And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.     Hebrews 10:24-25 LSB

I recently saw a post on Facebook that said being saved and not going to church is like being married and not going home. The Bible refers to Jesus as the bridegroom and to His church as the bride. When we get saved, we bind ourselves with the Lord. We surrender our lives to Him.

The Bible teaches that our body is a temple, we are the church, and when we get saved God’s Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us. So, why should we go to church? Well, I hate to break it to you, but if you aren’t going to church, you probably aren’t living as God instructs us to live. When we neglect to go to church, we often neglect to study our Bible and have an active prayer life. We also tend to fail to obey and trust in Jesus.

With today’s technology, we can watch church online. But you can’t do what our Scripture passage tells us to do through the computer screen. If we are physically able, we should attend church.

The author of our Scripture passage gives us reasons for attending church.

The first reason mentioned is so we can consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. Church should be a place where we come together to do good things. It should be a ministry to the lost, not a country club as my pastor often says. We should be a hospital to save the sick, not a hotel for the wealthy.

There are times when we need to be lifted up and times when we need to lift others up. We need to pray for one another.

The author notes that some forsake to assemble together, but we are warned against doing this. We are encouraged to assemble or attend church in order to encourage one another. Know that when you find a good Bible teaching church, it won’t be perfect. If it appears to be perfect, you should find another one. There’s an old saying, “If you find a perfect church, don’t go there, you’ll mess it up.”

We must remember that a church is filled with sinners and imperfect people, but hopefully it is also filled with people who love the Lord and love each other and are striving to God’s will.

In this world where evil is increasing, I encourage you to find a good Bible teaching church. I encourage you to get into Bible study and pray continually. Our Scripture passage ends by saying that we should be encouraging one another all the more as we see the day drawing near.

That day is the day when Christ will rapture us to heaven or brings us there after our physical death where we will spend our days praising and worshiping Him. Heaven will be like a continual church service where we worship and praise the Lord. So, as my former pastor used to say, “Better practice as much as you can right now.”

If you miss being raptured to heaven, you will still have a chance to be saved during the tribulation. I must warn you, however, if you think times are bad now, they are going to become exponentially worse. So, why not accept Christ now and practice for heaven so you will be ready when Jesus brings you to heaven.

Christians want to go to church for several reasons. It is our refuge in times of trouble. It is a place where we can be recharged. It is a place where we gather with likeminded people to encourage one another and to be encouraged.

If you aren’t perfect, come to church and join the rest of us imperfect people.

You don’t have to go to church, but if you are truly saved, you’ll want to.

Have a great day!