Hebrews 10:23-25 “23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
- What Is A Church?
- The Definition Of Church
A Christian Church is the gathering together of believers in Jesus Christ for the purpose of carrying out the Great Commission. The word “church” means “congregation”, or “assembly”. God’s people are the building of God (1 Corinthians 3:9; Ephesians 2:19-22), the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16; see also Acts 7:48), and the house of God (1 Peter 2:5; 1 Timothy 3:15).
The words “church” and “congregation” are used interchangeably in the Bible:
Psalm 22:22 “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.”
Hebrews 2:12 “Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.”
A church is the people who gather (see Acts 14:22-23; Matthew 18:15-18), not the building or place that they gather in. In the Bible, believers gathered for church in many different locations: houses (1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 2), big rooms (Acts 1:13-15; 20:7-8), schools (Acts 19:9), and even outside (see Nehemiah 8; Leviticus 8:4).
I Corinthians 14:23 “If therefore the whole church be come together into one place…”
- The Requirements For A Good Church
Biblically, God only considers a gathering of people a church in his sight if it meets certain Biblical criteria. If someone is a believer, they will not be a member of a false church (1 John 4:1-6; see also John 10:1-5). Only go to a church which meets these three biblical requirements:
- The Right Gospel: The True Way To God
Church is for the saved (Hebrews 12:23; for the “saints”: 1 Corinthians 1:2; the “brethren”: 1 Corinthians 1:10), so the leadership must be saved (Philippians 3:17-19) and believe in the true biblical gospel which teaches that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:5-8). If Jesus is not the foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11), then it is not his church (see Revelation 3:7-9).
Romans 16:17-18 “17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” (See also Galatians 1:6-9).
Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (See also 2 Peter 2:1; Proverbs 19:27; 21:16).
- The Right Bible: The True Word Of God
Church is built upon the Bible (Ephesians 2:20), so the preaching of the church must be done from a good Bible (in English, the King James Version). Only God’s words are able to build God’s people up (Acts 20:32), and the preaching of a true church will “preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2), “holding fast the faithful word” (Titus 1:9), and consent “to wholesome words” (1 Timothy 6:3).
Revelation 22:18-19 “18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
- The Right Works: The True Work Of God
Church is for the service of God, so the church must be regularly preaching the gospel and reaching new people (see Mark 16:15).
Revelation 2:4-5 “4 I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”
- Why We Should Go To Church
- The Command To Attend Church
The book of Acts calls believers who are faithful to church “disciples” (see Acts 6:1; 11:26; 18:23; 19:9; 20:7). Jesus Christ had a custom of gathering with fellow believers as he grew up (Luke 2:40-52; 4:16), and he established the church as his institution upon earth.
Matthew 16:18 “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
God commanded us to go to church, and not to forsake the assembly of fellow believers.
Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
- The Purpose Of Attending Church
- We Come To Church To LEARN THE BIBLE
As God’s children (John 1:12; 1 Peter 2:2), we have a need to learn the word of God. God uses preachers to make known his word (see 2 Timothy 4:1-5).
Titus 1:3 “But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour.” (See also Hebrews 13:7).
The church is like a flock where all of the members are as sheep which need to be fed. Without a local church, we will be scattered (Matthew 26:31), like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34).
Jeremiah 3:15 “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
The church is like a building, and each of the leaders edifies that building by their service. When we attend church, we are being built up (1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 1 Thessalonians 5:11).
Ephesians 4:11-13 “11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”
- We Come To Church To WORSHIP THE LORD
As God’s creation, we have a need to worship the Lord. As in heaven (Revelation 7:9-12), So in earth: one of the greatest forms of worship to God is to corporately sing unto him.
Psalm 35:18 “I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.”
Psalm 149:1 “Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.”
Psalm 107:32 “Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.”
- We Come To Church To FELLOWSHIP WITH OTHER BELEIVERS
As God’s people, we have a need to fellowship with fellow believers. The best church members make the best friends (see Proverbs 13:20; 27:17). Friends of ours should all be friends of God (see John 15:14).
Acts 2:42 “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (See also 1 John 1:3).
Christian fellowship provides many necessary things for the Christian life, like exhortation and accountability.
Hebrews 3:13 “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (See also Psalm 1:1; Proverbs 1:10-19).
Psalms 84:10 “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
- We Come To Church To SERVE GOD
As God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), we have a need to serve the Lord and fulfill our purpose. It is only through the local church that we can effectively serve God (Malachi 3:16-18).
Each local church is like a body (1 Corinthians 12; see also Romans 12) with Jesus as the head (Colossians 1:18; 2:19), in which each of the members have different functions in order to do the work of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12, 27 “12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”
Every great person in the Bible was a part of a local church, whether Moses (Acts 7:37-38), the apostles of Jesus, or people like Timothy (Acts 16:1-3).
III. How We Should Go To Church
- Go to church regularly: We should attend church weekly, at least once a week, on Sunday (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2).
- Go to church often: We should attend church as often as possible, desiring to be with God’s people (Hebrews 10:25). We ought to be in church more, not less. It is written of Joshua that he “departed not out of the tabernacle” (Exodus 33:11).
- Go to church joyfully: We should desire to be in church (Psalm 84:1-2; 23:6), and we should also attend church joyfully—both to be encouraged and exhorted, and to do the same for others.
Psalm 122:1 “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.”