Do you need the church? Many people like to make the argument that they don’t need the church to love Jesus. All of the excuses are out there. Some of them may even appeal to you. After all, many people claim the church is just a “human invention” anyway and “full of hypocrites.”
But, what if that isn’t true. What if there is more to the church? Jesus instituted the church and values the church. I’ve always argued in defense of the church, and I love the church. Nevertheless, there may still be several reasons why you don’t need the church. Consider the following reasons for why you don’t need the church:
Do Not Attend Church If You Don’t Want To Grow As A Christian
If you don’t desire to grow as a Christian, you do not need the church. Spending time in your church might better acquaint you with God’s word and your responsibilities as a believer. Just showing up on Sunday mornings might spur your growth. If don’t want to grow, don’t show up.
Do Not Attend Church If You Don’t Want Accountability
If you don’t want other people in your business, encouraging you to be a better Christian, spouse, parent, and citizen, then don’t show up at church. At church, there may be people who ask you hard questions like, “How well are you loving your wife this week?” or “How are you serving Jesus on your job?” There may even be people in your church who would miss you when you don’t show up and would ask you where you’ve been. If you don’t want accountability, don’t show up at church.
Do Not Attend Church If You Don’t Want To Take The Bible Too Seriously
Some people have bought the devil’s lie that church isn’t important. But the Bible paints a very different picture. Consider Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” In addition to these verses, here is a list of other verses that deal with the importance of church attendance: Matthew 18:20, Colossians 3:16, Ephesians 4:11-13, Acts 2:42, Romans 10:17, Matthew 16:18, Acts 9:31-32, 2 Timothy 4:2. There are others, but as you can see in just these examples, church attendance is a big deal in the Bible. But, if you don’t want to take the Bible seriously, then don’t attend church.
Do Not Attend Church If You Don’t Want To Leave a Legacy
Churches tend to outlive the lives of their members. That old grand piano on the stage at the church down the road was paid for by dear saints 40 years ago, many who have already gone to be with the Lord. The 35 year old men serving as deacons in your church were taught in Sunday School by men and women who have already died, but their legacy lives on. By investing in your church with time, talent, and treasures, you invest in a legacy that will live long beyond your years. If you don’t want to leave a legacy, then do not attend church.
Do Not Attend Church If You Don’t Want To Improve Your Community
Churches are not the only institutions that make communities better, but they are the best organizations to improve communities. When the church acts like the Bible intended, then neighborhoods and communities are improved because of a church’s presence. If you don’t want to improve your community, then don’t attend church.
Do Not Attend Church If You Don’t Want To Expand God’s Kingdom
Churches raise up missionaries and pastors and fund the ministries of other believers near and far. By attending a church, you have the opportunity to participate in the expansion of God’s kingdom. Churches take the Great Commission seriously and work to see it fulfilled. If you attend church, you might be invited to feed the hungry or minister to the homeless or take the gospel to a foreign land. If you attend church, you might tithe and part of your tithes may support missionaries in your community. But, if you don’t want to help grow the Kingdom of God, then don’t attend church.
Do Not Attend Church If You Don’t Want Friends
If you show up at church regularly, you’re going to meet people who might eventually become your friends. Your fellow church members will burden you by inviting you to their house and meeting you for coffee. They will send you silly memes and pray for you and meet you to shoot guns or go for a run. These people may become the people who bring you soup when you are sick, sit with you after a surgery, or weep with you over the death of your mom. But, if you don’t want friends, then you should not attend church.
Do Not Attend Church If You Don’t Want A Funeral
Increasingly, people are opting to avoid funerals and just pursue cremation or private burials. When I hear these stories, I think to one of my favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd song, The Ballad of Curtis Loew:
On the day old Curtis died
Nobody came to pray
Ol’ preacher said some words
And they chunked him in the clay
Well, he lived a lifetime
Playin’ the black man’s blues
And on the day he lost his life
That’s all he had to lose
Do you want your family to grieve alone or do you want there to be friends and loved ones who gather to mourn your passing? Do you want your family to have a church that can provide food, comfort, and security during the hardest days of their lives? For most people who do not have a church family, they die lonely and in obscurity. There is no one to care for their family or to memorialize them at a funeral. If you don’t want to have a funeral, then you should not attend church.
Do Not Attend Church If You Don’t Want Your Children To Be Christians
If you don’t want your kids to know Jesus, then don’t take them to church. Also, if you don’t take them to church regularly, don’t be surprised if they become teenagers who do not know the Lord and have no appreciation for the church. Maybe you’re OK with that. Maybe you want your kids to be gymnasts or baseball players or chess champions. Be honest about it. You choose to attend all of those things on Sundays because you desire their worldly success more than you desire them to be saved. If you want you kids to love the world more than the church, then don’t take them to church.
Do Not Attend Church If You Don’t Want To Be A Christian
I know this is harsh, but it is reality. If you do not want to be a Christian, then you shouldn’t attend church. Why would you attend church if you don’t want to follow Jesus and be a part of his family. Conversely, we should ask, if you are a Christian, why wouldn’t you want to attend church? Or, perhaps, if you do not want to attend church, are you sure that you are a Christian?
I don’t ask these questions to call you out, but out of a heart of concern. I am afraid that the cultural Christianity of America (and others places) makes it easy for many people to believe they belong to Jesus when there is no evidence of that salvation. If you are a Christian, why wouldn’t you want to do Christian things? Through 2000 years of Christian history, there has been nothing more Christian than regularly attending worship. If you are a Christian, worshiping with your church family is the thing to do.
There are many reasons why you may not need to attend church regularly. Unfortunately, the primary reasons why you wouldn’t want to attend church regularly are that you are not walking in close fellowship with Jesus or you don’t belong to Jesus. Both of these are scary. But, you do not have to stay that way. You do not have to be disconnected from Christ and his people. There is probably a church very near to you right now that would welcome you with open arms this Sunday. You almost certainly have a friend nearby who would be happy to go to church with you this Sunday and sit with you while you learn to grow comfortable in the place you didn’t even know you needed.
