There is a growing trend among religious people that is troubling. The common belief is that a person can have God, Jesus, and salvation without ever attending church. For some reason, people have grown to see church attendance as something that is unnecessary. So, I wanted to write a brief article and simply let the Bible speak to this question. Consider the following passages:
1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 11:33 — “Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.” ; “So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.”
We assemble to share in the Lord’s Supper together. The Bible describes the Lord’s Supper as a memorial meal where Christians share in the body and blood of Jesus. If someone is not assembling with Christians, they can’t share in the memorial with the rest of the church.
1 Corinthians 14:26 — “What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.”
We assemble for the purpose of edification (building each other up). If one does not assemble, they can’t build up nor be built up.
Ephesians 4:11-16 — “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the bknowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”
The church is designed to be self sufficient. God designed the church in such a way that each member contributes according to their gifts, for the purpose of building a solid foundation for the church to grow from. The result of this is a group of mature Christians that will not be shaken from their faith. If someone neglects to invest in the local church, they neglect this building up towards maturity, not only for themselves but also for the rest of the church.
Ephesians 5:19 ; Colossians 3:16 — “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” ; “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
We assemble to sing to each other. The Bible describes singing as two-directional. We sing to God, and we sing to each other. While someone can sing to God from home, they can’t sing to other Christians from home. If a person is not assembling with Christians, that person is not singing to others nor being sung to.
Hebrews 10:24-25 — “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
We assemble to encourage each other towards love and good deeds. When Christians do not assemble together, they are not able to stir up love and good deeds within each other. When one neglects to assemble with Christians, they neglect to build up Christians and be built up by Christians.
There are a number of passages that bring out the necessity of assembling together. Not only does it violate God’s instructions to not assemble with Christians, it takes away a persons opportunity to benefit from the mutual building up provided by God’s people. Lack of church attendance is detrimental to a person’s faith. A Christian that is never around other Christians, is a Christian that won’t stay faithful long.
It must also be noted that in the age of “online church” a serious problem emerges for these commands. You can’t share in a memorial meal, build up someone, sing to each other, use your gifts to build up the church, or encourage each other by watching other people assemble online. While there are benefits of watching a sermon online, online church does not satisfy the commands of God to carry out these things in our assemblies. The bottom line is, Christians need other Christians if they’re gong to stay faithful. God designed the church this way for our sake, and we have grown to neglect it.
Perhaps you’re reading this and you haven’t attended church in some time. I want to encourage you to come back. You will be surprised at the love shown to you, the encouragement given to you, and the excitement of others to have you back. You will be built up because God designed it that way.
— Kolton Ballance