Can someone believe in God but not attend church?
- Thread starter Sherman
- Start date
Yes. It may not be as healthy for them spiritually, but yes.
I don't believe you have to attend any designated place.
I agree with Jesus .....
John 4:20-24
Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Bradley D
Well-known member
I do not attend a church. I was brought up an Episcopalian. My parents did not like it when the church accepted homosexuality. They stopped going to church. My dear departed wife was a Catholic. I would attend services there now and then. I now stay in my room and study the Bible. I think of myself as a protestant monk in my monk cell.
Derf
Well-known member
I think that's the right answer, but if being a part of the body of Christ is what saves us, and we have the opportunity to do so but choose not to, are we really a part of that body?
Derf
Well-known member
What if worshipping Him in spirit includes being a part of a congregation, including learning to get along with each other even when we don't agree about something?
We aren't really saved individually, but only in Christ. Obviously there will be exceptions, like the thief on the cross who was only with Christ and an unbeliever after he believed.
Why would you need to be in a designated place to be able to learn to get along with each other?
You can do that anywhere.
"In" can have several different connotations.
I'm in my room.
I work in medicine.
I have a run in my stocking.
I scored an A+ in class.
I'm in debt.
If Christ has one body then every believer that ever lived is in that body since no one comes to the Father but through the Son.
Derf
Well-known member
Did I mention a place? I mentioned a congregation...something that involves multiple people. There's certainly no problem worshipping God by yourself, but there is something wrong with never worshipping with other believers.
There's a group that is currently active at any point in time. It includes people in many different countries. Individual congregations, as addressed throughout the epistles of the NT, operate at once as separate bodies and as part of the comprehensive body of Christ.
What we don't see mentioned is individual believers doing their own individual thing without any contact with anyone else as part of the body.
It only takes 1 other person to not worship alone.
Because the common denominator is Christ, not a congregation.
Can you think of any church congregation Abraham attended?
Derf
Well-known member
Yes, but it takes at least 2 others to hold you accountable, according to
Matthew 18:16 — But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
I don't understand what you're getting at with your comment. Of course Christ is the central figure of our faith, but He works through His church to direct our path, in case we aren't hearing the Holy Spirit (i.e., when we need to be held accountable).
Do you remember how many were in his household?
Genesis 18:19 KJV — For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
Genesis 17:27 KJV — And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
Genesis 14:14 KJV — And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
That was just the men who could go to war. Decent sized congregation, don't you think?
Right Divider
Body part
I don't think that this applys to worship.
Derf
Well-known member
It applies to whether someone is a part of a church, which is what the thread is about. Worship is a side issue someone brought up, but not unimportant.
Right Divider
Body part
Check what you replied to.
What does that have to do with a church?
That was law for all that lived in Israel at that time whether they were believers or not.
I do not look to a church to direct my path.
The law I live by is written on my heart.
No doubt Abraham had a large household of servants, slave workers, and a well trained army.
We are not told if they were believers so we should not make assumptions one way or the other.
Derf
Well-known member
Then you don't acknowledge any direction from scripture, either?
Did you read the verses I quoted? What about the one that said he would teach his household, and then the one that said how many were in his household? I feel a little silly repeating the exact same verses, but they answer your point quite pointedly.
Genesis 17:27 KJV — And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
Genesis 18:19 KJV — For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
God thought they were believers. Why wouldn't you think so?
Derf
Well-known member
I guess I can see what you're getting at, since @Tambora mentioned "worship", but it still goes back to the thread title and OP. So any talk of "worship" in this thread would naturally be seen as what goes on when one "attends church". She also mentioned "place", which stresses not the activity, but the location of said worship, now shown to be related to attendance.
I'm not that concerned about "place", which I think agrees with Tambora, except that if multiple people are going to meet for worship, it really helps if the place is designated, else how will they know where to meet.
It is scripture that mentions the law written on hearts.
So Abe didn't need to take direction from a church but from the Lord only.
And it was that direction from the Lord only that he would pass on to his household.
In other words, it is not direction from a church but from the Lord only.
Derf
Well-known member
Then if someone preaches scripture to you, you would take direction from him?
"...and how will they hear without a preacher?"
As head of the household, and the one God trusted to teach his household, he would be the leader of the church, usually.
He did attend a different church once, when he met with Melchizedek, and brought him a tithe. Some think Melchizedek's offering of bread and wine prefigured communion. I don't know if he learned anything spiritual from him.
We're also never told whether he went there regularly or not. I guess we'd both be arguing from silence about regular attendance, but he made it to church once.
Not if one can read and has a copy of scripture to read.
You have to consider the times.
In ancient times there were not a bunch of copies of scripture and not everyone could read, so people would gather to hear those that had a copy read it to them.
In our modern day copies of scripture are plentiful and the majority knows how to read.
So even if there is a father (head of household) that doesn't care anything about God or reading scripture, their children can.
With the case of Abraham and his household we don't know if he ever wrote down anything to read to his household.
But he could tell the stories of what God had done for him and what God had said to him.
And those stories would get passed down till one day someone would write them down.
I have a pet-peeve about someone just listening to some preacher at a church to find out what scripture says because they can't know for certain if what that preacher is saying is actually in scripture.
So it's best to take the advice of Paul.
Acts 17
(11) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.