"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25)
I became a Christian when I was little so I'm very persistent about going to church. I believe that Christians should go to church every week, including when there are company weekend activities or extra work hours on Sunday. The reason is simple: I'm a Christian and I need to go to church.
Wherever I go, I always look for a church first and make sure I can go. I would also tell people about going to church on Sundays, so all meetings have to make way for my God.
However, I realized that not every Christian is enthusiastic about going to church and some have impure motives.
- Using faith in Christ as therapy
Faith has become a way of relieving pressure for some people. They go to church to listen to hymns and forget about the church when they feel better. For these people, the church is merely an emotional Band-Aid and not for praising God and satisfying their longing for His Word.
- Going to church as a habit
A common situation is going to church habitually. Many people don't miss their Sunday services and are very devout during the short hours of the service. However, once they step to exit the church, they walk into a different world. It seems that faith only exists in the building and outside the church is a world irrelevant to faith.
- For a better interpersonal relationship
I have a friend in Canada and he doesn't believe in God, yet he keeps several Bibles at home and goes to church occasionally. I asked him why and he said that in Canada many people are Christians. These people regard Christians as nicer and more reliable than non-believers. These Christians have a community and it's hard for them to trust non-believers and neither do they want to socialize with them. So he would be isolated if he didn't go to church. As a result, though he doesn't believe, he has to go to church to better socialize with some people.
- Using the church as "hunting grounds"
There are people in the church that use faith as a disguise for their "hunting." Some men who are not good enough to meet the worldly standard think women in the church are easy prey because they're innocent and have few requirements. These men sneak into the church, lock on target, and start hitting on the girls. For these men, their eyes and words betray them since there's no God except finding a spouse.
Though such fake worshipers exist, and there may even be many of them, most people react that as long as they humble themselves and repent before God, they will gain better results. God works wonders, He would use the lusts of man to fulfill the work of saving souls.
Nine years ago, we preached the Gospel to a brother. He already turned down many Christians before that; however, that time he decided to go to church to observe carefully and reveal the "scam" of Christians. He was determined to tell more people that God and Christ didn't exist and Christians were all fools. He went to church with this mindset. But after months of studying and communication, he knelt down before God to repent, acknowledged Jesus as Lord, and spread the Gospel to more people from then on.
No matter what motives people take to the church, Christians and pastors should give them more care, guidance, and prayer. These are of great importance to saving souls.
-Translated by Grace Hubl
