Question:
Does a person have to attend church to go to heaven?
Answer:
Salvation is found in Christ. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). God gave His Son that we might have eternal life, thus destroying our need to do good works, including going to church, going to heaven. Eternal life is achieved only by faith in Christ alone. "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God has no life "(1 John 5:12). Those who believe in Christ, who have accepted his sacrifice in payment for their sins, will spend eternity in heaven. Those who reject it will not.
No amount of church attendance will earn eternity in heaven. Not failure to attend church will result in loss of salvation. However, church attendance is important. The universal Church, made up of all who believe in Christ for the glory of God the Father, is the body of Christ (Colossians 1:18), as well as his bride (Revelation 21: 2). A church is a place of Christian fellowship. Furthermore, as members of the body of Christ, we possess certain gifts of the Spirit, and we must exercise those gifts for the glory of God and the edification of the rest of the body. For a church body to function properly, all of its "body parts" must be present (1 Corinthians 12: 14-20).
Christians have made themselves "new creations" in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and have a desire to attend church because they recognize that doing so is crucial to their spiritual development and maturity. Reluctance toward church attendance may indicate a lack of spiritual growth or a disappointment with "organized religion." In fact, there are false churches today, and there is no perfect church, but there are local bodies of believers in most communities. The true universal Church is modeled on congregations whose doctrines are scripturally based, who honor Christ in all things, who worship God together, and minister to one another. Although church attendance will not guarantee eternal life, finding a good local church is crucial for Christians.
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