Dear JimBob,
I have a friend who wanted to know if they had to attend a Church in order to go to heaven. I explained about the fellowship, discipleship, and where one or more are gathered in His name, etc., but the friend said “We meet and study the Bible together. So, what's the difference?”
The friend has an anxiety issue about being around large groups of people and it really puts them out of their comfort zone, so to speak. What would be the best thing to tell my friend?
Sincerely,
Church-Goer
Dear Goer,
If your friend is considering whether or not he (or she) needs to come to The River, then tell them that if they go to church every Sunday, God will love them more.
Just kidding. Although, I might love them more. But that’s not really the question, is it?
The abbreviated answer to your question is that church attendance is in no way a requirement for going to heaven. While hanging on the cross, Jesus said to the repentant thief, “Today, you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Obviously the thief wasn’t going to have enough time to buy a new suit and get “gussied up” (that’s an old person’s way of saying dressed up) for Sunday services before he died. Our acceptance of Christ as Lord and the forgiveness offered through his sacrifice on the cross is the one and only requirement for admission into the presence of God. As far as what you need to say to your friend, give him this word of encouragement, and then ask him to tell you about his relationship with Christ. Sit down and have a cup of coffee together and share with each other what God has done in your lives. When you stand up to walk away, you will have just had church (Matthew 18:20).
Remember that “church” does not necessarily mean a large building with stained glass and a steeple, but rather the gathered people of God. Having said that, there are at least four significant benefits that come to my mind when it comes to what most of us think of when we talk about regular church attendance:
1) We can better learn to play ball. My dad used to say that someone could learn some things about basketball by watching it on TV. He could learn a more by playing a little one-on-one with someone else. But if someone truly wanted to master the craft, he needed to join a team and get in the game. The same is true for the Christian faith.
2) We are challenged to grow and go beyond our comfort zone. Small groups of Christians tend to stay limited in scope to people who are like them and believe like them. The larger the group, the better the chance that we will be challenged in our beliefs and consequently grow in our faith.
3) More people can make a greater impact for God’s Kingdom. It goes without saying that 100 people pulling in the same direction will accomplish more than one or even two.
4) It gives ministers something to do so that we don’t have to find “real” jobs.
I threw that last one in there because I know there’s someone out there who is thinking it.
All kidding aside, church attendance is not required for salvation, but it is extremely important toward living out one’s salvation.
See you Sunday!
JimBob.
PS: If you would like to pose a question anonymously, click here.
