I have heard many people say: "I believe in God, I just don't want any part of organized religion." Or: "I don't need to go to church to worship God. I just go for a walk and enjoy His creation while I pray." The number one reason given for not attending church is that "The church is full of hypocrites. Why should I go?" What does the Bible have to say about church attendance?
The short answer is "Yes", you do have to go to church to be a Christian. John Wesley (The founder of the Methodist denomination in the 1700's), was fond of saying: "The New Testament knows nothing of solitary Christianity. The Scriptures refuse to believe that there could be such a thing as un-churched Christian." Hebrews 10:25 says: "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
What is a Church?
I think perhaps a Biblical definition of the word "church" might be helpful here. The word does not refer to a building, or to a Sunday morning service. In the Bible, the word church refers to the people who meet together. The apostle Paul often referred to the church that meets in ....'s home (e.g. 1Cor.16:19, Romans 16:5).
There are several metaphors in the Bible which describe what the church ought to be. In John 15, Jesus compares His relationship with the church as a vine with branches. He said: "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." A branch separated from the vine receives no nourishment and will die. A Christian who separates himself from the church will soon find that his faith is receiving no nourishment, and will eventually die.
Another metaphor compares the church to a body. Romans 12:4-5 says: "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." In God's plan, each local church is made up of people with various gifts and abilities. For a church body to be healthy and functional, each member serves and is served by the others.
Why do I have to be a part of Organized Religion?
God never meant for the church to be an organization. It is to be an organism, a living, growing body of believers. We are to be the church, not just attend one.
I must note here that "Organized Religion" is a subjective term. My definition of a Bible-based church is a group of local believers who meet on a regular basis for teaching, worshiping together and encouraging one another. They collect tithes and offerings to share the expenses of the church and its ministries. It has a membership list and a statement of faith (preferable written and available to new members). In Canada, a church must be officially registered as a legal charity in order to provide tax receipts for donations (different countries may have different regulations).
I must also mention that there are some churches or denominations whose statement of faith does not follow the Bible. They base their beliefs on current popular opinion, perhaps in order to not offend a culture which sets a higher regard for political correctness and tolerance than for God's standards of ethics and morals. God never changes, and He has divinely protected His word so that the Bible has been passed down to every generation and translated into every language so that it can fulfill its self-stated mandate:
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16)
Why can't I just worship, read the Bible, and pray on my own?
Solitary worship and prayer are essential to your own relationship with God. But corporate worship is also essential because God designed us to need community. Solo Christianity can easily lead to developing heretical (non-Biblical) doctrines and values. In a church body, those members who have been Christians for longer, and have studied the Bible in depth are to teach the young people and new Christians. (See Titus chapter 2)
The Sunday morning service ought to be like a football huddle. The players gather together for a short time to receive instructions. Any members of the team who believe that the huddle is the whole game won't be of much use to the team.
