I’d like to take up some of the hard questions that young people struggle with in regard to being gathered to the Lord’s name on the ground of Matthew 18:2020For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20): "For where two or three are gathered together unto My name, there am I in the midst." My desire is to try to unravel some of these conundrums for those who are truly searching for answers. I only hope that what I have to say will give the seeker of truth a fuller understanding of the principles involved in the divine ground of gathering for Christians.
For those of you who have grown up in the assemblies of the so-called “gathered saints,” I know that your parents are—for the most part—passionate about the truth of being gathered to the Lord’s name. They put it right up there next to being saved. You’ve probably heard them say things like, “I know the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour, and I’m gathered to His precious name.” Needless to say, they believe that the assembly, as you know it, is the true and right way for Christians to gather. They also understand that the way in which we meet goes against the grain of mainstream Christianity, and that that path is a narrow one as far as fellowship is concerned. Nevertheless, they are, as I am, deeply convicted that it is the only right and Scriptural way for Christians to assemble for worship and ministry—and we dearly want to communicate that to you. We want you to “buy the truth” concerning the assembly (Prov. 23:2323Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. (Proverbs 23:23)) by searching it out for yourself and seeing that those things are truly Scriptural (Acts 17:1111These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Acts 17:11)). Our prayer is that you would value it and walk in it as we seek to do.
I know that many of you are looking into this subject, and this is good, because we all need to know why we are gathered to the Lord’s name. But in your searching, I know that some of you are getting confused and are coming away with more questions than answers. Perhaps you’ve looked at the churches in evangelical Christendom and have heard about the blessing going on out there, and then you’ve looked at the assembly in its quaintness and its weakness, and since there doesn't seem to be much is going on there, you have some honest questions. And this is understandable.
I would like to think that your questions are good and honest ones, and I believe that good questions deserve good answers. I think we all agree that the only good and right answers are found in the Word of God. The last thing you need are human opinions and ideas on this subject. Therefore, what I want to bring before you will not be my own ideas and opinions, but principles from the Word of God that will guide your feet. This whole exercise would be a failure if you come away from here, saying, “Bruce thinks this, or Bruce thinks that ... ” It’s not my thoughts that you want; it’s the truth of the Word of God.
Furthermore, it is not my object to bash the Christian groups that are out there today. I am not here to denigrate my fellow Christians in their denominations within evangelical Christendom. If someone is happy to remain in his or her church group, I take no issue with him. The Bible says, “To subvert a man in his cause, the LORD approveth not” (Lam. 3:3636To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not. (Lamentations 3:36)). So, I’m not here to try to talk anybody out of their convictions in regard to their ecclesiastical associations. It is not my intention to coerce anyone into the path that we take as gathered to the Lord’s name, who has not the faith or the conviction for it. My object, rather, is to unravel some of the perplexing things that are troubling those who are honestly searching for answers on the subject of Christians being gathered to the Lord’s name.
I would just say at the outset, that in my observation, most of these questions stem from a misunderstanding of the truth itself, and from using a wrong criterion on which to judge what is right and what is wrong. The result of these misunderstandings is that a person is honestly left in a quandary, and he might well wonder whether he is truly in the right place after all. Of course, the only right standard of measure is the truth of God in the Word of God.
Now, just one more thing before we get started: I will try to do my best by giving you answers to these questions from the Word of God, but I want to tell you that it won’t do you any good if your will is at work and you don’t want the truth. So, I hope that we all have the spirit of David, who said, “Teach me Thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path” (Psa. 27:1111Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. (Psalm 27:11)). A teachable spirit is what the Lord is looking for in us. What I’m saying now is that our state needs to be right if we are going to profit from this exercise. If we are honestly seeking the truth, I believe that the Lord will use His Word to guide us. He said, “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine” (John 7:1717If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. (John 7:17)). The condition placed on this promise of knowing the truth is that we would be willing to “do” His will upon learning it. The Lord is not interested in teaching us His will if we are not willing to do it. Therefore, we need to have it settled in our hearts that we will do God’s will—whatever it may be—even if it runs in collision with our own ideas. This is a great place to get to in our souls—being willing to do His will, even if it hurts. This promise of the Lord is as good now as it was when He gave it in His day. If we are willing to do His will, we “shall know of the doctrine.”
With that promise before us, and the Word of God in our hands, let’s look at some of these questions now, and have the Lord answer them for us.