三：因為最早的基督徒時常聚會敬拜神
基督教的特徵之一是基督教只有一個權威和標準，那就是聖經。歷史上，以耶穌基督為神的兒子的人都承認聖經是基督徒的生活指南，是基督教的藍圖。這篇短文以聖經為基督徒唯一能夠得着神之旨意的書籍。
聖經記載告訴我們早期的基督徒時常聚在一塊兒敬拜拯救他們的真神。耶穌基督在世的最後幾句話之一，是他從死亡復活了之後，在他將要回到天上去時說的，耶穌面對他的使徒，就說：“天上地上一切權柄都賜給我了。所以，你們要去使萬民作我的門徒，奉父子聖靈的名，給他們施洗，我吩咐你們的一切，都要教導他們遵守。這樣，我就常常與你們同在，直到這世代的終結”（28:18-20新譯本）。最早的基督徒什麼時候才可以聆聽使徒和其他教師的話而得着耶穌的訓誨呢？就是在他們聚會做禮拜的時候，以及其他聚會的時間。難怪，使徒保羅交待門徒提摩太，說：“應當把你在許多見證人面前從我這裡聽見的，交託給那些又忠心又能夠教導別人的人”（提摩太後書2:2新譯本）。從此可知，基督的教義要一代一代的被傳留下來一直到今天。傳留下來的不是人的話，不是人的假設、旨意和教導，乃是神的真理。
早期的基督徒都重視敬拜神的聚會。最初的時候，他們天天聚集聆聽使徒的教訓，敬拜神。地點是耶路撒冷，猶太人的“聖殿”以及基督徒的家裡。基督的教義被傳到耶路撒冷之外以後，基督徒聚會在家中，在河邊，在山洞裡。基督徒開始受到逼迫之後，他們聚會在墓窖里。無論如何，連冒生命的危險，他們還是要聚會。這些基督徒就是我們的榜樣。他們聚會敬拜神，我們也應該這樣做。
耶穌基督建造教會以後的頭幾年，基督徒都是猶太人。因為猶太人已經有幾百年的教導、習慣和歷史使得他們前往神的聖殿或會堂讀經、禱告、敬拜，所以他們從猶太教的敬拜禮俗和信仰轉為基督教的教導和敬拜方式是不太難。但是，非猶太人開始成為基督徒以後，也許情況大不相同。離開異教的非猶太人必須養成新的習慣，就是每當星期日要跟別的基督徒聚會，榮耀、感謝那位在天上的天父。他們要讀經、禱告、領用聖餐、唱詩歌讚美神。使徒不但教導他們如此作，使徒也表示千千代代的基督徒也要這樣做。包括您和我。
最早的基督徒有他們的問題和不道德之行為，沒錯。他們不是完全人，他們犯了很多罪。在犯罪的過程當中，他們不能當做我們的榜樣。但是，新約的作者寫信給他們，勸他們悔改，糾正他們的壞行為時，給他們的教導就變成後代基督徒的指南，變成萬代基督教會的教義。所以，希伯來書的作者寫信告訴那些對信仰不熱心的基督徒說，“我們不可放棄聚會，好像有些人的習慣一樣；卻要互相勸勉…”（希伯來書10:25），等於告訴萬代的基督徒，不可以停止聚會。
最早的基督徒時常聚會敬拜神，所以今日的基督徒也應該如此行。包括您和我。
Why Christians Attend Worship Every Sunday
03: Because the First Christians Set an Example
By Edward Short
One of the special characteristics of Christianity is that there is only one authority and standard in Christianity, and that’s the Bible. People who confess Jesus Christ to be the Son of God accept the Bible as their compass for life, and as the blueprint for Christianity. This article presupposes that the Bible is the only book wherein Christians can find the will of God.
The Bible records that the earliest Christians often met together and worshiped the true God of heaven, the God who saved them. After his resurrection, and before he ascended back to heaven, some of the very last things that Jesus said on earth were directed to his apostles. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:18-20 NRSV). The worship assemblies were major opportunities for the earliest Christians to hear the apostles and other teachers speak, and thus learn the teachings of Jesus. No wonder that the apostle Paul told his disciple Timothy, “…what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well” (2 Timothy 2:2 NRSV). From this we can see that the teachings of Jesus Christ were to be transmitted from one generation to the next, all the way to today. The teachings were not the words of men, not the assumptions, will or doctrines of men, but were the truths of Scripture.
The early Christians emphasized the worship assembly. At the beginning of the church they met together daily and received instruction and worshiped God. The venues were the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and the homes of Christians. After the teachings of Jesus were spread beyond Jerusalem, Christians met together in homes, on river banks and in caves. After Christians began to be persecuted, they met in the catacombs. Whatever the situation, even when their lives were put at risk, they still wanted to meet together. These Christians serve as examples to us; they worshiped God, and we should do the same.
For some time after Jesus established his church, Christians were all Jews. Jews had several hundred years of teaching, history and habit of going to the temple or synagogue to learn Scripture, pray and worship, so it was not difficult for them to transition from Jewish ceremony and faith to Christian belief and worship. After non-Jews started becoming Christians, however, perhaps the situation changed. The Gentiles who came out of paganism had to acquire the new habit of attending the assembly each Sunday with other Christians to glorify and thank their Father in heaven. They read Scripture, prayed, partook of the Lord’s Supper and sang praises to God. Not only did the apostles teach them to worship in this way, but they also indicated that thousands of generations of Christians to come were to do this as well. Including you and me!
It’s true that the earliest Christians had their problems as well as their moral failures. They were imperfect people and they committed many sins. They don’t serve as our examples in their sins, but when the New Testament writers penned letters and urged them to repent and change their sinful ways, those instructions became the guide for later generations of Christians, and the doctrine of the church of Christ. So when the author of Hebrews wrote to a group of Christians who had lost their enthusiasm for their faith, and said, “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…” (10:25 NRSV), his words had the effect of telling Christians of all ages that they should never stop worshiping God.
The earliest Christians assembled often to worship God, so Christians today should do the same. Including you and me!