Can a Christian Worship Anywhere on the Lord’s Day?

Someone posed the question, “Can a Christian worship anywhere on the Lord’s Day?” Though not entirely sure what the person asking the question had in mind, there are some things that we can answer respecting the query.

In the first century, Christians worshipped with each other, of course. The first benchmark for Christian worship is that Christians assemble together for the purpose of worshipping God in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together” (Acts 20:7-8 NKJV). “…when you come together as a church…” (1 Corinthians 11:18). “…come together in one place…” (1 Corinthians 11:20, 33). “…the whole church comes together in one place…” (1 Corinthians 14:23). The writer of Hebrews cautioned first century Christians against failing to assemble with each other (Hebrews 10:25).

The location or where Christians assembled in the first century varied between public places (Acts 2:46; 3:1, 6; 5:42; 20:20) and private homes (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 2). There were no church-owned meetinghouses for the first 200 years after the establishment of the Lord’s church. The place of worship was not as significant as the Christian worship itself. The place of worship wasn’t especially holy, but the worshippers were holy (2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 6:1) as well as in the presence of Deity during worship (Matthew 18:20; 26:29).

Today, Christians will assemble on the Lord’s Day to worship with other Christians, but the place where these Christians gather for worship is not as important as the worship itself. That worship will be in spirit and in truth. As such, then, assembling with denominational people, characteristically who wear manmade names, follow manmade creeds, practice manmade worship and refuse our Lord’s redemptive plan (Mark 16:16), is not the same as assembling for worship with fellow Christians.