“IS IT A SIN TO MISS JUST ONE SERVICE
OF THE CHURCH?”
by Gus Nichols
The above question is often asked by church members. It is one which deserves some very careful consideration by all of us, but especially by those who occasionally absent themselves from the assemblies. The question emanates from a false attitude that one is going to try to get by with a minimum of services due to providential hindrances, but we are not talking of such absences in this article. We have in mind the fellow who misses JUST ONE service because he doesn’t care to go—he had rather do something else.
To get at the heart of the question, consider the following. If one doesn’t sin when he indifferently misses JUST ONE service, how many does he have to miss before he sins? Two, four, six, or one hundred? At which authority do you answer? The truth of the matter is that if it is a sin to miss a hundred assemblies, it is a SIN to miss JUST ONE service. If not, why not?
Take this imaginary situation for
an example: Brother John misses an assembly, but no one takes any notice of
it. He misses eight or ten, and the
church begins to wonder. Finally, he is
absent for a whole year, and the elders go out to talk to him about his
condition. When he asked the nature of
his offense, the reply was that he had forsaken the assembling with the saints
(Hebrews
One can wrestle with this question for days, and he will be forced to the conclusion that missing one service is a sin, if his reasoning is governed by common sense and scripture. Many have never seriously considered their duty to attend the assemblies; and hence, they feel no guilt to speak of, regardless of how often they are absent.
We all should compare what we do for the Lord with what He has done for us, and hang our heads in shame for our lack of sacrifice for HIM. We need to repent while we still have time. One day we shall stand before the great Judge of all with unbearable disappointment for our LUKEWARM and HALF-HEARTED SERVICE.