You Can’t Go to Church
Why do people treat the church as if it were entertainment you could just take or leave as your schedule allows? Unfortunately, we think of church as something you can attend, like a concert or something. However, we are the church, if we belong to Christ. We “attend” the church much like one attends to the needs of an infant. We attend to the needs of the church by ministering to other members of the body of Christ.
We are members one of another. We need each other. If we do not see the faces of our brothers and sisters on a regular basis (more than once a week) we weaken our own faith. God created us to provoke one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24).
We have to have each other
Jesus has called some in the body to teach, lead, prophesy, and organize (Ephesians 4:11). Without these ministry gifts in our midst, we will never be equipped, mature in the faith, or useful in serving God (Ephesians 4:12). We desperately need each other. Find a truth-preaching church and do more than just be present. Present yourself a living sacrifice, caring for others in the body (I Corinthians 12:25).
You and Jesus are not the majority. You and the body of Christ are the majority. You cannot be a Christian all by yourself. God created us as members of His body, not individual organisms. If you are not in the body you are dead. The Holy Spirit is our shared experience (I Corinthians 3:16). We as a whole are the Temple of the Holy Ghost (II Cor. 6:16). We keep our bodies pure because we are members of His body (I Cor. 6:15, 19-20). What happens to one person happens to the whole (Romans 12:5).
We are dead without the church
Attending a worship service or hearing preaching is not enough. We need to be joined to the body, talking together, eating together, learning together, praying together, laughing together, and weeping together (Acts 2:42; Romans 12:15). We stand in danger of eternal judgment if we forsake fellowship with the body of Christ (Hebrews 10:25-27).
I pulled the skeleton of a sheep out of a fence once; he just couldn’t stay with the flock and a predator got him. Sheep need the flock for safety and multiplication. Sheep need shepherds; they do not know how to treat their own wounds; they cannot get their own food. We are sheep.
Church is not just something you go to; it is something you are. Attach yourself to the body of Christ in your local area. If you need to find a good church, type your zip code in here: church locator.