Many years ago as I began preaching, I was encouraged by the brethren to preach constantly and consistently on the subject of church attendance. They felt that if I preached on the subject, that Christians would know their obligations in attending church, and our attendance numbers would rise, or at least stay the same.

I understand that we must preach the Bible - all of the Bible. And, God has given a command in his word that says, "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25, NKJV). This passage emphasizes that Christians are not to forsake the assemblies of the church; that one of the reasons for gathering together is to exhort or encourage one another, and that this should be done as they saw the Day approaching. Scores of comments have been made as to what the DAY was, with many believing the day of judgment on Jerusalem, or the Day of Judgment on the whole world. In light of the fact that we have no "signs" foretelling us when the Lord will return to judge the earth (despite what many premillenial believers try to show us), and due to the fact that they were "seeing the day approaching" I believe he is talking about the day of judgment to come on Jerusalem (and this fits in with the entire context of Hebrews, as many of those Christians were being encouraged to give up Christianity and go back to Judaism). They needed one another to encourage them not to give up the best (Jesus) for something that God has taken away (the Old law).

The need for encouragement is still necessary today. In a day when the world believes one can live any kind of life they wish and still be accepted by God, we need encouragement. In a day when many brethren in the Lord's church are buying into the idea that anything goes; that we do not need to follow the pattern of the Bible; that God is so loving he could never condemn anyone to hell, we need encouragement to stay faithful to God. In a day when many hearts are growing cold to the message of the cross and the gospel, and many of our hearts are not touched by this message of love and sacrifice, we need encouragement and a constant reminder of what salvation cost God! In a day when many are loosing their moorings from the word of God, and are following every vain philosophy of men (such as evolution) we need encouragement! So, this is a major reason to assemble ourselves together with the church.

But as often as I preached on church attendance many years ago, I finally came to the understanding that church attendance and giving (and all of God's commands) fall into the same broad category. While we must be reminded of God's commands, and even encouraged to obey them, I learned that IF OUR HEARTS ARE RIGHT WITH GOD, AND IF WE ARE COMMITTED TO SERVING HIM, we will have no problems in assembling ourselves with the saints, and giving as we have been prospered. Hence, I started preaching more on daily Christian living, on commitment and dedication to the Lord and his cause. Did attendance drop? Somewhat! Why? Because some had the erroneous notion that the extent of serving the Lord depended on how many times we assembled with the saints. Some had the notion that serving the Lord meant that we better be sure that we give more than 10% every Sunday (the scribes and Pharisees gave 10%, and "our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees"). But some of the same ones that emphasized this would not visit the sick; they would not help the poor ("that is what I give money to the church to do"); they would talk like the world, act like the world, and be like the world the rest of the week. Like the Pharisees of old, they picked and chose what they wanted to do, and made these the important things.

Is assembling with the saints a command of God that must be obeyed? Yes! Is giving as we have been prospered a command to obey? Is visiting the sick, the poor, the fatherless and widows commands to be obeyed? YES! How do we find the motivation to do these things? THAT comes from an appreciation of the cross and the sacrifice that God made for us there! The motivation comes from a commitment many of us made years ago to put God first in our lives. And the only thing that should hinder us from doing what God has said on all these things is sickness or death.

I ask you - is God first in your life? If so, I will see you Sunday and Wednesday!
Shalom, Tommy