DO YOU HAVE TO GO TO CHURCH?

Welcome to wake up castle rock and America

I’m your host, Willie Ayers member of Trinity Lutheran Church and School in Franktown, Colorado.

I got asked this question the other day. Nowhere does scripture mandate one's attendance at church as a condition of salvation. Paul writes, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

 

Does a Christian have to attend every service his church provides? The simple answer is "no." There is no New Testament command for believers to maintain perfect attendance at church. Attending every church service does not make a person "holier" than the one who misses a service here and there.

Our relationship with God is not based on rule-following or punching a time clock at church; it's based on our position in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2).

 

The question that matters in eternity is not "How many times was I in church" but "Did I truly know Jesus Christ?" (Matthew 7:21–23).

 

However, there is a problem with having a nonchalant attitude toward church attendance. We should not be ambivalent in the matter. God's plan in this age involves the church, which Jesus promised to build (Matthew 16:18), and we should be supporting God's plan enthusiastically.

However, why is church attendance going to church important?"

 

Simply put, the Bible tells us we need to attend church to worship God with other believers and be taught His Word for our spiritual growth. They had no designated church building back then, but "every day they continued to meet in the temple courts.

 

The early church "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer" (Acts 2:42). We should follow that example of devotion—and to the same things.

 

They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts" (Acts 2:46). Wherever the meeting takes place, believers thrive on fellowship with other believers and the teaching of God's Word.

 

"Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:24–25).

 

Interestingly, even in the early church, some made a "habit" of not fellowshipping with other believers.

Their example is not to be followed. The church is where our spiritual gifts best edify the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11–12). It is difficult to "spur" each other to love and good works if we are not attending church. How can we encourage one another if we're never around one another?

 

Church attendance is not just a "good suggestion" but God's will for believers. Hebrews 10:25 says we should "not be giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

Even in the early church, some were falling into the bad habit of not meeting with other believers. The author of Hebrews says that's not the way to go.

We need the encouragement that church attendance affords. And the end times approach should prompt us to be even more devoted to the church.

 

The church is where believers can love one another (1 John 4:12) and encourage one another.

 

(Hebrews 3:13), "spur" one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24), serve one another (Galatians 5:13), instruct one another (Romans 15:14), honor one another (Romans 12:10), and be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32).

 

When a person trusts Jesus Christ for salvation, they are made a member of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27). For a church body to function correctly, all its "body parts" need to be present and working (1 Corinthians 12:14–20). It's not enough to attend a church; we should be involved in some ministry to others, using the spiritual gifts God has given us (Ephesians