Why Some People Quit

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Ever since the church began, some who obeyed the Gospel, thus being added by the Lord to the church, have failed to remain faithful. I am sure that there are some reasons with which I am not familiar. However, I have heard several in the years I have been preaching the Gospel. In hopes that these might prevent someone from dropping out, I want to discuss a few of them.

1. Because of guilt. When one knows he is not living as Christ teaches us to live during the week, he should feel guilty and ashamed when he comes into his Bible class or into the worship assembly. His guilt and shame leave him with two choices: He can confess and repent of his sin, or he can continue in it. One who continues in sin will not long remain faithful in attendance where his sin is going to be preached and taught against. Such a person will feel increasingly out of place and will eventually quit. Of course, “quitting the church” does not remove the guilt; it only removes one of the constant reminders of it. Many take this route.
2. Because they dislike someone in the congregation. It may be the preacher, an elder, a teacher—it is usually someone in a leadership role. We all have enough faults to be unlikable to someone else (e.g., I do not like the behavior of those who quit because they do not like someone). Guess what? You do not have to like every member of the church to be a faithful Christian. God must dislike even the best of us often, but He still loves us and seeks the best for us. Likewise, we can dislike and irritate one another at times, as long as we still love one another enough to seek the good of each other. “Quitting the church,” thus losing one’s soul, is a high price to pay because “I do not like someone.”
3. Because “there are too many hypocrites” in the church. I suppose all Christians (including preachers and elders) have been hypocrites (at least, inconsistent) at times. Even the best find it impossible to live flawlessly the message we preach, and sometimes we fail. The one who charges, “There are too many hypocrites,” is himself hypocritical once in a while. I do not defend hypocrisy, but which is worse, to continue to faithfully assemble and work with other imperfect saints, knowing that one’s own life is not perfect, or to drop out and not even make an effort? Besides, the presence of one or a hundred hypocrites has nothing to do with my relationship to God unless I let it. Do you come to the assembly to judge your brethren or to worship God?

Many other “reasons” for quitting are observable, but they all stem from letting selfish pride get out of hand. When selfishness drops out, the quitter will drop back in.

[Note: I wrote this article for and it was published in The Lighthouse, weekly bulletin of Northpoint Church of Christ, Denton, TX, February 20, 2011, of which I was editor.]

Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.