Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: July 8, 2007
“EATING IN THE CHURCH BUILDING”
A Review of a Study on Fellowship (Part 1)
Ben Justice
A while back I was handed an extensive study on the Biblical doctrine of
fellowship in general, with emphasis on eating in the church building in
particular. The study is entitled “The Issue at Hand.” The author’s name is not
given. “What is the issue?” the writer asks. He asks, “Is there New Testament
authority for the local church to plan and provide materially (stove, utensils,
etc.) for social activities in its work” (Pg. 7)? He answers his question on
page 12 by saying, “The problem still exists that we have no authority for the
church to plan and provide materially (stove, utensils, etc) for social activities”
(emph. his). He asks on page 21, “Is there New Testament authority for the local
church to plan and provide materially (stove, utensils, etc.) for social activities in
its work?” He then answers by saying, “The answer is simply no.”
After having read this study through twice, I actually agree with most everything
that is said. He does a very nice job showing how Bible authority is established.
He explains very thoroughly what Biblical fellowship is and how the word
“fellowship” has been redefined and abused. The part I disagree with is what he
said relative to eating in the church building. He spends some time addressing
the statement Paul made in I Cor. 11:22, wherein he asked, “What? have ye not
houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that
have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.” He
also referenced v. 34, which says, “And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that
ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I
come.” As the writer points out, Paul corrected the Corinthian abuses of the Lord’
s Supper in particular, and the worship assembly in general. After referencing
what Paul said in v. 22 & 24, he made this statement: “Paul corrects their
abuses, but notice what he did NOT say, You should wait until after the worship
service for the church to provide for eating and drinking. He said, "Have ye not
houses to eat and drink in?” (emph. his). The implication of his statement is this:
It is sinful for the church to enjoy a common meal in the church building after
the worship services are over. We shall address this later on in this study.
On page 5, he declared,
The eating in the building issue can first be helped by stating what the issue is not. The issue has
never been that a person could not eat something in a building owned by the church. For
example, if a saint came to the building and was destitute and in need of being fed, then the
church could use the building to feed this saint. They could bring over a meal to help the saint in
this need. Why? The church has the obligation to help those saints that are needy by being
benevolent to them (Acts 2:44-45; Acts 4:34-35; Acts 6:1-3, etc.).
I agree with the above statement. But, what if the brother or the entire church
providing the meal to the needy saint in the church building wanted to eat
alongside him? Would this be sinful? What if the preacher brought his lunch
and ate in the church office while doing work? Wayne Jackson penned the
following:
This writer (i.e., Wayne Jackson — BJ) knows of a congregation, of the “no-eating-in-the-building”
persuasion, that recently constructed a new church facility. Each Saturday, as the project was
under way, the members would convene for work sessions. In connection therewith, they would
eat their noontime meal “in the building.” In the Sunday they moved into the building, suddenly,
“eating in the church” became sinful! One is tempted to say that it’s almost as if the building “got
baptized” and “sanctified.” This sort of ideology smacks more of carnal ritualism (a sacred
sanctuary), than it does of Christianity (A Church Divided, Pg. 12-13).
I wonder what this brother would say about the above situation described? I
would venture to say that if it were not for the statement made in I Cor. 11:22,
eating in the church building would not even be an issue. Many have abused
this passage to teach something it does not teach, and that is, it is sinful to eat
a common meal in the same building in which one worships God. The one who
penned this study rebukes something which Paul did not rebuke or even
addressed. Paul rebuked abusing the Lord’s Supper and turning it into a
common meal — thus defiling the worship assemblies. Paul nowhere addressed
the matter of eating and enjoying a common meal after the worship services are
over. To place this kind of interpretation on the text is to pervert the context
and contradict Acts 20:11. We shall examine why next week.