The Narrow Path Ministries

I believe that I have heard the opinion taught from Steve and shared here on the forum that the example of Acts points to the church meeting as a time more for believers to gather together and that it wasn’t a place where then non-believer would come. These gatherings were meant for believers to be taught and built-up and then to go out and share (outside the church) to non-believers. This seems to be in contrast to today’s church service where we are typically encouraged by the pastor to bring non-believers to a Sunday service which is usually geared toward non-believers. I understand and see the reasoning behind the view of the church meeting being more for believers which I tend to favor, for the most part, but then I came across 1 Corinthians 14:23-25. To me this passage seems to speak as if it was normal for non-believers to be in attendance when the “whole church be come together”. I was hoping someone with a better understanding of this topic and passage could help me out.

Thanks,
Erich <><

In my opinion, the church meetings were not secretive or excluisive, other than at times of persecution. Unsaved relatives or friends of Christians, and merely curious heathen, probably visited the gatherings at times, just as is the case in the modern church.

What was not like many modern churches, however, was that the activities of the gathering were not directed toward the needs of the unbelievers present, but of the saints. Paul's instructions in the verses you mentioned indicate that the meeting should be sensitive to the possible presence of unbelievers, so as to avoid giving Christianity a bad face in the eyes of unsaved visitors, but the concerns of the gathering were focused on "the edification of the church" (1 Cor.14:4, 5, 12, 26/ Eph.4:11-12), not evangelism, nor to the self-improvement or entertainment interests of the unbelievers.

Amen Steve! Well said.