If you are a Christian, and you are able, you should go every week where God’s people assemble and the word is preached. God’s people should gather around his Word every week. A church is an assembly of God’s people who DEVOTE themselves to the preaching and teaching of the Bible (the Apostle’s Doctrine), Fellowship, Prayer, and the Breaking of Bread. (Acts 2:42). Followers of Jesus gather at least weekly with other believers and help one another follow Jesus.
It is popular to say something like this: “Be the church, don’t just go to church.” While this is true, we must say that a church is an assembly, a called-out group that meets together before they scatter into the world to be salt and light. To “Be the Church” is to go to church and then scatter to obey the other commands of Christ.
The book of Hebrews warns of the danger of drifting away from faithfulness to God. It contains the warning: “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:23)
There is a great danger of drifting away from faithfulness to God. “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” (Hebrews 2:1, ESV)
In the parable of the sower Jesus warned, “The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires of other things…” can come in and choke out the word until it becomes unfruitful.
There are times when you will need to travel or when you have an unavoidable interruption or when you must do works of necessity. Dispatch these duties and return as soon as possible to the assembly of God’s people. There are those who are genuinely concerned that they will be in physical danger because of the possibility of exposure to COVID-19. This is not what I am talking about. Everyone must be true to his own conscience on this matter.
We tend to do what really want to do, what we really value. On the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said:“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)
Church–assembly with the saint–is more important than visiting, camping, entertainment, hobbies, travel, sports, sports, thousand other things that are good. The health and well-being of your very soul and the souls of those you love depends on doing the Christian life the way God has commanded us to. Christians who flourish spiritually are Christians who do not forsake assembling with others Christians. We all know there are those who go to church every week who are not strong or exemplary Christians, but Christians who do not establish the habit of every-week church are likely to grow weak.
The writer of Hebrews put it this way; “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:12–13, ESV)
Bittersweet Farm
October 1, 2021