How often should Christians go to church? The answers to this question may surprise many but the wisdom of Scripture speaks loud and clear to this issue.
- TEXT: Exodus 20:8; Acts 2:44-47; Hebrews 10:24-25
- SERIES: Difficult Questions Christians Deal With
- SPEAKER: Jason Dollar
- DATE: November 28, 2010
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INTRODUCTION
When describing people, we often use the phrase, “She’s there every time the church doors open.” Usually, we mean this as a compliment. The person is serious about their faith, and are usually thought of as moral. Or sometimes, if the person is bad, this phrase indicates their hypocrisy. But for serious and reflective Christians, who want to be obedient to the Lord, the question “How often should I come to church?” is an important one.
Not Enough
Think about it. We don’t want to attend church with not enough frequency. After all, we understand the value of the local church to our own spiritual well-being, and like eating, this nourishment needs to come in good quantities.
Too Much
But on the other hand, we don’t want to come to church too much. That might mean a couple of things. 1) That we are too dependent upon the church for our spiritual well-being or 2) that we are are hiding from the world, where we need to function as salt and light.
So how little is too little, and how much is too much?
Individuals: Well, to complicate matters even more, the answer is not going to be the same for every person. There are some who will need more church, like spiritual therapy, others will need less in order to be active in the work of ministry out there. There is no one-size-fits-all formula that works for everyone. But there are some basic principles that can guide each of us into making a decision about this issue. Let’s turn our attention to these principles now.
ANSWERS TO THE QUESTION
1. Come to church at least once a week
The Sabbath principle provides a general rule of thumb: spend one day a week in worship. Church attendance helps provide this on Sundays.
Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
But what if I have to miss?
2. At least enough to fellowship with other believers
Acts 2:44-47 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
3. At least enough to be discipled and see visible growth in your life.
Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
At RMLBC, we “open” the doors many times each week: Sunday School, Morning worship, music and drama practices, Sunday night discipleship, Wed evening prayer, Youth meeting, Esther study, M3 men’s group, youth Bible studies.
Obviously, you do not and should not attend all these things. But a good balanced approach to church attendance might be attending 3 to 4 of these things per week.
CONCLUSION
These 3 answers are meant to be balanced and biblical for people who are already committed to following Jesus Christ. It is important for me to now address anyone here today who is not a committed follower of the Lord. Let me give you one simple statement: Church attendance does not save the soul. Church attendance can help you in thousand ways, but it is not something you can bring to God as merit to earn His favor. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is what you need.
