Once in a while I meet men and
women who, for one reason or another, have been away from the fellowship of
God's saints. Most commonly, they say to me, "I sure do miss the
fellowship." Usually, I am afraid they mean, "I miss the social
get-togethers we used to have," rather than, "I miss the blessed
fellowship of God's saints in the worship of God." If they had to make a
choice between hearing God's servant preach the gospel of Christ and having
coffee with the preacher, they would choose coffee with the preacher. If they
had to choose between worshipping with God's saints and having a church picnic,
they would choose the picnic. Such an attitude reveals a heart problem. To such
people, I am afraid the
Truly, the
fellowship of God's saints in Christ is the most blessed privilege we have in
this world. But our fellowship in Christ is not merely a social pleasantry.
Ours is a spiritual, gospel fellowship. The sweetest, most edifying, most
important aspect of our fellowship is the public assembly
of God's saints for worship. In the house of God, more than at any other time,
God's people are one in heart. We gather for one purpose, to worship God. We
gather with one burden, sin. We gather with one hope of grace, the blood and
righteousness of Christ. This, my friends, is the fellowship of God's saints.
We enjoy the social gatherings. They are sweet. But we can do without them. Our
greatest interest is in the public assembly of God's
saints for worship. That is vital. It is for this reason that Paul admonishes
us never to neglect the assembly of the saints. We cannot live without it (Heb.