When we say we love God, but do not go to church, is it possible to please God?
Listen: 94 Question 3
When we truly love the Lord, our desire will be to please Him. Let’s consider the words of the psalmist in Psalms 40:8, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” For the believer on the Lord, doing His will should be a delight to us. To be able to please our Lord should thrill the heart of all who love and follow Him. The Lord Jesus Himself said in Matthew 11:30, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” We have a similar thought in 1 John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” To follow and obey the Lord is not a burdensome thing. That may sound odd considering that many people have died for the cause of Christ; many have lost their homes; many have been forsaken by loved ones because of their love for the Lord. How can the Lord say that his burden is light or that His commandments are not grievous? It is because the ability to obey and please the Lord does depend upon our own strength. Philippians 2:13 tells us, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” It is the Lord working in us as believers that gives us the desire and the ability to do His will. He enables us to please Him.
Does the Lord want us to gather with fellow believers? He certainly does. Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” We see that even in the early days of the church, some were already departing from the Lord’s desire that the church should come together often. It pleases the Lord when we are obedient to His Word. He wants us to come together often. We need the fellowship of fellow believers. We need the encouragement and edification that comes from being under the sound of God’s Word. We need to come together to lift our united hearts and voices in praise and adoration of our blessed Lord. We need to come together to support the preaching of the Gospel. Is it possible to disobey God’s Word and yet still please Him? The answer is obvious, isn’t it?
However, it is possible to be very faithful in church attendance and still not please the Lord. Why do you attend your church gatherings? Do you go for the social aspects? Do you go to show off your new clothes? Do you go just to visit with your friends? Do you go to church because you want others to see you there? These reasons do not please the Lord. It is when we are truly seeking to do the Lord’s will that He is pleased. It is possible to do many good things for the wrong reasons. The Lord spoke of the prayers of the hypocrites in Matthew 6:5 which says, “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” Even our prayers can be just a way of getting attention.
It is important that our desire is to please the Lord. Whether it be in church attendance, at work, at home, or whatever activity we are involved in. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “…whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us that, “…the LORD looketh on the heart.” He not only knows what we do; He knows why we do what we do. May our prayer be as King David as he prayed in Psalms 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (94.3)