"Can I Get to Heaven Without Going to Church?"
Many people have posed this question. Others, who have not asked the question, are by their actions betting their souls that the answer is in the affirmative. By "going to church," we mean attending the services of the church, assembling with the saints, going to the assembly. Will one be finally saved if he does not regularly attend the services of the church?
One must first be in the church before attending church will get him to heaven. He must be a part of the church; become a member of the church. The reason this is the case is that all the saved are in the church. The Lord adds all the saved to the church (Acts 2:47). The church is the body of the saved (Ephesians 5:23). One becomes a member of the church when he is saved. One is saved when he believes on Jesus Christ, repents of his sins and is baptized into Jesus Christ for the remission of his sins (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38).
Now the question: "Can one go to heaven without going to church?"
1. He can, if one can go to heaven without obeying the Lord's commandments. One of the Lord's commandments is "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another, and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25). Admittedly, this statement is in the hortatory form, "Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works" (verse 24); and the participle is used in the following clause; yet it has the force of commandment. In other passages, we are assured that the disobedient will not enter into heaven (2 Thessalonians 1:8; John 3:36). They will, instead enter the place of eternal destruction.
2. He can, if one can go to heaven without worshipping God. The main reason we go to church is to worship God. When one forsakes the assembly, he is, in reality, forsaking the worship of God. Granted, one may perform some worship to God in private devotionals, but if the truth were known, those who forsake the assembly worship probably do not spend much time in private devotionals either. Besides, the Lord nowhere granted us authority to substitute private devotionals for assembly worship. We are to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
3. He can if one can go to heaven without having fellowship with the brethren. One of the purposes of, and a great value of, going to church is to have fellowship with others of like-precious faith. When one forsakes the assembling. he misses this valuable and essential exercise. The Lord wants us to have fellowship one with another (Acts 2:42; 1 John 1:7).
4. He can, if one can go to heaven without following the example or the New Testament church. One of the ways to ascertain Bible authority for what we are to do is by example. The example of the New Testament church, which was approved by the Lord, was that "Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them" (Acts 20:7). If we want the approval of God, we will follow the approved example of the New Testament church.
5. We can if one can go to heaven without accepting the implication of New Testament teaching. Another of the ways to ascertain Bible authority for what we are to do is by the Bible's implications. Paul instructed the Corinthian brethren that when they ate the Lord's supper, they were to "tarry one for another" (1 Corinthians 11:33). The only way they could tarry one for another is if they were in assembly together. The only way an individual could honor this directive is if he went to church and was a part of that assembled group.
Often the question is asked, "Do I have to go to church?" Instead of answering yes or no, perhaps we ought to counter it with another question. "Do you want to go to heaven?"
By: Marvin Rickett