THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRISTIAN WORSHIP

 

Chapter 8

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Acceptable Season, Place and Day of Worship 

 

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Text

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Gal. 4:9-11 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have laboured for you in vain.

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Memory Verse

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Rom. 14:5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.​

 

Introduction

When it comes to worshipping the only true God, there is no such thing as “in season” or “out of season”. God sets boundaries for many things in life, but not for worship. He asks for our unlimited worship - for our good, not His need.

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Worship is unlimited. Not like “Mobile Unlimited”, but truly without limits of time, place, or calendar.

Objective
By the end of this lesson we will see:

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(1) What replaces the old system of holy days, places, and seasons under Moses.

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(2) Why God does not condemn anyone based on day, place, or season of worship.

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(3) Why dividing from others over these things has no divine approval and comes from Satan.

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Presentation

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1. The Christian Era Does Not Run on Holy Days, Places, or Seasons

 

We live in the era of Spirit and truth, not in a system of days, weeks, years, seasons, and places.

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Under the New Testament, the Lord instituted the following for worship:

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(i) the Lord’s Supper: “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19);

(ii) baptism (Matt. 28:19);

(iii) preaching the word, prayer, singing, giving, fellowship (Acts 2:42, Eph. 5:19, 1 Cor. 16:2).

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There are no appointed holy days, seasons, or calendar.  Paul warns the Galatians, “You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid for you, lest I have laboured for you in vain.” (Gal. 4:10-11)

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God made these things optional in this dispensation. But we should choose times, places, and days that allow as many people as possible to encounter the God of love we worship (Rom. 14:5). The focus is on people, not on rituals.

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2. There Are No Holy Days, Seasons, or Places to Violate Under Jesus

Christ is the end of condemnation from the old system. He took condemnation for us, and He will not condemn His followers now (Rom. 8:1-2; 10:4).

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Rom. 8:1-2 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

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Rom. 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

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Under the New Covenant, the old Levitical rules about place and ritual do not apply anymore (Heb. 9:8-9). Therefore, making days, seasons, and places into rules ignores the price Jesus paid to establish grace and truth (Lev. 29:19-20; Matt. 5:38-45). We no longer keep the Mosaic feasts (Lev. 23) because the substance is here. Christ is the substance:

 

Col. 2:16-17 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

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3. Christ came to ‘Fulfil the Law’

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Matt. 5:17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.

 

‘Fulfil’ does not mean ‘annul’, it means ‘bring to its intended purpose’, to complete, to bring to reality what was only a shadow before.

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In other words, the feasts were not erased. They pointed forward to Christ, and He brought them to their reality.

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The seven feasts are a prophetic pattern. The first four were fulfilled literally at Christ’s first coming, and the last three (Trumpets, Atonement and the Feast of Ingathering) are tied to His return and final judgment.

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But whilst the reality of the last three is - at the time of writing - yet future, we do not observe the shadows to get there. We have the substance now.

 

The final harvest, the last trumpet, the last great day – they are coming, but we wait for them in Christ, without the need to rehearse the shadow.

 

Having said that, we must understand that there are still “things to come”, and that there will be “signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars” for which we are told to watch. Moreover, we should understand the calendar of Scripture and the purpose and meaning of the feasts, both those fulfilled and those to come. We do not know how the fulfilment of the “things to come” will play out, but we should be prepared, taking up “the whole armour of God” that we “may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Eph. 6:13).

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It is worth noting here that the words of Isa. 66:23 (“‘And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,’ says the Lord”) do not imply the reinstatement of the ‘earthly sanctuary’ (temple). This would be putting the shadow back after the substance has come.

 

The new heavens and earth have no temple (Rev. 21:22). We have the reality now in Christ, and we shall have it fully then.

 

4. Dividing Over Days, Places, and Seasons Is Not of Christ

Anyone who divides from others over the Levitical calendar of worship days, places, or seasons is not standing in the truth of Christ (1 Cor. 11:19; Rom.14:19). Making fellowship dependent on keeping or not keeping a biblical feast is to step outside of the Gospel.

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No physical building we construct today can guarantee acceptable worship. What matters is the intent behind it and the needs of people being met (Heb. 8:3-6).

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The Levitical system lost its purpose because its blessings were earthly and could not cross into eternity. They had no lasting value, compared to the salvation we have in Christ (Eph. 1:3; 1 Cor. 15:19). The Holy Spirit does not work through keeping old regulations.

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Further it should be noted that the patterns we use to run meetings are not a new law system or doctrine. They are just tools to help the body gather and be edified. The old system was different. It was a full law with priests, sacrifices, and a physical temple. But it was limited. It could not cleanse conscience (Heb. 9:9), and it provided no covering for presumptuous sin (Num. 15:30-31). That is why Heb. 8:13 says it was obsolete and ready to vanish away.

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Two signs of an earthly (‘carnal’) sanctuary are:

(1) It is built as a special place for God’s presence (Acts 17:24).

(2) It restricts who can enter based on rules of holiness.

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There are pulpits today that have been set up with false consecration. Be careful. God reveals one Shepherd over one flock (John 10:16).

 

Conclusion
God is not silent on how He wants to be worshipped – He has been very specific: in Spirit and truth, through Christ, not through shadows.

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Because God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere present, nothing should limit Him to one place, day, or season in our relationship with Him (Ps. 139:7-12).
 

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​​Evaluation Questions & Answers

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1. What should determine the choice of any place, day, or season for corporate worship?

   • Allowing the most people to encounter God’s love and to be built up. It should be practical and people-focused, not ritual-focused.

   • Heb. 10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.

   • Rom. 14:5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.

2. In making any day, place, or season ritually mandatory, what happens to the grace found in Christ?

   • It undermines grace. Turning optional practices into rules ignores what Christ accomplished and puts people back under law.

   • Gal. 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

   • Rom. 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

3. Which Bible passages tells us that it is never God’s will ceremonially to select worship days, seasons, and places?

   • Gal. 4:9-11 and Rom. 14:5-6 make this clear.

4. If worship is not accepted based on days, seasons, and places, on what basis is it accepted?

   • Worship is accepted when it is offered in Spirit and truth, from a heart of faith and obedience, for the good of others.

   • John 4:24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth.

   • Heb. 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

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Prayer

Father, thank You for setting us free from ritual and rule. Let the way we meet, when we meet, and where we meet never become a tool for division. Keep us united as children of the same Father. Amen.

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