So how do you know if the church you're going to is a good one? I've definitely been to my fair share of bad churches and have been incredibly blessed by going to good ones. And I'll say this, it's vital for Christians who have a desire to be stronger in their faith to be plugged into a good church. So whether you're plugged into a church and are questioning if it's a good church or if you're looking around for one to go to, here are four questions that'll help guide you to a church that can bless you and some tips on ones you should avoid.
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Question number one, can you grow in God’s word?
Second Timothy chapter 2 verse 15.
In the passage above, Paul is telling Timothy to do his best to be approved or acceptable to God and to be a worker that correctly handles God’s word. Now when it comes to the Bible, there’s a lot of elements that go into handling, reading, and studying it correctly. You need to train your eye to see what’s being said, develop your interpretation skills to rightly assess its meaning, look for practical applications that you can implement into your life all while trying to keep in mind the historical backgrounds and possibly the original languages, authors, settings, etc.
So when it comes to finding a good church, here’s some questions that you can ask yourself. Can I grow in God’s word here? Am I learning more about the Bible? Am I growing in knowledge of God? Am I being equipped with God’s word so I can be better equipped in my life? Or am I being encouraged to follow and love God through the teaching of his word? And know this, regardless of how many times you’ve read your Bible, know that you can always learn, that you can always go deeper, and be reminded of truths that can lead you no matter where you are in your faith. So please, find a church that makes attempts to get you closer to Jesus by giving you careful studies of his word.
Question number two, do you hear any false teaching?
Second Peter, chapter 2, verses 1-3
But there were also false prophets in Israel just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality, and because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed, they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money, but God condemned them long ago and their destruction will not be delayed.
In this passage, Peter is warning Christians that there will be false teachers in the church and that they will teach destructive heresies. And he says that many people will follow them and will cause individuals to speak evil of the truth, and they’ll fill their pockets with their money and God will bring them to destruction. So, I need to say that it’s important to know how to spot a heretical church that teaches falsely, and the key is found in how they teach God’s Word. So when you go to a church, pay close attention to what they’re teaching. Are they explaining and teaching what the Bible says, or are they adding to scripture, taking away from scripture, or using scripture to teach what they want to teach? Also, it’s important to know the major tenets of Christianity, and they are as follows. Belief in the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Belief in the deity and humanity of Jesus, or Jesus being 100% God and 100% man. Belief in Jesus' death on the cross persons. Belief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. And the belief that faith alone saves. I would argue that while Christians are able to have many disagreements with each other regarding particular beliefs, if there is any disagreement on any of these five major beliefs, these people do not hold a biblical Christianity. And for churches who would espouse such beliefs, I would deem them as being heretical, and I would urge Christians not to attend there unless it’s for the sake of evangelism.
And while I can’t cover all the other red flags in a church, I do want to mention some. One red flag is when churches don’t teach their congregants that they are sinners in need of a Savior. And the reason why this is so important is because some churches use Jesus as only a self-help tool and neglect to inform people that they are sinners, and that the reason why Jesus died for them is to save them from their sins. Another red flag that would draw my attention are all-inclusive churches that says that there are multiple ways to get to heaven, because according to the Bible, faith in Jesus is the only way to heaven. I’d also be wary of churches that don’t use the Bible in their studies. With Bible-believing churches, we’ll get you to read the Bible yourselves, and we’ll train you to read correctly so that you can one day learn on your own.
So be careful if anyone tries to tell you that you need their interpretation of the Bible, and that you need to submit under their teaching. There’s a cult that seeks to get its followers to be completely dependent on their teaching and teachers, and will say that you can’t read the Bible on your own, and they may even go so far as to isolate you from friends and family. And the final red flag is to be careful for any church that says that any sin is okay. The prophet Isaiah says, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil." So any church that says that sin is okay or good is a definite red flag, and this church should be avoided.
Question number three, is there a focus on prayer?
Luke chapter 19, verses 45 to 46.
Then he went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, My house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves."
In this passage, Jesus was in the temple of God, and he saw people making money by selling doves and sacrifices, so he drove them out, flipped all the tables with all the money, and said, "My house is supposed to be a house of prayer, but you turned it into a dwelling place for thieves." So it’s implied here that these individuals weren’t just selling sacrifices. Jesus knew that they were corrupt people who used God’s holy sanctuary as a place to deceive people and make money off of them. And Jesus said that the temple of God is supposed to be a house of prayer. So when it comes to going to a good church, you need to check to see if they place a focus on prayer. And one way you can do that is by checking to see if they have any prayer meetings throughout the week. Please note that prayer is a huge highlight in the life of Jesus. Jesus’s disciples asked Jesus how to pray.
Jesus regularly separated himself to pray. The night before he died, he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus went so far as to say that God’s house is a house of prayer.
Look, prayer is important. So any church that doesn’t focus on prayer isn’t a house of God because God’s house is a house of prayer. And for churches that don’t have a dedicated time to pray, I would say that they’re not interested in having the same heart as Jesus because one of Jesus’s greatest focuses while he was here on earth was having a powerful connection to God the Father through prayer. I’m reminded of a quote by Leonard Ravenhill that says, "Sunday morning attendance shows how popular the church is. Sunday night shows how popular the preacher is. And Wednesday prayer meeting shows how popular God is." And I say this because I think that no matter which church we go to, I think we can all stand to pray a little bit more.
And question number four, "Do the people love God and people?"
Mark 12, verse 30
"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.This is the first commandment, and the second like it is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."
In this passage, Jesus explains how the first commandment is to love God with all one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength, and that the second commandment is to love people like you love yourself.
So when it comes to finding a good church, you need to determine if the people that go there have a genuine heart for God and for people. But please note that churches are filled with imperfect people who are sinners in need of God’s grace. So don’t go calling them hypocrites because to some degree, we all are. Now, that’s not an excuse for people to do whatever they want to do, but it is a reality that there’s no such thing as a perfect church. So if you’re trying to determine if a church loves God and people, I would consider these questions. Do you feel that the leaders and pastors of this church communicate a genuine heart for God? Do they seek to encourage you to get closer to God? Do they present opportunities for you to grow more in God’s Word, prayer, or in ministry? Questions are the people they’re welcoming, and is there room to possibly grow in friendships with them?
All that to say, I think church should be simple. It’s supposed to be a place that God’s people can come to so that they can know and learn more about God and have the space to worship and love Him and so that they can have the opportunity to love and serve His people.
Okay? So if you ever move or have the need to find a good church, please remember these four questions.
- Can you grow in God’s Word?
- Do you hear any false teaching?
- Is there a focus on prayer? and
- Do the people love God and others?
To close, I hope that you all have a church that you can be plugged into. And if you don’t, I hope that you find one soon. And if you can’t find a church, find a fellow Christian and be open to possibly having a personal Bible study with them where you both can pray together and connect. Because at the end of the day, church is not a building that you go to. It’s God’s people. So please, go to a good Bible believing and Bible obeying church so that you can be reminded there that Jesus loves you.❤️
