, 1935-01-06
Why Go to Church,
OSCAR LEE SMITH
Study, First Baptist Church, Brownsville, Texas

| have been asked again to write some words on
Church Attendance. | wish first of all to register here
my deep appreciation of those gentlemen who, by pay
ing for the space, have made it possible for the various
pastors to present articles. Whatever else they may
have accomplished, it is certain that they have served,
more frequently to remind the general public of the
churches in their midst. And, while there has not been
a meeting of the pastors where all might unitedly ex-
press their thanks, as indicated above, / am perfectly
sure that / voice, in this respect, the sincere@sentiment of
them all Ones resources begin to be taxed somewhat
in preparing a continuous series Of articles on "Why Go
to church," This time it occurs to me to write from the
viewpoint of what a Church has to offer as determining
its right to expect people to attend its service and wor-
ship. First of all, l believe its PRINCIPLES ought to be
correct.
Here i refer to the principle of VOLUNTARYISM.
Both the Old and the New T~estaments, The Law and The
Gospel, are built in just TWO directions-namely love
to God, and love to our fellowman. The State may,
does, and should regulate relationships between a man
and his %neighbor, but no human group of any sort what
soever has any right, inherent, or acquired from God, to
interfere by coercion in a mans relationship to his
Creator. If any man chooses to worship, then we'll and
good, but if he chooses to be an atheist, then religious
teachers and heralds may teach and persuade, but they
must not GEORGE his will.
Then again there is the sacredness of the Individual
as the unit in Religion. $50 then each one of us shall
give account unto God is the declaration of the great
Apostle. There can, therefore, be no proxies, no dele
cation of solemn individual responsibility in matters Of
One is YOUR Master;. peter said. speaking Of this same M
Jesus: God hath made Him both Lord and Christ.
Christ is the sole Lord over every conscience in matters
of faith.
AHCH - biAIk oGhl Vi GC spiritual DdlMC VI GuklOIL EN6Ty SUI
has, and must be allowed to. direct. immediate access to God. That
the ordinances of baptism and the Supper are symbolic purely, that
they are declarative and not procurative in any sense. That the
Church is the Body Of Christ: that the members OF this body are to
be prepared for membership IN this Body by a Spiritual experience
which Is called the New Birth" In which the prospective member has
deeply repented OF his sins. turning away from them, and believing on
Christ. has further experienced the pardon of his sins; that he can
say and know that he has passed out OF death into life because he
loves Gods children. Jesus began assembling material prepared by the
ministry Of John the Baptist. out OF which He established his Church
while yet on earth. On the Day OF Pentacost. the Divine Inhabitant.
the Holy Spirit, came to dwell in that Church. The Church has a
ministry to the whole social order, but her first and primary ministry
Is Spiritual She stands as the Organism through which the Holy
Spirit would speak to reveal Christ to the souls of human kind. Her
witness must never be called in question in all matters where right
and wrong are involved. but her primary ministry. I repeat. is
SPIRITUAL as interpreted in the foregoing paragraph.
Then I believe the lives Of the individual members OF a Church
should be bameess in the sense that the father and mother Of John
the Baptist walked in the ordinances and commandments Of the Lord
blameless. duke 16 That churches ought to keep their back doors
open IS well Is their front doors and. that when a man considers go
ing to such and such a Church. he would respect his own faith. what
ever degree or kind he had, because he believed he wa in the midst
Of a people where God was.
Last Of all. I believe that Church should be a cooperative. testifying.
song-hearted overcoming. soul-winning and missionary Church. The
average Church today is loaded down with SO much paraphernslia, so
many organizations. that the Church itself an hardly be discovered
Our greatest need is, fewer organizations and more Holy Spirit Poweri