Why Church Isn’t Optional for Christians – Adapted from True Worshipers, by Bob Kauflin – original source here.

I recently heard a pastor of a large American church say matter-of-factly that the average person in his church attended one out of three Sundays. Sadly, he wasn’t saying it was a problem. He was simply making an observation.

It’s an observation that stands in stark contrast to the admonition in Hebrews 10:24-25: “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.”

If going to church is an item we check off our list every week, if we regularly look for excuses to skip out, if the Sunday gathering is more of an obligation than a joy, then perhaps we’ve forgotten why God thinks it’s so important.

As a reminder, let me suggest eight reasons gathering with God’s people each week is meant to be the high point of our week.

1. Jesus came to save a people, not random individuals.

From the days of Adam and Eve, God wanted a people who would declare the greatness of his name through the words and witness of their life together. God never intended our worship to be just “me and God.” That’s because our worship is the outflow of the relationships the Father, Son, and Spirit have always enjoyed.

Throughout the Old Testament God calls his people together to celebrate his goodness and renew his covenant with them (Exodus 19:6; Exodus 23:14-17). In the New Testament, Paul declares that the church is “the temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 6:16). Elsewhere he refers to us as “God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9).

Bottom line: God doesn’t give us a choice about whether we want to be in the church. If we’re Christians, we’re already part of the family. The question now is where and how we work out the details of family life.

2. We need to rehearse and be reminded of the gospel.

Robert Robinson confessed in his hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” that he was “prone to wander.” There’s nothing we’re more prone to wander from than our reliance on the gospel — the amazing news that Jesus has come to bear our sins, endure the punishment we deserved, and reconcile us to God.

This is of “first importance” and is meant to dwell in us richly as we meet (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Colossians 3:16). But we tend to wander from that news when we neglect to meet with the church. We meet together as redeemed saints to remind each other whose we are, how we got here, and why it matters.

3. God’s Word builds us together.

When the church gathers expectantly in one place at one time to hear God’s Word proclaimed, it’s a unique event. God himself addresses us as his people. The Spirit works in our hearts at once to convict, comfort, illumine, and exhort (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5, 2:13).

Not only are we being strengthened individually; we’re being strengthened as a body. We can thank God for opportunities to listen to downloaded messages on our own. We can thank him even more that we get to hear them with the church.

4. We were made to serve and care for one another.

The writer of Hebrews tells us we gather “to stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). I’m stirred up as I benefit from the different strengths, gifts, and abilities God has given to other members of my church. I need to be stirred up regularly. So do you.

In addition, each of us has been gifted in some way to serve our local church (1 Corinthians 12:4-7; 1 Peter 4:10). Of course that serving can and should take place outside Sunday mornings. But when we don’t meet together, we limit the opportunities we have to serve each other.

5. We become more aware of God’s presence.

We don’t have to scour the Internet to locate the latest outpouring of the Spirit. We don’t have to chase experiences and manifestations of the Holy Spirit “out there” — because he’s already promised to be “right here” as we meet with our local church.

As the new temple in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:19-22), the church is where God’s presence is now typically encountered. Why would we want to miss out on it?

6. We demonstrate our unity in the gospel.

The scattered church throughout the week is still the church. But gathering together is a physical demonstration and reminder of our distinctness from the world and our unity in the gospel. We show that we’ve been drawn apart from the world and drawn together to God.

Most of us instinctively (sinfully?) like to be with people who are a lot like us — people who like the same music, eat at the same restaurants, and shop at the same stores. But God is glorified when people who have no visible connection or similarity joyfully meet together week after week. They do it not because they’re all the same, but because the gospel has brought them together (Romans 15:5-7).

7. We can share in the sacraments.

Another way the unifying power of the gospel is made visible when we gather is through the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. When people are baptized, they’re publicly identifying with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4). But expressing their union with Christ is paramount to expressing their union with the church. No one is baptized into Christ who isn’t also baptized into his body.

In a similar way, sharing the Lord’s Supper not only signifies our communion with Christ, but with each other (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). That’s why it doesn’t make sense to take communion on our own. The very word communion informs what’s taking place. We’re remembering that we’ve been reconciled not only to God but also to those around us.

8. We magnify God’s glory.

God’s inherent glory never increases or diminishes. But that glory is more visible when we meet together to worship him. It’s through the church that the manifold wisdom of God is put on display (Ephesians 3:10). God is glorified through his people, not simply individuals.

Even as David communed with God alone while guarding his flocks, he was inspired to write, “I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you. (Psalm 35:18) He didn’t want to keep God’s glory to himself in the middle of a field. He wanted to share it with others.

* * *

Every Sunday morning there are dozens of voices trying to convince us there’s something better to give our time to than meeting with God’s people. Sleeping in. Cramming for an exam. Playing golf. Catching up on housework. Enjoying a late breakfast.

Don’t believe them. There are no normal Sundays. Just fresh opportunities to behold the glory of the Lord as we’re “transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Together.

Brian Croft is senior pastor of Auburndale Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He is also the author of Visit the Sick: Ministering God’s Grace in Times of Illness and Test, Train, Affirm, and Send Into Ministry: Recovering the Local Church’s Responsibility to the External Call. Brian blogs regularly at Practical Shepherding. He writes here:

I’ve been asked this question many times not just through my Practical Shepherding website, but even more recently in my own church by visitors. It is a common scenario. You move to a new area. You get find your new residence and job. You get the kids enrolled in school. Where you settle in a local church often becomes a longer, more drawn-out task.

After checking out all the churches you desire to visit, here are four questions to ask yourself as you narrow the search to make a decision.

1. Is this a church where my family will be regularly fed by God’s Word?

This is the first question that needs to be asked. Not just are they faithful to the Word of God, but will this church preach and teach in such a way that my soul and the souls of my family will be nourished? In other words, are they preaching expositionally through books of the Bible as the regular, steady diet of the congregation? This approach does not automatically answer this question, but it is a great place to start and evaluate.

2. Is this a church where I am convinced the care of my soul will be a priority?

Does this church have real pastors/elders who see their primary task to be the spiritual care and oversight of the souls of the members? In other words, just because they have powerful, biblical preaching does not mean your individual soul will be tended to on a regular basis. Ask the pastors. Ask other church members. It will not take much investigation on whether this work is a priority of the leadership of the church.

3. Is this a church where my family will experience meaningful Christian fellowship and accountability?

To know this, it will require a bit of a commitment to one church for a time to build relationships, attend some church fellowship events, and get to know some of the pastors and leadership. Yet you must have a realistic expectation as you are not yet a member, so do not expect to be treated as one.

4. Is this a church where I can serve God’s people and use my gifts for its benefit?

It will help to know where you are gifted and what some of the needs of the church are. Some needs can be filled by your simple presence and commitment. Also, do not assume you know what those areas of need are by your limited observations.

You should be able to know the answers to these questions within a few months of attending one church if you give yourself to the process. If you can answer in the affirmative to all four of these questions, it is a good possibility you have found your next church. At that point I would encourage you not to delay but to pursue membership.

Important Final Note

One final element is the key to persevering with the zeal required in this search. You and your family should feel a sense of persistent unease knowing that you are not in covenant fellowship with a local church and are not under the authority of under-shepherds caring for your souls. The freedom and absence of accountability many experience in the search for a new church can cause a sinful complacency.

In other words, you do not ever want to become comfortable being one of God’s sheep who has wandered away from the fellowship of the flock and the accountability of shepherds to care for you, even if that journey at the time feels fun and exciting.

6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

The centurion’s words reveal much concerning his view of authority.

1. He recognized Jesus had authority. That is very clear. The centurion knew that Jesus did not even need to come to his home to heal his paralyzed servant. Travel was unnecessary. All Jesus needed to do was speak a work – to give a command.

2. He recognized that Jesus’ authority, like his own, was delegated authority.

In ancient Rome, to disobey the centurion’s authority would have FAR reaching consequences. Rome stood behind the centurion. The centurion wore the uniform of Rome, having obtained Rome’s endorsement and backing. To disobey him would mean disobedience to Rome. To take on the authority of the centurion would have meant taking on all the power of the Emperor himself. The consequence of disobedience could be death. Continue reading →