Go! And… Stop Being Present in Church but Absent in Christ
INTRODUCTION — When Presence Isn’t Participation
There is a tragic reality happening in churches around the world every Sunday:
People can be physically present in church… yet spiritually absent from Christ.
You can sit in a pew, lift your hands, sing the songs, carry a Bible, know the language of church life—and still not know Jesus.
You can be around God’s people but not be in God’s Kingdom.
You can be near the Cross but never become a follower of the Crucified One.
Today’s message in our “Go! And…” series is a pastoral call to the heart:
Go! And… Stop Being Present in Church but Absent in Christ.
We will anchor ourselves in the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21–23, one of the most sobering texts in Scripture.
Matthew 7:21–23 (NLT): “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.
On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’
But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’”
This passage is part of the Sermon on the Mount—Jesus’ authoritative teaching on what true righteousness looks like. It exposes false religion, false righteousness, and false discipleship.
Jesus says: “I never knew you”— ??d?p?te ????? ?µ?? (oudepoté égnon hymas).
This is not intellectual knowledge but relational intimacy.
“You were in the building… but you were never in Me.”
Many had the appearance of spiritual activity:
prophesying
casting out demons
performing miracles
But they lacked genuine salvation.
It’s possible to:
serve without surrender,
work without worship,
perform without possessing a new heart.
That is what it means to be present in church but absent in Christ.
POINT 1 — GO! AND EXAMINE YOUR HEART, NOT JUST YOUR HABITS
Isaiah 29:13 (NLT): “These people say they are mine. They honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
Isaiah confronts a people with religious routine but without spiritual reality. Like many today, they had liturgical lips but wandering hearts.
Hebrew Word Insight
“Heart” — ??? (lev)
Refers to the centre of thinking, feeling, and willing.
God is not interested in attendance without affection.
Imagine attending a gym every day, wearing the right clothes, owning the best equipment, knowing all the terminology—but never exercising.
You’d be present but not participating.
Attending church without engaging Christ is exactly the same.
John Piper: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
Piper reminds us that worship is not an external performance but an internal satisfaction in Christ. You can attend church unsatisfied in Jesus and still look religious—but you cannot be saved that way.
Ask yourself:
Do I love Christ or merely enjoy church activity?
Do I pursue Him on Monday or only notice Him on Sunday?
Am I following Jesus or following routine?
Go! And examine your heart.
POINT 2 — GO! AND TRADE RELIGION FOR RELATIONSHIP
Revelation 3:20 (NLT): “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in…”
Jesus speaks to the Laodicean church—a church that had everything externally but nothing internally. Wealthy, successful, busy… yet Christ was outside the door.
Greek Word Insight
“Knock” — ????? (krouo)
Continuous action:
“I keep knocking… I keep calling…”
Christ continually invites heart-level relationship.
A man once bought a grand, expensive Bible—gold-edged pages, leather cover—and proudly displayed it on his coffee table. Visitors admired it.
But he never opened it.
He had a Bible for show, not a Bible for transformation.
Many believers have a Christian life for show, not a Saviour for salvation.
Tim Keller: “Religion says, ‘I obey, therefore I am accepted.’
The gospel says, ‘I am accepted through Christ—therefore I obey.’”
Keller cuts to the core: the Gospel produces obedience from acceptance, while religion produces obedience to earn acceptance. One leads to life. The other leads to Matthew 7:23.
Don’t be present around Jesus. Be present in Jesus.
Don’t stand near the door. Open it wide.
POINT 3 — GO! AND LIVE A TRANSFORMED LIFE, NOT A PRETEND LIFE
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT): “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
Paul writes to a church surrounded by immorality and hypocrisy. True salvation, he says, produces transformation, not mere behaviour modification.
Greek Word Insight
“New” — ?a???? (kainos)
Not “new in time,” but “new in kind.”
A different species. A new creation.
Charles Stanley: “God does not simply improve the life you have; He gives you a life you never had.”
Stanley beautifully summarises regeneration. Christ doesn’t upgrade the old self; He crucifies it and resurrects a new one. Church attendance cannot produce this transformation—only Jesus can.
Are you changed or simply churched?
Has Jesus made you new, or have you settled for religious cosmetics?
THE GOSPEL PRESENTATION — The Difference Between Being in Church and Being in Christ
Being in church is good.
Being in Christ is essential.
Here is the Gospel that transforms:
Jesus, the eternal Son of God, lived the perfect life we have failed to live.
He willingly went to the Cross to bear our sin, shame, and judgement.
He died in our place as the perfect sacrifice.
He was buried.
And on the third day He rose again—victorious, triumphant, alive forevermore.
He now offers forgiveness, new life, and eternal salvation to all who repent and believe.
Church attendance doesn’t save.
Good works don’t save.
Religious emotion doesn’t save.
Only Christ saves.
CALL TO ACTION — Go! And Be Sure of Your Salvation
Today, the Holy Spirit is asking you:
Are you truly Mine?
Do you know Me, or do you merely know about Me?
Are you present in the building but absent from the Saviour?
Do not gamble with eternity.
Repent.
Surrender.
Trust in Jesus Christ alone.
INVITATION TO SALVATION:
If you recognise that you have been present in church but absent in Christ, Jesus invites you now:
“Come to Me.”
“Follow Me.”
“Be Mine.”
Pray:
“Lord Jesus, I repent of my sin. I surrender my life. I trust in Your death and resurrection. Make me Yours. Save me. Change me. I give You my heart, my will, my whole life. Amen.”
BENEDICTION / EXHORTATION:
May you go today not merely as someone who attends church,
but as someone who belongs to Christ.
May your faith be genuine, your heart be alive, and your walk be transformed.
Go! And live fully present in Jesus, now and forever.
