Have you ever heard anyone say this to you? “I don’t need to go to
church. You must just need church more than I do. I have church at my home. I’m
doing fine spiritually on my own.” It is often said as if the person views church
as some type of crutch that Christians use to barely get themselves through
their spiritual life. There are several issues that concern me about these
types of statements, the first major one being that it says in Hebrews chapter
ten, verse twenty five, “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.” Not only does the scripture exhort us to actively
assemble together, it also states in Ephesians that “Christ also loved the
church and gave himself for it.”
The simple fact is I love the church. I don’t just go because I
have to, I go because I want to. I cannot count the many times that I have
needed, actively needed, to be in church and listen to the words that were said
and the songs that were sung. I also know that I am not that different from
anyone else. Can church be a crutch to help us stand spiritually? Absolutely.
What I don’t understand is how that makes me less of a Christian. We all need
help. That’s why we need a Savior, and if we need a Savior, we need to worship
him.
Another issue I have with this
argument is that at its core it is incredibly selfish. It is very easy to think
somehow that church is all about us but it’s not. At its core, I don’t go to
church because I need to be propped up all the time. I go to church because I
need to worship the creator. Church is a set-apart time in your week where you
physically step away from the craziness that is your life and you sit down (or
stand) and just worship him. If you get that same amount of worship at home
with your TVs and your children and animals or even just day-to-day demands of
life—well let’s just say you must be superhuman. God wants us to worship him.
Matthew, Chapter four states, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true
worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh
such to worship him.” God actively seeks for those to worship him in spirit and
in truth. So in a way, he needs us to be in church.
Additionally, there is arrogance yet
again in thinking we can get through this spiritual life on our own without the
fellowship of the brethren. Listen and truly hear the statement, “I
don’t need church”. This implies that you don’t need fellowship which is
actively against basic biblical principles. First John, one and three states,
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye may also have
fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the father, and his son Jesus
Christ.” Whereas I do recognize that our true fellowship is with the father as
it points out in this verse, that doesn’t undermine what is really being said
here. At the beginning of the verse it states that they are preaching the word
and truth of God so that others will have fellowship with God and with the
saints of God. Church should be used as an evangelism tool. We should be
preaching to lost sinners so that they can have fellowship with the father and
with us. If you are saying you do not actively need this fellowship, then you
are saying that you are okay with the idea that you and your family are the
only ones that go to Heaven. You are saying that you don’t care if anyone else
hears the gospel.
Last but not least, let’s get our
heads out of the sand and realize that even if you don’t need to go to church
on any given night that it doesn’t matter because I need you to. The
people that go to church need for you to be there. The need for you to care
enough to come even if it’s raining or you have a mountain of work or a
mountain of homework to do that night. They need for you to come even if you
are so tired you can’t string a coherent sentence together. They need for you
to care, to be active, to participate, to encourage, to give your testimony. As
my father often says, “The church will only be as excited and dedicated as you
are.” Quit lying to yourself. We need each other. The church needs you and is
calling you to active duty. Don’t know what your gift or calling is? Doesn’t
matter. Pitch in where they need help. Most all of us who are active in the
church don’t think we are filling in where our calling is. That doesn’t negate
the fact that someone has to do it. Someone has to sing. Someone has to preach.
Someone has to testify. Someone has to teach. Someone has to cook food. Someone
has to clean. There are a million jobs in the church for you to do and if your
church or congregation is anything like mine, more often than not, most of us
are doing more than one job because we don’t have enough people stepping up to
the plate.
Forget whether or
not you need the church. The spiritual walk isn’t about you. It’s about
sacrifice of self from the moment we kneel at the altar till death. Forget
whether or not you need the church. The church needs you.
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