Pastor John, in Episode 912 of this podcast, it was titled "Paying Pastors, Church Buildings, and Weekly Sermons," a trio of issues, you skipped right over the question about house churches and meeting in buildings, and many savvy listeners wrote in to point that out to us. Nothing gets past our listeners.

So do you have any particular views when it comes to whether or not the church should meet in house churches or in buildings? Okay, not a problem. I have views. I think the Bible has something to say. I'll summarize my view in six observations. I don't think they're very controversial.

I think they're easily supportable. So here we go, and people can judge for themselves. First, the church in the New Testament, as the New Testament teaches about the church, is people, not places. The word "church" in the New Testament is a translation of the word "ekklesia," which means "called out ones" or "assembly." It never refers to building or place.

The English word "church," it's an interesting word. Like, where'd that come from? Well, it came from the Old English "kirk" or "kirk," like in the Scottish "kirk," and it comes from the Greek "kuriakos," which means "belong to the Lord." So the word "church" means "belonging to the Lord" in its etymological origin, and could refer to a place or could refer to a people.

So that's where the English word "church" comes from and doesn't prove anything about where a people should meet. But in this whole discussion, it is utterly crucial to keep in mind that in the New Testament, nothing is said about the church as place, and much is said about the church as people.

And just to give a few examples, Matthew 16, 18, Jesus says to Peter, "On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." That was not a building he's talking about. Or in Matthew 18, 17, in church discipline, he says, "When all private entreaties fail, tell it to the church." That doesn't mean talk to brick.

And in Acts 9, 31, it says, "So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up." And in Acts 13, 1, it says, "Now there were in the church in Antioch prophets and teachers," meaning among the people that were—those were some of the gifted folks.

So that's my first observation. The church in the New Testament is always, without exception, people, not places. Second observation is that the New Testament portrays local churches, that is, local assemblies, gatherings of the universal church in a local place, the expression of the universal church gathered in a local place.

It portrays these churches often as gathering in homes. So 1 Corinthians 16, 19, "The churches of Asia send you greeting, Aquila and Priscilla, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings." Colossians 4, 15, "Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea and to Nympha and the church in her house." Philemon 2, "I write to Aphia and our sister and Archippus, our fellow soldier, and the church in your house." So it's clear that in the earliest days of the church, the church regularly met in homes.

Third observation, don't overstate that or idolize that fact. I mean, idealize that fact, because we know from 1 Corinthians that houses were not the only venue for church gatherings. Paul says in chapter 11, verse 17 and 22, he says, "In the following instructions, I do not commend you, because when you come together, it is not for better but for worse." What?

He says, "Do you not have houses to eat and drink in, or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?" In other words, he's saying you're getting together someplace other than your houses, and you're eating in a way that shames those who don't have a lot to eat, and you brought a big basket and you're eating it.

Eat in your homes, not where we're gathering as church. So it seems to me pretty clear that people were leaving their homes, going to some commonplace of assembly for gathering of the church service, whatever it was. Fourth observation, nowhere in the New Testament is it commanded or forbidden that local churches meet in homes.

It is perfectly acceptable that they do and acceptable that they don't. This is not something God thought it wise to regulate, no doubt, I think, in part because of the incredibly diverse cultural situations the church would find itself in for the next 2,000 years, under trees, in garages, in stores, in cellars, in caves, in cathedrals, in homes.

Fifth observation, therefore, in all of those differing cultural situations, leaders of the church should seriously think through and pray through the relative advantages and disadvantages of place and location, given the nature and goals of the church, whether they should limit their gatherings to homes or rent a space or purchase a space or build a space.

And we should be really slow to judge the decisions that are made here, since God, it seems to me, has been pleased to bring great awakenings and massive church growth during times with and without church buildings. He's not limited in that way, and woe to the denomination or movement that presumes to say architecture, buildings, location is the key to the dynamic of the almighty spread of God's kingdom.

And the final observation is that whatever the limitations are culturally—I mean, it's pretty hard to get a space in downtown San Francisco, Vancouver, Manhattan, because you're going to pay a million dollars for a tiny little place. And of course, I just read this morning as I was praying through Operation World that in Libya there's a law that forbids any religious gathering over six people.

Well, that's pretty limiting, and you don't have to obey that law since it's not biblical, but you might want to obey it and spread the gospel that way. So whatever the limitations are culturally, financially, legally, it's a wonderful and fitting and helpful thing when local churches can find both small expressions of fellowship and mutual ministry, one another ministry, and larger gatherings for worship and encouragement and witness.

And I think it's significant that Acts 5.42 says, "Every day in the temple and from house to house they did not cease teaching and preaching that Jesus is the Christ," which seems to imply that there was an early sense of need that there be both larger and smaller gatherings.

That's so good. Thank you, Pastor John, for addressing house churches for us today. On Monday, we return. I'll ask John Piper, "What does it mean to pray without ceasing?" Until then, to search through our 940 or so episodes or for more details about this podcast or to subscribe to the audio feed, even to send us a question of your own, go to our online home at DesiringGod.org/AskPastorJohn.

I am your host, Tony Reinke. Have a great weekend meeting together with the gathered Church of God, whether that happens to be in a house or in a building. We'll see you on Monday. God bless.