I could write--okay, I AM writing--a book about basically why bother go to church at all since church people suck, and what is the purpose of the local church.
This topic is so freaking huge that these posts will be bite-sized. Maybe the size of half grapes you feed toddlers so they don't choke. It's funny how writers have brevity and concision pounded into them, yet feel compelled to write novel-length blog posts.
So, here's the first half of the first grape.
You Can Be Saved Without Your (Local) Church...
I can't think of one friend who hasn't been hurt by the local church. Every single person I know, believer or not, has had at least one bad experience with a Christian in their community, whether someone in their household, or former friend, or a church member or leader.
If this is true--if everyone has had at least one unpleasant experience with the local church, why voluntarily participate in a gathering that is guaranteed at some point to bring further unpleasantness?
Spoiler: I am pro local church, and I have reasons to believe Christians should attend local church services. I'll share those in the future.
But today I want to validate the argument, "I can be a Christian without going to church."
If you have said this, you are right.
I don't believe it is an adequate argument in itself, but as a standalone statement, it is technically and doctrinally true, and I want to validate that biblically.
Here are two times REAL biblical characters explained the requirements for salvation. Same concept, different words:
1. Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader, came to Jesus at night (so the other religious leaders wouldn't find out) and asked him to clarify some things. Jesus talked about people being "born again" and "God giving up his son" to "save the world through him", which of course made very little sense at the time since it hadn't happened yet. Probably the best-known verses of this story are these:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17, emphasis mine)
2. Paul preached the gospel to another group of religious people, where he also used the terms "saved" and "believe": "...My heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved" (Romans 10:1). His "How to Be Saved" message was this: "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (vs. 9).
You may notice--possibly with triumph--that these passages say NOTHING about attending church services.
In fact, for a really long book all about God (that surprisingly, most Christians haven't even read), you'd think there would be more things to do to be saved. Pray, read the Bible, and go to Bible study. Or, there's the list of things we're not supposed to do: Don't get drunk. Don't give up meeting together. Don't have sex before you're married. Do all that, and believe, and then you can be saved, right? But that's not at all what the Bible actually says.
The only point of this post is to emphasize that our SALVATION does not depend on abstaining from sin or doing any good things, including church (if that is good). No work required on our part FOR SALVATION. The work for salvation on God's part and has been finished.
Have I said "salvation" enough? That's because I'm afraid I'm going to get Christians saying "BuT wHAT ABOUt sANCtIfiCatioN amBeR????". Don't worry firstborns, I won't let believers use my words as an excuse to fornicate.
There's no "But" in this post, hence the ellipses at the end of the post title.
The "But" is coming.
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