"Missing worship services" or
"Importance of `church`"
| There are two major questions dealt with on this page.
Question #1> Are there some answers to one that sincerely doesn't believe he has to attend church services? |
Question #2> Is it a sin to miss the church assembly? OR, Can I just partake of the Lord's Supper in assembly and skip everything else? |
#1 Are there some answers to one that sincerely doesn't believe he has to attend church services?
One or more of the following excuses are given as to why one chooses not to attend with brethren of like faith: The following material has been adapted from B.C. Carr's 1980 booklet "Following Up New Converts and Restoring the Erring". |
f riendly
“THEY ARE NOT FRIENDLY”
1. I’m sorry –forgive me–let me arrange get acquainted event.
2. You can help me:
(Proverbs 18:24) “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
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“I DON’T ‘FIT-IN’”* “CLOTHES”* “DON’T FEEL LIKE ONE OF THEM”
1. Arrange association with people with things in common.
2. (Acts 10:35) "But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”
(James 2:5) “Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
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V isits
“NO ONE EVER VISITS ME”
1. That’s why I am here now. When would you like other visits?
2. Do you visit many others? Who?
(James 1:27) Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. Matthew 25:31-46.
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P reacher
“I DON’T LIKE THE PREACHER”
1. Why? Doesn’t he preach the truth? Do you really know him?
2. Worship God.(1 Cor. 2:5) “that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
(1 Cor. 4:6) “ that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.”
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“GOD HAS TURNED HIS BACK ON ME”
1. Why do you say this? Do you believe the Bible?
(1 Peter 5:7) “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
2. Case of Job: Devil allowed to test. Children in Heaven. Possessions doubled (Romans 8:28) “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Heb. 12:5-11 “For whom the LORD loves He chastens”
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H ypocrites
“I KNOW SO MANY HYPOCRITES IN THE CHURCH’
1. Yes--Judas, Peter, many today–but do you see some good?
2. Are you without sin? (1 John 1:8-9) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(Matthew 7:1-5) "Judge not, that you be not judged. "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; ...”
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“I’M NOT LIVING RIGHT–DON’T WANT TO BE A HYPOCRITE”
1. We want you to make a change (commend honesty).
(Acts 8:22) "Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.
2. What if you die in sin now?
(John 8:21) “Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come."
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“I DON’T THINK I HAVE TO GO TO CHURCH TO BE A CHRISTIAN’
1. Must one love the Lord to be saved? (John 14:15) "If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 15:14) "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”
2. We are to assemble. -Worship (Heb. 10:25) “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,” – (Ephesians 5:19) “speaking to one another in psalms...”; (Heb. 2:12) saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You."
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“MY HUSBAND OBJECTS TO MY GOING TO CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY”
1. Can he save you or answer for you at Judgment? (Matthew 10:37-38) ‘He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me”’
2. You are expected to obey as fit in the Lord. (Colossians 3:18) “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.”
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“MY WIFE IS NOT INTERESTED – MUST GO BY MYSELF”
1. Don’t you want her to be a Christian? Will you win her this way?
2. [ If children ] – must they go alone?
(Ephesians 6:4) And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
(Proverbs 22:6) Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
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“WE WERE FAITHFUL BEFORE MOVING HERE – HAVE NOT GOT STARTED”
1. What if Christ should come now (or you should die)? (Matthew 25:11-12) "Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' "But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' “(Revelation 2:10) "Be faithful until death...”
2. Let me introduce you this Sunday. You know duty if once faithful.
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“MY JOB REQUIRES ALL OF MY TIME AND ENERGY”
1. [Relate the story of the rich man] Luke 12:16-21.
2. Are you really happy? (1 Peter 3:10-12) For "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil."
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F ree day
“SUNDAY IS THE ONLY DAY WE CAN VISIT–ENJOY RECREATION”
1. Whose day is Sunday? I know you would not steal.
(Revelation 1:10) I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, (Psalms 118:24) This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
2. We are to assemble. -Worship (Heb. 10:25) “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,” – (Ephesians 5:19) “speaking to one another in psalms...”; (Heb. 2:12) saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You."
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“I DON’T LIKE THE WAY THE CHURCH IS RUN”
1. [Find out if he has a (religious) hobby. Remind him that he may offer suggestions.]
2. Elders have the duty to oversee. (1 Peter 5:1-3) The elders who are among you I exhort... Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
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“I’M NEVER ASKED TO DO ANYTHING. THEY DON’T NEED ME”
1. Have you offered? [Filled out a worksheet?]
2. Plenty to do. What will you do? I’ll tell the elders.
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O ffended
“ONE OF THE MEMBERS OFFENDED ME. CAN’T WORSHIP IF HE ATTENDS’’
1. Have you gone to him? (Matthew 18:15-17) "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. "But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' "And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.”
2. Duty to worship God:(Matthew 4:10) 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"
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“CHILDREN DON’T ENJOY IT... ALWAYS CONDEMNED FOR SOMETHING”
1. Was truth taught? Have they quit school? (John 8:32) "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
2. You may be mistreating them. (Ephesians 6:4) And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. (1 Samuel 3:13) "For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.
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“CHURCH IS TOO NARROW MINDED”
1. On what subject? (Matthew 7:13-14) "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
2. Do you believe the Bible? (Romans 3:3-4)’ For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: "That You may be justified in Your words...”’
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“WAIT TILL I GET BETTER...THEN I’LL COME BACK”
1. Is this the procedure when one is sick?
2. Which is more important – body or soul? (Matthew 10:28) "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell”.
(3 John 1:2) Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
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#2 Is it a sin to miss the church assembly?
2 Peter 2 20 "For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning." (NKJV)
FORSAKING THE ASSEMBLY AND ITS SINS
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DEFINITION OF SIN: [quotes from NKJV]: (1 John 3:4) "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." (James 4:17) "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. " (1 John 5:17) "All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death. " (Romans 14:15) "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin." |
1. Sin of forsaking the assembly.
(Hebrews 10:24-31)
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. For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (NKJV) [note: to forsake is to abandon]
2. Sin of not putting God first.
(Matthew 6:33)
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (NKJV)
(Luke 9:57-62)
Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (NKJV)
3. Sin of failure to denying self… loving pleasure more than God.
(Luke 9:23)
Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. (NKJV)
(2 Timothy 3:4)
traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (NKJV)
4. Sin of refusing to remember the Lord as commanded.
(1 Corinthians 11:23-30)
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. (NKJV)
(John 6:53-54)
Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. (NKJV)
5. Sin of robbing God of money… by not giving.
(Malachi 3:8)
"Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. (NKJV)
(1 Corinthians 16:2)
On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. (NKJV)
6. Sin of wasting talent (ability) for the Lord.
(Matthew 25:14-30)
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. "And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. "Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. "And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. "But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. "After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. "So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' "He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 'And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 'So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 'Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 'For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 'And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' (NKJV)
7. Sin of being against the Lord and for the devil.
(Matthew 12:30)
"He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. (NKJV)
(Matthew 6:24)
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (NKJV)
8. Sin of lukewarmness-indifference
((Revelation 3:14-19)
"And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' --and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-- "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. (NKJV)
9. Sin of not letting your light shine for the Lord's church.
(Romans 2:21-24)
You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, "Do not commit adultery," do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? For "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you," as it is written. (NKJV)
(2 Samuel 12:14)
"However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die." (NKJV)
***references to O.T.: (1 Corinthians 10:11-12) Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (NKJV)
10. Sin of rejecting the love of Christ
((John 14:15)
"If you love Me, keep My commandments. (NKJV)
11. Sin of bad influence to cause others to be lost.
(Matthew 5:13-16)
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (NKJV)
((Romans 14:7)
For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. (NKJV)
(2 Peter 2:12-19)
But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. (NKJV)
12. Sin of crucifying Christ again.
(Hebrews 6:6)
if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. (NKJV)
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We reap what we sow.
(Galatians 6:7-8) Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. (NKJV) (Romans 6:23) "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." |
