Neglect Not Your Church

Neglecting church fellowship is only one step removed from neglecting God. The communion and worship in church is something that you can never find by yourself, no matter how sincere you are. I have found that the reasons given for not attending church boil down to a few typical excuses.

“I do not know enough; I am not good enough.” But no one is saved by his knowledge of Christ, not by his goodness. We are saved by faith. The church is a power house or training ground for every one who desires to get closer to his Saviour, and his fellow men. “Come and learn of Me,” said Jesus Christ.

Our living God has revealed Paul’s instruction to me. “Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep His promise. Let us be concerned for one another to help one another to show love and to do good. Let us not give up the good habit of meeting together, as some are doing, instead let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the day of the Lord is coming very near.” Heb. 10:23-25.

In a letter to the editor of a British newspaper, a man complained that he saw no sense in going to church every week. “I have been attending every service quite regularly for the past 30 years,” he wrote, “and during that time I have listened to no less than 3000 sermons. But, to my consternation, I discover I cannot remember a single one of them. I wonder if a minister’s time might be more profitably spent on something else.”

That letter sparked many responses. One, however, was the clincher; “I have been married for 30 years, during that time I have eaten 32,850 meals—mostly of my wife’s cooking. Suddenly I discovered that I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet, I received nourishment from every one of them. I have the distinct impression that without them I would have starved to death long ago.

The Bible assumes the importance of going to church, and the only admonition to do so appears in the context of the danger of forsaking the practice. Again we can read the same verse of Hebrew 10:23-25. We need help to keep our faith and hope from wavering, and to love and do good works. Just as physical food keeps us alive and strong, so also the spiritual nourishment of teaching and fellowship are very necessary for our survival.

“The people are not friendly enough.” Strange, for no one would dream of staying away from a bank, a hairdresser, a supermarket, or a concert for such a reason.

“I do not need to go to church to be a Christian.” This is so easy to say. Yet, everywhere in nature we can learn the lesson that isolation means extinction. The old elephant, ostracized from his herd, roams the jungle with hate in his heart until he finally dies. The lone wolf does likewise. What happens to the soldier who loses contact with the rest of his company? He is helpless. Yes, you can be a reformer without going to church, but how much more difficult it is.
Jesus, while here on earth faithfully attended the synagogues on His Sabbath day. The church then was filled with hypocrites and unfriendly people, but Jesus has set an example for every future young and old generation. So I trust that church is an important part of our life.

If we want to keep growing in Christ daily, so we must keep going to church every Sabbath.
Amen.

Xavior Chelliah, Canada