Have you ever been sick and went to a hospital? Why did you go? Unfortunately, I have been to the hospital/ER and in the hospital more times than I care to remember. With each stay, my goal was to get better as quickly as possible. That’s why I went; to get better, not remain the same. On a recent episode of The Real Daytime, Adrienne Houghton defended her walk with God by saying, “The church is like a hospital for sick people. It’s not for those who are already saved.” Watch the video below and we’ll talk after…
The conversation started because actress Megan Good said she doesn’t attend church as often with her husband Devon Franklin because of the intense scrutiny around her choice of acting roles and attire and that is when Adrienne spoke on the scrutiny she too receives. Adrienne received a lot of backlash for the dress she wore to the 2019 Daytime Emmys. Watch that video below…
Anyone who is sick wants to be better. That’s why we go to the hospital. Yes, the church can be seen as a hospital, I guess, however, it’s also a place of worship for Christians. While I’ve had my share of unacceptable run-ins with church people, like Tamera, no man or woman will stop me from going to church. I go for many reasons:
- The Bible says forsake not the assembling of yourselves together. So when I go to church it’s a time for me to fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ; to fellowship with the family of God. The body of Christ is a family.
- I also go to show myself friendly and to be a blessing to someone. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve sat next to a sister who was hurting and I was able to lovingly put my arm around her and pray with her and let her know God’s got her. Going to church is a time for God to use us to be an example of his love and his heart.
- It’s the place I go to grow in my walk with God and that’s why going to a church that teaches truth is so important to me. I don’t need a motivational message. I need someone who’s going to exposit the word and teach it line-by-line in truth in a way that convicts, confronts, challenges, changes me and draws me closer to the cross.
“Come as you are,” is a popular saying, however, even when we come to church as we are, the goal is not to stay as we are. Can a hospital function well if the sick don’t get better?
Being raised Pentecostal like Adrienne or Baptist, Adventist or any other denomination doesn’t make you a Christian. Neither does being dedicated to God at birth. I was dedicated to God aka christened at birth in a church by my parents when I was an infant. That act does not make me a Christian.
What makes me a Christian is when I, at the age of sixteen made a decision to accept Jesus Christ into my heart and make him the Lord of my life. That is the only thing that makes one a Christian. It happened at the 7 pm service at Bethany Gospel Chapel in Brooklyn NY when the word of God penetrated my heart and conviction led me to answer the call for salvation.
Faith in Jesus Christ comes by hearing the word of God as Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” I heard the word of God and I responded. Becoming a Christian is a personal choice and decision that has zero to do with denominations and church attendance.
Lots of people attend church every time the doors open, however, church attendance won’t make you a Christian. Reading the Bible won’t make you a Christian. Praying won’t make you a Christian. Mentioning God won’t make you a Christian. Exhibiting “Christian” behavior won’t make you a Christian. The late Billy Graham does an excellent job of explaining it. He says:
“Our fathers and mothers may be the greatest born-again Christians in the world, but that doesn’t make us born-again Christians, too. Many people have the idea that because they were born into a Christian home, they are automatically Christians. They’re not.
We cannot work our way to God, either. The Bible says that salvation comes “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).
Nor is reformation enough. We can say, “I am going to turn over a new leaf,” or “I am going to make New Year’s resolutions.” But Isaiah said that in the sight of God “all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).
Some of us have changed on the outside to conform to certain social standards or behavior that is expected of us in our churches, but down inside we have never been changed. That is what Jesus was talking to Nicodemus about. He said, “Nicodemus, you need changing inside,” and only the Holy Spirit can do that. Being born from above is a supernatural act of God. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin; He disturbs us because we have sinned against God. And then the Holy Spirit regenerates us. That is when we are born again. The Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts to help us in our daily lives. The Spirit of God gives us assurance, gives us joy, produces fruit in our lives and teaches us the Scriptures.
Some people try to imitate Christ. They think that all we have to do is try to follow Jesus and try to do the things He did, and we will get into heaven. But we can’t do it. We may know the religious songs. We may even say prayers. But if we haven’t been to the foot of the cross, we haven’t been born again. That is the message Jesus is trying to teach us.
To be born again means that “[God] will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:26). “Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4); we have “passed from death into life” (John 5:24). The new birth brings about a change in our philosophy and manner of living.” Amen.
So, if the church is like a hospital, the main procedure happening is heart transplants. Becoming a Christian is a matter of the heart. That’s the beginning of a lifelong process of transformation. Hopefully, Adrienne and others will be led to the truth before its too late. My fear for many, especially those of us who have put our faith in Jesus Christ is on that day, we will hear, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” So, my question to you and Adrienne is this; are you sure of your salvation?
Something to think about…
What say you? Is the church like a hospital? What are your thoughts on the video and conversation overall?
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