“‘Don’t be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Temple is here. It’s a lie! Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours, and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, “We are safe!”—only to go right back to all those evils again? Don’t you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the Lord, have spoken!” Jeremiah 7:8-11
You trust in lying words that cannot profit: This was a bold thing to say to the crowds at the temple gates. Yet they needed to know that they could not steal, murder, commit adultery and walk after other gods thinking the customs and rituals of temple observance could cover it. Jeremiah had in mind those who believed that their temple rituals and obligations gave them permission and cover to sin in these ways. Instead of being a place where God was truly sought, where sacrifices were sincerely offered, and where repentance was true, the temple had become a den, a gathering and hiding place of thieves. The temple is the House of Jehovah in which men may dwell in fellowship with Him, and so in strength and rest, if their ways are in harmony with His will. But the temple is not a refuge for men who are living in rebellion against Him. It gives security and rest to obedient souls. It offers no security to men if they are living in sin. Through Jeremiah, God wanted His people to know that He did see their hidden, secret sins.
It seems that man never changes; we see the same thing that Jeremiah was writing about in our churches today. We think as long as we go to church and do all the things that the church tells us to do; we can do anything we want. We can sin as much as we want and because we are going to church we are right with God. It is not about going to church it is about our heart and obeying God. Church is a good place to be and we need the help of others to walk with God at times. Just realize that church will not save you; only Jesus Christ can do that.