If you want to hear the answer to this question from the world, you will get a thousand different answers. Some use the excuse it’s my only day to rest. Others feel it’s the time to be with family. Many say they can worship anywhere, and to that, I say, “yes you can,” and we should worship wherever we are, in all situations. However, the excuses above are nothing more than excuses to do what you want to do. Those who allow family, personal rest, recreation, or an attitude of “do it your own way,” are doing nothing less than making an excuse to miss corporate worship. They have become their own god, doing it their own way.
So why should I go to church?
- It is an act of obedience. In Hebrews 10:25, the writer tells us we are to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. This is corporate worship. At the time this was written some were beginning to make excuses for missing the gathering to worship. The command here is that Christians should meet together for public worship. He encourages them to meet more often as the time of Christ’s coming back draws closer. Are we not closer to that time than they were? Yet, many feel it’s not important. If you read this verse, there is no way you can say going to church is not necessary to be obedient to Christ.
Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
- Church attendance helps us to stay focused on what is truly important. When you engage in worship, your focus is on Him. All the world outside takes a backseat to what is going on within the church, and in your heart. I like to take notes during the sermon. It helps me to stay focused on the message, and I also have them to go back to later. It lifts my spirit when I sing songs with biblical truths. It brings to mind verses like Psalm 73: 25-26, which remind me there is no one that can compare to His love for me and my love for Him. No one can meet my needs, and no one can satisfy my soul as He can. No one can or should take His place. Church attendance helps me to focus on praising Him.
Psalm 73:25-26 “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.”
- Corporate worship plays a major part in our sanctification. That is the process of becoming like Jesus, and it is to continue until the day we die or till Jesus comes back. When I gather with other believers, I am encouraged to be like Christ. I am exhorted to be like Christ. As I listen to the message from the pastor or participate in Sunday school or some sort of group study, I learn what God expects from me. I also learn where I am falling short of pleasing Him and how to change. To exhort is to strongly encourage one another. Over and over in the New Testament, you will find we are to gather and encourage each other. In Acts 27:22, we are exhorted to be of good cheer. So many times, we get discouraged and it’s important that we gather for encouragement. In I Thessalonians 4:1, we are exhorted to walk and please God so we can grow. We need each other as an example and as an encourager.
I Thessalonians 4:1 “Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.”
- Corporate worship is important for fellowship with those of like beliefs. We are to share a mission. It is a place where we can come together as believers apart from the world. It is a safe haven, a place where people come together and understand their purpose. It is a place where we can share our burdens and expect support. It is a place where community status, wealth or poverty, cultural background, or the color of skin doesn’t matter. We are all together with one purpose. We are to honor our Lord by obeying all He has commanded.
One day we will gather as the universal church, all believers are the church, not the building. We will worship with believers from all nations, every language, and every color of skin. Every believer that has placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and endured until the end, will be around the throne worshiping the one who redeemed us from the pits of Hell.
Revelation 7:9 “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;”
Colossians 1:23 “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;”
I believe a person who is in love with Jesus Christ will want to be in church. I know we are living in difficult times, and many are staying home and watching church online. That is a good thing if we can’t physically be there, but it’s not the same as being with other believers. I’m afraid it has become an opportunity for us to be lazy Christians, and use the virus as an excuse to stay home. If you have a compromised immune system you can be in danger, but if you go to other public places you have no excuse. You can be just as safe at church as you are at any other public place. Remember the command in Hebrews 10:25, and understand He can come at any moment. Where do you want to be this Sunday morning if He splits the eastern sky to come back for His own? Think about it.
John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
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