Why Go to Church?

Many individuals have said over the years they don’t need to go to church.  They pray, they read the Bible, they know Jesus, they feel close to God just walking through His creation. So, why should they need to go to church?

There are several good reasons to be involved in a local church. Let’s look at some of them.

 Fellowship is a good reason.  Christians aren’t meant to be loners.  God is a communal God, He likes interacting with His children, and He’s designed us to be communal creatures.  We find it hard to walk the Christian walk without other Christians around to help us. When adversity strikes, it’s good not to face it alone. We are encouraged by others in our Christian life.

Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV)
²⁴  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
²⁵  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.

Reproof.  In this case, “reproof” can mean to rebuke.  A Christian might no longer realize he’s living with sin.  Normally, the Holy Spirit will convict him of the sin, but repeatedly practicing that sin will harden his heart. He can become jaded to the point he no longer thinks of it as sin.  Sometimes a Christian is aware of his sin but rationalizes it away.  Obedience to God’s reproof is a blessing:

Proverbs 1:23 (ESV)
²³  If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.

Correction is different from reproof.  It’s meant to keep our beliefs straight.  I was supposed to present a Bible study at a rest home a few weeks ago.  I came across a portion of Scripture I didn’t understand which made me dig deeper, and I came up with a pretty odd explanation of the passage.  No commentary addressed what I was thinking, so I called a learned friend of mine who agreed it was a little too spooky to be teaching without a solid basis.  After all, teachers are held to a higher standard (James 3:1).

That’s what I mean by correction.  We watch out for each other and are there for one another.  Proverbs 27:17 says this: “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”   You don’t get sharpened or corrected much by walking around in the woods.

Accountability sort of comes with fellowship but is much more personal.  I meet with a group of Christian guys once a week, and actually all six points of this blog are addressed in that group.  We share what is going on in our lives, the areas we need to work on, our doubts, our understanding of Scripture, and our prayer needs.  We also ask each other how we’re doing with things we’ve shared previously.  We’re held accountable.  Because of our openness and vulnerability, these men have become some of my closest friends.  Accountability is not something a Lone Ranger Christian can do.  We need each other.

Instruction is pretty apparent.  In the local church, we have the opportunity to learn from people who know the Bible better than we do. It’s a place where we can ask questions and hear solid biblical answers. It’s also a place where we hear from people who have been through trials we’re currently facing.  All learning isn’t “book learnin.”  God uses others to speak to us.

Ministry, and this is the hardest lesson for us to learn about the local church.  It seems the majority of Christians see the church solely as a place to be served.  They go there to learn, to see friends, even for financial help, or a listening ear.  Once we’ve been a Christian for a while, we should begin to see the church as a place where we can minister to others as well.  We should also see the local church as a base from which we can reach out to our communities with the love of Christ.  

So, let’s not look at our relationship with Christ as exclusively an individual experience.  We need other Christians around us.  Besides, God tells us not to forsake the fellowship of other believers (Heb. 10:25).  God knows we need each other.  Don’t we all really know that too?