WHY BOTHER?
Why bother with attending bible classes and worship assemblies? What's the use? Why get up and go at all? It is just a habit? Is it because "church" is where you are supposed to be on Sunday mornings? What about Sunday nights, or Wednesday evenings?
It is a lot of trouble to get to bible class at the "unearthly" hour of 9:00 in the morning (even though most of us routinely arrive at school or work by 8:00, if not earlier!). It is also just utterly unreasonable for the elders to expect us to delay supper until 6:30, just so we can gather and worship with the saints again on Sunday evenings. Of course it "goes without saying" that Wednesday nights don't "count," especially if you had a hard day at work, or the kids have homework, or their ball team has practice! So why bother at all?
We assemble together as God’s people to worship Him — Jesus said we are to worship "...in spirit and in truth" (Jn. 4:24), and the truth is that God’s word instructs us to be present in the assembling of the saints (Heb. 10:25). Worshipping together helps us grow in the faith (2 Pet. 3:19), and builds us up spiritually ("Let all things be done unto edifying" 1 Cor. 14:26). Now, if some among us are SO spiritually mature they don’t "need" to be built up, perhaps those could afford to skip worshipping with their brethren; but skipping an opportunity to gather with fellow-Christians, in the Lord’s presence (Mt. 18:20; 28:20, etc.), certainly does not strengthen us or build us up spiritually! How can we obey the command to "teach and admonish" one another (in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, Eph. 5:19 & Col. 3:16) if we aren’t together? 1 Timothy 2:1 and James 5:16 speak of praying for one another, but how can we do this when we don’t know who needs our prayers (because we didn’t think we "needed" to attend the assembly!)? Prayer is our means of communicating with God (Phil. 4:6), and Acts 12:5 shows us an example of the power that massed prayers can have with God. But why "bother" with the instructions of God in this matter?
Among the several very good reasons we come together on Sundays and Wednesdays is the opportunity to participate in the Lord’s Supper. We learn from Acts 20:7 that it is one of the main reasons the original Christians met on Sundays. Furthermore, the apostle instructs us to participate in this memorial in a reverent manner, considering what it represents for Christians (1 Cor. 11:27-29). The Lord’s Supper is a memorial. It is a key part of our worship to God, a reminder to commemorate Christ’s love for us — it reminds us that He gladly substituted His life for ours (Phil. 2:7-8, John 10:17-18), and in this memory we should be motivated to offer better service in His kingdom. But why "bother" to remember our Savior’s death each week?
When we consider the reasons we each ought to be present and participating when the saints gather together on the Lord’s day, we need to think about and plan for the opportunity we will have to "lay by in store" a generous portion of the material blessings God has showered upon us! This is the method He established in the New Testament for Christians to materially and financially support the work of His church (Luke 6:38; Romans 12:8; 2 Corinthians 9:7). The simple fact is that we miss an opportunity to give a portion of our blessings for the Lord’s work when we "don’t want to be ‘bothered’" with being present among God’s people on His day!
Now consider the main purpose of attending bible classes, as well as one of the reasons to attend on Sunday evenings and Wednesdays: We can study together from God’s word! Proverbs 27:17 tells us that "Iron sharpens iron," and Christians should be present for bible classes and worship times so that we can a) please our God by learning and growing, 2 Timothy 2:15, and b) equip ourselves to answer any questions about our faith (1 Peter 3:15). By studying together from God’s word, we accumulate spiritual strength and understanding to equip us for the week ahead — this means we should be present (and prepared, with bible, notepad and pen!) each time "the doors are opened!" We need to attend on Sunday mornings ... and on Sunday evenings, and even on Wednesday nights too! When we "just can’t be ‘bothered,’" what our actions are really saying is that we don’t want to make an effort to grow spiritually!
A final reason (at least, for this article!) for Christians to be faithful and consistent in attendance is this: When we assemble together, we have an opportunity to savor the fellowship which is part of our Christian birthright! That fellowship, our association together, is meant to strengthen and unite us! This earthly life we live presents Christians with all kinds of trials and temptations; we certainly don’t need to meet those things with the added disadvantage of being "spiritually run-down!" Take a moment and think about the words of king David in the book of Psalms (133:1); "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!" The apostle Paul instructs us (in Galatians 6:2) to "bear one another’s burdens," but we need to stop occasionally, and consider the fact that there’s no way we can do that if we don’t see one another! How can we "Let love of the brethren continue" (emphasis mine) if we don’t (or won’t) "bother" to meet together?
The point I want to emphasize is quite simple: When we aren’t present for bible classes or worship assemblies, we miss opportunities to grow spiritually — to be strengthened. Furthermore, we fail in our responsibility to "build up" fellow-Christians and strengthen each other in the face of trials and temptations. Our spiritual opponent, Satan, can find no sweeter "meal" than the soul of a tepid, uncommitted, unfaithful, spiritually uneducated Christian. THIS is why it’s important (no; essential!) for all of us to attend faithfully, and not abandon "... the assembling of ourselves together ...." "Why ‘bother’ indeed!" :angel:
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Wooddale Church of Christ Daily Devo's
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