It's the age old question; Do I need to go to church to be a Christian? If we get down into understanding salvation then the obvious answer is... no... not technically. But the question therein lies, why does anyone go to church at all? The best answer I have is so we can be Christlike. Which is what being a Christian is; striving to be Christlike. So, the answer is yes? Someone can read the word of God, be drawn in by the Holy Ghost, understand the Gospel, receive Christ, be baptized in the Holy Spirit, and never step foot in a church, but that's very unlikely. How many of you reading this can actually say that's the way it happened for you? How many of you non-churchgoers are growing in your walk with Christ? Why don't people go to church? Because there are hypocrites there? Please! Exactly where can anyone go where there are not any hypocrites? Even your job is full of hypocrites, but you chose to go there. When the question of why aren't you going to church gets down to the honest truth of it, it really is more about laziness or something more important than God, than it is about other people. Also, since when do other people have anything to do with your walk with Christ? Are you at church for other people, or are you at church to get closer to God? Boy, there are a lot of questions in this blog! Whether you realize it or not, you are needed at church. Needed to give of your time and offerings. Needed to show support for others. Most of all... needed to grow as a Christian. R.C. Sproul had some very sobering words to say about the "Christian" who doesn't want to go to church: "Is church attendance, if you’re physically able, a requirement to go to heaven? In a very technical sense, the answer is no. However, we need to remember a few things. Christ commands His people not to forsake the assembling together (Heb. 10:25). When God constituted the people of Israel, He organized them into a visible nation and placed upon them a sober and sacred obligation to be in corporate worship before Him. If a person is in Christ, he is called to participate in koinonia—the fellowship of other Christians and the worship of God according to the precepts of Christ. If a person knows all these things and persistently and willfully refuses to join in them, would that not raise serious questions about the reality of that person’s conversion? Perhaps a person could be a new Christian and take that position, but I would say that’s highly unlikely. Some of us may be deceiving ourselves in terms of our own conversion. We may claim to be Christians, but if we love Christ, how can we despise His bride? How can we consistently and persistently absent ourself from that which He has called us to join—His visible church? I offer a sober warning to those who are doing this. You may, in fact, be deluding yourself about the state of your soul." Maybe you should rethink your excuse for not going to church this weekend. We would love to have you join us. We meet at 6:00PM every Saturday at 14600 E. Colossal Cave Rd. Vail, AZ 85641. Would you please be our guest, and we can grow in our walk with Christ together.
