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Last spring, I played several rounds of golf and lost a lot of golf balls. It wasn’t much fun. I booked a lesson with a professional, and I was glad I did. After a few minutes of watching me hit shots, he told me what he thought and then put me into position at the top of the backswing. By myself, I wouldn’t have thought to get near that same position. I could have watched hours of online instruction and not done so, and this showed me that I needed teaching personally applied by an instructor.
That lesson brought to mind the importance that the Bible places on attending the church meeting. The second half of Hebrews 10 provides several personal applications of Christ’s sacrifice. Among them, emphasis is laid on the importance of meeting together at church:
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Heb. 10:23–25)
Personal applications of Christianity take place at church, not only in the formal part of worship or what happens from the pulpit but also during interactions before and after the service as well as throughout the week. In Christians’ meeting together, Christianity is personally applied because Jesus works in the church by His Spirit.
Some of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned about Christianity have come about simply by being in church. More than ten years ago, when we took our eldest child to church for the first time after he was born, the first person I saw when I carried him into the auditorium was a Christian grandmother. She was delighted to see him, which was lovely in itself, but the reason I especially remember her reaction is that her sister had died the previous week. It was a powerful example to me of what it means to be a Christian. She had suffered loss, but she was joyful at another person’s gain. I wouldn’t have experienced that without the church’s meeting together.
Perhaps you know of someone who is struggling with his faith. I would encourage that person not to give up but to go or keep going to church. Consider meeting with a pastor or elder. I told the professional golf instructor that I wasn’t enjoying how I was playing, and he helped me. A trustworthy pastor would do the same for one who is struggling with Christian faith and would offer personal applications to hearten the soul. Tremendous amounts of information are available today through other means, especially online, but sometimes the answers we need are found in “not neglecting to meet together.”