"Christians Who Don't Attend Church Are Lazy"

[Wynona]

Many Christians around me locally and online have claimed that Christians who don't attend church are lazy or don't truly love Jesus.

Still, there are plenty of Christians who refuse because their local churches refuse to faithfully teach Scripture.

The actual efforts they make in their faith, you may not hear about it. There are plenty of services and spiritual disciplines that ought to be done in private and not to be seen by others.

Here are my husband and I's top reasons for not attending church at this time.

1. Lack of faithfulness to Scripture in favor of tradition, popular sayings, and profiteering. This is the biggest one.

2. Unbiblical tithing systems that distract members from chances to help their families and neighbors directly.

3. Confusion and false teaching about God's plan for families and the roles of men and women.

4. Anti-works hyper grace false teaching. If grace is not teaching us to deny ungodliness, then its not grace. Christians are more likely to say that we can't ever stop sinning, yet making effort to do good works is somehow detrimental to salvation. This is the opposite of what Jesus and the Apostles taught.

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to not directly respond to anyone for any reason, especially if I feel tempted to be argumentative.

I am not a Teacher on Scripture and am not here to gatekeep doctrine as someone above anyone else. I believe women are not to be the primary defense of truth and agree with Paul's teaching on that. Please seek Scripture as the authority.

Feel free to share thoughts on whether you agree or not.

 

[Rita]

I left church because of all the man made rules that have crept in, I just felt a conviction that they were wrong. I equally fed up with all the denominational issues between Gods people.
Not sure we have mega churches over as such , or those linked to those pastors who demand to live in a certain life style at the expense of those who give each week.
Not sure I agree with the lazy card as such, although sometimes being part of a church can be too demanding at times, many are to busy doing works that they believe are Gods work but they are merely man made busyness !

 

[Nancy]

Many Christians around me locally and online have claimed that Christians who don't attend church are lazy or don't truly love Jesus.

Still, there are plenty of Christians who refuse because their local churches refuse to faithfully teach Scripture.

The actual efforts they make in their faith, you may not hear about it. There are plenty of services and spiritual disciplines that ought to be done in private and not to be seen by others.

Here are my husband and I's top reasons for not attending church at this time.

1. Lack of faithfulness to Scripture in favor of tradition, popular sayings, and profiteering. This is the biggest one.

2. Unbiblical tithing systems that distract members from chances to help their families and neighbors directly.

3. Confusion and false teaching about God's plan for families and the roles of men and women.

4. Anti-works hyper grace false teaching. If grace is not teaching us to deny ungodliness, then its not grace. Christians are more likely to say that we can't ever stop sinning, yet making effort to do good works is somehow detrimental to salvation. This is the opposite of what Jesus and the Apostles taught.

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to not directly respond to anyone for any reason, especially if I feel tempted to be argumentative.

I am not a Teacher on Scripture and am not here to gatekeep doctrine as someone above anyone else. I believe women are not to be the primary defense of truth and agree with Paul's teaching on that. Please seek Scripture as the authority.

Feel share thoughts on whether you agree or not.

All very good reasons Wynona. It's all "events" now, and short on Christ and sin. Nothing wrong with events but when they are first and foremost to be celebrated, something is wrong.
Even trying to engage many other Christians in a conversation about God and Jesus, is hard to find. It's all about what God can do for YOU. Even many of the "worship" songs are simply asking God for things and what He can do for us.
You are so correct Winnie! LOL!! they all want to place the belief that our sin is just fine as "everyone sins"! Although I don't believe in "sinless perfectionism" we should ALL be reminded in our places of worship that God HATES sin and will not tolerate it. We have an Advocate IF we do sin, Jesus Christ so, we will at times sin the sins of omission, commission , deed and thoughts that flit through our minds. These also need to be repented of immediately IMHO. Not very sure on the Catholic Church's stance on the difference like, menial, venial and mortal sins as, the only sin that is mentioned in scripture that is un forgivable is the blasphemy of The Holy Spirit. As we grow in Him, we sin less and less but, far as I can observe, we do not become completely sin-less. JMHO
Hugs!

 

[Wynona]

Not sure we have mega churches over as such , or those linked to those pastors who demand to live in a certain life style at the expense of those who give each week.

Hi Rita,

I see this as a huge problem and a big stumbling block for people who might otherwise be willing to try church.

I believe pastors should have enough for food and drink but should work outside of ministry if they want more than that. That would mean that bigger churches would likely require more pastors and elders but I see that as a good thing.

 

[TheOneHeLoves]

I agree with you. if you are not able to find a church with Biblical foundation then you should not go. I don't attend in person every week, yet I do read, and teach (2) Bible Study classes on Zoom a weekly. I watch several different teaching pastors online and engage with those in my study groups. I do miss corporate worship however, God wants our hearts and our lives to be lived for Him, He is not fooled by an attendance record. :)

 

[Wynona]

We have an Advocate IF we do sin, Jesus Christ so, we will at times sin the sins of omission, commission , deed and thoughts that flit through our minds.

Hey Nancy!

Can you explain sins of omission? How do you define that?

Also, what makes a thought count as sin?

 

[Ritajanice]

Well, I had to leave the church due to them putting pressure on me to tithe....plus they started to become very controlling...

 

[Wynona]

I agree with you. if you are not able to find a church with Biblical foundation then you should not go. I don't attend in person every week, yet I do read, and teach (2) Bible Study classes on Zoom a weekly. I watch several different teaching pastors online and engage with those in my study groups. I do miss corporate worship however, God wants our hearts and our lives to be lived for Him, He is not fooled by an attendance record. :)

I follow an online Bible study group too. Its great that Bible teachers are using zoom. How long have you taught?

 

[Wrangler]

Many Christians around me locally and online have claimed that Christians who don't attend church are lazy or don't truly love Jesus.

Ever hear of a converse statement? It is when you change the subject and object of a statement. An example is "all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares." It is an important factor in logic, in identifying what is true and what is not true and why it is not true. I believe the notion of converse applies here.

All people who do not attend church are lazy is untrue. However, it's converse is true. All people who are lazy do not attend church.

Like your experience, my mother accepted the false converse statement and applied it to me. She could not accept that like you, I have moral reasons for not attending church (or did at that time). Now, whether your moral objections can be defended or not is another matter.

I must say that as I get older, I am less inclined to defend myself. Primarily this is because winning people's approval is just not that important to me. I've chosen X and if you don't like it, too bad. Now, there is a difference explaining and justifying. I have no qualms about explaining anything to anyone who honestly wants to know. However, if the "question" is merely an attack in the form of a question and they couch themselves as my judge who is not "buying" my answer, I quickly point out that I am not selling. This is an example of healthy boundaries. See How to Set Healthy Boundaries & Build Positive Relationships

Hope this helps.

 

[TheOneHeLoves]

I follow an online Bible study group too. Its great that Bible teachers are using zoom. How long have you taught?

I led Sunday school at church for middle school and high school for 6 years (3 different hours) then in 2020 started online (1 high school girls and 1 adult). We read, study and discuss one book of the Bible verse by verse together.

 

[Bob]

Many Christians around me locally and online have claimed that Christians who don't attend church are lazy or don't truly love Jesus.

Still, there are plenty of Christians who refuse because their local churches refuse to faithfully teach Scripture.

The actual efforts they make in their faith, you may not hear about it. There are plenty of services and spiritual disciplines that ought to be done in private and not to be seen by others.

Here are my husband and I's top reasons for not attending church at this time.

1. Lack of faithfulness to Scripture in favor of tradition, popular sayings, and profiteering. This is the biggest one.

2. Unbiblical tithing systems that distract members from chances to help their families and neighbors directly.

3. Confusion and false teaching about God's plan for families and the roles of men and women.

4. Anti-works hyper grace false teaching. If grace is not teaching us to deny ungodliness, then its not grace. Christians are more likely to say that we can't ever stop sinning, yet making effort to do good works is somehow detrimental to salvation. This is the opposite of what Jesus and the Apostles taught.

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to not directly respond to anyone for any reason, especially if I feel tempted to be argumentative.

I am not a Teacher on Scripture and am not here to gatekeep doctrine as someone above anyone else. I believe women are not to be the primary defense of truth and agree with Paul's teaching on that. Please seek Scripture as the authority.

Feel share thoughts on whether you agree or not.

Thank you for your thoughtful post, with which I resonate (and from the replies, others do too).

Some questions:

Please explain “unbiblical tithing.” Is is mandatory giving, like taxation?

Please help me understand “anti-works hyper grace.”

Added note: “sins of omission” means (e.g.) that you had an opportunity to help someone, and could easily have done so, but didn’t. See Matthew 25: 35, 36, . . . .

Peace and blessings.

 

[Rita]

Hi Rita,

I see this as a huge problem and a big stumbling block for people who might otherwise be willing to try church.

I believe pastors should have enough for food and drink but should work outside of ministry if they want more than that. That would mean that bigger churches would likely require more pastors and elders but I see that as a good thing.

I must admit that the churches I was apart of agreed a salary each year, but it was never to the point where the pastor could live beyond his means. I don’t have a problem with the bigger churches , but those ones where the pastors have luxury planes, boats, massive homes and they then preach about given more when most of the congregation were struggling financially, doesn’t sit right with me at all.

 

[Rockerduck]

The majority of people that attend church are the baby boomers. these are the ones saved during the rival of the seventies. They learned to attend church regularly. Church's up to the 70's were more traditional, that is, sang hymns, used a hymnal, sat in pews, and the money bucket was at the entrance to the church. The fire and brimstone evangelist preachers are few now and preachers are scared to offend. But I say, offend. the church is there because of Jesus's crucified, resurrected, and glorified salvation. It's not a social club.

 

[TheOneHeLoves]

I loved attending church it is just hard to find a good church where the teaching is not watered down or the pastors aren't using props and foolishness.

 

[Nancy]

Hey Nancy!

Can you explain sins of omission? How do you define that?

Also, what makes a thought count as sin?

Sins of omission, simply knowing to do something good but neglect doing it...helping others, praying, studying to show ourselves approved...these things we are supposed to do but if we do not, I see this as sins of omission.

If our thoughts are not in line with the scriptures, I think they can be sinful, not just acting on them but just thinking on, meditating on them. Kind of like when Jesus said that "even if you look upon a woman" in lust that is, then you have as much as committed adultery/fornication as, looking and thinking on kind of go together.
xo

 

[Wynona]

Please explain “unbiblical tithing.” Is is mandatory giving, like taxation?

I've attended many churches where the message from the pulpit is that tithing 10 percent of a members income each week is a spiritual issue.

The pastor or a ministry leader will say that not tithing ten percent to the church is robbing God and that it withholds God's financial blessing on their lives.

However most of the tithes collected will go to the general fund, where the pastor's salary comes out of. So who are they robbing, really?

Let's say a pastor and his staff wanted to imitate Paul and those he mentored by working to support themselves and their families. I think this is how its supposed to be but lets just say for example.

Paying to keep the building functioning would be the only thing for the members to cover, and the rest could go to the urgent needs of the poorest members of the congregants first, then the needs of those in the area.

I know several church attending Christians who say they can't get financial help from their church or refuse because the stigma against them would be so strong.

Interestingly, I think Catholics are the closest Ive seen to imitating the importance of meeting needs I see Jesus talking about. They will help you with your light bill, give you clothes, etc etc. The last church we were members of were headed by a couple that said no to everyone who asked for money or resources , but spent weeks charging us to give to a bookbag school supplies drive to make a public show of "caring for the community" with plenty of pictures.

In America, I hardly ever hear of churches being the go to spot for resources. Better go to the government for that.

I have no problem with ministers having a lot of money, so long as they earn it themselves and don't use false teaching to pressure members into feeling guilty if they don't tithe. Which is what happens when salaries are tied to members tithing.

 

[Nancy]

Jesus said nothing about Christians having to give a 10th of their income, He said to give from how God has blessed you, and to do it cheerfully. Not so cheerful if you are put out of house and home, while these greedy pastors are living in splendor. No not all of them, but surely most IMHO.

 

[Behold]

Let's say a pastor and his staff wanted to imitate Paul

Yet, its the Apostle Paul who teaches that we should give money, ""Cheerfully"

Paul teaches that a Pastor should be "doubly honored" for His service....and that is talking about a paycheck and not just a pat on the back and a cheap Christmas card.

Paul accused one church of being slack and negligent, and this caused another of Paul's that he had started.... to fill in for them, regarding Paul's ministry.

A Local church should support MISSIONARIES, and they need to be fed, in the mission field. = $$$$$$$$$$$$

Any and all Churches, have bills to pay.

Its not Satan's responsibility to make sure the members have nice soft pews, or air conditioning, and a nice parking lot.

People who go to church, who belong to a local church, should support the church with their money.


Now, do some Ministers abuse all this?
Yes.

 

[Wynona]

Sins of omission, simply knowing to do something good but neglect doing it...helping others, praying, studying to show ourselves approved...these things we are supposed to do but if we do not, I see this as sins of omission.

I guess Ive always thought of the term sins of omission as too vague.

How do you know which things you aren't doing count against you?

You said knowing to do something but then neglecting it. I agree that's what it is. But to me that says were being held accpuntable for a conscious decision.

Im not saying you were saying this, but if sins can sneak up on you behind your back, than Id concede that its impossible not to sin.

I believe were not expected to do everything at once. Jesus prayed, helped others, and was well versed in Scripture. But he spent plenty of moments just eating a piece of fish or camping somewhere with the disciples.

What if the sin isn't neglecting the possible good we know we could have done in theory but consciously ignoring opportunities to follow our convictions as time and situations allow?

Is it a sin to take a nap or gaze at a cloud when you could have been actively ministering? I don't really think it is.

Is it a sin to look your homeless neighbor in the eye and go out of your way to not encounter her when you can easily assist her in some way? I think so.

There's only so many choices we can make at one moment. We overcome sin by keeping our minds on the Lord and things above at all times. If we sin is not the same as when we sin. It doesn't have to be inevitable.

Sin is transgressing the law. In our case, its the law of Christ. There's no Christian laws against sleeping, eating, napping, or typing at a computer. Neither against love or service or gentleness. Freedom in Christ is not about never being able to overcome the bondage of sin but the opposite.

I haven't overcome but I know its because of being double minded and feasting my brain on junk rather than setting my mind on things above. When my mind is set on Godly things, I can't operate in both lanes...the sins fall off. Ive gone plenty of days with a clear conscience and so can any other Christian.

 

[Wrangler]

I've attended many churches where the message from the pulpit is that tithing 10 percent of a members income each week is a spiritual issue.

Isn't it though?

My church says that statistics show the last part of a converts life that they turn over to God is their finances. Now, I'm not saying I tithe 10% myself. But I do recognize it as a spiritual issue. Christ gave all for us. What are we willing to give to him? ALL for ALL seems like a reasonable trade and because his yolk is light and burden easy, "all" in this case is 10% for he knows we have to live.

When I look at the parking lot, the way people dress, the jewelry and devices they have, I suspect they could give more. My church also stated the nationwide fact that in America, the average church receives 2-3% of their parishioners income. Other countries give a higher %.

And here is where the rubber meets the road. Americans think of themselves as most generous while making the most. Fact is, the don't give anywhere near as much as a % as other places around the world. What could possibly account for that except it being a spiritual issue?

I know this is an aside from the OP but it is a great point you bring up. My church focuses on this topic 1/12 of the time.