Category: Prayer

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Going to Church Doesn’t Make you a Christian

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I have another excerpt for you today, from my book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.”  It tells us that going to church doesn’t make you a Christian. It’s what you do while you are there that does.

The book reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

The book is on sale right now at this site. It sells for $19.99 in the retail stores, but on this site it is only $15.99, and the shipping has been cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00.

Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page and check it out.

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Chapter 32

 

Going to Church Doesn’t Make You a Christian Any More than

Going to McDonalds Makes You a Hamburger

 

In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.

1 Corinthians 11:18–19

 

So many people go to church and criticize what is going on there. They think they have the perfect plan to reach out to others. They may be right in some ways, but we must never think that our ways are the only ways. God knows those who are truly members of the body of Christ and He wants those He has gifted for the task do the true leading of the church.

I have been going to church for many years. Does that make me a Christian? Some people think attending church is all you need to do to make it to heaven. The answer is, of course not.

I have seen churchgoers come to church Sunday after Sunday and then go home, tell filthy jokes to their friends, use profanity on a regular basis, and be bigoted about minority groups. Jesus would not do these things if He were on earth today. He accepted everyone—even those on the fringes of mainstream society. He would be gentle and frown on those who used language not acceptable by God’s standard.

The formula is very clear: We need to develop four habits to be a strong Christian after we have accepted Jesus into our hearts.

1. Read the Bible

2. Pray

3. Tithe (give back to God)

4. Fellowship with other believers

 

1.         Read the Bible. I don’t mean scanning it for a certain verse. I don’t mean reading only the chapter the message or lesson is about. And I don’t mean reading it only when there is a crisis. I mean we need to continue to read God’s Word—every day.

I realize this may be a tough task, with all of the hustle and bustle in today’s busy world. But most of us find time to read the newspaper. (There are much more exciting stories in the Bible—and they are all true.) We should be able to read a few verses in the Bible daily to get draw closer to God. It’s all a matter of priorities.

It’s so much easier for me to remain close to God when I’m consistently reading the Bible. I’ve read it through a couple of times already and every time I read it again, I find things I hadn’t seen before. 

Joining a Bible study group (Bible Study Fellowship1) has been great for me. The rewards are more than I can explain. I love sharing the verses we’re assigned to read each week. Imagine ten to twelve men/women all commenting on the same verses. The different insights help me understand what the words really mean. I enjoy the time, and I know that I have to study each week if I want to take part in the discussion. I need the commitment to study each night. It helps me to stay on task.

 

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 3:16–17

 

2.         Pray. This is the close encounter with God that we need every day. I can’t emphasize this more strongly than to say that prayer works! Some people say, “I prayed for weeks, and nothing happened.” God hears those prayers. He is listening, but we must remember that God answers prayers on His timetable and not on ours. God may decide that what we’re praying for is not what He wants for us. He will answer our prayers in a way that will help us understand why He moved in the direction He did. We may see that it was good that things worked out the way they did. God loves us, and He wants the best for us. When we pray, He listens, and then He helps us out in a way that He feels is best for us.

When I prayed for God to help me write this book several years ago is just one example of how He answers our prayers.

 

Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I call to him.

Psalm 4:3

 

3.         Tithe. I’m the first to admit that I was very slow in getting around to tithing to God. I know that I need to give more to my church. I give every time there is an offering, but I am talking about a full commitment of giving 10% of your earnings to God each month. This is a difficult commitment for many people—me included.

God has blessed me a great deal, and I want to show Him how much I care for Him by giving back some of the money He has provided for me. (It’s all His anyway!)

I have had some very good times through tithing. When I was first married and we had some little rug rats running around the house, I tithed. It was tough because we weren’t making a lot of money back then. The amazing part of those times was that the bills still got paid and we still had money for clothes. We often got a check in the mail that we weren’t expecting. It might be a rebate or refund that we forgot was coming.

There were also times when a note with the bill said, “You may skip paying this month.” It was the timing that was wonderful. It seemed that every time we received a check, it was in the month that was very tight for us. God provided for us. He feeds even the little sparrows, doesn’t He?

 

Be sure to set aside a tenth of all your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always.

Deuteronomy 14:22–23

 

4.         Fellowship. I feel this is the most important part of being a Christian. There was a time (before March 21st, 2001) that I didn’t think I needed to go to church to grow as a Christian. I felt that some of the so-called Christians in church weren’t Christians anyway. (You know what? That is true, but it’s not the point to me anymore.)  

The point is that me, myself, and I—all three of us—need to be in church to continue to grow! It doesn’t matter if some of the members are not acting like Christians. What does matter is how I act and the state of my relationship with God. I can’t think of a better place to grow as a Christian. The lessons I learn from what I hear in the sermons are very valuable and can teach me how to cope during the next week.

 

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.

Hebrews 10:25

 

Further Adventures

Becoming a fully developed (mature) Christian takes a lot of work and effort. Try to build each one of the four aspects into your walk with God. It may take a while, but you will feel the love of God in you grow as you add each one.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how everyone wants to go to heaven provided they do not have to believe anything the Bible says?

 

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What Should I look For When I go to Church?

I would like to invite you to sign-up for the RSS feed to this site. You will then get a notice every time I post. It also helps this site to move up the Google Search Rankings. Just click on the icon right after the title to do that.

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The book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” Is now on sale on this site. In the stores it is $19.99, but if you order here it is only $15.99. The shipping has been cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00. Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page.

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I have another excerpt to share with you. I hope you have been enjoying them.

Today’s excerpt is about how some people are religious nuts and actually harm the vision people see of Christianity.

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God Wants Spiritual Fruit, Not Religious Nuts

 

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

Acts4:12

 

You’ve seen them after football games, or after basketball games. They stand on the corners yelling that the world is a sinful place, and you had better repent. Although I’ve always admired their courage, it seems like the people around me think of them as religious nuts.

There are so many types of beliefs out there that claim to be Christian. There are those who believe we need to be baptized before we are a Christian. There are those who feel God will heal without doctors. There are some who will not allow their children to be part of Halloween, Fourth of July, birthdays and many other things. Some go to church on Sundays. Some go to church on Saturdays.

But the Bible’s bottom line is: What we need to believe in is that Jesus died for us and that the only way we are able to get to heaven is through Him. We need to let Him into our heart and be born again.

There are many beliefs that agree with that basic premise, but then they twist things around to fit their doctrine. Some come from the far left, and some come from the far right. Who is right—the far left, or the far right?

Again I am here to tell you that we have one goal for our souls: to believe that Christ died for us, and we need to accept Him into our hearts.

So, whether you’re from the far left or the far right, stop fighting over who is right and get on your knees to thank the only Savior we should be talking about. You do not need to be a religious nut to gain spiritual fruit.

            Left … Right … Left … Right … Left … Right

We’re marching to the wrong tune!

 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the roadthat leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and a few find it.

Matthew 7:13–14

 

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Romans 2:1

 

Further Adventures

I would like to suggest that you not go to church looking for a specific doctrinal stand. You’ll be overwhelmed when you find there are hundreds of different nuances to doctrine. Look instead at what is being taught. Is the Bible read during the service? Does the pastor preach from the Bible? Or does he have his own agenda? Some church leaders spend the whole service talking about current events and their views on them. That is not what God intended. He wants us to study His Word and not conform to this world’s standards in our daily living. If you find a Bible-teaching church, try it for awhile and see if it is a good fit for you.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how we are so quick to judge, but not eager to be judged?

 

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Are you a Just a Church Goer, or an Actual Spiritual Member?

I would like to invite you to sign-up for the RSS feed to this site. When you do you are notified when I do a new post. It also helps this site move up the Google Search Rankings. Just click on the icon right after the title to do that.

___________________________________________________________

The book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, ” is on sale now at the bookstore on this site. In the stores it is $19.99, but here it is only $15.99, and the shipping is cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00. Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page to take a look.

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Today’s excerpt is asks the question, ” Are you just a church goer, or are you you an actual spiritual member?” Many people come to church just to let others see they are going. They may not even bring a Bible. The spiritual members come to worship and praise.

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Chapter 30

 

God Doesn’t Want Shares of Your Life;

He Wants Controlling Interest

 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

 

I’m sure there are people in your church who make you wonder why they’re even there. They’re critical about everything—the music, the organist’s clothes, the length and wording of the prayers, the color of the rug, on and on ad nauseam. They gossip about others or sit through the service without listening to the sermon.

In The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren talks about these types of people. He says there are two types of people who go to church: the church attendees and the church members.1

The churchgoers come just to be able to say they go to church in order to impress their clients or neighbors—or as a promise to their mother. Often the churchgoers don’t even bring a Bible with them. Instead, they study the church bulletin the whole time, whisper to the person next to them or make out next week’s to-do list. They come only to show others they are going to church—and then they leave. You could ask them right afterward what the sermon was about, and they wouldn’t be able to tell you. They come in order to meet up and go out to lunch with someone from the church after the service is over.

“It is not what you show on Sunday that counts. It is what you show on Monday!”

The other type of church people are the spiritual members. They are members of the body of Christ. They are the ones who come humbly to church to truly worship God. They have their Bibles. They listen carefully to the sermon, taking notes to learn from it. They also are the ones who reach out to the “churchgoers,” to try to help them learn the true joy of learning about God.

When the church attendees come before God on judgment day, God will not ask them if they went to church. (He already knows everything you do.) He will ask them what they have done to deserve to be a part of His kingdom. What close encounters did they have with God? Did they totally worship Him not only on Sundays, but on Mondays also? They will try to convince God that they were very loyal, but He will say, “I do not know you; be gone!”

True members of a church reach out to those in need. They spend hours praying. They get into small groups to study the Bible. They help in the church by being an usher, singing in the choir, greeting at the door, etc. They also worship with the whole body when they are done serving. The members of a church are all part of one body, and we need to help the weaker parts of the body realize that if we lose even one finger from our body, we will suffer. We need the whole body being strong together.

I want to make sure you understand. I am not talking about a person who joins a church by having his or her name added to the membership list. I mean a member of the body of Christ.

I learned from one of the members of my Bible Study Fellowship group that a pastor of a church he knew had borrowed some money from one of the members and then never paid it back. The pastor tried to avoid the church member every Sunday so he wouldn’t have to talk to him about the money he owed the other member.

This member—even though he’s the pastor—isn’t a healthy functioning body member. Instead, he is one of the weaker parts of the body that needs help. Just joining a church “on paper” doesn’t make you a part of the body. All believers are part of the universal (transcending time and place) body of Christ and hopefully also healthy functioning members of a local body of believers called a “church.” It is too easy to “join a church” and then live off the title without ever being a part of the body of Christ.

We each need to decide if we’re going to be a church attendee/churchgoer/“pew sitter” or a true member of the body. If we are a part of the body of Christ, we will want to be in fellowship with other believers in a local church where we can be consistent in our worship of God and service to others. 

Each of us can become a prayer warrior, or be part of a Bible study group. We can help people find their seats or greet people at the door. Or we can just come humbly before God to worship each Sunday. After all, it is called a worship service.

Then we need to take God with us on Monday. Each day we can thank Him for His love. And we can look at others who might be simply “church attendees” and help them to grow into healthy functioning members.

It is often very difficult to approach the church attendees because they seem to resent anyone who challenges them. We need to convey to them that we love them enough to want them to take further steps in their live, to become a stronger part of the body. That may anger them at first, but they may thank us later when they become an integral part of the body and love God more than they ever dreamed possible.

 

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

 

Further Adventures

Take a “home inventory” of your own family. Are they all “members,” or is there one who is only a church attendee? If all families worked on having all their family becoming church members, there would be no need to have other church members try to help you. Even your children can be strong parts of the body of Christ by being examples to the other children in church. They can also get involved by being counselors at youth camps, singing in the youth choir, or helping in a Sunday school class.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that if you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything?

Remember: Never, ever, give up!