When I asked the question “Why
must we attend church?” I must admit that I cringed when I heard the most
common response as to why we must attend church. “Because the Bible says so!” I made a statement the other day that I am
sure some cringed at as well. I said “You
cannot be a growing, obedient Christian apart from Bible reading, prayer, and
church attendance.” Have we ever
considered the reason why the Bible tells us that it is important to attend
church? Scripture presents some
important spiritual disciplines to help us grow in our faith, be encouraged in
our faith, and learn in our faith. Bible
reading is one. The Bible is God’s
revelation of who He is and His plan for us.
Do you want to know God more? Do
you want to know His plan for us? Then
read His Word. It is in His Word that we
can learn these two things more. As it
is in every relationship, communication is key.
One sided communication in relationships are a sign that the
relationship is not as strong as some people think. The same is said in our own personal
relationship with God. I imagine that we
spend more time talking with God instead of allowing God to speak to us through
His Word. Prayer is us communicating
with God. Why do we pray? Prayer is our dependence on God. When we pray, we are in the process of
showing how much we trust and rely on Him.
God knows our needs and our burdens before we come to Him in
prayer. Why must we pray? Perhaps, because if God supplies our needs or
care for our burdens without us asking, we could take for granted how much we
need God. Perhaps, we would rob God of
His glory by giving praise to ourselves rather than God. Perhaps, we will arrive to the point in our
prideful nature to say that we do not need God.
Whatever the case may be, prayer is essential. Our prayer life must be consistent in
thanksgiving, adoration, confession, and petitions. We need God and prayer helps us to realize
that. God does not NEED our prayers. We need prayer to keep us humble and to keep
our perspectives correct. So now we come
to church attendance? Why is it
important to our faith? Why is church
attendance important to the growth of our Christian walk? Let us look at what the writer of Hebrews has
to say:
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope
without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to
stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as
is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see
the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23-25)
First, notice the phrase “not neglecting to meet together.” Now I am sure some are shouting, “SEE, it
does say so?” I admit it does, but there
is so much more to it as the entire text reveals. In fact, these three verses tell us why
church is important in the life of a believer.
1)
It provides an opportunity to “stir up” each
other to love and good works. The phrase
stir up has a twofold action. The
negative action is to irritate. The
positive action is to arouse or excite, which is the case being used here. Church gives us an opportunity to excite each
other to love and good works which is a manifestation of that love. Of course there is the love for God and then
the love for each other.
2)
It provides an opportunity for us to encourage
one another. Looking at the ministry of
Jesus, there is a common theme that seems to exist. Not just salvation but “one another.” Jesus showed it in His ministry and Paul
writes of it in His letters. We need one
another. In fact, the idea of our need
for social interaction exists in the book of Genesis at the creation, when God
said it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18).
So why do we need this stirring and encouragement? Because the “Day” is drawing near. Time is short. With our eyes on the future, we know that
sometime soon, Jesus is returning. We
need each other so that we can encourage each other and stir up each other to
the work of the Kingdom. We cannot do it
alone. I liked how a new Christian puts
it once when we were talking about church attendance. Church is a support system for her Christian
faith that she cannot get anywhere else.
How fitting. So when we talk
about church attendance, don’t use the easy to go to “Because the Bible says
so!” It actually tells us the reason why
it is important.
I was glad when they said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the LORD!" (Psa 122:1)
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Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
Before our Father’s throne
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one
Our comforts and our cares.
We share each other’s woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.
An old guy in his Volvo is driving home from work when his
wife rings him on his cell phone.
"Honey", she says in a worried voice, "be
careful. There was a bit on the news just now, some lunatic is driving the
wrong way down the freeway".
"It's worse than that", he replies, "there
are hundreds of them!"
