Is going to Church a commandment?

Gavinswalker

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I was raised in a Pentecostal Church for years , Then after d=fasting and praying decided to leave as i felt i was being Manipulated and felt i had enough teaching not to go , this does not mean I dont fellowship I just dont do the church thing. Am I biblically wrong? I have been told I will not get blessed or have a fruitful Christian life if I dont go, Thoughts?
 
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bbbbbbb

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Going to church is not a commandment. Oddly, some of the groups that insist on it, such as the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholics, also venerate saints that were hermits and never attended services.

I am not in the least bit opposed to attending church and do it at least three times a week. It is hardly because I am trying to please God or earn His blessing, but because I love Him and His people.
 
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Verticordious

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Not going to church because you think you don't need it is a very arrogant and selfish mindset. You may be a very strong and knowledgeable Christian, but that does not mean that everyone else is. You are also deluding yourself if you think you're perfect and don't need any help at bettering yourself as a Christian. Everyone struggles with something, and having a group of Christians you can get help from is important to overcoming sins that you struggle with.

Finding a good church can be tough, and may take some time, but it is not an impossible task. If the current church you attend is not Biblical or does not take putting what the Bible teaches in to practice seriously, then you can and should leave the church. You also need to be willing to compromise and accept differences of opinion on minor issues and realize that Christianity isn't about being right about everything. Being a Christian means doing your best to become more and more pleasing to God by eliminating sin from your life, and a good church is essential to doing so. If you're honestly searching for a church but can't find a Biblical one, that's fine, keep searching. If you're flat out refusing to find one, then you've got a problem.
 
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groktruth

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I was raised in a Pentecostal Church for years , Then after d=fasting and praying decided to leave as i felt i was being Manipulated and felt i had enough teaching not to go , this does not mean I dont fellowship I just dont do the church thing. Am I biblically wrong? I have been told I will not get blessed or have a fruitful Christian life if I dont go, Thoughts?

Whatever is not from faith, which normally comes from hearing words that "proceed from the mouth of God," is sin and death. Doing anything because you "felt" something is likely to be faithless, and sin. But, probably God is leading you, and the sin of following your feelings is less costly than the sin of going to church without faith. That is what I hear Him saying about your situation.

"Pursue love, but seek spiritual gifts, especialy that you might prophecy." (Hear His voice.)

Church, according to what is written, is member to member connections, or joints, which together generate a body where all members are connected to the head and heart. In a body, blood and neural direction come through, but not from, other members to which one is "jointed." Each member has one direct joint only between them and the head. But they may have several joints to those more removed from the head. Each hand is connected to only one wrist, but may have several fingers. Members farther removed from the head do most of the fancy stuff (greater glory.) The fingers of a violinist, compared to the wrist, compared to the shoulder.

Don't "go" to church, but be "assembled" by making a covenant (joint) with a leader (Hebrews 13:17), who also has leaders (is jointed). And with followers, who are covenanted with you as a leader. Live together, more than have "meetings." Much more.

Watch out for names, buildings, "I am of Cephas..." doctrines or actions that divide you from other possible believers. Read 1 Corinth 1:10-4:6, and pray to be kept away from "defiling" or "dividing" the body. God will get you for that.

Seek the church because it will "make the way smooth for the weak limb." As you repent, you will learn that you have ways that you want to change. Your joint and life with your leaders will keep you out of trouble, while you heal. And, as a part of His house of prayer, you will find that prayers prayed within the covenant joints dramatically heal the world. Connected to the head through other members, the "nerve supply" to you is greatly enriched, and you hear His voice much more clearly, get greatly increased faith, do many more good works. More "blood" comes your way, too, so your conscience becomes much clearer.

There are false churches, synagogues of Satan. They preach a false gospel. Use Matt 28:18-20 as your standard, especially the teaching of the commandments that Jesus gave His disciples. (Use Gothard's Commands of Christ as a good example). All liars have their part in the lake of fire, and He warns that not "keeping the commandments" (the commands of Christ) identifies false believers as liars.

Don't return to your vomit. Luke-warm believers. Jeremiah 15:19.

So far, so good, says the Lord. Press on.
 
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Well, I can begin with St. Paul the Hermit who fled into the desert during the Decian persecution where he remained until he died at the age of 113. During that entire time he was quite alone in the desert and never attended mass. Here is the account from the Catholic site, New Advent -

St. Paul the Hermit


There are three important versions of the Life of St. Paul: (1) the Latin version (H) of St. Jerome; (2) a Greek version (b), much shorter than the Latin; (3) a Greek version (a), which is either a translation of H or an amplification of b by means of H. The question is whether H or b is the original. Both a and b were published for the first time by Bidez in 1900 ("Deux versions grecques inédites de la vie des s. Paul de Thébes", Ghent). Bidez maintains that H was the original Life. This view has been attacked by Nau, who makes b the original in the "Analect. Bolland." of 1901 (XX, 121-157). The Life, minor details excepted, is the same in other versions.
When a young man of sixteen Paul fled into the desert of the Thebaid during the Decian persecution. He lived in a cave in the mountain-side till he was one-hundred-and-thirteen. The mountain, adds St. Jerome, was honeycombed with caves.
When he was ninety St. Anthony was tempted to vain-glory, thinking he was the first to dwell in the desert. In obedience to a vision he set forth to find his predecessor. On his road he met with a demon in the form of a centaur. Later on he spied a tiny old man with horns on his head. "Who are you?" asked Antony. "I am a corpse, one of those whom the heathen call satyrs, and by them were snared into idolatry." This is the Greek story (b) which makes both centaur and satyr unmistakably demons, one of which tries to terrify the saint, while the other acknowledges the overthrow of the gods. With St. Jerome the centaur may have been a demon; and may also have been "one of those monsters of which the desert is so prolific." At all events he tries to show the saint the way. As for the satyr he is a harmless little mortal deputed by his brethren to ask the saint's blessing. One asks, on the supposition that the Greek is the original, why St. Jerome changes devils into centaurs and satyrs. It is not surprising that stories of St. Anthony meeting fabulous beasts in his mysterious journey should spring up among people with whom belief in such creatures lingered on, as belief in fairies does to the present day. The stories of the meeting of St. Paul and St. Anthony, the raven who brought them bread, St. Anthony being sent to fetch the cloak given him by "Athanasius the bishop" to bury St. Paul's body in, St. Paul's death before he returned, the grave dug by lions, are among the familiar legends of the Life. It only remains to add that belief in the existence of St. Paul seems to have existed quite independently of the Life.

 
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Here is the account of St. Abban the Hermit. As you can see, virtually nothing is known about him, including his Christian name. One can only assume that he was a true hermit, living alone, but that is only an assumption.

Saint Abban the Hermit was once revered in Abingdon Oxfordshire, little is known about his life outside of what is found in the Chronicon Monasterii de Abingdon.He was an Irishman who settled on Boar's Hill near Abingdon, after the reign of King Vortigern in the 5th century. His hermitage attracted groups of followers and, after his death, was superseded by the great Abbey in Abingdon.
His life is recorded in the Chronicon Monasterii de Abingdon which survives in a number of 13th century manuscripts; it is generally known that his name was invented to explain the toponymy of Abingdon, which is really named after a female, Aebbe, known for her church in Oxford. He is referenced in the Lives of the Irish Saints.
Born c. 5th Century
Died c. 5th Century
Venerated in Roman Catholicism
Canonized Pre-Congregation
Feast May 13
 
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Here is an interesting account of St. William the Hermit. It seems that he lived some of his life in a hermitage, which seems to be an oxymoronic term given that, by definition hermits live alone, not in assemblies of other hermits. It is difficult to determine if a hermitage celebrated mass either corporately or individually.

Saint William the Hermit

October 23

saints_williamhermit.JPG
William (died 1157) was a holy hermit and lover of contemplative prayer.
Born in France, William led a life of sin as a young man. Following his conversion to Christ, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Upon his return, he sought a place of solitude in Tuscany, Italy, where he lived as a hermit. He unsuccessfully attempted to bring about reforms in the hermit life there.
After this failure, he moved to a hermitage at Malavalle, Grossetto, Italy. He remained there, living a life of prayer, silence, fasting and penance until his death February 10, 1157.
He neither founded a Religious Order nor wrote a Rule of life. But two of his followers formed the Order of Saint William, also known as Williamites, shortly after William's death. One of them, named Albert, composed a Rule, which he entitled The Rule of St. William.
At the time of the Augustinian Grand Union in 1256, when many diverse religious groups were incorporated into the Augustinian Order, the Williamites were among those who became Augustinians.
However, this union did not work well, and many former Williamites withdrew from the Augustinians a short time later. Nevertheless, Augustinians have venerated Saint William since the thirteenth century.
William the Hermit is also known as William of Malavalle and William the Great. Pope Innocent III canonized him in 1202.
 
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papaJP

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I will give only one point here. If you are not part of the body of God then you will have a hard time being with God. The heart cannot function without the rest of the body. The body has to be working together and if it is not then it is not a true body of believers.
 
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groktruth

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I will give only one point here. If you are not part of the body of God then you will have a hard time being with God. The heart cannot function without the rest of the body. The body has to be working together and if it is not then it is not a true body of believers.

For me, "going to church" always distracted me from joining, being assembled with, the body.
 
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addo

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Going to Church is not a commandment but why would a Christian want to go to Church? At Church we edify our faith, learn about God, strengthen our relationship with fellow believers, practice patience, love; pray and a lot more. I see only pluses in going to Church.
 
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Optimax

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I was raised in a Pentecostal Church for years , Then after d=fasting and praying decided to leave as i felt i was being Manipulated and felt i had enough teaching not to go , this does not mean I dont fellowship I just dont do the church thing. Am I biblically wrong? I have been told I will not get blessed or have a fruitful Christian life if I dont go, Thoughts?


Scripture says this;

Heb 10:25
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.
KJV
 
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groktruth

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Scripture says this;

Heb 10:25
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.
KJV

When the parts of a body are just lined up in a box, they are not "assembled," yet. They have to be taken out of the box, and attached to each other.
 
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Optimax

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When the parts of a body are just lined up in a box, they are not "assembled," yet. They have to be taken out of the box, and attached to each other.



The word "assembling together" is
NT:1997

NT:1997 episunagoogee, episunagoogees, hee

(episunagoo, which see);

a. a gathering together in one place, equivalent to to episunagesthai (2 Macc. 2:7):
epi tina, to one, 2 Thess 2:1.
b. (the religious) assembly (of Christians): Heb 10:25.
(from Thayer's Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2000, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
 
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groktruth

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The word "assembling together" is
NT:1997

NT:1997 episunagoogee, episunagoogees, hee

(episunagoo, which see);

a. a gathering together in one place, equivalent to to episunagesthai (2 Macc. 2:7):
epi tina, to one, 2 Thess 2:1.
b. (the religious) assembly (of Christians): Heb 10:25.
(from Thayer's Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2000, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Oops, forgot to note that my comment was prophetic. That is, following the directions of scripture, I came to the Lord Himself, and asked Him how to be about assembling together. He said, I believe I heard, that He had the Spirit cause the translaters to use the English "assemble" to catch His true intention, as amplified in Ephesians. But, all can prophesy, and let the others judge, prophetically. Are you saying that the Lord spoke to you about a different meaning than what I heard? We can always go back to Him for more.
 
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groktruth

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No commandment but how can a part of the body function completely without all the rest of the body. The problem is most who go to church are not true Christians and going for the correct reasons. It is the flesh that causes the problems.

The grain analogy used by the Lord tells us that we will find straw, chaff, hay, weeds and tares associated with the grain. And some leaders build churches with these. Some are called to gather the tares into bundles for burning. But His sheep know His voice, and when He tells them where to go, they go.
 
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