WHY SHOULD I?

If you have children, I am sure you have been asked that question! When you think about it, "Why Should I ? is more than mere words. It really speaks of a mind-set, a disposition, an attitude. It is not new; it has been around a long time even as far back as Adam and Eve in the Garden. It is not unique to children, nor to a specific gender. It is not rare, but quite common, and it is on the increase in our ungodly and humanistic culture.

It resembles other similar mind-sets and attitudes such as: "Don't tell me what to do", "I"ll say and do what I want", "I'll live my way", "mind your own business", "It's okay that I disrespect authority". After all, our culture emphasizes that everything is all about me. What it CAN all boil down to (even with those of us who profess knowing Jesus) is - Rebellion and Stubbornness.

I do not want to be judgmental or condemning, but I do want to challenge all of us who have a tendency to fall into the mind-set of our culture, and instead focus on Scriptural truth. The Bible declares in I Samuel 15:23: "Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols." (New King James Translation).

I ended last week's blog listing 6 practical things to help us to "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness". Number three in that list was worshiping God with other believers in the context of a local church. There are a lot of "reasons" (or excuses) that Christians give for not doing this very thing. Some sight a bad experience in a church. Some say so many people in the church are hypocrites. Mistreatment of a pastor or church leader can be offered as a reason. The church always asks for my money is another reason why some have given up on attending a church. I have even heard it said that there is not any difference in the life style of those in the church and those who are not Christians. Having noted these, it is possible for genuine Christians to be rebellious or stubborn, even regarding the teaching of the Bible, in relationship to attending a local church.

"Why Should I?" An elementary answer is because it is the right thing to do! The Scripture says: "Jesus left us an example that we should follow in His steps" (I Peter 2:2). It was Jesus' practice to go into the synagogue every Sabbath. The early church gathered for worship, prayer and .fellowship. Acts 2:1 says:

". . .they were all together in one place." Acts 2:42 declares: "They were continually devoting themselves to the Apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Acts 2:44-47 includes the following truths: "All those who believed were together", "Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together." It was the custom of the Apostle Paul to go to the Synagogue in every city he ministered in while on his missionary journeys. In many cases he encountered severe hostility there. But that did not stop him from going.

It is just the right thing for us to do, to be with other Christians for worship, encouragement and fellowship regularly. Again, the Bible says: "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. So, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." (James 4:17 ESV)

Now, besides being the right thing to do, the most basic answer to the question of why I should is because God says so. Isn't that what we have often said to our children when they want to know why? We have replied: "Because I said so." God's Word teaches us that corporate worship is the standard for followers of Jesus. It totally answers the question: "Why should I?" Hebrews 10:24-25 proclaims this command: "And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another , and all the more as you see the day drawing near." In this Scripture, the bottom line regarding the reason for joining with other believers is: 1) it is commanded in the Bible, 2) each one is blessed by being motivated to Christian love and good works, 3) each one gives and receives encouragement, and 4) we are nearing the end of human history through the second coming of Jesus to earth. One way to prepare and be spiritually ready for His return is obedience to His commands.

One closing thought for this week's blog. The Christian life is more caught than taught. We teach more by example than we do with words. For those who are in the sphere of our influence, it is important that we give them our consistent example in practicing the disciplines of living the Christ-like life.