We’re going to begin discussing the five purposes of the church by first looking at what the Bible says about fellowship. Dictionary.com defines fellowship as, “friendly relationship,” “companionship,” and “communion, as between members of the same church.”(1) The Lord wants us all to have close friendship and companionship with fellow believers – people of like mind and faith – and this is best accomplished by church attendance; or rather, being “involved” in a local church.
So, why should believers attend church? This is a question we need to address, for some individuals fail to see any real value in going to church. Someone once asked Winston Churchill, “Are you a pillar of the church?” He replied, “I am more of a flying buttress: I support it from the outside.”(2) How many believers could respond as Churchill? Perhaps you feel that church is important, but not enough to attend on a regular basis, and you only go occasionally.
If you’re someone who doesn’t attend church regularly, then what’s the reason? Perhaps you don’t go because you can’t stand being around a lot of people, and you don’t like others making a big deal that you showed up.
Comedian Alan King talked about his poor attendance record in church. His rabbi confronted him about the frequent absences and challenged King to make more concerted efforts to be in worship. King gave a long list of excuses that contained little merit. He then became defensive and stated, “Every time I come, people make a big deal about me being there. That makes me feel very uncomfortable.” The wise rabbi replied, “If you came more often they wouldn’t be that excited to see you!”
Perhaps you’re looking for the perfect church to attend and you can’t seem to find it. You’re looking for one that meets your needs, suits your time schedule, and is completely free of hypocrites. Each member of the Northend Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Seattle, Washington received a special announcement in the mail, listing the many things that would be done for them at the upcoming “no-excuse-to-stay-home-Sunday.” Here’s what they were told (and, yes, this is a true story):
Cots would be available for all those who say that Sunday is their only day to sleep in. Eye drops would be supplied for all those who have red eyes from watching late Saturday-night television. Steel helmets would be given to those who say that the roof would cave in if they ever went to church, blankets for persons who think the church is too cold, fans for those who say it is too hot, scorecards for those wishing to list all the hypocrites present, and TV dinners for those who can’t go to church and also cook lunch. And then finally, the sanctuary would be decorated with Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those people who have never seen the church without them.(3)
Maybe you don’t see any real value in going to church because you feel that you could worship the Lord just as well on the golf course. It’s been said, “A Christian who says he worships God every Sunday morning on the golf course is really worshipping golf on God’s course.”(4)
Perhaps you reason that since your body is called the temple of the Holy Spirit, that God is with you every single place you go; and therefore, you can worship Him anywhere, including home. Paul did say, “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands” (Acts 17:24). Christians can indeed worship God anywhere, and they should worship Him everywhere and all the time; but how does that exempt a person from attending church and fellowshipping with other believers?
Can you effectively worship the Lord on your own, if you separate yourself from the place that teaches people how to worship God? Why do you need to go to church? Is there something in it for you? Yes, there is something in it for you! There’s something in it for each and every one of us, and that’s what we’re going to look at in our message this morning. We’ll look at the benefits of fellowshipping with other believers by attending church.
Why Attend Church? We Need Each Other!
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25).
So, why should believers attend church? One good reason is that we need each other! Thomas Lea, in the Holman New Testament Commentary, says that these verses speak of our responsibility to one another to stir each other up to love and good works; and that we must help teach and motivate others in their Christian walk. Lea says this can only be done when Christ-followers meet together, and he states, “Christians who meet together with the aim of promoting godliness and love for one another can be remarkably successful in their ventures. Regular fellowship with believers is an essential ingredient in Christian growth.”(5)
You can’t grow in your relationship with the Lord apart from other Christians, and it’s especially important to attend church as the “Day” is approaching. The “Day” is the time of Christ’s return, and the Bible reveals that just before Jesus returns to gather the Church that there will be increasing worldwide calamities. To stand alone during this time is to set yourself up to be crushed very quickly.
Rick Warren stresses the importance of attending church by saying this: “We are created for community, fashioned for fellowship, and formed for family, and none of us can fulfill God’s purposes by ourselves. The Bible knows nothing of solitary saints or spiritual hermits isolated from other believers and deprived of fellowship.”(6)
Henry Blackaby, in his book Experiencing God, says that one of the main ways in which God reveals His will and His purpose for one’s life is through the church, or through other Christians. We need each other. Like Warren stated, “We are created for community.”
Each and every believer is part of what Paul calls the Body of Christ. The church represents Christ’s presence here on earth, and it’s through the church that Jesus accomplishes His ministry in the world today. In Paul’s model of the Body in 1 Corinthians 12, we learn that the individual members can represent a hand, foot, ear, or even an eye; and that it takes each of the members working together in perfect harmony in order for the body to function properly and accomplish its purposes.
Paul said, “If one of the members suffers, all the members suffer with it” (1 Cor 12:26). If the body loses a foot, for example, it will stumble and fall; therefore, when you separate yourself from the church you hinder the work of the kingdom, and you might even cause an entire congregation to stumble.
When you cut yourself off from the Body of Christ, you not only harm the church, but you cut yourself off from the source of life. If a hand becomes detached from the human body, then it dies from lack of blood flow. Likewise, when you refrain from going to church you set yourself up for spiritual lifelessness and uselessness.
Rick Warren continues to say, “It may seem easier to be holy when no one else is around to frustrate your preferences, but that is false, untested holiness . . . It is easy to fool our-selves into thinking we are mature if there is no one to challenge us. Real maturity shows up in relationships. We need more than the Bible to grow; we need other believers.”(7)
Why Attend Church? For Spiritual Health!
Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him (Psalm 92:13-15).
So, what’s another reason why believers should attend church? Another excellent reason is for good health! I’m referring to both spiritual and physical health. We’re shown here the spiritual aspect by the use of terms such as “planted,” and “bearing fruit.” Psalm chapter one declares, “Blessed is the man [whose] . . . delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season” (Psalm 1:1-3).
A person who studies “the law of the Lord” (the Scriptures) will be like a tree beside waters that brings forth fruit. Therefore, whoever studies the law of the Lord will grow spiritually, or gain spiritual health; and likewise, so will the person who’s planted in the house of the Lord. He will grow spiritually and acquire spiritual health.
A healthy tree is one whose roots are sunken deeply in the ground until it reaches the water table and flourishes from the fresh and continual supply of water. If someone has his roots sunken deeply in the church, then he too will flourish and be spiritually healthy. But if an individual fails to do so, he will die of thirst.
There was once a mule who found himself between two haystacks, completely unable to decide which one to eat first. Because of this indecision, he didn’t eat either one; he just stood there until he starved.(8) Many people are like this mule when deciding which church to attend. They hop back and forth, never committing themselves, and meanwhile going hungry. If you don’t commit to a church then you’ll either starve from a shortage of the bread of God’s Word, or you’ll die of thirst from a lack of the wellspring of life acquired through hearing the teaching of the Scripture.
We read that those who are planted in God’s house, or His church, will still bear fruit “in old age” (Ps 92:14). Therefore, if you’ll commit to fellowship in a local church, then you’ll grow in faith the rest of your life; and God will still be using you in your old age for His kingdom purposes.
In Psalm 71:17-18, David declared, “O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.” If you will remain involved in a local church, then you’ll still be proclaiming the works of the Lord, and leading the lost to faith in Christ, even when you are “old and grayheaded.”
Why Attend Church? For Physical Health!
Based on Psalm 92:14, I want to show you another way in which you can still bear fruit. The expression, “still bear fruit in old age,” could also mean that those who worship the Lord in church, and fellowship within a community of believers, will possibly “live to a ripe old age.” These verses are referring not only to spiritual health, but also to physical health. The research of modern medicine has proven this observation to be a fact. Just listen to some of the recent discoveries:
The Heritage Foundation recently compiled all of the studies that it could find on the link between church attendance and health and social stability. Here are some of their findings:
1) Regular church attendance is “the” most important factor in marital stability, regardless of denominational or doctrinal teaching on divorce. 2) Blood pressure is reduced an average of five millimeters of pressure by regular church attendance. 3) A twenty-eight-year study of five thousand adults found that frequent churchgoers are almost twenty-five percent less likely to die early than those persons who attend services less frequently. 4) Persons who attend church frequently have stronger immune systems than less frequent attendees. 5) Better mental and physical health are some characteristics of frequent church attendees.(9)
The Alban Institute cites these reasons why people should become active members of a local congregation: 1) Active church members have a sixty percent less chance of a heart attack. 2) Active church members have a fifty-five percent less chance of a one-car accident. 3) Active church members live an average of 5.7 years longer.(10) “The National Institute of Health has presently developed five protective factors that help fight coronary disease. The leading one is weekly church attendance.”(11) I think it’s easy to see that church attendance can benefit your physical health.
Time of Reflection
The Lord certainly knew what He was doing when He established the church. In our message this morning we’ve viewed three good reasons why a believer should attend church and fellowship with other Christians on a regular basis. First of all, it’s important to attend church because believers need each other; secondly, it’s vital to attend church because it will grow you in spiritual health; and lastly, going to church will enhance your physical well-being. These are three major ways that fellowship and church attendance can benefit believers; but what about benefiting Jesus?
You must remember that church attendance is not all about you. Attending church is about worshipping our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Paul said in Acts 20:28 that Jesus purchased the Church with His own blood; therefore, you should attend church first and foremost in order to say “thank you” to Jesus for shedding His own blood and dying for the Church; or rather, dying for you and me.
You’re not considered a part of the Church until you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, and until you believe in what He did for you spiritually. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins. He shed His own precious blood so that you might have eternal life in heaven. If you’ll believe in Jesus Christ and confess Him as your Savior and Lord, and worship Him with all of your heart, then you’ll obtain the amazing benefits that we just heard about.
This message is part of a series on being a "purpose driven church." Many in-text citations are from Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church (Zondervan, 1995).
NOTES
(1) “Fellowship,” Dictionary.com: dictionary.reference.com/browse/fellowship?s=t (Accessed April 17, 2014).
(2) Michael P. Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1997), p. 63.
(3) Ibid., pp. 59-61.
(4) Ibid., p. 59.
(5) Thomas Lea, “Hebrews and James,” Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 1999), p. 187.
(6) Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), p. 130.
(7) Ibid., p. 134.
(8) Michael P. Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, p. 63.
(9) Saturday Evening Post, March/April 1998, p. 38; Houston Chronicle, March 24, 1998, p. 17A.
(10) Stories for Preachers and Teachers, on CD-ROM.
(11) Ibid.
