Why go to church?

But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, `God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' (Luke 18:13)

Listen to the words of a dead man, who was honest with himself and the world on the day that he died. His tombstone reads: "Anthony Benezet was a poor creature, and through divine favor was enabled to know it."

Why do people go to church? Some go out of habit—their parents always took them, and it just seems to be the right thing to do on Sunday mornings. Some go for the company—church is where you can have coffee and conversation with people you haven’t seen all week. Many go to church for a ‘feel good’ experience—they like praise music and an uplifting message. And then there are those who come to church because they know that they are sinners.

Psychologists want us to believe that it is unhealthy to have negative feelings about ourselves. Most people do not like to admit that they have done wrong, and resent being confronted about their mistakes. It isn’t much fun to go to church and be told that you are a sinner who needs to repent and be forgiven.

But it is a blessing from God to be forced to face the truth that you are indeed a sinner. It is a blessing, because until your problem has been acknowledged you cannot be cured. No compulsive drinker can be effectively treated until she admits that she is an alcoholic. Similarly, no person can find relief from the guilt of his mistakes until he admits that he has messed up.
God uses His Church to confront us with the truth of our sins so that He can begin the process of freeing us from them. It is only when we acknowledge our responsibility for our errors, and the guilt that they burden us with, that we can see the need for help. When we admit that we have dug ourselves into a hole that we can’t climb out of, we are then ready to listen to Jesus. It is only then that we are ready to appreciate His dying on the cross to make restitution to God the Father for all our mistakes. It is only then that we are ready to turn over our guilt to Him and receive His forgiveness. It is only then that we are ready to start following Jesus’ teachings as the only pattern for our moral judgements and decisions. It is only when we are blessed with the knowledge that we are sinners and that our Savior gave everything to rescue us, that we really find satisfaction in going to church.