​​​

The Lies We Believe About Church

​Subtle untruths that shape our approach to gathering

​​​​

Together, for each other, for Christ

​

As a church we’ve been working our way through the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in our Sunday bible teaching. The letter reminds us that Christians are a people who belong to each other as members of one body. We are joined together in the local church to build each other up in love as each one of us does our work, serving with the gifts that God has uniquely given to each of us. In summary we could say we are “Together, for each other, for Christ” – I think this would make a good inscription above the doors to our church buildings!

​

But…God’s enemy, and therefore our enemy, the devil, doesn’t like this statement. He doesn’t want God’s people living this way and so he tells us lies. However, it’s not always the big obvious lies such as ‘God doesn’t exist’, which if this was believed, would guarantee our churches would be empty. No, Jesus calls the devil the father of lies, he knows what he’s doing, he’s crafty and much more subtle than that. He loves to tell us lies about the church, lies that keep the church building full, but the motivation and the meaning of what we do there, empty.

​

So here are 3 common lies we’re tempted to believe, that work in opposition to God’s purpose for His church.​

​

Lie No.1 – Church is just a service I attend

​

In my former life I worked in the construction industry for many years. My role involved a vast number of frequent meetings, long and boring meetings. Many of these meetings were part of the formula of whichever project we were working on. They became a necessary part of the rigmarole. I just go, sit, listen/speak, and leave. It was very easy to believe the lie that these meetings were not vital in some way to the whole project – believe it or not they actually were! We can approach church in the same way.

​​

The bible tells us that the church is the family of believers (1 Peter 2:17) who gather together. Someone will say I’m splitting hairs here – gathering, attending what’s the difference? Well, the difference is that whilst I cannot gather unless I attend it is possible for me to turn up in attendance with little thought to what the bible means by gathering. The original Greek word the New Testament mostly translates as ‘church’ is ‘ekklésia’ which literally means ‘an assembly of Christians who have been called out from the world and to God.’ So, church is not just a service I attend, it is not the religious Sunday box ticked. In fact, it’s not a service or tick box at all.

​​

The church is the people of God, not the place or time we meet. Next time you attend a service be sure not to believe the lie that this is all you’re doing, just turning up with some likeminded people to go through the Sunday rigmarole only to leave as soon as possible to get the roast dinner in the oven. No, the bible’s definition of the church, who and what we are, extends beyond the four walls of our buildings and the allotted hour or so we spend there on a Sunday.

​

Lie No.2 – The Sunday service exists to lift me up

 

If we’ve begun to believe the first lie, then it’s all too easy to slip into the second. Consider this question: Where do you go and what do you do when you need a pick-me-up? Have you ever thought about church this way? The answer for me is, yes I have, and it’s not helpful. When I think this way, I go to church expecting a boost and so the church falls into the category of a feel-good experience that will either deliver for me or it won’t, depending on how I feel and what I want out of the service this week. I’m sure we’ve all realised that at some point our expectations won’t be met – Maybe it’s the music, or the preaching, or perhaps I just wasn’t ‘feeling it’ today. What actually happens when church attendance is based on our personal preferences is that we inevitably miss the wood of worship for the trees of our emotions. The second begins to drive the first. I go for what I feel I need, I go for what I want to get out of it.

​

Now, let me be really clear here. I’m not saying that we should wholeheartedly embrace boredom and misery week in, week out, from poorly led services, bad music, and unevenly weighted or poor preaching. It’s true that we all need encouragement. Life is full of challenges and trials no matter what age or stage you find yourself at. For the Christian, the week by week gathering of the church should be a watering hole of life and refreshment in the Lord Jesus.

​

But the bible is clear. God blesses, he feeds and fills, he gives and grows the church, when first we as God’s people gather with our primary purpose being to praise God (Acts 2:47), approaching our gatherings focussed on bringing glory to Him, and coming with the mindset of lifting others up (Hebrews 10:24-25). So, when we come with ourselves to offer (Romans 12:1) for the glory God and for the building up of others, seeking first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33) then what we will surely find is all our needs graciously and generously met by God, whilst our fleshly preferences take a back seat.

​

Lie No.3 – It doesn’t really matter if I don’t come to church

 

Friend, it really matters that Christians gather. Hebrews 10:24-25 reminds us that Christians are to be proactively thinking about ways to encourage each other, which we do mainly by physically meeting together. As I’ve already mentioned, the life of the local church extends beyond our buildings on a Sunday, however, the Lord’s Day gathering – our Sunday morning service (and evening if you meet then too!) is one of the primary opportunities we have as Christians to meet together and live out the bible’s picture of the church.

​

It’s clear from these verses that this third lie is easily believed and can actually become habitual unless we do something about it by obeying the command to gather. It’s also clear from these verses that to not gather when we could, is actually an act of neglect or abandonment of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. When we decide not to come, the health of the church declines and the growth of the church slows and stagnates and we leave our brothers and sisters without the encouragement that perhaps just our presence alone would have brought them.

​

One thing that has made neglecting our gatherings easier is the customisable consumer comfort of online church. Log on, consume, log out. Online church is an oxymoron and is no replacement for our embodied worship, for we are an embodied people who are called the very body of Christ. God knows that in our sinful weakness we’re tempted not to gather, whether on a Sunday or at any other opportunity, and for all sorts of reasons too. It is ultimately between each of us and the Lord to determine a legitimate reason for not gathering, but I’m not dealing with those reasons here. But God tells us that the longer we live, the closer we get to heaven, the more important gathering to encourage each other becomes! Perhaps, this Sunday you could make a point of telling someone how great it is that they are there with you, let them know how their presence encourages you!

​

So Christian, may God help us to not believe these lies! Don’t just attend your church service, meaningfully gather with all God’s people and do this as often as you possibly can in order that we all be encouraged in our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ as we journey home to meet him.

​