. .. 6. . The "poor" .

and
needy ones" do not have a sOciologiCal
meaning. They refer to the godly persrin
who is poor in .the sense that he is the
client of Jehovah, dependerlt on .the
Lord for the support of his life. In the
face of persecution, it is not wealth buf
spiritual strength that a person needs.
The "wor" receive that sQ"ength from
God, who delivers them from their ad-
versaries, Psa. 22:24f; 35:9f; 35:27f;
l40:12f,
C. (20:14-lS) Tiffi cRIES OF
DESPAIR
1. At this point Jeremiah
"plumbed the depths of bitterness and
despair, revealing a depth of misery and
agony surpassing any oUter cry of an-
guish recorded among his
tions." -Thompson
2: Who cao understand the bu-
. man heart? Only God! "From the sum-
mit of joyous. trilst that heart plunges .
suddenly, unexplainably,
into the 9eepest abyss of black despair."
Laefsch,
3. With this despondent cry the
chapter ends. "While the prophet's wail
of bitter disappointment and dissatisfac-
tion with God and his dreadful curse
. s.till rings. in ears, he drops the cur-
tain. He has given us not merely a brief
glimpse, but , a long look; . into
depths of deceitfulness aild wickedness
and rebellion, of depravity of the human
heart. "-Thompson
4. the Lord, llowever, did notre-
ject his seiTant, Jeremiah. ,;Nowhere in
tlle life of Jeremiah does the grace and
long-suffering of God. with his erring
. children appear in fuller measure and in .
. a more gloriops light than here. And
there . are few passages in the Bible
. where . the . contrast between the be:-
sinfulness and GOd's magnani-
J.OO.US, magnificent grace is brought out
. in sharper lines than here. And in re-
oording 'ihese facts Jeremiah again
shows his masterful pen, his powerful
. sk.ill in. using every means at his com-
mand to magnify the grace of his Loi'd
.the God of the Covenant" -
Thoffipson
D. APPLICATIONS:
1. Until the idolatry, apostasy,
and.adultery of America, and the
tion the judgment of God Will bring on
us, break our hearts and drive us to Ccxi
and to the spreading of his word, as it,
did i'!l Jeremiah's life, we can expect rio
revivw and reformation in our l,and.
Jei'emiah;s constant reiteration
of threats of divine judgment and his
constant denunciation of national sins
against: God; in the absence Of im-
mediate fulfillment, made bini a
stant target for reproach. What effect
will . a long-time study of Jere-
miah have on yo,.? Q

Church Attendance and the
Professing Christian
' . ;
by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.
-
... :
How often do professing Christians
shrug off chutch attendance by saying,
"I can worship at horne!" The perfect
response to such a remark is SiJOple:
"But do you?" Or, if you stumble upon
a tare individual who may actually
strive to worship at horne, you may ask
him: "When did you last take the Lord's
Supper at home?''
Many who profess to be Christians
today know too little of com-
mitment to Christ. A major aspect of
our commitment to Christ involves our
attendance at, worship in, and service
thfough the lpcal church . In fact, church
attendance is obligated on several
grounds, among we could list the
following:
1. The Lord Jesus established
the Church..
Since Christ established the Church,
it is a part of His plan for His people.
Matthew 16:18 says, will build my
Church, and the gates of hell will not
prevail against ft." Shall we negleft
that which Christ our Savior created as
His own for the purpose of disestablish-
ing Satan? It is consistent for the child
of Satan's kingdom to avoid church, for
Satan's kingdom is threatened by its pre-
sence. ! But we who claim to be Chris-
tian are to encourage the building of the
Church, not the neglect of it.
2. The Lord Jesus died for His
Church.
Acts 20:29 says, "Feed the Church of
God whic;:h He has purchased with His
own blood." nie context shows that
Paul was speaking to elders of a local
church; Ephesians .5:25 says, "Christ
Javed the Church and gave Himself for
Now think seriously: The very
Church which Christ is building is the
one for which He sufferel;l. What greater
reasons to attend are there?
3. The Chin-ch . is the central
place of Christian fellowship.
Acts 2:42 says, "And they continued
steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and
fellowship, .and in the breaking of bread
and in prayer." Shall we forsake their
doctrine? Uleir Sacraments? or prayer?
Then, how can we neglect their fellow-
ship? Their doctrine' urges church attend-
ance (see point 8 below). The sacrament
of. "the of bread" is offered
oniy at chu:rC}J. Prayer may be at home,
to be sure. But it is also a vital aspect
of public, corporate worship (the Lord's
Prayer speaks in the plUral: "Forgive
us" and "Lead us"). . '
t,hey have left us an ex-
ample to follow in Christian fellow-
ship . . The example of these faithful wit-
nesses should be a motive to us, a mo-
ftta of Chalcedon .'July, 1989. page 22
tive for us to join ourselves in fellow-
ship with fellow believers in Christ
4. Church attendance is essen-
tial for our spiritual nourish-
ment.
The Church has been established in
the world for a number of reasons. One
of these is that it is to be an essential
structure for learning the Word of God.
Ephesians 4: 11-14 teaches that the
Church has been established for the
"perfecting of the saints" and so that we
might not be "tossed to and fro ... by
every wind of doctrine."
To absent oneself without providen-
tial cause from the church is to free one-
self from an anchor in a time of storm.
The church is where Paul intended Tim-
othy to be faithful in his giving "attend-
ance to reading, to exhortation, to doc-
trine" (I Timothy 4:13). All believers
need to attend church to hear, to be ex-
horted and to learn from God's Word.
5. God underscores the neces-
sity of church attendance by giv-
ing the Church officers.
In Acts 6; 13; 15; 20 and I Timothy
3; 5, and other passages, much detail
regarding church order and government
is given. God has ordained officers to
govern His people. There is a real, judi-
cial sense in which it may be said when
church officers act, Christ acts (Mat-
thew 18:18-20). How can they do that
if the people do not attend? How can a
true believer opt out of the very institu-
tion which is designed to provide him
with Christ's government?
6. God underscores the neces-
sity of church attendance by
giving the Church disciplinary
power.
Itt Matthew 18, I Corinthians 5, and
elsewhere, the Lord authorized His
Church officers to bar the rebellious
from the church assembly. In Matthew
18 the one removed from the church is
to be reckoned as "a heathen man and a
publican." He did not says, "Reckon the
one removed as a Christian who doesn't
go to church much."
How can some voluntarily and with-
out providential cause opt themselves
from the Church? They choose to be
where the officers of the church remove
the rebellious to! "They went out from
us, because they were not of us" (I John
2: 19). When the church at Corinth re-
moved one of its members, that mem-
ber was said to be turned over to Satan,
since he was by that action outside the
church (I Corinthians 5).
7. God has given the sacra-
ments only to the Church.
In Matthew 28 the first officers of
the Church are commanded to baptize.
In I Corinthians 11:23ff the Lord's
Supper is administered at the church as
a communion service (communing
among God's people, I Corinthians
10:16-17). It is commanded to be done
until He returns.
With such a command before us,
may we say, "I prefer to not go to
church and take the Lord's Supper?" By
absenting ourselves from church we are
doing just that.
8. God clearly commands us
to attend church.
Hebrews 10:24,25 says, "And let us
consider one another to provoke unto
love and to good works: not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together, as
the manner of some is." May we tell
God, "No!" Does not God expect us to
hear and obey His corrunands?
The full passage is a most appro-
priate exhortation and warning: He-
brews 10:24-31: "And let us consider
one another to provoke unto love and to
good works: Not forsaking the assemb-
ling of ourselves together, as the man-
ner of some [is]; but exhorting [one
another]: and so much the more, as ye
see the day approaching. For if we sin
wilfully after that we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there remaineth
no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain
fearful looking for of judgment and
fiery indignation, which shall devour
the adversaries. He that despised Moses'
law died without mercy under two or
three witnesses: Of how much sorer
punishment, suppose ye, shall he be
thought worthy, who hath trodden under
foot the Son of God, and hath counted
the blood of the covenant, wherewith he
was sanctified, an unholy thing, and
hath done despite unto the Spirit of
grace? For we know him that hath said,
Vengeance [belongeth] unto me, I will
recompense, saith the Lord. And again,
The Lord shall judge his people. [It is]
a fearful thing to fall into the hands of
tl1e living God." Q
Ken Gentry is pastor of the Reedy
River Presbyterian Church (l'CA)
Ia Greenville, South Carolina.
The Counsel of Chalcedon July, 1989 page 23