Go to church!
I recently had a conversation with X who never went to church anymore. He used to go, but not recently, not for a long time, to be honest. His reasoning was:
There are no good churches.
And he was quite frustrated with the phenomenon of “church”. And yes… unfortunately, we get that. Unfortunately, there are many “churches” that call themselves “churches” but are not. Unfortunately, religious manipulation is nothing new, and you can call yourself a “church”, but if you do not meet the requirements that God sets for a church, you are not a church. Full stop.
And yes, if you have been in that kind of “church”, we understand your frustration. We have experienced it ourselves and struggled with it for years. A painful time… but a time that also taught us A LOT. Especially about things like: what is a church, who is God, DO NOT trust people, and also: why do I go to a church, and why do I have to go to a church?
To explain that last point, let’s first look at this Bible verse:
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24-25
So, the question of whether you should go or not has been answered: yes. The Bible (God’s word) says that, and then my or your opinion is no longer relevant.
You see quite a few things in that verse:
And let us consider one another: the world is not an easy place unfortunately. As Christians, we are there for each other, and we must also be there for each other. So someone else must be there for you (and if that is not the case in a church, ask yourself whether it is a church or a “church”), but you must also be available for the other person. The following Bible verse uses imagery to illustrate this very clearly:
Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:11-12
In order to stir up love and good works: You cannot change the world on your own. Working together ensures that you reach God’s purpose more efficiently. And one of those purposes is to spread His love and do things for others that He sees fit to do.
And if you’re fed up with it… then you need a super fan. Someone who encourages you, cheers you up: thank you for your job for God this week, etc etc etc. And speaking of those good deeds? Why do we have to do that again?
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Colossians 3:17
And that is sometimes quite difficult if it is not such a fun job, right? Then you need a team to encourage you, and that team needs you to encourage them in difficult times.
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another: That’s clear, right? Do you feel addressed with the “as in the manner of some”? God wants to strengthen, build up, encourage you with it, and wants to use you again to strengthen, build up, encourage others. He does not ask this to bully you, but to help you, and to use you to help others. For His glory.
And so much the more as you see the Day approaching: Jesus could come back tomorrow, maybe even today. And then God will assess you for what you have done for Him. (see: Matthew 25:14-30) And God will also assess whether you simply did what He asked you to do:
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24-25
The quote “There are no good churches” is not correct and cannot be an excuse for not going to a meeting. Let’s change that quote to this:
There is no perfect person nor a perfect church as long as we are on this earth….
That already changes a lot! You are not perfect, no church is perfect. The Bible says this about you and me:
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Romans 3:23-24
The church is not a collection of saints, it is a collection of sinners who are in BIG need of God’s grace. You, too, are a sinner and sin, so suppose there is a perfect church, and you go there… then that church is no longer perfect… because you are there as a sinner.
Are we there yet? No, Unfortunately not. And this pains me to say. As you saw in the intro, unfortunately, there are also “churches” that are not churches. They have strayed far, far away from God. Yes, there could be some real Christians who visit them, but not every building where a Christian comes is a church. Real Christians sometimes come to a pub, but is a pub a church? No. And unfortunately, I have to say, with a heavy heart, it appears that real, Biblical churches… are becoming increasingly rare. But, they are there!
And that means that finding a real church can sometimes be quite difficult. That may mean that you have to visit a number of them, test them, to see whether it really is a church or a “church”. And if you stumble upon a “church” that is not a true biblical church:
And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
Matthew 10:14-16
Let’s make one part a bit clearer: “when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.”. It doesn’t say: “I’ll watch it for a while and if it’s not good and Biblical, give up your search, stay in bed on Sunday and put your shoes under your bed.” It says: “depart” and (loosely translated) let it go. Move on, keep searching is something else than: giving up, staying in bed.
Do you see the difference? Search on! Really, there are some really good churches, even today. That may mean searching, investigating, driving a little further on a Sunday morning, but it’s worth it!
Last but not least:
I visit an online church and watch the services online.
How can you, when you are sitting on your couch at home, do what that Bible verse says: Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, exhorting one another? There is no “one another” online. It’s just you, on the couch. If you do that, you are not fulfilling what Hebrews 10:24-25 says, you are not doing what God asks you to do. Oops…
Come on, get out of bed, put on your shoes, shake the dust off your shoes and go find a church that is really a church. They are really there!
