THE UNPARDONABLE SIN

Johnny always enjoys Sundays. Every Sunday morning Johnny and his family get to sleep a little later than they do throughout the week. After they finally get up, Alice has a nice breakfast prepared and the whole family sits down together to enjoy it. After he gets through eating, Johnny sits at the table and reads the newspaper for a while. Alice clears the dishes from the table and the kids go into the next room and turn on the TV.

When Alice finally gets the kitchen in order she goes into the living room and tells the kids that its time to start getting ready for Church. After a few gentle reminders, and some assistance for little Tracey, the kids are ready to go. Everyone piles into the station-wagon and off to Church they go. A couple of hours later they return home, enjoy a nice lunch, and pass the rest of the afternoon involved in various pursuits until it is time to return to Church for Sunday evening services. After returning home Sunday night the Bible is laid on the coffee table where it will remain, untouched, until it comes time for the next Christian duty, Wednesday evening services.

This is a typical story about a typical Christian family. Perhaps it reminds you of someone, possibly even yourself? But do you see anything wrong with this story? Would you say Johnny and Alice are good Christians? Are they setting the proper example for their children? Unfortunately, I'm afraid that this little scenario fits many Christian families all too well. For many people Christianity seems to have become a set of prescribed rituals which must be observed two or three times a week and little more. How closely does this compare with the lives of Christians in the first century? In short, it doesn't even come close!

Today we place great emphasis on attending the services of the Church. In fact we often seem to pass judgement on other people's dedication to Christ based solely on how "faithful" they are to the services. While there may SOMETIMES be a relationship between dedication and attendance, this is not always the case. Someone might attend very faithfully merely to appease family or friends.

I feel that I need to pause here and clearly state my position so as not to give anyone the wrong impression. I do believe that the assembling of the Church is a necessary and vital part of Christianity. We are clearly commanded not to forsake "the assembling of ourselves together." (Hebrews 10:25) I am in no way trying to say that assembling together is optional, because it is not. But it is by far not the most important aspect of Christianity.

I have seen on many occasions when someone misses a service others begin to talk about them. To talk about how weak they are. That they just aren't like the Smith's who are there every time the door is open. Well how do we know that Bro. Smith isn't running around with his secretary, while his wife stays home and gets drunk everyday watching the soap operas? My point is that just because someone regularly shows up at the Church building doesn't make them a strong, faithful Christian. And just because someone misses a service doesn't mean they are hopelessly weak.

Christianity is all about how we live our lives, and it involves every single aspect of our lives, not just attending Church services. At most we might spend 4 or 5 hours a week in Church services. This is insignificant when compared to the 160+ hours which remain.

When a person misses a service we so often jump to the conclusion that they just don't care enough to come. But how do we know that? There ARE legitimate reasons for missing a service. But who is to decide what is and what is not a legitimate reason? What one person might consider to be a good reason for missing, another might consider a lame excuse. Who is right?

We have to stop and realize that we do not all place the same significance on the same things. What might be vitally important to one person might be trivial to another. It all boils down to what is in a persons heart. The Bible tells us not to "forsake" the assembling of ourselves together. But where so many people are mistaken is when they equate missing a service with forsaking a service; they are not the same. Someone can be physically present at a service and still forsake it, and they can be absent from the service without forsaking it.

If a person makes every conceivable effort to attend a service then he has not forsaken it, regardless of whether he actually makes it there or not. And a person who attends for any reason other than worshipping God, such as pleasing a family member, has forsaken it even if he attends. So let us not be so hasty to judge one another.

In the New Testament we find numerous references to Christians being involved in many things other than the assembling of the Church. Teaching others, visiting the sick, helping the needy, etc. Are we a faithful Christian if we are present at every service but fail continuously to do any of these other things? How can we say forsaking the assembling of ourselves together is worse than failing to visit the sick when we are instructed to do both?

Do you feel that missing a service of the Church without cause is worse than telling a lie? Is it worse than committing adultery? Is it worse than murder? The fact is, sin is sin regardless of what flavor it happens to come in. Those who are weak in attending the services need our help and our support just like any other person who shows signs of weakness.

The problem is that missing a Church service is the most public sin a person can commit. When you miss everyone knows about it. Another person could go about committing just about every other sin under the sun and never be found out. Yet if they were faithful to the services they would be considered a good Christian.

Not a single one of us can lay claim to being perfect. We have all made mistakes, and continue to make mistakes. We are in no position to condemn anyone. We should be doing as Paul instructed. "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak." (Rom 15:1)

There is no need to sugar-coat it, when someone misses a service of the Church without cause it is wrong. But it is not the unpardonable sin which many people make it out to be. It is no worse than any other sin.

We should encourage each other to be at every service possible because it is an important part of our Christian lives. But it is just that, only a PART, and not all of it. There is much, much more to being a Christian. And let us not be like the scribes and Pharisees of Christ's day to whom He said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." (Mat 23:23) Let us make sure we do everything we are commanded to do in order to please God, and not just emphasize outward things like the services of the Church.