“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” - Matthew 18:20
I hear from a lot of nominal or ‘professing Christians’ that they don’t need to attend Sunday or Sabbath services. They confidently proclaim that God knows they are Christians and that God knows what is in their hearts. I, being a finite and fallen human being, do not. That being said, I turn to the pages of the Book of Acts to find their justification and I cannot find support for their assertions. In fact, I find support for their belief nowhere in the Bible. I find just the opposite - “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.” - Acts 2:1
The Christian church has been in existence since before Jesus Christ declared its existence to His apostles. “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” - Matthew 16:18. And as surely as the church belongs to Christ, we as His followers are due bound to attend it. The notion that it is unnecessary to attend worship services is a heresy common in our age of distractions.
The church has always existed, even before the beginning of time. We know this because from before the dawn of time, God chose His church. “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” - Romans 8:29-30. The elect are God’s chosen people - “His church.”
There is not one biblical description of a solitary follower of Christ who avoids or ignores fellowship with his Christian brothers and sisters and still maintains his status as a faithful follower of Jesus. Not one! The Bible instructs us that fellowship is equally yoked with the hearing of Apostolic teaching and the Lord’s Supper; the tri-fold definition of Christian worship. “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” - Acts 2:42
So why have these singular professors of the faith decided that weekly worship is not a requirement for the Christian? I’m certain that if confronted by a church-going Christian, these professors would react both defensively and with rationalization when they respond. Some of the mitigation would point to the fact that they have not found a suitable church. I agree; it took me years to find a gospel preaching God-inspired church that met my needs and core beliefs. But the answer is not to simply stop searching!
Many will say that it is simply not convenient for them to drop all their worldly duties (or desires) for an hour or two each Sunday. I’m afraid I don’t even know how to respond to that. But to be fair, this excuse is often fueled by simply laziness.
Some, if approached properly, will admit that they see a certain stigma associated with regular attendance to church. I would pray that there is. A Christian should be known as a ‘churchgoer’, exhibiting all the godly behavior that is associated with the name.
One thing that such a person should avoid is spreading their heresy among others. Deliberately declaring the erroneous belief that weekly church attendance is unnecessary for a Christian may present a dangerous pitfall for someone seeking God. Let us all remember the words of Mark - “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” - Mark 9:42.
So we return to the initial declaration that a Christian need not attend weekly services. This is a most deplorable state for someone who claims to be a Christian. It falls in with the suggestion that a Christian may sin as he or she will because ‘God knows my heart’. Indeed, He does. We must understand the gravity of that statement.
Merely behaving in a civil manner doesn’t make one a true Christian any more than not killing your neighbor makes you a good person. Just being a good citizen doesn’t entitle one to a ticket to Paradise. Nor does weekly church attendance out of a sense of duty. There must be a true desire to be with the Lord! A day of worship should be the desire of every God-fearing Christian.
We must celebrate church fellowship in the manner it was meant to be, “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” - Acts 2:46-47
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