SwampFox86 said:
Church is not about us. We dont make church fit our schedules. We make our schedules fit church.
Also, God isnt angry ebcause you dont go to church because of work, He is angry because you have made work more important than Him. When we say our Job and paycheck is more important than the meeting of his people, you have made your Job your Idol.
Our God is a Jealous God.
Brother, idolatry is a serious charge. People often quote St. Matthew 7:1 ("Judge not."). But the next verse is, in my opinion, even more important,
For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. (St. Matthew 7:2)
Being but 22 years of age, it would be hypocritical of me to join these older sisters in criticizing you for being young and arrogant, so I certainly do not. But I would like to remind you, as you brother in Christ, that the time may come when you will be forced to choose between a Sunday job, and not putting food on your own table. Financial hardship can afflict all of us, which is why we trust in Christ and not in our finances. Now, I wish that this day would never come to you, but if it does, then God will judge you for choosing food over a Sunday church service. Not that it's wrong to make such a choice (I'm sure that James or Paul would do the same thing), but you are judged by the same measure with which you judge others. Therefore, for your own benefit, do not judge.
As believers we have freedom in Christ. Now I very respectfully disagree with our beloved brother Andyman, in that I think Sunday is the proper Sabbath. But nevertheless, we are free in Christ to choose a job over a traditional church service. So then, does that mean we should neglect meeting with the body of Christ? Certainly not! I think that such a person should not forsake Bible study and other small group activities. It says,
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)
And what does the law of sin and death say? It says,
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. (Exodus 20:8-10)
As the Apostle says by the Holy Spirit, the Law is
not sin. But because Christ Jesus is our Sabbath, there is no longer any legalistic requirement to "go to church," simply for its own sake.
And the point is that forcing a person to choose church over his or her job is legalism. Saying "God will provide" will do nothing if you don't go to work and make money. Yes, sometimes God works in mysterious ways. But the majority of the time he works in very obvious ways. He provides us with employment and money, so that we can afford our living expenses. And if we forsake this, it is very unlikely that God will supply us with manna from heaven. It says,
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:15-17)
Saying "have faith, God will provide," will probably not work if we demand that God do a miraculous sign for us. God often works in very mundane ways, and a person must see him through Christ Jesus in order to understand that God is still sovereign.