Should we tell the unsaved to “Go to Church” without any qualification?

Many well-intentioned Christians do this, thinking that it is an easy and inoffensive way to evangelize. Here are twenty Scriptural reasons why this is wrong:
 

  1. It Replaces the Gospel Call – Scripture calls unbelievers to repent and believe (Mark 1:15; Acts 17:30), not merely to attend church. Replacing Christ’s command with church attendance is soul-endangering.
     

  2. It Risks Exposure to False Churches – If no qualification is given, unbelievers might wander into heretical, apostate, liberal, or prosperity-driven churches (Gal. 1:6–9).
     

  3. It Confuses Means and End – The church exists for the redeemed; unbelievers must be reconciled to God first, then join His people (Acts 2:38–42).
     

  4. It Distorts the Nature of Salvation – Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Eph. 2:8–9), not by religious activity or environment.
     

  5. It Dulls the Call to Repentance – Simply attending church does not demand the sinner’s heart be broken over sin and turned to Christ (Luke 13:3).
     

  6. It Risks Creating Pharisees – Encouraging outward observance without inward change, mirrors the hypocrisy of the Pharisees (Matt. 23:27).
     

  7. It Puts Culture Above Christ – “Go to church” often reflects unsaved cultural conservatism, not biblical evangelism (Col. 2:8).
     

  8.  It Trivializes the Church – The church is the blood-bought bride of Christ (Acts 20:28), not a generic meeting place for self-improvement.
     

  1. It Misrepresents Evangelism – Evangelism is proclaiming Christ crucified, not handing out directions to a building (1 Cor. 1:23).
     

  2.  It Suggests Salvation Can Be Outsourced – A pastor or sermon cannot repent and believe for a sinner (Rom. 10:9–10).
     

  3.  It Undermines the Exclusivity of Christ's Salvation – It risks teaching that proximity to Christians equals reconciliation to God (John 14:6).
     

  4.  It Ignores Spiritual Blindness – The natural man cannot understand the things of God without the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:14); mere attendance will not open blind eyes.
     

  5.  It Neglects the Role of Regeneration – Only new birth brings entrance into God’s kingdom (John 3:3–5).
     

  6.  It Reduces Christianity to Mere Morality – The lost may view the church as a place for “good people,” not as the gathering of sinners saved by grace (Luke 18:9–14).
     

  7.  It Promotes Consumer Religion – The unsaved may see church as an event to attend, rather than a covenant community to belong to.
     

  8.  It Gives False Assurance – An unbeliever may wrongly assume churchgoing makes them right with God (cf. Matt. 7:21–23).
     

  1.  It Misleads About the Church’s Purpose – Corporate worship is designed for the edification of the saints (1 Cor. 14:26), not for entertaining the lost.
     

  2.  It May Harden Hearts – Repeated empty attendance without genuine salvation can sear the conscience (Heb. 10:26–27).
     

  3.  It Confuses Children and Families – Young people especially may equate church-going with salvation, never realizing their need for personal faith in Christ.
     

  4.  It Cheapens True Fellowship Among Believers – It suggests that the essence of fellowship is showing up, not committing oneself to Jesus and His redeemed people (Heb. 13:17).


✅ Summary

The unsaved are never commanded to “go to church.” They are commanded to repent and believe in the gospel. Once saved, they are commanded to have committed fellowship with fellow-believers.

Telling someone to “Go to church” without qualification obscures the gospel, produces false hope, and risks eternal ruin.
Telling them “Repent and believe in Christ—and then join a faithful body of believers” follows the apostolic pattern.

Bottom line: Many people now in Hell have been regular attenders of church.
All those who have sincerely gone with all their sins to Jesus for forgiveness, are now in Heaven.
(The above article was AI generated.)