This past week a friend of mine posted some theological thoughts on Facebook, one of which was that the Bible doesn't really say that we need to go to church. He argued that when the Bible talks about "the church" it is really talking about the global body of believers, not the place you go on Sunday morning. His said that our ideas about the church came from our society, not from the Bible.
I think there are many people who ask this same question--and who believe the Bible doesn't say that we should go to church. In one sense, they're absolutely right--nowhere in the Bible does it say that Christians should go to church every Sunday. But just because those exact words don't appear in the pages of Scripture doesn't mean that the Bible doesn't teach it.
The idea of a body of believers coming together on a regular basis to encourage each other and to minister to others is seen throughout the New Testament. In Acts chapter 2, we see that the believers actually were meeting together every day! In Hebrews 10:25, we read that Christians should meet together regularly in order to encourage each other.
So why did we settle on meeting together every week on Sunday? Because it follows God's original plan! Remember that God created the world in 6 days. What happened on the 7th day? God rested. The Jewish people used that day to come together and reflect on what God had done and remind themselves and how He wanted them to live. In the New Testament, the early Christians decided that if they were going to choose a day of the week to reflect on what God had done for them, maybe they should move it to the day Jesus rose from the dead, because that's when everything changed. Of course, that day is Sunday.
So, that's why we meet every week. But the question remains, is this weekly meeting necessary according to the Bible? I think it most certainly is. In 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul talks a lot about spiritual gifts, and he says that we all need to use our gifts to build each other up and reach out to non-believers. The only way that works is if we meet together to use them. Some people are given the gifts to lead and teach, and others are given gifts of encouragement, administration, the ability to help people, or any number of other gifts. All of us are supposed use our gifts to benefit the others. It seems to me that the only way that can really happen is if we are involved in a church.
Notice the most important part though--we are supposed to be involved in the church. There's no such thing as a passive Christian. We are all given gifts and are expected to use them for God. If you aren't involved in a weekly meeting of believers, you can't use your gift(s) to minister to others--and you can't receive the ministry that others have to offer you. We are supposed to be working together to grow in our faith. The only way to work together is to actually be together.
