April 1, 2005, Vol.4, No.7.

Not Forsaking the Assembling of Ourselves Together

Keith Sharp

We need to be in the classes and worship assemblies of the church every time we possibly can. Your reaction to this statement might be, "Just give me one good reason I should be here every time the church assembles!" Well, would you settle for fourteen?

You and I should be in every assembly of the saints and in every Bible class the church makes available to us in order to grow spiritually. Are you so strong that you could not use some spiritual growth and strengthening? We assemble to “stir up love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24-25). Everything done in the assembly should be "unto edifying" (1 Corinthians 14:26). The tragic fact is that those who miss the assemblies and classes the most are the weakest members of the congregation.

We should attend regularly in order to obey Christ. We are as plainly commanded to assemble regularly for worship as we are to be baptized (Hebrews 10:24-25). If alien sinners cannot be saved without obeying Christ in baptism, and they cannot (Hebrews 5:8-9), what makes us think we can be saved without obeying Him in faithful attendance?

We should be with the Christians at every worship period in order to avoid falling away. The primary purpose of our coming together, other than to glorify God, is to strengthen each other so we do not fall away from Christ (Hebrews 10:24-31).

We should be in every assembly of the saints because Christ is there. He has never missed a scriptural worship assembly of His people (Matthew 18:20). Should we not follow His example (1 Peter 2:21) and be honored with His presence?

We should come together to worship on a regular basis in order to follow the example of first century Christians (Philippians 3:17). They did indeed assemble on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). But they also assembled, at least for a time, on a daily basis (Acts 2:46). We, as they, should come together "with one accord" as often as the church decides to have classes and assemblies and we are able to be there.

Christians should be in every assembly and class to prove their love and gratitude for Christ. He demonstrated His boundless love for us in dying for us. The “love of Christ compels us” that We “should live no longer for”ourselves, “but for Him who died for" us “and rose again”(2 Corinthians 5:14-15). No one who truly appreciates what Christ has done for us could ask, "Is it really necessary to be there every time?" Because they indeed love Christ, they ardently desire to be in every worship assembly.

We should attend regularly in order to show our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to love one another (1 John 4:20-21). We assemble for the express purpose of stirring “up love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24-25). Do you love your spiritual family enough to want to enjoy their fellowship in worship?

We should attend every assembly and class so the congregation can function. Every member of the church is needed for the proper function of the body (1 Corinthians 12:19-22). The church depends on your regular contribution to discharge its work (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). Do you miss and fail to make up your contribution? What if all the members attended and gave as regularly as you do? If you have the right to be undependable, why not others?

It reminds me of the preacher who told another evangelist that the elders of the church where he preached had decided to discontinue Sunday night services some months before. The second preacher inquired in astonishment, "What did the members think of this?" The sad response was, "Most of them haven't found out about it!" Would you know it if the Eastside Church of Christ discontinued the Tuesday evening study?

We should be in every assembly and class in order to abound "in the work of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58). Are the assemblies and classes good works? Then we should be there (Titus 3:1).

We should be there in order to put first things first (Matthew 6:33). What will you be doing tonight and Tuesday that is more important than worshiping God and learning more about His Word? Think about it! Do you actually put TV ahead of God? What if you treated your job as you do the worship assemblies? What if you habitually came in late for work, didn’t come if you felt a little bad, and let minor inconveniences get in the way of work? Would you keep that job? Do you put your job ahead of the Lord?

Disciples ought to be in all the assemblies and classes in order to set the right kind of example for others (Matthew 5:16). Would you want babes in Christ to follow your example in attendance? How can you consistently invite those who are lost to attend that they might learn the truth, if you are not sufficiently interested to attend yourself?

Parents who are Christians should feel a special responsibility to assemble regularly in order to bring up our children properly (Ephesians 6:4). Parents, what does your irregular attendance say to your children about your love for the Lord and His church? Is it any wonder that many children of Christians are lost to the Lord?

We ought to attend every assembly and class because it is a wonderful privilege (cf. Psalm 122:1). Christians of old assembled to worship God despite horrible persecution and danger. Not even the fear of death prevented their expressions of devotion to the Lord. Some of our own parents and grandparents worshiped faithfully despite long hours of arduous labor, slow, difficult travel, and very uncomfortable surroundings in worship. Many Christians today, particularly in foreign lands, experience similar hardships. Brother John Scholtz stopped in the dirt road he was traveling on to a preaching appointment in the Zimbabwe bush to give a ride to an aged, Zimbabwean woman walking beside the road. As they conversed, he found that she was in her nineties and was in the process of walking twenty or more miles to hear him preach! What a wonderful privilege it is to worship God without fear of government oppression or the persecution of men, in the ease and comfort we have, with the convenience of automobile travel. What an ingrate one is who fails to appreciate the privilege of worshiping God enough to assemble with such safety, ease, and comfort!

Every Christian should be in every assembly of the saints and in every class in order to be ready to meet Christ when He returns (Matthew 24:44). Is there any place you had rather be when He comes? What if He were to return at a time when you were willfully absent from an assembly? What would you say to Him? Do you think He would accept the excuse you gave the last time you missed?

There they are, dear Christian, fourteen reasons each of us should attend every time the church assembles. Having considered these scriptural reasons to assemble faithfully, do you really want to offer an excuse for not attending? Where will you be tonight? Tuesday night? Next Sunday morning during classes and assembly? Can the Lord count on you?