Go to church. The three-word mandate that seems to be the answer for everything by everybody, including yourself.
Want to grow in your faith? Go to church.
Need to get your life straight? Go to church.
Desire salvation? Go to church.
Wish you could be more faithful? Go to church.
Easter or Christmas? Go to church.
Going To Church Is Not the Answer
What if I told you going to church is not the answer?
Okay. I will tell you then. Going to church is not the answer.
There. I said it. Going to church is not the answer. Said it again.
When Jesus started his ministry, he did not begin it with the message of “Go to church, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
When Jesus called his first disciples, he did not say, “Come, follow me, I’ll make you go to church.”
After his resurrection, Jesus didn’t commission his disciples by saying, “Go unto the world, make people go to church.”
Once the Apostles received the Holy Spirit and began preaching in the streets, they didn’t say, “Go to church so that you may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Paul didn’t say, “If you go to church, you can be saved.”
Yet, everyone seems to think going to church is the answer.
There is value in going to church, particularly if you will live out your faith in the manner the scriptures teach you should in the Christian community. But going to church is not the answer.
What Is the Answer Then?
What is the answer? Repentance is the answer. Repentance always has been the answer and repentance will always be the answer.
Repentance was the first message of Jesus. It was the first message of the Spirit-filled Apostles. Changing one’s life was the teaching of Christ. A changed life was also the teaching of Paul. The letters to the seven churches all advocated change except for one church that got it right. And dare we say it? Yes, let’s say it. Those who enter the Kingdom of God, the new Jerusalem in the new heaven and the new earth, are those who repented. They came out of this world, stopped living in ways opposed to the word of God, and started living as Jesus taught.
In fact, if going to church is the answer, then the Apostle John misunderstood the revelation he was given. Six of the seven churches, assuming they were going to church, were told if they didn’t change what they were doing, then Jesus was removing their candlestick. Without going into prophecy, it is safe to say you want to keep your candlestick.
Going to church will not help you unless you repent.
Repentance is the key to each of the questions we started with.
Want to grow in your faith? Repent.
Need to get your life straight? Repent.
Desire salvation? Repent.
Wish you could be more faithful? Repent.
Easter or Christmas? Repent.
We could add just about any other faith or life issue here, and the answer will be the same: repent.
What is one thing in your life that you need to repent?