Attending church is an important part of being a believer. However, we must be cautious about this. Going to church should not be shown to people, or just to explain a habit. We need to remember why we attend church. We need to know the benefits of attending church.
God has commanded us to attend church regularly. We can worship God sitting at home, yet why do we worship together in church? Our united prayer and worship are very powerful when we all attend church. God wants us to know and love each other. When we come together in the church, we thrive in spiritual relationships with one another.
The real purpose of our visit to the church is to cultivate a relationship with God. We don’t just go out and make friends with people. When we regularly attend church, we hear the Word of God and learn the Word of God. This is the lesson we can only learn by attending church. We can never learn the things of God when we are busy with the things of the world outside the church. We come to church with a mindset of learning divine things and worshiping God.
If there is any malice in us, we need to remember that God sees our hearts, and he will give us fruit in time. Therefore, let us fear God and come to the house of God with a pure heart.
Let’s see the Bible scriptures below that talk about ‘Bible Verses About Going To Church For The Wrong Reasons’.
What Does the Bible Say About Attending Church with Impure Motives?
“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven”
— Matthew 6:1
“But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, enlarge the borders of their garments”
— Matthew 23:5
“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men”
— Isaiah 29:13
“I hate, I despise your feast days, I will not smell in your solemn assemblies”
— Amos 5:21
“But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart”
— 1 Samuel 16:7
“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, the other a publican”
— Luke 18:10
“All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits”
— Proverbs 16:2
“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ”
— Galatians 1:10
How to Recognize and Overcome Wrong Reasons for Church Attendance
“Ye ask, receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts”
— James 4:3
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God”
— 1 Corinthians 10:31
“Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, not unto men”
— Colossians 3:23
“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me”
— Matthew 15:8
“Wherewith shall I come before the Lord , bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?”
— Micah 6:6
“He answered said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me”
— Mark 7:6
“Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, of a good conscience, of faith unfeigned”
— 1 Timothy 1:5
“God is a Spirit: they that worship him must worship him in spirit in truth”
— John 4:24
“Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, acceptable, perfect, will of God”
— Romans 12:2
The Consequences of Going to Church for Show or Social Status
“When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward”
— Matthew 6:5
“Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, love greetings in the markets, the highest seats in the synagogues, the chief rooms at feasts”
— Luke 20:46
“Though I speak with the tongues of men of angels, have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal”
— 1 Corinthians 13:1
“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts”
— Proverbs 21:2
“But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God”
— Romans 2:29
“For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself”
— Galatians 6:3
“Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy iniquity”
— Matthew 23:28
“Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel”
— 1 Peter 3:3
Biblical Guidance on Genuine Worship vs. Religious Formality
“But the hour cometh, now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him”
— John 4:23
“Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting”
— Isaiah 1:13
“But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”
— Matthew 15:9
“For I desired mercy, not sacrifice; the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings”
— Hosea 6:6
“For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, have no confidence in the flesh”
— Philippians 3:3
“Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols”
— Amos 5:23
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”
— Romans 12:1
“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly”
— Matthew 6:6
Transforming Your Heart: Moving from Wrong to Right Reasons for Church Participation
“A new heart also will I give you, a new spirit will I put within you: I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, I will give you an heart of flesh”
— Ezekiel 36:26
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; renew a right spirit within me”
— Psalm 51:10
“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves”
— Philippians 2:3
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”
— 2 Corinthians 5:17
“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth”
— Colossians 3:2
“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts”
— Ephesians 4:22
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh”
— Galatians 5:16
“Let us consider one another to provoke unto love to good works”
— Hebrews 10:24