Why do people require "going to church?" Can't I be a good Christian without just being in some particular building?
No. Only after Saul and Barnabas "assembled with the church" for a whole year did God call the disciples "Christians" in Antioch (Acts 11:26). "Christian" is a name for disciples of Christ who regularly assemble themselves to worship God. It is not a building that identifies one as a Christian, but the assembled Christians who identify a building! The "church of God at Corinth" was to "come together as a church...in one place...[that they might, jtpII] eat the Lord's Supper" (1 Corinthians 1:2; 11:18, 20, 33). He gives further regulations for when "the whole church comes together in one place" (1 Corinthians 14:23,26). Jesus had said, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). It is an unscriptural perversion of the name "Christian" to apply it to anyone who doesn't desire to be in the assembly of the saints. A purpose of assembling and the sin of neglecting it are discussed in Hebrews 10:24-27. The idea of being a Christian with little or no ambition to assemble with others of like precious faith may be denominational or sectarian in origin, but it certainly is not of Christ! When tragedies or injustices occur in America, spokespeople keep saying "We need to come together" to show support, but that's exactly what God has been demanding of His people all along! The difference is instead of "coming together" only for humanitarian purposes, God also requires "coming together" for Divine purposes. The activity of "coming together" (New Testament Greek word ekklesia = "gathering, assembly") is an identifying quality of a "Christian."
God has always drawn a line between the "sacred" and the "profane" (Leviticus 10:8-11; Ezekiel 22:26; 44:23) and the concept of "worship" simply recognizes that distinction. Only specified sacrifices including animals could be offered to God under Moses' law (Leviticus 1-5) and only for the specified reasons. However, God realized not all animals were "sacred" (designated for sacrifice) and so He said, "you may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart desires, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike. Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it on the earth like water" (Deuteronomy 12:15-16). That which was "set aside" for sacrifice to God was to be reserved for that purpose alone (Deuteronomy 12:17-28)! In addition to life's regular activities, God demands some time be "set aside" and devoted only to Him. This has always been true since Paradise was disrupted by sin (Genesis 4:1-5; Leviticus 23; Hebrews 13:9-16). Sometimes this can be done individually (with Bible study and prayerful meditation, 1 Timothy 4:15), or with family (sometimes termed "devotionals," Acts 10:24,33), but certainly must also include fellow Christians (many say "going to church," Acts 12:5-12).
Worship is "a respectful bowing down, showing reverence toward" the one being worshipped. Hence, Abraham respectfully bowed to the angels who visited his house (Genesis 18:2); Jacob bows seven times in greeting Esau (Genesis 33:3,6,7); Joseph dreamed that his family would bow before him (Genesis 37:10; 42:6). Even though fellow humans may be respected, God demands some things must be done that are NOT to be offered to any but God. God called Moses from a burning and not burned-up bush, but when Moses approached He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5). When Moses learned he was in God's presence, he "hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God" (Exodus 3:6). Moses was sent into Egypt with plagues to make Pharoah's servants respectfully "bow down" to Moses, who represented his all-powerful God, (Exodus 11:8), so that the Israelites could "go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God" (Exodus 3:18.). Moses had to demonstrate with his sandals that he reverenced God's presence. This was separate from Moses' daily walking with God (Numbers 12:3). So, today, Christians will set aside special times to demonstrate their reverence before the presence of God (Ephesians 2:14-18; Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 Peter 2:1-5).
Because worship may be offered to God, gods, or humans, it makes a difference to whom it is offered! Paul in Athens commented on their "objects of worship" but proceeded to explain that the God "is not far from each one of us," however, God should not be represented as other gods in "that the Divine Nature is [not] like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising" (Acts 17:27,29). Expecting Peter to come as a representative of God, "Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, 'Stand up, I myself am also a man.'" (Acts 10:25-26). Respect for God should not be expressed the same as respect for man. To those who felt men were gods Paul said, "We also are men with the same nature as you and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them" (Acts 14:15). Not even angels should receive our devotion, as John discovered (Revelation 19:10; 22:8-9). To people who would seek truth from an angel or protection from a guardian angel, the Holy Spirit said, "Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind" (Colossians 2:18). Today, a burning bush, physical structure, human person, or an angelic being does not represent God's presence. Though His power is seen in His created world (Romans 1:18-21; Isaiah 45:12,18), under Moses, He designated that His presence would be with the tabernacle in the wilderness (Exodus 40). Now under Jesus Christ, He is with all those who assemble according to His New Testament rules (Matthew 18:20; Ephesians 5:19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; 16:1-2; Acts 20:7).
It was after sin entered the garden of Eden that "Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God" (Genesis 3:8). Sin alienates souls from God, and since Eden, proper worship permits the penitent to approach Him. It is inconceivable to think of a sinner seeking God but refusing to worship God! ALL worship since Eden, falls into either of these two categories, accepted by God or rejected by God. To approach God in worship always must be on His terms, not man's. Immediately after leaving Paradise, God distinguished between Cain and Abel's sacrifices (Genesis 4:1-5) because Abel offered his "by faith" (Hebrews 11:4) and Cain did not (Cf. 1 John 3:11-12). In Moses' law Israelites were banned from bowing down to carved images (Exodus 20:3-6; Deuteronomy 5:5-11) or adopting the religious rites of others who did not follow God (Deuteronomy 12:1-4). God reminds Christians of the sharply drawn difference between the Lord's supper and any others' religious ritual (1 Corinthians 10:14-22). The Holy Spirit also shows there is a difference between the only two elements for the Lord's Supper (cup and bread, CF Mark 14:22-25) and whatever is on the table for a common meal (1 Corinthians 10:25-27). Sinners, and Christians who sin, should seek every opportunity to worship God acceptably and not absent themselves from His assemblies like the first sinners on earth did!
God requires special times for Christians to observe special activities for a most special purpose. Repentance and baptism "for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38) give access to Almighty God, and in worship opportunities God offers His helpful hand to those who ask.-John T. Polk II, 125 The Trace, Dover, TN 37058

THINK ABOUT IT

The more of heaven in our lives,
the less of earth we covet.

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You have no interest in the church
if you have not invested anything in it.

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The wise man in the storm prays to God,
not for safety from danger,
but for deliverance from fear.
It is the storm within that endangers him
not the storm without.