christ operating as his body.
And this parallels what Jesus went through when he was healing people on the Sabbath and the Jews criticized him because he was doing this work on “the Sabbath.” They didn’t care that he had just healed a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. All they cared about was that he was not keeping the Sabbath according to their traditions. And so many “Christians” could care less that the Lord is using me to reach thousands of people with the gospel across the world, because I am not in one of their gatherings.
So then Christianity becomes about legalism and following man-made rules which have nothing to do with Jesus Christ and true worship of him as Lord and Savior. For those who are true worshipers of Jesus Christ will rejoice over people being healed, and people being reached with the truth of God’s holy word across the globe, and the body of Christ gathering together and actually encouraging each other in the Lord and ministering to one another as they ought rather than just sitting as spectators at a performance.
Songs in the Night
An Original Work / December 18, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84
Lord, I praise You forevermore.
You, my Savior, I now adore.
Hope in heaven awaiting me,
Because You died at Calvary.
I have been forgiven,
And I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus set me free from
All my sin, I say.
I will praise Him always!
Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:
Overcame death, my vict’ry won!
Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!
I rejoice in His love for me.
I will walk in vict’ry!
My sin is but hist’ry!
I am free to please Him
With my life today.
I will love Him always!
Lord, I thank You for giving me
A new life bought at Calvary.
Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.
Tender mercies now flow within.
Lord, I am so thankful;
Through my Lord, I’m able
To sit at His table;
Fellowship with Him.
I will thank Him always!
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Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake
An Original Work / January 29, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
www.foxnews.com
Reminds me of a Norm MacDonald joke where he mentions teaching at the "University of Science". 
