Question
husband and I are attending church on the internet. Is this alright, or must we attend a church in our community? Isn’t there a phrase in the bible that says if two of us are there, He will join us?
Answer
Matthew 18:16 says that. The problem is that there are many other passages that you cannot fulfill by “attending church on the internet.”
The worship service of the New Testament church (which, btw, is the only one that counts) consisted of praying, singing, preaching, taking the Lord’s Supper, and giving. You can read passages in Acts 20, 1 Cor. 16, and 1 Cor. 11 that talk about these acts of worship.
I don’t know what kind of internet setup you have, but if you have audio and video, you might say that you fulfill praying, singing, and preaching. But how do you take the Lord’s Supper? How do you make an offering from what God has blessed you with?
It is not possible for your husband and yourself to attend church over the internet and be pleasing to the Lord. Read through Acts. Everywhere Paul went, he joined himself to a church. Everywhere. He didn’t do that because he didn’t have the internet. He did that because that is a Christian’s responsibility: to encourage those who are weak, visit the sick, preach the word, etc. It is not possible for you to fulfill God’s commandments over the internet.
By Michael Molloy
