This coming Sunday, numerous people will rise, shower, dress, and drive off to sit in a Church worship program. Many of them treat it like “punching a clock” at work. They arrive there on Sundays and put in their time for God.

They want to go to heaven. Some want to make their family happy. So they get up and put in their time for the man upstairs with the hope that one day, they will arrive before God, and he will say, “Why should I let you into my heaven?” Then they can reply, “I have put in the time.” The idea is that the number of hours spent on Sunday, when added together, should receive the paycheck of heaven. Each and every time they go, they add it to their tally sheet and possibly make a few people happy at the same time. It is a win-win, so they endure it when they would rather be elsewhere.   

I want you to know this is a highly flawed view of the Church. Going to Church is not something we do to get right with God. Instead, the Church is a community of people who are made right by the work of Jesus. God’s grace saves the people there through Jesus’ death on the cross. Their only plea before God on the day of judgment is that Jesus’ work is sufficient for our eternal salvation. 

A group of people who believe that join together each week to sing their praises to God, commune with their Savior, connect to one another in authentic relationships, and grow in their faith. The Church is an extension of faith and not the sum total of it.

We don’t go to Church to get right with God, but for someone right with God, the Church is a great place to be for their spiritual health.