My Christian friends, I want to ask you a few questions. And, please, answer them as honestly as you can for yourselves, for your brethren, and for the Lord. Question #1: Do you think it is important to assemble with your local church family every time it is physically possible for you to do so? Question #2: When you travel for work, school, sports, competitions, vacations, etc, what do you do about “going to church”? Question #3: While you are making your travel plans, do you plan on attending a sound church which is “local” to where you will be? Question #4: Do you sacrifice to assemble with those saints? Question #5: What do you think the Lord wants you to do?
I ask these questions because of a very real problem I see in the mindsets of too many Christians. And, the problem that I perceive is this: Too many Christians do not truly see assembling with a local church as “all that important.”
Folks, Scripture is very clear about what is expected of Christians regarding local membership and, at the very least, assembling with brethren. In Acts 2:41-47, we see the first Christians assembling with each other and assembling to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). In Acts 9:26-31, we see the newly converted Saul of Tarsus wanting to join himself with the saints in Jerusalem when he came to town. In Acts 20:7-12, we see that Paul sacrificed his time and stayed in Troas for seven days in order to assemble and worship with the church there even though he was in a rush to get to Jerusalem before Pentecost (Acts 20:16). In passages like Acts 20:7 and First Corinthians 11:17-34, we see the importance of Christians assembling as a church to partake of the Lord’s Supper on the first day of every week in a worthy manner. And, in First Corinthians 16:1-2 and Second Corinthians 8-9, we see the importance of Christians assembling as a church to “lay by in store” in order to continue the work of the local church (which is something the Holy Spirit inspire Apostle Paul “gave orders” for every local church to follow). In passages like Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, we see the necessity of Christians assembling together (whenever/always) for the purpose of singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs in order to (1) praise God and (2) teach and admonish each other. In passages like Acts 2:42, 4:23-31, 12:12, First Corinthians 14:15, etc, we see Christians assembling to pray together as a church. Additionally, in passages like First Timothy 4:13, we see the need for Christians to assemble together in order to give proper attention to the reading of the Bible and to the teaching of it. And, Scripture tells us that all of this is so important that we must “not forsake the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
Clearly, we see that every Christian should BE a part of that local family, lovingly devoted to the Lord and to that “branch” of the family. Also, we clearly see the need to assemble with a local church in order to fulfill our God-given responsibilities to Him and to our spiritual family. And, we see that it is sinful and damning to reject the Lord’s will and to forsake the assembling of ourselves with our brethren as a church (Hebrews 10:26-27)!
Now, I said all of that to say this.
It is a strange and unnerving phenomenon to see Christians who understand all of this… until it comes to travel. You will usually see these Christians at most worship assemblies. But, when it comes to travel, they almost seem to think that “Jesus” and “church” don’t/won’t exist where they are going OR that they don’t have a responsibility to God and their brethren during their trip. You might even hear them say things like this (in not so many words): “Well, we’re going to skip our Sunday morning and/or evening church assembly to get a head start on our trip,” “Well, we’re not going to go assemble with a local church on Wednesday night because it’s not our local church,” “Well, the closest local church is like an hour away; it’s just too far away; we don’t have time to go,” “Well, we’re going to have a little devotional in our hotel room, instead of assembling with a local church, so we can make it earlier to the amusement park (or whatever else),” and/or “Well, we don’t have time to even think about God or church on this trip; we’re just too busy.”
Do you know what all of that is? It is idolatry. It’s all people making earthly, temporal things of a higher priority than God and His things in their lives (see Matthew 6:33). Again, it is idolatry, it is sin, and it is damnable (see Revelation 21:8). And, most pressingly, it is a practice and a mindset from which these sinners must repent and seek His forgiveness before it is too late (see Acts 17:30-31; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Luke 13:3; 1 John 1:8-10).
The Lord wants His people to assemble together to worship Him and to edify each other. He wants His people to want that too. So, conform your heart and will to His. Assemble with your local church family and never miss an assembly. If you are travelling for whatever, find a sound local church there and plan on being there as often as they assemble. If you have to sacrifice something (e.g., a work meeting, a competition, a performance, a round of golf, time at the amusement park, or whatever else), then sacrifice it to the Lord. Friends, do NOT sin (anymore) when you travel. Rather, make sure that you are glorifying God with your whole heart in whatever you do wherever you go (ref. Colossians 3:23; 1 Corinthians 10:31).
If you have questions about anything that you read in this article, then please get in contact with someone at the Northwest church of Christ and ask it. We will do our best to show you the true Bible answer to it or any other Bible question you may have. We look forward to hearing from you.
–Curtis Carwile