Where does it say in the Bible that one has to go to the Church?

Question: Some people say that it is not necessary that we have to go to the Church; we listen to God’s Word through You Tube and say our prayers while at home. Is this correct?

Answer:

        To understand the answer to this question it is essential that we understand the meaning of the word “Church” according to the Bible. The word from the original Greek language translated as Church is ecclesia. According to the Bible the Church is not a physical building made of bricks and stones, but a gathering of the people of God’s household (1 Timothy 3:15), it is the dwelling place of God (Ephesians 2:22). The definition of the Church as given in the Bible is: “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours” (1 Corinthians 1:2).

        At the time of the establishing of the first Church the Christian Believers regularly daily gathered together, and the purposes of their gathering together were: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). At that time they did this either in the place of worship or in house-holds, and it was the Lord who joined those who were saved into His Church “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:46-47). In other words, the gathering together of the members of the ecclesia was a daily event, and its purpose was to learn the Word of God, to Fellowship together, to Pray together, to participate in the Holy Communion together, and to Worship the Lord together – and they “continued steadfastly” in this, i.e. their gathering together like this was taken very seriously, and had a great importance in their lives.

        Wherever the Gospel of salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus went, and the people accepted this Gospel, and they incorporated the Word and life of the Lord into their own lives, there this gathering together was also accepted and emulated, and Churches started to gather in the houses of the Christian Believers (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 1:2). Therefore, it is apparent that for a Christian Believer it was expected and necessary to gather together in this manner, as something according to and in the will of the Lord. In the Epistle to the Hebrews we find another instruction from the Lord about this that as the second coming of the Lord approaches, the gathering together of the Christian Believers should not diminish but increase even more: “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

        Hence going to the Church is not a ritual or a formality that can be fulfilled this way or another and considered as accomplished. But this is gathering in the House of God, it is coming into the presence of God so that we may increase in His nearness, learn of His Word, and being members of God’s spiritual household we need to fulfill our part and responsibilty towards God’s family; and by doing so we get the opportunity to learn about and take care of the other members of our spiritual family and grow together with them, and it is also essential to ensure the spiritual growth and progress of a Christian Believer.

        The Lord is not in the least interested in every person who comes in and records his or her presence in the physical building made of bricks and stones, called as the Church, because He is not pleased with fulfilling of formalities and rituals but by obedience to Him (1 Samuel 15:22-23; Job 35:7; Isaiah 1:11-20; Malachi 1:10), and as shown from Hebrews 10:25 above, it is the Lord’s command that Christian Believers gather together more and more. Listening to a message on the You Tube and saying prayers may fulfill a formality or a ritual, but can never be seen or accepted as fellowshipping with other Believers. And, as is stated in Acts 2:42 it is not possible for Christian Believers to gather together for the “breaking of bread” i.e. participating in the Holy Communion through the You Tube.

        Therefore going to Church is not a ritual or formality, rather, because of growing in the nearness of the Lord, of learning His Word, of being a member of His family it is a way of fulfilling our responsibilities towards our spiritual family, a means of knowing, learning about and taking care of the members of our spiritual family, it is essential for the spiritual growth and progress of of a Christian Believer. Therefore it should be a priority for every Christian Believer to come to Church or the House of God and they should eagerly look forward to the opportunities to be in the House of God and fellowship with the other children of God (Psalms 84:1-2, 10; 122:1). But those who only think and care about fulfilling the requirements of the christian ‘religion’, they are not serious and sensitive towards the instructions and commandments of God, rather they are only interested in fulfilling the rituals and formalities of a ‘religion’, for which they have made their own concepts and remain entangled only in them – which Biblically is wrong, and unacceptable.

Following non-Christian marriage rituals, ceremonies and practices.

Should the people coming into the Christian Faith from non-Christian backgrounds continue to follow their former non-Christian matrimonial rituals, or should they leave them? Should we wait for the Lord to change them?

  

Answer:

        God’s word the Bible has many things to say and teach about marriage and marital relationships, but there are no specific instructions given regarding particular marriage rituals, ceremonies, and practices – neither in the Old Testament and the Law given through Moses, nor in the New Testament teachings of the Lord Jesus or in the epistles written under the inspiration and guidance of God’s Holy Spirit. Momentarily, this may seem quite odd and unacceptable, but in fact it is a proof of God’s wisdom and foresight. Had it been written at any place in the Bible what the marriage related rituals and ceremonies ought to be, then all marriages not solemnized according to those rituals and ceremonies would have become Biblically ineligible and illegal. In such a situation, on the acceptance of the Gospel by the Gentiles and their coming into faith into the Lord Jesus, all their marital relationships (not having been solemnized according to the Biblically stated rituals and ceremonies) would have become ineligible and illegal, resulting in disruption of families, and causing a social chaos, making it even more difficult, rather well-nigh impossible for people to accept the gospel and come to Faith in the Lord Jesus. But in the existing situation, there is neither any need nor instruction to annul marital relationships on accepting the Gospel and coming into Faith in the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 7:10-14).

        All the marriage rituals, ceremonies and practices that we see amongst Christians, are actually not Biblical practices and ceremonies, but those brought by the European settlers from their places. Wherever they went in the world and wherever the Gospel was carried by them, they also carried their rituals, practices and ceremonies with them; and the local people of those places also started to emulate them and follow their “christian” practices. But at the same time over a period of time, some local practices also got mingled into those “christian” practices. Nowhere in the Bible has this been said to be an unacceptable or wrong practice. All that the Bible teaches and asks is that whenever a matrimonial relationship is entered into it should be lived out with all faithfulness and fidelity, as the Lord Jesus does with His Bride –the Worldwide Church, and as the Church is expected to live towards the Lord (Ephesians 5:22-32). Therefore for Biblical marital relationships, there is no other prescribed practice to be followed. Generally speaking, what the world accepts as “Christian” marital practices and ceremonies, are not from the Bible but from the European settlers who brought with them the Gospel of Salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus and spread it in the lands they settled in.

        Marital practices, e.g. wearing of Sindur (Vermilion) on the forehead, Mangal-sutra (Marriage Necklace), Marriage Bangles, and other similar practices etc., are all local practices of different regions of the Land. But all of them have some religious implications or significances attached with them. When these practices are followed, then automatically the understanding that goes out amongst the people is that the religious implications and significances associated with those practices is also being acknowledged and given due honor, even though the now Christian person has no intention of conveying such an implication. But on seeing the presence of those signs and their observances, inadvertently the message that goes across is that a religious acknowledgement and honor is being accorded to those non-Christian practices and rituals.

        Since it is the purpose of the life of Christian Believers to glorify and honor the Lord Jesus through their lives and to preach and propagate the life of salvation received from the Lord Jesus, therefore the presence of these practices and signs inadvertently and unknowingly negates this very important and primary purpose of a Christian Believer’s life, it runs contrary to the Christian Believer’s life of witnessing for the Lord Jesus. Moreover, it provides an opportunity for non-Christians to raise the question that when you can accept and follow these marriage related practices and signs then why can you not also accept and follow other religious practices and ceremonies of our religion? In such a situation if the Christian Believers says that they only accept them as signs of marriage, but do not accept any of their religious implications and significances, it can be a stumbling block for the people of other religions, and provoke them into giving an adverse reaction, they may take it as an affront or insult to their religion and religious practices, which can have serious adverse outcomes. Therefore it is better to observe and follow only those rituals and practices which the community and people know and accept as “Christian”; and after coming into faith in the Lord to leave aside all the other rituals, practices and ceremonies (1 Corinthians 10:31; 2 Corinthians 5:15)।

   The Lord has given the responsibility of taking His teachings to other people and of helping them in understanding and following His teachings to us Christian Believers (Matthew 28:19-20)। Therefore it is our responsibility to convey this message regarding the truth and implications of the marriage rituals, ceremonies and practices to those still engaged in following them. We cannot compel or forcibly ensure that people accept and follow these teachings – that is God’s work, He will do it in His way. But to bring God’s teachings to the people so that God can work in their lives is our responsibility. Therefore prayerfully and humbly explain the situation and its implications to the people, and God will use the seed of His Word sown by us in His own time and method to bring about the required change in the lives of the people (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).

What is Salvation according to the Bible, and how can it be obtained?

Take a look at some verses from the Bible related to the spiritual condition of man, its consequences and the way out of the situation, taken from the letter written by the Apostle Paul to the Christian Believers in Rome:

Romans 3:20-30 :-

Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

Romans 3:22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Romans 3:25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,

Romans 3:26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.

Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

Romans 3:29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,

Romans 3:30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

According to the Bible man is a sinner by nature i.e. he sins because of his inherent sin nature and not that because of sinning he becomes a sinner. In other words man is under the control of an inherent tendency to sin, because of which man is separated from the fellowship and life of God – because sin separates man from God: “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2). This separation from God is death, i.e. the eternal separation from God in hell. Just as a person drowning in water is incapable of pulling himself out of the water by pulling on his head or hairs, and he needs someones help; similarly a person in his sins is incapable of either saving himself from the deleterious consequences or attaining to the standards of God’s righteousness and holiness. All of man’s righteousness is like filthy rags in the sight of God “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6), and because of their spiritually unclean state nobody is capable of bringing out anything clean from themselves “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!” (Job 14:4); “Who can say, "I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin"?” (Proverbs 20:9). Therefore, “How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman?” (Job 25:4)।

The work of deliverance from their sins that man is incapable of doing, has been accomplished for mankind by God. God was born as man - the Lord Jesus Christ. Despite living as a man in the world the Lord Jesus lived a sinless and pure life “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). The Lord took upon Himself all the sins of the entire world, He who knew no sin became sin by taking upon Himself the entire sins of the whole world “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21), “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree")” (Galatians 3:13), “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24); and then in that state of having become sin, the Lord bore for them the death that mankind had to bear – i.e. He took upon Himself and suffered the full punishment for all the sins of entire mankind. The Lord sacrificed Himself and died on the Cross, He was buried, and to prove His Deity and being victorious over death, He rose up from the dead on the third day in His physical body – “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The life, death and resurrection from the dead of the Lord Jesus are not mere beliefs or concocted stories, rather they are irrefutable historical facts whom no one till date has been able to disprove despite innumerable efforts to do so, and there are sufficient proofs for these facts outside God’s Word the Bible, in the writings of people from those days.

Because the Lord Jesus has, for each and every person of the world, whosoever he may be – of any time period, place, race or nation, religion etc. paid in full for their sins, therefore no man needs to seek a solution for their sins through their own efforts. Now whosoever believes on the Lord Jesus and, asks Him for forgiveness of their sins, and voluntarily with a honest heart accepts the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross, His death, burial and resurrection from the dead on the third day, and submits his life to the Lord Jesus, he receives the pardon for his sins from the Lord, and gets reconciled with God “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2); and this person then becomes a child of God, a member of His family – “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13)।

This is Salvation or Being Saved or being Born Again – being delivered from the perishable worldly state and eternal damnation of hell i.e. “death”, by the grace of God through coming to faith in the Lord Jesus becoming a child of God and receiving the life of eternal blessings and God’s fellowship and protection for eternity – being delivered from the state of death and coming into the state of eternal life; not through any works but solely by the Grace of God, through faith in the Lord Jesus.

Ephesians 2:1-9 :-

Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

Ephesians 2:2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

Ephesians 2:3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

Ephesians 2:5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Ephesians 2:6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Ephesians 2:7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Ephesians 2:9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-13)

Of all the parables and teachings given by the Lord Jesus this is one of the most difficult to understand and explain. The difficulty is primarily because it is apparent from what we read and see that the steward has done wrong, he has been dishonest, but yet it appears that the Lord Jesus is commending him, and presenting him as an example worth emulating. This is true to some extent, but not entirely.

To understand the Lord Jesus's intentions in this parable we need to pay attention to what the steward used – planning, smartness, prudence, purpose and appropriate methodology, to make the most out of the circumstance he was in. From the latter verses i.e. 10 to 13, it is quite apparent that the Lord is clearly teaching against dishonesty and wealth acquired through wrong means; hence it stands to reason that here in the parable, the Lord could not be saying or implying to His disciples that the steward's dishonesty was something worth emulating. Yet, there is no doubt that the Lord Jesus did find something worthy in what the steward did, and therefore asked His disciples to learn from what the steward did and implement it in their lives. The things that the Lord commended in the steward were, his sense of keeping his wits about him in dire circumstances, his being smart and prudent, and his working with a plan to fulfill his purpose (Luke 16:3-4).

That steward knew that the time has come for him to give an account Luke 16:2; and he was also aware of his impending fate. But he did not loose heart or give up; instead he used whatever time and resources were available to him, he did all that he could do, to ensure that his future does not remain dark, but becomes good (Luke 16:5-7). This is what the Lord is teaching to His disciples (Luke 16:8), that as the people of the world are they too should be clever, and learn to use their resources, whatever they have, worthily and properly. The Lord has not called us to be foolish or gullible, but to be clever and discerning (Matthew 10:16). It is not that the Lord want us to be devious, but that we learn to take stock of the situation at hand, and then prudently act accordingly (Luke 12:56-58; Luke 14:25-33; Matthew 10:23).

This is not just the teaching of the Lord Jesus, or only the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the book of Proverbs begins with instructions to be wise, prudent and understanding (Proverbs 1:1-7); and immediately goes on to warn about the serious consequences of not paying heed to these instructions to be wise, prudent and understanding (Proverbs 1:20-33). David, a man after God’s heart, behaved wisely in carrying out his responsibilities and caring for preserving his life (1 Samuel 18:5, 14, 30). Psalms 119:98-100 shows us how God makes His followers more wise and understanding than the people of the world around them, and He teaches His people wisdom and prudence through His Word, so that they may utilize these qualities in their day to day life, when facing the people and circumstances of the world, in achieving their purpose of witnessing and living for the Lord.

It should be the endeavor of the Lord's disciples to enter their eternity in the Kingdom of God with honor; or, in other words, to enter with good rewards, which they will utilize in their eternity. While on earth, they should plan well, be smart and prudent, and keep looking for ways to fulfill their purpose of living and witnessing for the Lord, and making good use of the opportunities God provides them for this purpose. Like the Lord Jesus, His disciples should be resolute and firm in fulfilling their God given purposes (Luke 9:51-52); and like Paul, all disciples should plan their activities (2 Corinthians 1:17) and actively keep striving and trying one way or another to work for the Lord, instead of being passive and waiting for things to happen (Acts 16:6-10).

The entry into heaven, i.e. our Salvation is through coming to faith in the Lord Jesus, repenting of our sins and receiving the Lord's forgiveness for them, solely through the grace of God. But our rewards for our eternity are granted to us by God based on our works; the judgment of Christian Believers, the Born Again children of God will not be for their salvation, but for giving them rewards for their work for the Lord, and there will be some who will enter heaven for eternity empty handed (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

Through this parable of the Unjust Steward the Lord is teaching His disciples to ever remain undaunted by circumstances, be smart and prudent, to keep an eye on their purpose and endeavor to fulfill that purpose. No matter how difficult or disappointing the situation may be, they ought to adopt a prudent or appropriate methodology, as that steward did, to turn the dire circumstances into favorable ones. The Lord’s disciples ought to use their worldly possessions and wealth in such a manner that 'when it fails,’ or is gone, i.e. at the completion of their time on earth, the people who benefited from the disciple’s wealth and other resources on earth, will be the reason for the disciple’s being welcomed into eternity with honor (Luke 16:9).

Through this parable the Lord was not teaching us to be dishonest, but to be smart and prudent, to remain focused on our purpose, and without getting disappointed, without loosing heart, use all our circumstances wisely to maintain and increase our eternal rewards.

Inadvertent Snare

It says in Judges 8:27 – "Then Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house" God had given an extraordinary and absolutely unexpected victory to the Israelites over their oppressors through Gideon. As a memorial of his gratefulness towards the Lord, Gideon made an ephod and placed it in his home town, Ophrah. But God's Word the Bible tells us that instead, it became a snare for Gideon and his family.

From the proceeding verses (22-26) we see that Gideon had no intentions of taking any leadership role amongst the Israelites. He wanted to give all the honor and glory to God for this marvelous victory. From the spoils of this war he wanted to set up a memorial to glorify God, that too from the voluntary portions given by the people. Gideon had no intentions of using any idol or representations of pagan gods as a memorial; rather, he wanted to do this through an ephod. An ephod was a part of the unique dress worn by the priests in the service of God's Tabernacle (Exodus 28:4-8) and it was also used to find God’s will (1 Samuel 30:7-8). Thus we see that Gideon had no intention of going contrary to God in any manner in his desire to set up a memorial honoring God. His only mistake was that although he wanted to do this to honor and glorify God, but he did it according to his own wisdom, understanding, and desire, without asking God about it and without receiving any instructions about it from God; he went ahead and did whatever seemed right and good to him according to his own understanding and desire.

We see subsequently in, verses 33, 34 that after some time, after Gideon had passed away, the Israelites turned away from God and started following pagan gods again. It seems from verse 27 even while Gideon was alive, they started venerating the memorial set up by Gideon, using it as one of the objects of worship amongst others they had adopted from the gentile deities; because of which “It became a snare to Gideon and to his house.”

This example shows that Satan, without our knowing about it or realizing it, can use our good and God honoring intentions to entice people away from God and make them fall into false worship, which can then become a cause for stumbling, and falling into sin, instead of being a blessing. Whatever is necessary and required for worshiping and honoring God, God has already got it recorded along with the necessary instructions in His Word. Whatever else is there besides that which God has had recorded, is not from God; it is not in God’s will, and no matter how reverently it may be believed in and observed, it is, in Lord Jesus’s own words a “vain worship” (Matthew 15:9), i.e. an inconsequential and fruitless worship, or even an act of “iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23). Therefore it is essential for Christian Believers to not rely upon their own wisdom and understanding and act on assumptions in things related to God, more so in things related to worshiping and glorifying God, but to first seek God's will and only then act accordingly (1 Thessalonians 5:21); lest something we do today, creates problems for our children and subsequent generations. All that is required to honor and glorify God, has already been given to us by Him in His Word. To please God, we only need to learn His Word and obey it (1 Samuel 15:22), instead of devising our own assumed ways and methods of worshiping and glorifying God, and creating problems for ourselves and others, as happened through Gideon's ephod.

Is the Bible silent about Jesus’ life between 12 to 30 years of age?

Very many things have been given to us in God’s Word the Bible about God, His kingdom, our relationship with Him, His works, attributes, Laws, Commandments etc. but not everything about God has been given in the Bible. God in His Word has got written that which He wants us to know and follow so that we can draw near to Him, be saved, and become members of His family.

Although the Bible does not give us any details about Lord Jesus since the time He was a boy of 12 to the time when He started His ministry at the age of 30, but the Bible is not entirely silent about this time period either. This is a misinformation spread by those who oppose God and the Lord Jesus that the Bible is silent about the Lord’s life between 12 and 30 years of age; and based upon this misinformation they spread another falsehood that the Lord Jesus between this time period had gone to India, learnt spiritual things here and then returned to Israel to preach them. The fact is that the Bible very clearly states that the Lord Jesus has always lived with His family in Israel. In this context, take a look at some verses from the Gospel accounts from the Bible:

Matthew 13:54 “And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?”

Mark 6:2-3 “And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" And they were offended at Him.”

Luke 2:39-40 “So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”

Luke 2:51-52 “Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

Luke 4:16 “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.”

John 7:15 “And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"”

Take note that the references from Matthew, Mark, and John clearly show that everybody was amazed at the Lord’s teachings, as to how did He learn all that He preached ‘having never studied’. In other words, the people knew that the Lord Jesus had never gone anywhere to learn, He had remained amongst them, yet He had learnt such wonderful things, and preached so amazingly and magnificently. Had the Lord gone anywhere, then it would have been written about Him that the “people realized or understood that He had learnt it all in the foreign place He had gone to” – but nobody ever said this about Him. Secondly, all that the Lord Jesus preached was based upon and quoted the part of the Bible we now know as the Old Testament. Had the Lord learnt something anywhere else then He would not have taught from the Old Testament but would have then taught according to the ‘knowledge’ He had acquired from outside – but it was never so. All His teachings were based on the Old Testament part of God’s Word.

Take not of the references from Luke – these three references very clearly show that the Lord Jesus’s upbringing was in Nazareth of Galilee, the place where He resided with His family.

So although the Bible may not provide any details about the life of Lord Jesus between 12 and 30 years of age, but it does inform us that He was always there in Nazareth, in Israel during that time period and the people had seen Him live and grow up in that region.

Why does James 5:16 command us to "confess our sins to one another"?

To understand it correctly, James 5:16 should be seen in its context – as a part of the passage from James 5:13-18. When we do so, it becomes apparent that there are two processes mentioned in these verses – physical healing and trespasses or sins. While the healing being mentioned in James 5:16 is a continuation of the thought of healing given in 5:14-15a; the confession of trespasses or sins mentioned in James 5:16 is not for their forgiveness – since, that has already been stated as accomplished in 5:15, prior to asking the confessing to one another in 5:16. The word used here in the original Greek language and translated as ‘confess’ into English, is ‘exomologeo (ex-o-mo-lo-ǰe'-ō)’, and means to acknowledge or (by implication, of assent) agree fully, (Strong’s Bible Dictionary).

To help us understand it better, we need to keep in mind two other verses related to this thought. These two verses are, first, 1 John 1:8-10, where the apostle John, by using ‘we’, and the present tense ‘have’ (instead of the past tense ‘had’) is saying that everyone – he included, sins, even now; and second,Galatians 6:1-2, where the Apostle Paul is exhorting other Christian Believers to lift up and help in the restoration of those Christian Believers who somehow have fallen into some ‘trespass’ or ‘fault’, i.e. have done something wrong; and those helping should also bear in mind that at some time they too can fall into a similar predicament. These references help us understand and accept the fact that Biblically speaking, even established and mature Christian Believers have a tendency to fall into sin, to commit errors or trespasses, to fall short of expectations or standards of morality expected of them. In other words, nobody is perfect and above reproach, everybody always needs God’s grace, strength and forgiveness to remain honest and true to the Lord, and may at times need to be extricated out of unpleasant situations by the Lord.

With the above in mind, coming back now to James 5:16, we can surmise that what is being implied in the verse is that “do not be overly righteous, nor be a hypocrite; do not have a ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude, considering yourself over and above everyone else, or others around you. Rather, be humble and have an attitude of accepting and acknowledging that you too can falter and commit sin, therefore ‘confess your trespass to one another’ i.e. maintain an attitude of accepting and acknowledging before others that you too are prone to errors or sin, just as the others are, and you too need the prayers and help of others for your restoration, whenever you fail or fall.”

This verse is not saying that we need to go and declare our sins and short-comings to people around us, and our doing so will contribute to the forgiveness of those sins. Rather, it means to say that instead of being haughty, we need to remain humble and open to any correction from others; as and when they see some short-coming in us. Whenever our fault or trespass is brought to our notice, we should be gracious and humble enough to accept (‘confess’) it. We should also seek the prayer support of other Believers to keep us that way, or to be delivered from the situation, since the prayers of God’s people are a very effective means of help in any need.