Why Do We Go To Church?

Before we start, I don’t want you to think that I am questioning the church or its purpose. I’d like us to examine ourselves by asking if going to church with the wrong motive is right or wrong.

That sounds like a simple question that should have a simple answer. But it doesn’t. The answer revolves around its circumstances, which means, it all depends. It all depends on what?

Nehemiah, the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes felt the urging from God to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. With the king’s blessing, he went. While there, he ran into much opposition.

Let us meet together inside the Temple of God and bolt the doors shut. Your enemies are coming to kill you tonight. Nehemiah 6:10

We’ll come back to Nehemiah in a moment. As a child, we went to church every Sunday. Sometimes, my brother and I went with my mom. Other times, we went alone.

Why did we go? I personally enjoyed going to Sunday School and church. But when it comes down to it, we went to church on Sundays because that’s what we did.

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Attending Church with Wrong Motives

As a teenager, I attended a Praise and Prayer service on Tuesday nights. I still went to my regular church, but for these services, I definitely went with the wrong motive. I went to see a girl.

However, after a few weeks, my motive changed. On one of those Tuesday nights, I received Christ as my Savior. The wrong motive I began with led to the right motive of serving Christ.

In a nearby church, a witch attended their Sunday morning services. Her intention involved casting a curse on that church. She definitely went with a motive but the wrong one.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, she became liberated from witchcraft and began serving the Lord. Again, another wrong motive turned right.

In the case of Nehemiah in this chapter, Shemaiah advised Nehemiah to do something contrary to God’s command. Appalled that Shemaiah would request such a thing, Nehemiah refused.

But I replied, “Should someone in my position run from danger? Should someone in my position enter the Temple to save his life? No, I won’t do it!” Nehemiah 6:11

Nehemiah discerned that Shemaiah had not heard from God at all. Tobiah and Sanballat hired him because those two men opposed rebuilding Jerusalem.

They were hoping to intimidate me and make me sin. Then they would be able to accuse and discredit me. Nehemiah 6:13

The enemy who opposes our relationship with the Lord will tactically intimidate us. One of the ways he uses involves the church. He might make us question why we even attend church.

Distractions In The House Of God

One of his oldest tricks in the church deals with music. Not the worship of God, but with the style in which we do it. One might want it syncopated, while another wants it mellow.

He will also distract us with someone’s personality that rubs us the wrong way. He will use any distraction he can so you will leave church so frustrated you wonder why you went.

I have seen movies where people have secluded themselves in a church, calling it sanctuary. I guess it makes for good television, but we don’t receive sanctuary from a building.

The word sanctuary in the dictionary means a place of refuge and protection. But the biblical meaning of the word differs somewhat. It means a sacred place of God’s presence.

It also means a place where people can worship, pray, and seek communion with God. In other words, when we enter into His presence, we enter His sanctuary.

There he built his sanctuary as high as the heavens, as solid and enduring as the earth. Psalm 78:69
Let us go to the sanctuary of the Lord; let us worship at the footstool of his throne. Psalm 132:7
Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heaven! Psalm 150:1

We should always dwell in the Lord’s presence, especially at church. The church has a twofold meaning. We Christians are the church, and we Christians go to church.

For the most part, going to church with wrong motives can be made right. However, people have entered the church with ulterior motives, including killing, stealing, and destruction.

Fortunately, God offers forgiveness for those who enter with these types of motives if they repent of their actions. The right reasons for attending church consist of the following.

Reasons Why We Attend Church

Worship God,
Fellowship with other Christians, and
To grow to become an effective disciple of Jesus.

Do you enter the church building regularly with the proper motives? We need to worship together, fellowship together, and grow together to become effective disciples of Jesus.

Christians spend most of their time outside of the church building. Others should recognize our Christianity as a part of our daily life. They should want the same thing we have for themselves.

good motives for attending church are to worship God, fellowship with other Christians, and grow to become an effective disciple of Jesus.

We can also invite others to our church meetings to give them a taste of Christians meeting together. Remember, though, the church is comprised of Christians, not buildings.

The writer of Hebrews instructs us to meet together for some great reasons. We must hold to our hope in Christ without wavering and trust God because He can be trusted.

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do,
but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25

Lord, help us to keep our motives pure inside and outside of the church. Also, keep us safe, especially as we gather together in church to worship you.

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