You Don’t Need To Believe in God To Go To Church, Do You?

You don’t have to believe in God go to church, do you? Intrigued? Perhaps this goes against everything that you have been taught. You may believe that only those who believe in God through Jesus Christ should even be in church.

If it makes it easier I could’ve entitled this, the benefits of community. Today I want to unpack for you some of the benefits that church offers, even to nonbelievers. Indeed, you may be right because for those that believe in God through Jesus Christ changes everything however, let’s explore a bit about what the church does for its community.

This idea came to me one day when I was ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. A family that I know came out of the store after shopping and I recognized one of the ladies. On occasion I’ve seen her at church but only because her mother made her go. I greeted them in my usual, and sometimes awkward way. I simply said, "Are you behaving yourself?" The 18-year-old woman looked at me as though I was an alien with a bit of a trouble look on her face, as if I knew something that I didn’t. She simply replied, "What do you care?" 

I laughed only because I felt a little bit of tension. Bravely I approached the question with a simple smile and a reminder that I have seen her in church from time to time. I told her that it is good that she attend a church from time to time. In the course of our conversation she blurted out, "I don’t even believe in God so why bother?" Not to let the conversation go I simply replied, "You don’t have to believe in God to go to church."

The look on her face was one of surprise. I wasn’t sure myself that what I said was helpful but it open up a conversation for just a few moments. I continued, "There are lots of reasons to go to church even if you don’t believe in God."

This is the nature of this blog entry. What are the benefits to church for those who don’t believe in God?

There is a statement that I believe and often say in the recruitment of foster care workers: "You may very well be the only reflection of love they see." As you go around living life expressing your love to people in tangible ways you are often confronted by an opportunity to demonstrate care. It is especially helpful if you show your loving attitudes in church as you’ve done in your community. The following are some of the benefits that I gave to the young lady about attend church.

1. You can network for employment. 

As I told the young lady who, at the time was not employed. I stated to her that the church is a place where people are looking for employees. I encouraged her to connect relationally with people so that people know that she is looking for a job.

Perhaps it’s not intended to be a social club yet this does mean that the opportunity is available for anyone at church.

2. You can find friends that care about you.

I told the young lady that it is a place where she can find others who would care about her. Her rough exterior may be more difficult than most to engage with however she can find trusting friends none the less.

3. There are services, beyond the worship service that can help.

Many churches these days have food pantries and other emergency care ministries for people. This is a wonderful place to be able to help people in hopes that they would reciprocate the opportunity.

4. When you have an emergency need, church people can be very helpful.

There have been times even in my own life when an emergency has arisen and the church has come through on my behalf. For nonbelievers it is a way for us as Christians to reflect the love of Christ in the lives of others.

There’s no question that the church is a gathering place for believers. It is also a lighthouse where nonbelievers can also feel comfortable in attending. Our signs on the outside usually convey an attitude of invitation. I’ve read many signs that promote the special events and activities. We even spent time training our greeters and ushers and how to help people feel welcomed. The scripture reminds us that God‘s Word never returns void (Isaiah 55:11) and that the opportunity to witness is around us every day, even on Sundays when we are in church. We know that God‘s Word penetrates into the very soul of an individual and without casting judgment and criticism, we find that the word of God can change peoples lives.

You may be thinking, these are all selfish motivations for going to church. Indeed, you are correct but if the church is more than a museum for the saints but rather a hospital for the sick than this is in-keeping with its mission. The church is a place where people live life becoming caring, loving people of God. 

The church is not just for the super spiritual. It is a place of refuge and love for those in need. 

Have You Not Read?

Approximately 32 million adults in America are considered to be illiterate; about 14% of the entire adult population cannot read. Source.

As startling as a statistic is, my topic today has less to do with illiteracy then you might think. It is a genuine concern that many in America are illiterate yet even more alarming is the number of people that are not reading the Bible. It’s not because they can’t read but that they won’t read. That statistic is proving to be more concerning which goes beyond illiteracy.

LifeWay recently did I study in which they found, "...more than half of Americans have read little or none of the Bible." Lifeway Study. Startled yet? It may be unbelievable as we have so much access to the Word of God in this country. 

In Matthew 19:4, we see Jesus answering a question that has huge implications. He was asked about divorce but gives a broader answer about marriage. He is answering the question of those who are supposedly, well read of the Scriptures. These are the religious leaders that he is answering, "Have you not read?"

And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?" He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."  (ESV) Matt. 19

Recently a pastor friend of mine gave me a book that he authored on the subject of marriage. As I began to thumb through its contents, I quickly realized that there are parallels that relate to this topic. The instructions for marriage are clearly laid out in scripture yet many debate it’s content. Divorce is at an all-time high and many choose to live together without the covenant before God in marriage. We find that the definition of marriage are hotly debated today with little regard for what the Bible has to say. There are even debate around what Jesus said about marriage in this passage of scripture I am referring to. 

First of all, the prescription for marriage is easily spelled out in the Bible if we only would read it. Second I noticed that God’s plans for marriage went beyond procreation but the boundaries were clearly set by God. The problems we see in our world today have much to do with our lack of understanding God‘s plan. There seems to be the misunderstanding of what the Bible says. 

Rev. Randy Blankenship, Sr. is Pastor of the New Life Church in Kokomo, Indiana. His book made clear God’s plan for healthy relationships and marriage.

Blankenship says; But in reality, while most people may acknowledge what the Bible says, many do not want to accept what the Bible says. I’m not sure this book will change that trend. However, I do believe that most people do not know why the Bible says what it says – and the reasons given by most, listed previously, do not come close to being the main reason why the Bible says what it says.

 Check out the book here! 

I could easily create an illustration on this. Often we receive instructions on how to put something together. It may be a bicycle or in my case, it was putting together a shelf for my daughter’s bathroom. There were only twenty parts to the shelf and all the screws were easily identified but for some reason I couldn’t get everything to fit together correctly. After I had exhausted my efforts and was clearly frustrated, I read the instructions and realized that I had stupidly misread the chart. How can I be so dumb? The paperwork was clear, if I had only read the instructions and directions first.

Back to Blankenship’s book. His book is filled with many illustrations and scriptures but most certainly an illustration for us, God’s children, as the bride awaiting her bridegroom. This mysterious love through a covenant unites the man and woman as one in Christ. The Bible not only spells this out throughout scripture, if we would but read it, but it even illustrates it too, making it easy for anyone to know His divine plan. 

If the designer, God in Jesus, would’ve wanted the Bible to read differently, I believe He would’ve simply stated it that way as to the order of things in marriage. He had every opportunity to "set the record straight" on marriage and divorce. 

Perhaps there are two elements to what is being said by Jesus in Matthew 19 which has implications for us today.

1. The religious leaders missed the essentials because they simply did not read.

The Pharisees were known for making God‘s plan exhaustively difficult to understand. They would create rules without reasons which made knowing God’s simple plan difficult. In an effort to more fully explain they simply missed the essential truth. Perhaps that’s why they asked Jesus such a question about divorce.

Jesus simply answered, "Have you not read?" He was attempting to point out to them that they missed the essential truth. Divorce is certainly not God’s plan but it does happen because people broke God‘s covenant. We also break agreements that are made between each other in the presence of God.

Divorce is not the unforgivable sin but Jesus instructed the man, who had the responsibility to provide appropriate documentation when it comes to divorce. Furthermore He explained what God intended for marriage. The religious leaders are the ones who made things difficult to understand. 

2. We settle for half-baked answers when we do not read.

Once more and just as important for us to realize the implications of reading God’s Word that goes beyond His teaching marriage and divorce. Jesus was concerned about those who would give answers that were not complete. I might call these half-baked answers.

In giving a half-baked answer we might include only partial truth but it is by no means complete. As Jesus taught his followers, by answering the Pharisees, Ge gives a complete understand of what God’s Word and plan truly is.

If we failed to read God‘s Word and fully understand the solutions for our lives, as well as its application to our lives, we may use incomplete answers and therefore not find the solution we need. Similarly, as illustrated by my putting together the bookshelf or even understanding marriage as prescribed by scripture, we miss the designer’s plan. Could it be that Jesus is speaking to us even today, "Have you not read?"