Excuses, Part 2 - The Church Is Wrong

Yes, there are many excuses that we have for not being faithful to the church, the Bride and Body of Christ.   Today we will look at some of the excuses I put under the header “The Church Is Wrong.”  Before I begin, I want to state, for the record, that each one of these statements, and perhaps all of them, may be true of your church.   Even if they are, it gives us no excuse for disobedience to God.

How did you choose which church you would attend?  What was your criteria for finding the right church?    Let me say this, the ONLY valid reason for joining with a specific local body of believers is because it is God’s will.  We are never shy about talking about a pastor being called to a specific church, why would God’s calling to join and attend a church be any different?  Have you sought God’s will concerning which church you should join?  When it comes down to it our responsibility is ultimately to honor and glorify God and the first step in that, the step that is required before any other step is taken, is to be obedient to Him.

1.       The church is filled with hypocrites.

Let me make this bold statement about this excuse.  It is true.  Most, if not all, churches are filled with hypocrites.  Perhaps you are one of them.  In fact, if you use this excuse you ARE one of THEM!  Yes, you are a hypocrite if this is your excuse for not being faithful to your church.

A hypocrite is defined as, “someone who says they have particular moral beliefs but behaves in way which shows these are not sincere” (Cambridge Dictionary) or, “a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, especially one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.” (Dictionary.com).   The root of the word speaks of an actor who is pretending to be someone he is not.

How does this make the person using this excuse, and virtually everyone else in the church a hypocrite?   Simply this, if you say that you believe that God has called you to this church and, if you say that you believe that God knows what is best for you and, if you believe that God’s plan is always right and, if God calls us to be faithful then by defying His plan and purpose through our lack of faithfulness to the church to which He has called us we reveal that we do not believe what we claim to believe.

How does this make most people hypocrites, whether or not they use this excuse?  How many of us go to church after a hard week, when we are discouraged, when our faith is at a low ebb and when life generally stinks and then put on the façade of the “perfect” Christian?  We are struggling and when someone asks us, “How are you?”  we answer, “Fine” or, “Great” or with some other insincere response or outright lie.  How often do we choose to hold on to anger or bitterness against a brother or sister in Christ instead of forgiving them when we know we should forgive them.  How often do we make worship about our preferences instead of being about the God who created us and saved us all the while proclaiming that we worship Him?

2.       There isn’t anything there for me.

Who ever said we were supposed to get anything out of the church worship services?  The services are about God, not us.  Should we get something out of church?  Absolutely!  The early church met together, daily actually, and fellowshipped, studied, praised God and prayed together (Acts2:41-47).  And, yes, they also met each other’s needs.  It should be noted that this meeting of needs was very much a mutual thing, they all worked together to meet each other’s needs. 

We applaud JFK’s inaugural address in 1961 when he said, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.”  We need to consider that this applies to the church perhaps even more.  Some people, not all, are on welfare and choose to be on welfare because it is the easy thing.   They could work for a living and perhaps never be rich but could, and should, contribute more to society.  Many are calling for these people to be held to a higher standard and not allow them to be a drain on society and the resource that the government has through the taxation of people who are working.   Some people do the same thing in church, they come only for what they can get but never contribute anything but negativity, criticism and dissention.

The believers in the early church did get something out of church, but that was not their primary motivation, nor was it ever the primary purpose of the church.  This provision was a product of the working out of their faith.   Rather than asking what we can get out of church, what if we asked, “What can I bring to church?  What can I contribute?  How can I bless others at church?”

3.       Nobody is friendly to me.

The reality is that some churches are friendly and some are not.  There is no denying this.  Let me ask you this.  Are you friendly?  Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”  This is what the church should be, a band of believers that stick closer than brothers (blood relatives).  Perhaps this is why God emphasizes the brotherhood of all believers, the fact that we are in a new family. 

But let me ask you this question as you condemn the church for not being friendly; are you friendly?  Have you shown yourself friendly?  Do you put yourself out there to greet people?  Are you trying to make friends or are you leaving that responsibility to others?

4.       Nothing ever happens there.

I am always amazed when people say this.  They come to church and it seems that their expectation is that nothing will happen.  When I come to church I expect for God to show up.  When God shows up, things happen.  This is inevitable.  Many times the things that happen during and as a result of the corporate worship are more subtle and less obvious to most people.  Nevertheless, they are a result of meeting with God.  God doesn’t always work in big ways. 

It seems like when the big things do happen that they happen when these people aren’t present.  Perhaps there is a reason for that.  If you are one of the people using this excuse; if you are one who never sees God working when you are in church and is skeptical when you hear of a big movement of God when you aren’t there, consider the words found in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22, “¹⁶ Rejoice evermore. ¹⁷ Pray without ceasing. ¹⁸ In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. ¹⁹ Quench not the Spirit. ²⁰ Despise not prophesyings. ²¹ Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. ²² Abstain from all appearance of evil.”

Perhaps these are prerequisites of seeing God work in a big way.  Do you rejoice in the Lord or are you characterized by anger, bitterness and resentment?  Is your life characterized by prayer or can you spend days, weeks or months without real prayer and never even notice?   Are you a thankful person or are you envious of the things you don’t have?  Do you look forward to the preaching and teaching of God’s Word or do you consider it a “necessary evil”?  Do you use biblical discernment in your actions and associations or do you just go with what you are familiar with or with things you like?  Do you avoid associating yourself with every form of evil or do you make excuses for why you should be able to ease up on being godly?

Perhaps you noticed that I skipped “Quench not the Spirit.”  Consider this, if you are not characterized by godliness in these other areas and if you are not willing to be godly in these other areas, you might be the one, or one of the ones, who is quenching the Spirit.  There are people in churches that bring an oppressive spirit with them.  Their mere presence can bring down an entire congregation and hinder the work of the Spirit.

Possibly someone is reading this and thinking to themselves, “If that is the way it is, I will stop going to church.”  Let me tell you, this is not the answer.  It is to your benefit as well as the church’s benefit to repent of your sinful and wicked attitudes and get right before God.  Be transformed, by the power of the Holy Spirit, from a hindrance to God’s work to a valuable asset to His plan and purpose.

5.       They are too old-fashioned/They are too progressive.

I have combined these last two excuses because they are virtually the same.  Yes, they are far apart in the spectrum of worship styles, but they are both man-centered instead of being God-centered.   The worship of the church and the individual worship of each disciple of Christ needs to be God-centered.  You may be correct concerning whether or not the music for a worship service is appropriate, but if your motivation for that criticism comes down to, at its core, the fact that YOU don’t like it, you are still wrong.

It doesn’t matter if the church uses hymnals or projects the lyrics of the songs on a screen.  It doesn't matter if there are announcements during the service or if people are expected to read their bulletins.  It doesn't matter what the order of service is or if it changes every week.  It doesn't matter what instruments are used or if there are instruments being used.  I don’t believe that God cares about these things. He cares about our heart.

Perhaps God has called you to your church to be an agent of change.  If the church is full of hypocrites, stop being one and show the church what transparency is all about and let them see God bless you for it.  Transform your attitude in worship and see how God blesses you and begins His transforming work in your life.   If the church is unfriendly, be a friend and show yourself friendly.    If nothing ever happens there, make sure you aren’t a hindrance to God’s work and then be faithful so that when something does happen you will be there.

Ultimately it comes down to whether you are worshiping God in your spirit or you are worshiping yourself in your spirit.  Making excuses is a revealer of you heart.   You can do everything right and if your spirit is wrong, you are still wrong.  We need to examine ourselves and open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit to examine us and reveal to us the sins in our lives that hinder or even destroy our worship.   Psalm 139:23-24 says, “²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: ²⁴ And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 13:5 tells us, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”  Have you examined yourself, your motivations and your heart?  Are you willing to have the Holy Spirit reveal truth to you about yourself even if it is uncomfortable?

My next article will examine the excuses I have put under the heading "The Pastor Is Wrong".

How is your heart?  Are you ready for personal revival?   If you are, check out www.onecry.com and join the movement for revival and spiritual awakening.