Is this a church?
That isn't a church, it is a building where a church gathers.
It is important that we, as Christians, use the word 'church' correctly. Some people used it of the building where we meet on Sundays; they said 'Let's meet at the church.' Others meant the large meeting room in the from of that building building when standing in a back hall they said, 'Let's go through to the church.' While some talked about the Anglican/Methodist/Catholic church, they are referring to the denomination, while someone else talked of the church in this country, they are referring to all the denominations and independent churches together. Neither is church referring to the main Sunday meetings! So, what is a church?
Church refers to people who believe in Jesus Christ. Many people, Christians or not, like to question why we as Christians had to go to church. More often than not, the outcome would be something like, 'You do't have to, but you'd want to; it'd be good for you to grow as a Christian. It seems like the church becomes a place that can help us grow as Christians, so it is important, but not vital. It is something that we want to be part of because it is good for us.
In 1 Peter 2:4-5, Peter wrote "As you come to him, the living Stone —rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house". The Stone used by Peter refers to none other than our LORD Jesus Christ. As we come to Jesus, we trust in him. In verse 6, with reference to the book of Isaiah, Peter tells us about the precious cornerstone that God has placed in Zion. To those who trust in Jesus, He is precious. But to others who do not trust in Jesus, He isn't precious to them.
In the Old Testament, yes, the temple is the Holy House of God, where God was said to live in. But in this verse, we are told that we are being built into a spiritual house. We, by believing in Jesus Christ, are being built into a temple, where God will live in. Isn't that amazing? Because we believe in Jesus Christ, that is why God lives in us. And this very statement will entail many other things.
One of which is in line with what I'm talking about in this post. If we say that we go to a church (referring to the building) because that is where God lives, aren't we trying to imply that if we do not go to the building, God is not in us. Then where are we putting Jesus? We pray in the name of Jesus, we want to do everything for Jesus because he died for our sins even before we were born, and do so many other things for Jesus, but forget about what He has actually done for those who truly trust in Him.
When we accept Christ into our lives, what we are saying is that we trust in Jesus and because of that, we are being built by God into His temple, where He will reside in. We have become a part of God.
Because of the very fact of that, what then do we go to church for? Do we go for the message, or the songs, or the people whom we can talk to? God did not create us as Christians to think only of ourselves, but to relate to other Christians in a community. In Acts, it is clear that Christ has to be the in the center and is the core of what a church is. The people broke bread because they are doing what Christ has told them to do in remembrance of Him.
It is vital that we know why we go to church. It is not about how we will benefit as individuals.
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