I've always been a great fan of Samuel Clemens (aka: Mark Twain). His quick wit and homespun wisdom quite often challenge one's sense and sensibility. He makes us think ... and, at times, that is a rather uncomfortable experience! I am especially fond of the observation made in the above quotation from Huckleberry Finn. How interesting that a hog at times demonstrates a far greater fondness for the "House of God" than some of our Father's own children. Swine are drawn from the mud into the pleasant surroundings of the church building, whereas saints too frequently leave the "hallowed halls" for the world's mud pits. Kinda strange, is it not, when pigs prefer pews and saints savor sties?!

Getting men to take seriously the need to assemble together for worship and mutual edification has always been a challenge, even among pagan religions. Horace (65-8 B.C.), in one of his Odes, spoke of "grudging and infrequent worshippers of the gods." Rationalizing such remissness has risen almost to an art form. Satan supplies an over-abundance of excuses for those with "more important things to do" than assemble with the saints. One of the well-known sayings of Rabbi Hillel (died c. 9 A.D.) also speaks to this issue -- "Keep not aloof from the congregation." In a lesser known saying of his, he suggested the following words which might well come from our God -- "If thou wilt come into My House, I will come into thy house; if thou wilt not come to My House, I will not come to thy house." Here again we detect the Principle of Reciprocity.

Apparently, the writer of the New Covenant epistle known as Hebrews detected this negative tendency within many of those to whom he sought to give wise counsel concerning the supremacy of Christianity over Judaism. Therefore, he challenged his readers to hold fast the confession of their hope, to waver not, to draw near to the Lord with sincere hearts and full assurance of faith, to consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, to encourage one another, and to forsake not the assembling of themselves together, as some were in the habit of doing (Heb. 10:22-25). This was critical advice for saints living in very difficult circumstances. Disciples of Christ were experiencing affliction both from the world and from the Jews ... and in some cases even from their fellow Christians. Not a few were becoming discouraged; their faith was quickly diminishing under this constant assault. Some were drifting away from their commitment to Christ and His church; some were even returning to Judaism. One of the first visible signs of such a deadly drift would be the declining frequency with which they assembled and associated with their brethren in the faith.

The inspired writer of our text made note of this clearly demonstrative drift when he spoke of these individuals being "in the habit of" not assembling with their fellow saints. Their lack of affiliation was becoming noticeable over a period of time; a pattern of behavior was being displayed that should have raised warning flags among their brethren. When one habitually absents himself from the close association of fellow Christians, there is evidence of a serious heart problem that is in need of immediate attention. Notice the way several translations and versions of the Bible phrase the inspired advice of the author of Hebrews (in Heb. 10:25) to these grudging and infrequent worshippers and workers (you will notice a few similarities, as well as dissimilarities):

1. New American Standard Bible --- Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

2. King James Version --- Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

3. New International Version --- Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

4. Easy-To-Read Version --- We should not quit meeting together. That's what some people are doing. But we should meet together and encourage each other. You should do this more and more as you see the Day coming.

5. The Message --- Not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.

6. New Living Translation --- And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of His coming back again is drawing near.

7. Contemporary English Version --- Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord's coming is getting closer.

8. New Life Version --- Let us not stay away from church meetings. Some people are doing this all the time. Comfort each other as you see the day of His return coming near.

9. Holman Christian Standard Bible --- Not staying away from our meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

10. New English Bible --- Not staying away from our meetings, as some do, but rather encouraging one another, all the more because you see the Day drawing near.

11. New American Bible (St. Joseph edition) --- We should not absent ourselves from the assembly, as some do, but encourage one another; and this all the more because you see that the Day draws near.

12. The Living Bible --- Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of His coming back again is drawing near.

Laying Down the LAW

I have heard countless sermons, and read numerous articles, in which Hebrews 10:25 was essentially characterized as the church's Assembly LAW. This "law" was primarily for the Sunday morning assembly, which was declared to be absolutely essential for one to attend. Sunday evening assembly, and Wednesday evening, were also important, but missing those was not generally regarded with as much concern by the powers that be .... more of a venial sin, than a mortal sin! After all, most congregations, do they not, tend to lose about 50% of their congregation between Sunday morning and Sunday evening, and some of these infrequent assemblers are "good givers," thus we don't want to "offend them" by laying down the law with respect to "lesser assemblies" ... they might close their check books! However, if one misses too many Sunday morning gatherings, "there is a serious spiritual problem!" Indeed, one's salvation may be called into question.

• A reader from the great state of California wrote me recently with this request -- "Brother Maxey, could you give me your view on forsaking the assembling of ourselves. It has been said that a person who misses Sunday morning worship is in danger of hell fire. I know that this is a very legalistic view, but I would like to hear what you have to say about it. Thanks!"

There are indeed those disciples, especially among the ultra-conservative, legalistic wing of Christendom, who will adamantly assert that it is sinful to miss a "worship service" (especially Sunday morning), and that if too many are missed the delinquent member will most likely be forever lost. Because of such preaching and teaching, there are some who attend more out of fear than love. They literally "go to church" because they don't want to "go to hell." Bro. Dusty Owens, in an article titled "Forsake Not The Assembly," wrote, "They are afraid to do otherwise, for they have been conditioned to believe that missing a 'church service' will cause them to miss eternal life" (The Examiner, vol. 7, no. 5, September, 1992). Bro. Ron Boatwright, a minister in Arkansas, wrote the following in one of his bulletin articles -- "Even though one may be a good person, if one continues in the sin of forsaking the assembly, he will face a certain fearful judgment and a real fiery Hell forever and ever." He also noted: "By forsaking the assembly one throws away his inheritance in Heaven and will inherit the eternal torment of Hell." He then goes on to assert that those who forsake the assembly are like the dog who returns to his vomit and the sow who, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire (2 Pet. 2:22).

The late Bro. J.C. Bailey, back in 1987, wrote an article titled "Not Forsaking Our Own Assembling" in which he made the observation, "The Holy Spirit declares that Jesus saves those that obey Him -- Heb. 5:9. One of the ways in which we obey Him is to assemble on the first day of the week. Those who keep His commandments have the right to the tree of life. Those who disobey have a fearful expectation of judgment. To which can you look forward?" (The Old Paths Archive). There is also a tract put out by the Online Ministries (OLM) of the Churches of Christ titled "Do Not Forsake The Assembly." Notice the following excerpts from that tract: "The Hebrew writer names three grievous, deplorable sins of which a Christian becomes guilty when he forsakes the assembly. (1) He has trampled underfoot the Son of God, (2) He is guilty of counting the blood of Christ as common, and (3) He has despised the Spirit of divine grace." This tract gets even more specific -- "When one intentionally and purposely forsakes the assembly of the saints, he has done to Christ what the hogs do to precious pearls when they trample them in the muck and mire and filth of the hog pen."

• What are the eternal consequences of this? The above tract minces no words in laying out the penalty for "missing church." It points out that there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin for those who don't make the worship service on a regular basis. "God will not tolerate our slackness in this duty." "A more severe punishment shall be received by the one who defects from the assembly than those who transgressed Moses' Law and died without mercy." "The violators of God's law under consideration in the lesson of Hebrews 10 will receive a 'sorer' ('greater') punishment than those who were found guilty of infraction of the law of Moses and were dragged outside the camp and stoned to death."

One quickly detects in the language of the above articles that these particular writers are very much LAW-bound. They have taken the very positive principles contained in Heb. 10:25 and transformed them into divine LAW to be bound upon all people everywhere until the end of time. Specifically, they assert "The Assembly" is that entity which must never be "forsaken." They might be somewhat surprised to discover, however, that the idea of a specific Assembly (a noun), which implies a specific place and time, is NOT mentioned in the text of Heb. 10:25. Actually, in the Greek, this is a participial phrase (not a noun). It literally speaks of the action of disciples Assembling themselves together. It is the assembling of themselves as family that is encouraged, rather than holding up a particular assembly as a place to which they are obligated to appear at specified times.

Therefore, what is being strongly cautioned against in the passage is that attitude of heart that causes one to begin habitually avoiding intimate association with his fellow believers. They begin to pull away from the family. This is far more than just missing "Sunday morning services;" this is forsaking and abandoning the family of God and seeking out relationships with those outside the parameters of this fellowship. When God's children come together, whether it be for work or worship, fun or fellowship, these persons can be counted on to be habitually absent. They are abandoning the "assembling of themselves together" with their brothers and sisters in Christ. This is about much, much more than missing Sunday morning services; this is about a desertion of family.

• By limiting this to a worship Assembly (noun), rather than an Assembling (participle) of fellow members of God's family, one promotes a false perception of the basic teaching of the text. "The basic problem here is known as legalism. Legalism is a theological process by which man presumes to speak for God. A legalist sees examples and inferences as God's law, and, of course, he gets to pick and choose which examples and inferences qualify. Legalism is a failure to understand the true nature of salvation by grace through faith" (Dusty Owens, The Examiner, vol. 7, no. 5, September, 1992). Hebrews 10:25 is NOT a LAW regulating attendance at "The Assembly" ... it is a divine principle that simply suggests there is great advantage to God's children "assembling themselves together." Families don't assemble together because they are required to by law, they assemble themselves together because they are family, because they benefit from such intimate association, and because they love one another. Those who abandon the family, and times together with that family, are NOT the better for it. They deprive themselves, and they deprive the family!

Forsaking the Family

Our Lord desired His children to be One Family, not isolated bands of discordant disciples who refused fellowship with one another over a host of personal preferences elevated to the status of divine law. When we separate ourselves from one another, we literally "forsake the assembling of ourselves together." Let's face it, many in Christendom are in the habit of doing exactly this. This is about far more than one or two persons missing a church service on Sunday morning (although, certainly, such might easily be involved in the overall principle contained in the passage) -- this is primarily about people, whether individually or in larger groups, forsaking the coming together (unity) of our heavenly Father's Family as One People in Christ Jesus. When the Jews, to whom the writer of Hebrews addressed himself, began to drift away from Christ and back to Judaism, they were doing far more than missing a few church services .... they were forsaking the Family of God.

The Greek word translated "forsake" in Heb. 10:25 is enkataleipo, which means "to leave behind, forsake, abandon." The word is used by Paul when he said, "Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me" (2 Tim. 4:10). He uses the word again just a few verses later: "At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me" (vs. 16). When we abandon our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are guilty of forsaking the Family of God. If I make a habit of refusing intimate association with my spiritual brethren, wherever and whenever they may choose to come together, I am forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. If a group of disciples hold themselves aloof from another group of disciples because of a difference of opinion over some traditional practice, they are forsaking the assembling of themselves together as One Family. If two groups refuse fellowship to one another, meeting separately, they may indeed both attend "The Assembly," but they have forsaken the "assembling" of themselves together!! Thus, one may actually "go to church" faithfully, and yet still be guilty of habitually violating the teaching of Heb. 10:25.

• Dr. F.F. Bruce hinted at this concept when he wrote, "In the NT the tendency to withdrawal is specially manifest on the part of those who embraced forms of teaching deviating from what had been taught from the beginning" (The Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 254). In other words, when doctrines and practices begin to change from "the way it has always been," disciples often withdraw from one another and form feuding factions. In so doing, they forsake the assembling of themselves together, and the Family of God becomes divided. This was certainly just as big a problem in the first century church as individual disciples who habitually missed specific times of assembly.

Does Hebrews 10:25 have application to those individual disciples who were not attending "worship services" as regularly as they should? Yes, I believe it does. Indeed, why would devout disciples of Christ NOT want to assemble with the saints in a local setting at every possible opportunity?!! I can't help but think of the example of President James A. Garfield, who took office back in 1881. On the first Sunday following his inauguration, a member of his Cabinet insisted that a meeting be called to discuss a matter of national importance. President Garfield refused on the grounds that he had another appointment. The Cabinet member pleaded with the President to reconsider, but Garfield was adamant that he would not break his previous appointment. The Cabinet member said, "I would be interested to know with whom you have an engagement so important it cannot be broken." Garfield replied, "I will be as frank as you are. My engagement is with the Lord, to meet Him at His house at His table at 10:00 tomorrow morning, and I shall be there." This attitude should be ours as well. Why would we want to be anywhere else?! When brethren have no desire to be together, there is a problem!

However, it is my conviction that this application is only a very small part of the authorial intent .... only the tip of the iceberg! Failing to attend a specific assembly, even if such failure becomes habitual, is merely symptomatic; the real problem lies much deeper. These are men and women who have not only lost sight of the value of assembling together with fellow believers, but, more importantly, they have lost sight of the significance of FAMILY itself. They are not just missing an assembly ... they are deserting the Family of God. This is not about missing meetings, it is about forsaking family! Until we perceive this truth, we have missed the true meaning of the passage before us!

This is brought out quite dramatically in the Greek word employed in the text for "assembling together." It is "a very unusual word" (Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 12, p. 106), and only occurs twice in the entire New Testament documents. It is the word episunagoge, which really conveys the concept of the gathering together of the whole. When an entire family is united ... gathering itself together as a whole ... we find the thought behind this word. It is far more than the coming together of a portion of the whole, but rather the gathering together of ALL. The idea, then, is that some were in the habit of abandoning the One Body, leaving it less than whole and unified, in order to pursue their own selfish agendas.

• The other occurrence of this word is quite instructive. It is found in 2 Thess. 2:1 -- "Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him ..." Here we see the apostle Paul speaking of the Parousia, and the assembling together of ALL the children of God for that great family reunion! It is a gathering together of the WHOLE family of our heavenly Father, not just a portion of it. It is my conviction that the same thought is present in Heb. 10:25 -- it is the fellowship of ALL God's children that some were forsaking in order to form factions around personal preferences or to return to previous worldly and non-Christian associations! Instead of promoting unity, and encouraging one another, "as you see the Day drawing near," they were abandoning the One Family. Our Lord is coming again to gather us ALL together for a great celebration in the Father's heavenly home! Should we not seek to enjoy a foretaste of that eternal fellowship even now, rather than deserting our fellow disciples over petty Party patterns, or perhaps because we are experiencing some personal struggle or affliction, or long for former affiliations?!

Hebrews 10:25 is not LAW. There is no command to "go to church" in this passage, contrary to the teaching of many in the religious world today. Missing church services is NOT equivalent to "trampling underfoot the Son of God," or "regarding as unclean the blood of the covenant," or "insulting the Spirit of grace." But, I'll tell you what IS equivalent to those things!! It is the abandonment of God's other children so that one may form a faction around a personal preference. It is a party spirit. It is dividing the whole into warring camps. It is the forsaking of the gathering together of the One Body by refusing to even acknowledge as brethren those for whom our Lord shed His precious blood. When you erect barriers between brethren for whom He died, you regard as unclean and common that shed blood, you insult the Spirit of grace who unifies us into one family, and you trample the Son of God into the mire. Missing assemblies is not a good idea, but that is not what the author had in mind. It is rather the forsaking of the Family that truly constitutes sin so abhorrent that those who engage in it will assuredly face "a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries" (Heb. 10:27).

Conclusion

What the writer of Hebrews DOES do in the passage before us, however, is provide some wise counsel as to how we can "hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering" (vs. 23) in a world determined to defeat us. We do it, in part, by drawing upon the strength of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are family, and there are great benefits to maintaining those familial relationships. We "stimulate one another to love and good deeds" (vs. 24). We "encourage one another" (vs. 25). This is what family does for each other. We help each other through the hard times; we are there for each other; we love each other; we support one another! Brothers don't desert brothers! Sisters don't forsake sisters! We gather ourselves together, and we stand united against the world about us! Those who go out from among us, just show that they were not really of us, "for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us" (1 John 2:19). Family stays together! And when they do so, they reap the benefits.

As the great day of that eternal reunion draws near, we need more than ever before to stay united in Spirit as One Body. We need to encourage one another. We need to stimulate one another to greater expressions of love and devotion. We need to motivate one another to actions and attitudes that exemplify the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can only truly do this when we are unified. Therefore, as that great Day draws near, the writer of Hebrews urges the brethren to remain unified as the Family of God, to encourage one another, and to never, ever forsake their brothers and sisters. If we are going to survive as Family, we must put pettiness aside and accept one another as Christ has accepted us (Rom. 15:7). "Let us not be selfish, caring merely for ourselves; but let us have constantly in mind each other's wants and circumstances as members of the one family of God" (Dr. Robert Milligan, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 363).

The benefits of not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together are eternal in nature!! A house divided cannot stand, but one united will endure! The saints of the first century were experiencing tremendous persecution from several different fronts. If they were going to survive as a family, it was imperative they remain united. So must we. "Let the faithful give heed to keeping faith alive in themselves and others" (The Pulpit Commentary, vol. 21). "Keeping Faith Alive in 2005" is the theme for this current year of the congregation for which I preach, and where I serve as one of the elders. I happen to think it is a very good theme! One way to help accomplish this is to remain united in Spirit; loving one another ... encouraging one another ... stimulating one another to love and good deeds ... and NOT forsaking the Family of God. Wherever the Father has children, we must actively seek to embrace them! --- associating with them ... affiliating with them ... assembling with them!

Brethren, it is time .... indeed, past time .... to put aside our petty Party squabbles. The sectarian walls of exclusion must come down ... NOW! Let us cease this senseless forsaking of fellowship with one another, and instead seek to achieve the oneness for which our Lord prayed (John 17), and for which He shed His precious blood (Eph. 2:13-22). Will you join with me in helping to facilitate FAMILY? It will be a perilous journey, as many will oppose us! But the fruit of such an endeavor is well worth the price we may be called upon to pay. Or, will you continue to forsake God's Family? Please choose wisely! Your brothers and sisters are counting on you!! So is the Father! "Christian faith and witness will flourish the more vigorously in an atmosphere of Christian fellowship. ... This will never happen, however, if brethren keep one another at a distance. Therefore, every opportunity of coming together and enjoying their fellowship in faith and hope must be welcomed and used for mutual encouragement" (Dr. F.F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 253).

From a Reader in Texas:

I have enjoyed your Reflections so much! I believe you have great insight in your teaching. The Lord has blessed you, and, in turn, I am blessed, encouraged, and, at times, admonished by the things that you teach. You give me good food for thought. I especially appreciated the lesson on Reciprocity. It makes me look at myself and realize self-righteousness is a problem with me at times. Thanks, and keep up the good work you are doing. Enclosed is my check for $20. Please send me the two CD's -- vol. 1 (2003) and vol. 2 (2004).

From a Reader in Tennessee:

Al, The legalists must be pulling their hair out after reading your latest article! I tend to think it was Roman time, which means they had the Lord's Supper on Monday morning! What's amazing is our Lord instituted the memorial meal on Thursday night! Is that not a "pattern"? Acts 2:46 says they "broke bread" every day. I guess if we remember our Lord's death every day, we will all go to hell -- according to the legalists ... so sad!

From a Reader in Alabama:

Brother Maxey, in my opinion, your articles are the most reasonable, helpful, and beneficial of any I have ever read, and I am 75 years old. I am under the impression that you are a minister for a congregation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but I cannot find a statement to confirm this. Would you please advise me if this is true, and give me the address and phone number of the meeting place. I would like to visit sometime in the near future.

• My wife, children and I lived there from 1978 to 1982, and we still have lots of family there, but we are currently residing in Alamogordo, New Mexico, which is about 200 miles south of Albuquerque (and about 90 miles north of El Paso, Texas). I am the minister for the Cuba Avenue Church of Christ, and also one of the four elders. If you are ever in our area we would love for you to come assemble with us. You would be our honored guest! --- Al Maxey

From a Reader in California:

I was meditating recently on one of your Reflections articles, and it occurred to me how far we've come from the days of the New Testament. Back in the days of the apostles John and Paul, battling false doctrine meant refuting those false teachers who were out there preaching that Jesus was not the Son of God, or that Jesus did not really come in the flesh. Paul and John even battled folks who said that immorality was an acceptable part of worship, or that circumcision was essential to salvation. But now we've got to fight on a totally different front: whether or not it is appropriate to play an instrument in the worship service, whether or not someone should clap in worship, or (horror of horrors) did someone think about Christ on the wrong day in the wrong way! I can only imagine what some of those mighty warriors of faith would say if they were to come back today and find us squabbling over such trivial matters. It is embarrassing to read about their monumental struggle to hold high the banner of Truth against forceful opposition from evil men, and then observe the pettiness of so many of today's struggles ... and between brothers and sisters no less! Thank you for shining the light of Truth on the Scriptures. I always feel especially blessed when I see your name pop up in my in-box.

From a Reader in (Unknown):

I enjoy reading your stuff, even if I don't always agree with you on everything! For the most part, what you have to say is right on! It would be great if we could break out of our tradition-minded mold and be truly free in Christ! It seems we have been to several of the same places -- I spent many years in Germany and attended the K-Town congregation right after you left. We were also in Hawaii and were baptized at Pearl Harbor in l965. If I were to make a guess, it would be that your experience in preaching for military congregations, where every faction in our brotherhood is represented, and yet they somehow manage to become ONE in Christ, has had a profound effect on you! I know serving as an elder for the Ojana congregation on Okinawa at its peak was an eye opening experience for me!

From a Minister/Author in Colorado:

Dear brother Al, Thanks for your article about Acts 20:7. I was surprised that you didn't point out that in verse 11 the Greek indicates that only Paul ate (it is in the singular), and that the word for "eat" in that verse is never used for the Lord's Supper, but is the word used for "taste."

• You mentioned the fact that the action verbs of verse 11 are singular. This, of course, would be logical since the focus of the verse (and indeed the preceding one) was PAUL. Paul went down ... Paul fell on him ... Paul embraced him; Paul then went back up ... Paul broke bread ... Paul ate ... Paul talked a long while ... Paul departed. The focus is entirely upon PAUL, thus the singular is called for grammatically. There is at least a logical implication, however, that others may have been involved in some of those actions also. For example, was Paul the only one who went down to check on the lad who fell? Not likely. Even though the singular is used in vs. 10, nevertheless he says, "Be ye (plural) not alarmed!" Obviously, others went down too, even though the singular was employed. Many probably went down along with him. Wouldn't you have done so? I would. That's only logical. Was Paul the only one who came back up again after the lad was revived? After all, the singular was used. Again, not likely. Was Paul the only one who broke bread and ate? Well, maybe ... but maybe not! There is simply no way to determine with any certainty from the text itself. Logically speaking, however, it seems unlikely that Paul was the ONLY person who had something to eat at that time. Why would he alone eat, and none of the others? Yes, that may indeed have been what happened, but it also may NOT have been. We just don't know.

• I think it is interesting that the phrase in vs. 11 is "breaking THE bread," which generally is held by Patternists to be the wording applicable to the Lord's Supper. They tend to make a big deal of the definite article in the phrase, saying its presence distinguishes the phrase from "breaking bread," which they suggest denotes a common meal. Strange that they tend to reverse themselves in this verse. What became of consistency?! I have dealt with this in a previous Reflections article, and believe the distinction to be contrived. I would refer the reader to Issue #168 -- Breaking Bread -- Meal or Memorial?

• As for the Greek word GEUOMAI in vs. 11, it indeed can be translated "taste," but it conveys far more than a nibble or touching something to the tongue to make a sensory evaluation. It conveys the idea: "to experience" that which is taken (The Analytical Greek Lexicon, p. 78). Matt. 16:18, for example, speaks of "tasting death," something which one certainly does not "nibble at," but which one experiences. It is used again in Heb. 6:4-5 to talk of those who have truly experienced the blessings of the Christian walk. These were not idle "dabblers," but those who had truly been enlightened. Sadly, they turned their backs on that which they had experienced ("tasted"). We who are the children of God have "tasted that the Lord is good" (1 Pet. 2:3). This is something we experience; far more than a brief sensory "lick."

• I think it is very interesting, don't you, that it is this word that is used in Acts 20:11? I don't believe it is accidental. It would certainly be an unusual word to use to convey the idea of a "light midnight snack," it seems to me. One would hardly characterize such as an experience. However, following the events of the previous several hours in that upper room at Troas, and after having come back up from reviving a young lad who had fallen 3 floors to his death (most probably), to then ascend to commemorate a meal that celebrated the Lord's own rising up the 3rd day would indeed be an experience. Frankly, there seems to be more in the word to suggest that Paul, and likely the others as well, "tasted" the bread that represented the body of Jesus who "tasted death for everyone" (Heb. 2:9). Same Greek word, by the way. Nevertheless, we simply must NOT be dogmatic here; there is just too much we don't know. That was my main point, brother. And since we do NOT have all the facts available to us, we simply must NOT elevate our personal convictions about this passage, or our traditional practices concerning the Lord's Supper, to the status of universal church LAW, with the severing of fellowship and forfeiture of salvation imposed upon those who differ with us! Such is the pattern of behavior of the Patternists. I believe responsible disciples of Jesus, and honest exegetes of the Word, will rise above such displays of sectarian narrow-mindedness. --- Al Maxey

From a Reader in (Unknown):

It bothers me when I hear of churches being split over the most unimportant things. I have heard of people fighting over things like having a church bus, or if it is scriptural to have a kitchen in the church building! While the Body is discussing these topics, Satan is having a great time, because he knows that during this time God's message of salvation is not being preached. I can imagine that at this same time God is heartbroken for the very same reason. People who nitpick over stuff like this need to be shown the right way, but if they continue to argue about this stuff, then the time must come for the rest of us to just flat out ignore them. Mr. Maxey, please continue to reach out with your Internet ministry, and continue to send me your emails each week. Thank you for the wonderful service you have provided me. I appreciate your hard work!

From a Prison Minister in Oklahoma:

Dear Al, Sometimes an article is reread just to get the flavor of it, sometimes to look for flaws, and sometimes just because it is "too close for comfort." Such was the Principle of Reciprocity. It was entirely too close for comfort. My rereading it reminded me of a story about W.C. Fields near his own death. He was found to be reading the Bible, and a friend remarked that he did not know that Mr. Fields had suddenly "gone religious," to which Mr. Fields replied, "Just looking for the loopholes, my boy, just looking for the loopholes." Like him, I could not find any. Thanks for the admonition, brother, it did me lots of good.

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