03 Nov Why Do You Come to Church?

I realize that the title of this post potentially limits the audience to church goers. I suppose I could have titled it: “Why Do You Go to Church/Why Don’t You Go to Church?” I believe explaining God’s purpose for a church family can also speak to those who are not part of one.

Many of us who grew up “churched,” attended services strictly out of obligation. Some of us were told that not checking the church attendance box every Sunday was a sure ticket to hell. Author Paul Tripp writes that God intends the church family to be a tool of grace, not a duty to be fulfilled:

“Corporate worship is designed to remind you of your identity in Christ so that you won’t waste your time looking for identity elsewhere…So God has ordained that we should gather again and again to remember again and again who we are and what we have been given. His church is a tool of grace, a vehicle for remembering, so that we may celebrate and grow.”

This point is driven home by the writer of Hebrews in Chapter 10:

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 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. Hebrews 10:19-25 (NIV)

The writer of Hebrews is referring to the thick curtain that created a barrier to the Holy Place in the Temple. The curtain tore from top to bottom at the moment of Jesus’ death. Everyone now had access to God. The writer of Hebrews says it’s best to maintain this access through a church family: “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another…”

When we receive the Holy Spirit by acknowledging Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are adopted into sonship and daughter-ship in the family of God.  The word the writer of Hebrews uses for encourage is “Parakaleō.” Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would be the “Parakletos,” the encourager. The Holy Spirit is to be our model for encouraging others.

When we gather as a church family we can spur, encourage, love and support other believers. The modern church has often been compared with a cruise ship, and not favorably. It is seen as a place of comfort, relaxation, leisure: good food, good music, good times. None of those things are bad in and of themselves.

But I believe a better analogy is a troop transport vehicle. Those who’ve been in one on the way to a combat mission can tell you of the camaraderie that takes place on the way. We are all in a battle that we often try to fight alone. Gathering on a regular basis energizes us for the battles we face in life when we are a community of “Assistant Parakletos”

Treasure your church family for the blessing that it is. I pray that you would never see this gift as a drudge, or a chore, but as a tremendous blessing to help you remember whose child you are.

Pastor Jerry Bader