Why Should I Attend Every Service?

by Becky Rene

Introduction

1. What has Jesus done for me (I John 4:9-10)?
   1. Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the cross (I Peter 2:24) while we were still sinners (Romans 5:6-8; Ephesians 2:1-7; Revelation 1:5).
   2. Jesus rescued us from this present evil world (Galatians 1:4), and God delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Colossians 1:13).
   3. Now that we are in the kingdom of God, we have a myriad of spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3-14) and the promise of eternal life (I John 5:11).
2. What is my response to God’s love and grace (I John 3:23)?
   1. To love all men (Matthew 5:43-46; 22:39; Galatians 6:10; I Thessalonians 3:12).
   2. To love the brethren (John 13:34-35; I Thessalonians 4:9; II Thessalonians 1:3; I Peter 1:22; 2:17; 3:8; 4:8; I John 3:10, 14, 16; 4:7, 11, 21; II John 1:5).
   3. To love the Lord (Matthew 22:37; I John 2:5; 5:3).
3. Do I love God? Do I love my brethren? Do I love all men?
   1. In all the above verses, the word love is a translation of the Greek word agapao. Note what Vine says about this word…
      “Love can be known only from the actions it prompts. God's love is seen in the gift of His Son (I John 4:9-10). But obviously, this is not the love of complacency or affection; that is, it was not drawn out by any excellency in its objects (Romans 5:8). It was an exercise of the divine will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause save that which lies in the nature of God Himself (cp. Deuteronomy 7:7-8). Love had its perfect expression among men in the Lord Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 5:14; Ephesians 2:4; 3:19; 5:2). Christian love is the fruit of His Spirit in the Christian (Galatians 5:22). Christian love has God for its primary object, and expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to His commandments (John 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10; I John 2:5; 5:3; II John 1:6). Selfwill, that is, self-pleasing, is the negation of love to God. Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren or toward men generally, is not an impulse from feelings; it does not always run with natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered. Love seeks the welfare of all (Romans 15:2) and works no ill to any (Romans 13:8-10). Love seeks opportunity to do good to 'all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith' (Galatians 6:10). See further I Corinthians 13 and Colossians 3:12-14” (Vine).
   2. It is very easy to profess such love, but unless it is demonstrated, I am deceiving myself (I John 3:16, 18; cp. James 1:23-25).

1. Demonstrating Our Love for the Lord
   1. Our love for the Lord is demonstrated in keeping His commandments:
      "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world? Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me" (John 14:21-24 NKJV).
      "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (I John 5:2-3 NKJV).
   2. How can I know what the Lord has commanded?
      1. The things the Lord has commanded us to do are those things taught by Jesus and handed down to us through the apostles:
         "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen" (Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV).
      2. The onus is on each of us to discover the will of God (Ephesians 5:17; Colossians 1:9; Romans 12:2), which can be known by studying the gospels, the book of Acts, and the epistles.
         "Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus" (I Thessalonians 4:1-2 NKJV).
         "If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord" (I Corinthians 14:37 NKJV).
         "For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe" (I Thessalonians 2:13 NKJV).
         "We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error" (I John 4:6 NKJV).
   3. If our aim is to be pleasing to the Lord (II Corinthians 5:9), then we will hear His word and do it (Matthew 7:21; Luke 8:21; 11:28; James 1:23-25).
2. The Command to Assemble
   1. Coming together as a church is not something that we do by own authority, it is by the authority and will of the Lord. Jesus is the head of the church (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22-23) and He alone directs it (Colossians 3:17).
   2. As disciples whose aim is to please the Lord (II Corinthians 5:9), we assemble every first day of the week to fulfill the commandments of the Lord:
      1. The command to observe the Lord’s Supper:
         1. The Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ at the conclusion of the Passover feast with the apostles (Luke 22:14-20).
         2. Shortly before His ascension, Jesus commanded the apostles, saying, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen" (Matthew 28:19-20).
         3. In instructing the Corinthians regarding the Lord’s Supper, Paul begins by saying, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread" (I Corinthians 11:23).
         4. Meeting every first day of the week to partake of the Lord’s Supper was something the apostles taught from the very beginning (Acts 2:42; cp. Acts 20:7).
      2. The command to edify one another. We have a responsibility to edify one another through the various activities within the assembly (I Corinthians 14:26; Hebrews 3:12-14).
      3. The command to provoke one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24). Without such provoking, our love for the Lord soon begins to wane (Hebrews 6:10-12).
      4. The command to seek God’s kingdom first (Matthew 6:33). The concerns of God’s kingdom ought to be first in our lives: before any earthly relationships (Luke 14:26) and worldly affairs (Matthew 6:24-33; Luke 9:59-62; Matthew 22:1-5).
      5. The command not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25). True, this refers to a complete apostasy, but missing a service here and there is to disobey the Lord’s command to meet to partake of the Lord’s Supper (I Corinthians 11:23), and such rebellion is a step closer to apostasy.
3. Why We Must Assemble Together
   1. To help one another grow. All that takes place in an assembly is designed for our mutual edification:
      "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love" (Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV).
      "How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification" (I Corinthians 14:26 NKJV).
      "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" (Colossians 3:16 NKJV).
   2. To help the church function as the Lord intends. The work of a local church is to edify itself (I Corinthians 14:12, 26), take care of its needy members (I Corinthians 16:1-2), and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15-16; I Thessalonians 1:8; Acts 13:1-3; I Corinthians 9:14). Every individual member has a role or function to fulfill (Ephesians 4:15-16; I Corinthians 12:12-19).
   3. To set a good example. Each of us is to set a good example for one another (I Timothy 4:12; Titus 2:7-8) and for non-Christians (Matthew 5:14-16).

Conclusion

1. It is easy to profess that we love the Lord, but the real proof of our love will be seen in the keeping of His commandments. As Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). John says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (I John 5:2-3). Do you love the Lord?
2. One of the Lord’s commandments is to assemble every first day of the week to partake of the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:14-20; Matthew 28:19-20; I Corinthians 11:23-32). We are also commanded to assemble to edify one another (I Corinthians 14:26) and provoke one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24). Jesus teaches us to “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). The concerns of God’s kingdom and doing the will of God must be the priority in our lives. If we allow relationships or worldly affairs to interfere with our obedience to the Lord, we do not love the Lord. Are you demonstrating your love for the Lord by keeping His commandments?
3. We must also assemble together to help one another grow (Ephesians 4:11-16), to help the church function as the Lord intends (I Corinthians 14:12, 26; I Corinthians 16:1-2; Mark 16:15-16; I Thessalonians 1:8; Acts 13:1-3; I Corinthians 9:14), and to set a good example to all (I Timothy 4:12; Titus 2:7-8; Matthew 5:14-16). Are you helping your brethren to grow? Are you helping the church to function as it should? Are you setting a good example for your brethren and unbelievers?