Conviction or Convenience?

It is alarming to see how some people who have been in assembly fellowship can easily leave for almost any reason, and go join a denominational church, as if it were all the same. Some even respond acrimoniously when admonished, "You take this assembly thing too far, almost like a cult." This reveals an alarming lack of Scriptural conviction about the Lord's will concerning church fellowship. To justify themselves they attack the assembly attempting to stigmatize it with the word "cult."  There is a Scriptural pattern and those who cannot see it need to anoint their eyes with eyesalve (Rev. 3:18) and be cured from their Laodicean blindness. But worse yet are those who have been well taught, and turn their back on these important truths about the church in order to attend a denominational church for reasons like the size or nearness or popularity of the church, or because they have a good music program, or larger group of young people." Some of the worst are those raised in assemblies who later as young adults decide to "go with the flow." The criteria of "my friends go there," is hardly biblical. But admonishment only brings a resentful reply: "you go where you like and I'll go where I like." This is another invalid response that shows a lack of conviction and appreciation for what they were taught, not from tradition, but from the Scriptures. 

    Consider the following excerpt from an article by J.A. Davidson,

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” Matt. 18:20.

“IT WAS NOT MY SCENE”
It is with serious concern that we watch the demise of some assemblies which, for many years, have been household names into the third and fourth generations. Other assemblies which once were vibrant testimonies have been reduced to a few, faithful older brothers and sisters who are burdened about who will continue testimony until the Lord returns. In past gospel meetings some may have professed to be saved and these have been rightly taught the truth of believer’s baptism and gathering to the Lord’s name. In early years, young believers tend to follow family example, because their parents are in the assembly, and grandpa is an overseer. All too often when academic, employment and marriage choices have to be made, assembly fellowship is not a priority. Some are not prepared to make material sacrifice to remain to help a small assembly. Some marry a believer who is not in assembly fellowship. Others fail to see the difference between a scripturally gathered New Testament assembly and a much larger denominational gathering. When asked why the left the assembly they will say, “It was not my scene.” Originally, did they gather out of conviction or just for family convenience?

 J. A. Davidson (N. Ireland)
excerpted from his article in Assembly Testimony magazine, July/August 2017, p. 90

So we must press the question to these who turn away to denominations: Do you have a scriptural basis for your decision? Do you know what constitutes a church according to the New Testament? Do you really think all churches are more or less the same, and can't you recognize a church that is following the pattern set down in Scripture? Did you choose based on biblical conviction of a certain set of principles, or merely based on personal convenience?  You may not care, but the Lord does. You are not free to choose a church like you choose a restaurant, based on the menu offered, popularity, nearness, etc. Like it or not, the church belongs to Him and He has the right to say how it should function. If none of that matters to you, why bother calling yourself a Christian?

"They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence. Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel"   2 Kings 17:33-34