11 Reasons not to Attend One Church Over Another
Common reasons to attend one church over another. . .
We could no doubt continue adding many more reasons to the list above, without any danger of exhausting the list of why people choose once church over another. . . but none of those reasons will get you into heaven. When you stand before God, He will not care about anything in the list above.
By various counts Jesus issued around 50 commandments. He stressed how important it is to obey His words:
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
John 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
Everyone’s favorite Scripture is John 3:16, but read the beginning of the third chapter:
John 3:1-8 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: (2) The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. (3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? (5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (7) Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (8) The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
In the passage above, Jesus said if you aren’t born of the water and of the Spirit that. . . “you cannot see the kingdom of God”. . . and repeated it “. . . you cannot enter into the kingdom of God”. These are hard important words. Better to sit alone on a bare board pew, listening to a soft spoken monotone preacher who teaches and preaches the truth, than in a church with reclining softly padded chairs, watching a service as entertaining as anything found in Las Vegas, listening to words which tickle the ears, but which do not contain truth.
Jesus won’t want to know how well the choir sang. . . He won’t care how modern the building is. . . It’s not important to him how sociable or entertaining your preacher was.
If you love me, keep my commandments. . .
If you love me, keep my commandments. . .
If you love me, keep my commandments. . .
We bear responsibility to ensure that above all else we are being taught the Truth. Find a church that bases their doctrine entirely upon the Word of God, and what ever the cost, teaches from the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of God. . .
This is not a game. A church is not a social club, where we go to in order to socialize and be entertained. The doctrine is of number 1 importance, above every other consideration.
If your church is not teaching: Repentance, Water Baptism in Jesus name, and the Spirit Baptism of the Holy Ghost, then you need to find a church which does. It’s on the pages of the Bible before your very eyes. . .
- You like the building.
- You like the pastor.
- You feel comfortable there.
- The choir is great.
- They have a really good youth group.
- The pastor’s messages are uplifting.
- The people are very friendly.
- The pews are comfortable.
- You really like the music.
- Your best friend/family member goes there.
- This is where my family has always attended church.
We could no doubt continue adding many more reasons to the list above, without any danger of exhausting the list of why people choose once church over another. . . but none of those reasons will get you into heaven. When you stand before God, He will not care about anything in the list above.
By various counts Jesus issued around 50 commandments. He stressed how important it is to obey His words:
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
John 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
Everyone’s favorite Scripture is John 3:16, but read the beginning of the third chapter:
John 3:1-8 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: (2) The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. (3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? (5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (7) Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (8) The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
In the passage above, Jesus said if you aren’t born of the water and of the Spirit that. . . “you cannot see the kingdom of God”. . . and repeated it “. . . you cannot enter into the kingdom of God”. These are hard important words. Better to sit alone on a bare board pew, listening to a soft spoken monotone preacher who teaches and preaches the truth, than in a church with reclining softly padded chairs, watching a service as entertaining as anything found in Las Vegas, listening to words which tickle the ears, but which do not contain truth.
Jesus won’t want to know how well the choir sang. . . He won’t care how modern the building is. . . It’s not important to him how sociable or entertaining your preacher was.
If you love me, keep my commandments. . .
If you love me, keep my commandments. . .
If you love me, keep my commandments. . .
We bear responsibility to ensure that above all else we are being taught the Truth. Find a church that bases their doctrine entirely upon the Word of God, and what ever the cost, teaches from the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of God. . .
This is not a game. A church is not a social club, where we go to in order to socialize and be entertained. The doctrine is of number 1 importance, above every other consideration.
If your church is not teaching: Repentance, Water Baptism in Jesus name, and the Spirit Baptism of the Holy Ghost, then you need to find a church which does. It’s on the pages of the Bible before your very eyes. . .
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