Does Going to Church Make Me a Christian?

Does going to church make me a Christian? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. We would love to hear from you, and you can call us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts. You can check out our YouTube channel and message us that way. And of course, you can always email us with your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. Right now, let's go to a voicemail from one of our listeners.

This is Mike. Yeah, Pastor Adriel. I want to ask a question about the 24 elders. I know this is probably even a tough one for you, but I haven't ever heard anybody tell anything about them except what we read in Revelation. Who are these 24 elders, and who are the elders then? I've always been fascinated by this, and I'm not being sacrilegious when I say this, but it always puts me in the mind of when you see the Greek gods looking down on Hercules or whoever.

I just don't understand it. God bless y'all. Hey brother, thank you for that question, Mike. You're referring to a vision that the Apostle John has in the book of Revelation chapter four. He says, After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.

And the voice, the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this. At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments with golden crowns on their heads. And so there's been a lot of, you know, question about who are these twenty-four elders seated on these twenty-four thrones.

Remember that the book of Revelation is apocalyptic prophecy. There's visionary prophecy, so often you have symbols, and I think here that the twenty-four thrones with the twenty-four elders are probably symbolic of all of the people of God, the worshipers of God, if you will, around the throne of God. In the book of First Chronicles, it's sort of interesting, you have David as he ordered the priesthood in Israel. There were twenty-four heads of priests, if you will, First Chronicles chapter twenty-four, verses three through nineteen, and also twenty-four Levitical worshipers, worship leaders.

You see this in First Chronicles chapter twenty-five. You have this sort of division of twenty-four, twenty-four there in First Chronicles related to the worship of God. Another way that we can take this, though, and I think that there's corroboration with this idea here elsewhere in the book of Revelation, is that the twenty-four thrones with elders are symbolic of the patriarchs in the Old Testament, the twelve patriarchs, the sons of Israel, and the twelve apostles brought together, encompassing once again all the people of God, the whole covenant people of God.

You see them mentioned in Revelation chapter twenty-one. In Revelation chapter twenty-one, verses twelve and following, it says, it had a great high wall, this is speaking of the New Jerusalem, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed. That is the twelve patriarchs, the names of the twelve patriarchs. On the east three gates, and on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates, and on the wall of the city, and the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. So you have the twelve apostles, the twelve patriarchs brought together, and I think that that's the best way to understand this picture of these twenty-four thrones with twenty-four elders. It could be the apostles and the patriarchs, or it could be symbolic of all God's people throughout history.

Thank you for that thoughtful question, Mike. May the Lord bless you as you continue to study the Scriptures. You know, that reminds us that we have a wonderful new Bible study on the book of Revelation, and we get so many questions about Revelation here at Core Christianity. What about the end times?

Are we in the last days? And this Bible study will help you understand that book, which tends to trip a lot of people up, huh, Adriel? Yeah, the book of Revelation does tend to trip a lot of people up, and that's why I'm really excited about our offer for today, not just because I think it's so important for you, our listeners, to understand the book of Revelation, but because of who wrote this study. Actually, a professor that I had in seminary, a man named Dennis Johnson, who has written on the book of Revelation, he's a New Testament scholar, and is able to write, you know, about deep theological issues, but in a very pastoral way, in a way that I think speaks to the heart. And so, would you get ahold of this study? It's a great resource to go through on your own or with a group of Christians who want to learn more about the book of Revelation.

It's yours, available for a gift of $20 or more. Be wonderful for a Sunday school class or a small group, and we actually have a discount on the Bible studies if you order several for your class or small group. Check it out by going to corechristianity.com forward slash revelation, or you can call us for that resource or any one of our resources at 833-843-2673. By the way, our phone lines are open right now if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, doctrine, theology. Maybe you have a doubt about the Christian faith. Maybe you consider yourself to be an atheist or agnostic, and you stumbled on this program and you're thinking, I don't agree with that stuff. We're happy to take your calls as well. Or maybe you're wondering how your Christian walk intersects with what's going on in today's culture. Please feel free to give us a call.

Here's the number again, 833-843-2673, or you can spell it out on your phone, 833-THE-CORE. Well, let's go to a voicemail we received from one of our listeners earlier this week. This is from Frances. My question is, when I used to be able to walk around, I went into any church that I wanted to pray. The three Protestants, Catholics and Greek Orthodox. Does that constitute me a Christian? Thank you.

Hi, Frances. Thank you for that question, and I think it boils down to something that's really important. Does going to church make you a Christian? Does showing up on Sunday and sitting in a pew, is that what makes you a Christian?

And here I'm thinking specifically about, you know, someone who has a vital relationship with God, with Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. And I think we have to say, just being in church, just going to church on a Sunday morning, doesn't mean that an individual necessarily has that. Sadly, I think that there are many people who are in churches, maybe who even grew up in churches, who don't understand and embrace the Gospel.

Maybe for them, you know, it's just a sort of tradition. Maybe it's a way of feeling good about themselves, and yet they've never really understood the message of salvation. Some of this gets at the kinds of things that are being preached in churches today. Unfortunately, there are many churches where the Gospel is just not being faithfully taught.

And so the answer to your question, quite simply, is no. Just going into a church to pray, or to visit, or even, you know, spending one's entire life in a church, if they don't believe in Jesus and receive the Gospel by faith, then in terms of, you know, having that vital saving relationship with Jesus Christ, they don't have that. I think of one of the books in the New Testament that addresses this specifically, the book of Hebrews, because the author of the Hebrews is writing to people who were in church, who experienced, you know, the rituals of the church, baptism, probably the Lord's Supper, but he's really concerned for their souls because they're beginning to drift away from Christ.

They're beginning to leave even the church to abandon what they at least once professed to believe. And he says, you know, while, this is Hebrews chapter 4 verse 1, therefore while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us fear, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news, the word he uses there is the word Gospel, for good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them because they were not united by faith with those who listened. And so Francis, here's here's the question for you. I hope you're listening to this right now, is have you united the Gospel that you've heard with faith?

What is the Gospel? It's the fact that we were sinners. We couldn't earn God's grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, salvation, and yet He sent His Son Jesus into the world so that through Him we might have life. Through His death and resurrection from the dead, our sins would be forgiven.

Do you believe that? Have you received that message for yourself for the forgiveness of sins? Have you placed your trust in Jesus? And if you have, you should be in a church because when we're united to Jesus by faith, He also unites us to His people, His body, the church. And so we should be in churches as Christians, but just because you're in a church doesn't mean that you've really received the really received the Gospel, that you're believing in Jesus. And so we have to ask ourselves, do I believe in Christ?

Am I trusting in Him? And if I am, am I in the church and a part of a church as Christ calls me to be? God bless you, Francis. Great explanation on that question. Thank you for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our phone lines will be open for the next 15 minutes or so. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, feel free to hop on the phone right now, and of course you can always leave us a voicemail as well. Our number is 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Colt calling in from Missouri. Colt, what's your question for Pastor Adriel?

Yeah. Hey, good afternoon, Pastor. Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.

I just wanted to ask you real quick. I had just relocated from Southern California out to the Branson, Missouri area, and I've been going to harvest Christian fellowship with Pastor Greg Laurie for probably the last 30 years of my life. Finding a new church home has been difficult and, you know, trying to replace Greg is very hard to do, but we have found a nice church that we like to go to out here, and I believe it's a, I feel like it's a very good Bible teaching church. The pastor that's there seems to be right on with Scripture-based teaching, but I just noticed we've been going for about the past three months over here, and I have not seen any type of an altar call or even leading anybody in a type of prayer to accept Jesus into their heart, and I'm just curious if that's not always at every church that that goes on, or if it's just at certain times and maybe I haven't gone to an evening service or a Wednesday night service that they do it, but I just know on Sunday mornings that I haven't noticed that or seen that happen yet. Well, first, Colt, I just praise God that you've been in church for so long and that this is such a such an important thing for you that when you guys relocated away from Southern California, by the way, we miss you because I'm here in Southern California and always hate to see faithful believers go elsewhere, but I'm grateful for the fact that you've gotten plugged into another church and that you're growing there and that it's a Bible-teaching church, that they're faithful to the Word. Now, with regard to your question about altar calls and, you know, this church not inviting people up after the sermon or at another point in the service to receive Jesus or to say something like the sinner's prayer, well, that's actually not something that we necessarily even see in the New Testament. In the New Testament, worship was typically centered around the preaching of God's Word, the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, encouraging each other in the Lord, the ordinances of grace, the sacraments of the church, baptism, and the Lord's Supper.

I mean, those are the things that you want to look for. The other things, you know, having an altar call, that actually is the sort of later development, a tradition that arose out of what we refer to as the second great awakening. So that wasn't something that Jesus himself instituted. Now, certainly, as people are hearing the preaching of the Word cult and as they're being convicted by the Holy Spirit, they should be encouraged to call on the name of the Lord. It's what the prophet Joel says, it's what Peter says, all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. But you don't have to have someone lead you in a prayer in order to do that. And frankly, I think the Spirit of God can work that in an individual's heart, even if they never say anything like the sinner's prayer. The apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 10, verse 9, that the Spirit of God can if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. And so as the Word is being preached, Colton, in the church and in the church that you're attending right now, the Spirit of God is going to work together with the Word to work faith into people's hearts. And as that faith is worked in their hearts, that's where salvation comes from.

It's that gift that God gives. And so I don't think you need to be concerned that this church that you're going to now doesn't do altar calls or the sinner's prayer, that kind of a thing. Again, that's a later sort of tradition that developed out of some evangelical churches, but certainly not something that I think is descriptive of or is described in Scripture as something that's prescribed for churches to do. And so may God bless you and be with you as you continue to seek the Lord and serve the Lord. And I hope that you guys can get really plugged into this church, and that as the Word is faithfully taught there, you continue to be edified and to grow in your faith. And so thank you, and God bless you. Colton, thanks so much for listening to Core Christianity, and we are so thankful that you have found a good Bible-believing church there in your new town. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. A reminder, we have that Revelation Bible study available to you today. If the book of Revelation is something that's always caused you a little bit of confusion or you're wondering about some of the symbolism there, what's going on with the last days, the end times, we'd love to get that in your hands.

You can find that by going to corechristianity.com forward slash revelation, our Bible study on the book of Revelation. Let's get back to the phones. Ken is on the line from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Ken, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yeah, hi, good afternoon. Thanks for taking my call. Just want to take a quick second.

I'm driving, so hopefully your mirror is okay. Thank you. Thank you for the program. I'm new to Christianity, and programs like this one in particular help me a lot.

So thank you for that. But my question has to do with marriage. And like I said, I'm relatively new to Christianity, and I spent most of my adult life as an atheist. And what I'm concerned about is that I married my wife while I was an atheist. And we've since come to Christianity and become Christians. But my question has to do with if I understand marriage correctly, that it's a vow between a husband, a wife, and God.

And my concern is that since at the time we were both atheists, did we actually make a vow with God, or was it more of a legalistic marriage? Ken, praise God that you and your wife are now in Christ. Such a joy for me to hear that you guys are walking with the Lord now after a lifetime, it sounds like, of atheism.

I hope you stay on the line. We want to send you some resources for free that we think will help you continue to grow in your Christian life. And with regard to your question, I would say that you are truly married, even before God, even though you weren't a Christian when you got married. I think about what the Apostle Paul said in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 7, where he was writing to a group of Christians, in some ways newer to the faith as well. They hadn't really matured very much in their walk with Jesus. And he's writing to them, and he's addressing a question that they had related to marriage. Some of them were married to non-believers. They had gotten converted, and their spouse had not yet been converted.

And they're wondering, well, what do we do? Are we actually married? Were we actually married? And Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 12, to the rest I say, I, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. Now, he's presupposing there that they're actually married, right?

That the divorce would be a real thing. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband, otherwise your children would be unclean.

But as it is, they are holy. And so Paul makes it very clear there that this marriage that they were in was a real marriage before God. And he calls them to continue to walk together and to seek to honor the Lord, especially for the believing spouse that they might have a positive impact on the unbelieving spouse. And so if it was true for Christians in that situation where you had a mixed marriage, a believer and an unbeliever, then it's certainly true for you and for your wife, both now in Christ, walking with Jesus. And so you should be encouraged and confident in the fact that God has brought the two of you together, that you are one flesh, to use the Bible's language, and that you're called now to reflect the love of God for his people through your marriage.

I mean, this is what the Apostle Paul says in the book of Ephesians, that the husband is called to love his wife as Christ loved the church. And so, Ken, may God bless you as you do that. And I hope that you're plugged into a good church, that you're surrounded by people who are encouraging you in your Christian walk. And we're here to encourage you as well and help in any way that we can. God bless.

Ken, hang on the line. We'd like to send you a copy of Core Christianity, the book that launched this program by our founder, Dr. Michael Horton. We'd love to send you a complimentary copy of that for both you and your wife to read together with the Core doctrines of the Christian faith. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

We still have time for a couple of calls. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, give us a buzz, 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to Melinda calling in from Oklahoma.

Melinda, what's your question? Hi, Pastor Adriel, thank you for taking my call. I have a pet that has heart failure and is dying, and I was wanting to know if our pets go to heaven. It sounds small, but they're such a part of our family, and I don't want to just tell myself, oh yeah, they go to heaven and and tell my family that, and if there's no nothing they call to back that up.

You know, Melinda, I know that this is such a such a difficult thing, and I'm sorry to hear about this pet being sick, and may the Lord grant you comfort and peace. And we know that God cares for all of his creation, that the reason there is death in the world is because of sin. Now pets, you know, our animals, aren't made in the image of God like human beings are, and they're not the objects of redemption in the exact same way that we are, and they don't get their sins forgiven, that kind of a thing. And typically when we're talking about salvation and being in the presence of God, the divine judge, we're thinking about that atonement that Jesus has provided for us. But another thing, you know, related to the work of Jesus and his redemptive work is that it isn't just about, you know, my personal salvation, but that it's it's cosmic, that is the entire creation has been affected by sin and brokenness in the world, death, and Christ on the last day is going to restore all of that.

Paul in Romans 8 talks about the creation groaning. Now what that means is that this created world is going to be restored. We don't know if our pets, you know, the dog or the cat that we had that we love so much, if they're going to be there in heaven, but we do know that God is going to restore all things. And when I think of the new creation that God is bringing about, I imagine it as a place where there are animals and, I mean, in the prophets frequently, you know, when you're given this picture of the new creation, you know, the kingdom of God, sometimes, you know, the prophets refer to it as this place of perfect peace, even peace between animals, you know, predatory animals. And so I think that there's reason for us to be hopeful that God's new creation is going to be filled with animals and plants, you know, all things restored. Whether or not that means, you know, our pets, my specific pet, is going to be in heaven, a part of the new creation, I don't think that we can say.

We'd be speculating. But I do know this. I know that the Lord loves you and I know that he loves his creation and I know that he wants to comfort you and be with you in this time. And so may the Lord bless you and may just the struggle that you're experiencing right now point you to the hope of what Jesus has done, right? It's a taste of, when we feel this this way, it's a taste of the effect of sin, the consequences of sin on the world, death coming through sin. And so it should point us to Christ, the one who conquered death and the one through whom all things are going to be restored.

God bless you, Melinda. This is Core Christianity. We have time for a quick email from Robert and he says, in regards to predestination, Romans 3 10 and 11 says, there is no one righteous and nobody has the ability in their sin nature to seek God and do good. If Adam and Eve before the fall were innocent and free of evil, then how were they able to do evil by disobeying God? Yeah, I mean they were left to the freedom of their own choice, the freedom of their wills, and this is what we see all over the place. God called them to obey his word, especially the command, you know, pertaining to not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you know, so they were forbidden from doing that, but they were called also to be fruitful and multiply, to take care of the garden. They had a choice in the matter, but they turned away from the Lord. And as I just said, through that death entered into the world, but we have hope in Jesus that all things will be restored. It's what Paul says in Romans chapter 5, and so check out that chapter. As we explore the truth of God's word together.