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| Photo Credit: Christian Courier |
"From time to time, someone objects to the need to attend
church regularly. They say they can be good Christians without participating in
church. I don't agree. The Bible encourages church attendance/involvement (1 Cor. 12-14). The letter to the
Hebrews states: "And 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).
We see in the Bible the example of the apostles and
disciples meeting together in worship and fellowship regularly (Acts 2:42). But why do people (professing Christians) skip church? I read recently an
interesting anecdote at sermonillustrations.com, where a pastor asked in
effect, What if we treated going to church like going to sports events? With
tongue-in-check, the pastor declared he's had it with sports:
"Want to know why? ....
"Every time I went, they asked me for money.
"The people with whom I had to sit didn't seem very
friendly.
"The seats were too hard and not at all comfortable.
"I went to many games, but the coach never came to call
on me.
"The referee made a decision with which I could not
agree.
"I suspected that I was sitting with some
hypocrites---they came to see their friends and what others were wearing rather
than to see the game.
"Some games went into overtime, and I was late getting
home.
"The band played some numbers that I had never heard
before.
"It seems that the games are scheduled when I want to
do other things.
"I was taken to too many games by my parents when I was
growing up.
"I don't want to take my children to any games, because
I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best."
In short, if you're looking for an excuse to miss church,
virtually anything will do.
Dr. D. James Kennedy made an interesting comment about
attending church or the lack thereof.Top of Form He said, "Though reared in Sunday school
and church as a child, as soon as able, in my early teens, I squawked loudly
enough that my parents quit sending me (note well: 'sending' me), and for ten
years I had nothing to do with Christ. Oh, I sought my pleasures, my
fulfillment, my joy, the meaning in my life in all of the things of this world
and found, I thought, some little satisfaction in it all. But I could go day
after day, week after week, month after month, without ever giving Christ one
single thought, and yet, if you were to ask me if I were a Christian, believe
it or not, I would have said yes."
Kennedy did not go to church because he did not want to go
to church. When he got converted and his heart was changed, God changed his
"wanter" (his term), and now he wanted to go to church...to hear
God's Word, to praise Him, to be with God's people.
There's an old statement among the nominal parishioners of
the Church of England that the role of the Church is to help people get
"hatched, matched, dispatched." That is, they get baptized when born.
They get married in the church. They have their funerals in the church. But in
the meantime, the church has little relevance to them. How sad.
I have found many personal benefits from attending church,
from participating in corporate worship, including many encouraging messages.
I find the music very uplifting. The church where I serve
uses traditional and classical music. It also makes a difference to be a part
of a corporate body of believers to hold each other up in prayer and
accountability.
We don't go to church per se for the benefits it may cause
us. But I have mentioned in this column before that researcher Dr. Byron
Johnson from Baylor University has found that on average, when a white
American attends church on a regular basis, he adds seven years to his life.
When an African-American attends church on a regular basis, he adds 14 years to
his life.
But most importantly, there's no indication in the Bible
that one can truly be a Christian while regularly separating from God's
people—the church. The church is where all of the "one anothers" of
Scripture (e.g., "Love one another," "pray for one
another," "bear with one another") are lived out. And the
Apostle John warns that we cannot claim to love God if we reject each other,
adding, "No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in
us and his love is perfected in us" (1 John 4:12).
Church attendance and participation is a good thing all
around—and it's not optional for the Christian.
Article written by Jerry Newcombe, D.Min., is an on-air host/senior producer
for D. James Kennedy Ministries. He has written/co-written 28 books,
e.g., The Unstoppable Jesus Christ, Doubting Thomas (w/ Mark Beliles,
on Jefferson), and What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (w/ D. James
Kennedy) & the bestseller, George Washington's Sacred Fire (w/
Peter Lillback) djkm.org @newcombejerry. Article first posted on ChristianPost.com
