(Detour) WHY CHURCH - 1

I am going to take about a week long detour from the series of articles on prayer to write about our assembling together as a church.

It is no longer a possibility or a prediction, we are in the midst of many people leaving the local bodies that assemble on Sundays and citing a lack of necessity when asked for a reason. Why should I go to church? The church has gotten it wrong in so many areas. The church doesn’t look like Christ. If I love Jesus, isn’t that enough? Why do I have to go sing and listen to a sermon every week to be a Christian? I don’t like getting up on Sundays to go sit with a bunch of old people. I can’t find a church around here that I like. Why church?

Now, most of you know that the biblical definition of church means the group of people that are Christians. One did not go to church, one was the church. Therefore there is a very fundamental problem with the statement “I don’t need the church to be a Christian.” This is obviously absolutely false. Saying you don’t need the church to be a Christian is like saying you don’t need brothers and sisters to be a sibling. It is the very existence of those brothers and sisters that makes you a sibling at all. Christ Jesus did not live and die for the salvation of you alone, but for the church, his bride, his body.

There is nothing wrong with what the word church has come to mean, I say every week that I am going to church, as long as you know that the church is really the entire body of Christ around the world.

You take part in the assembly of believers around the world the moment you believe, and you take your place in the body of believers around the world as you take your place in your assembly near you. You take part in the worldwide body by taking part in the local body around you. So understand that as we discuss the church, we are discussing BOTH the assembly where you are where you do or do not attend regularly, and the body of believers around the world.

In order to answer this question we will be using the name of the boss, the master, the leader, the CFO, the CEO, the founder, and the King of this particular Kingdom: C.H.R.I.S.T.

C.

It is Commanded.

Sherlock Holmes and Watson were out camping one night, relieving some stress from all of their latest endeavors. They had a little too much to drink and fell asleep. In the middle of the night, Sherlock awoke and turned to Watson,

SHERLOCK:

“Watson, look up, what do you see?”

Watson looked up into the indescribable night sky that can only be seen in such glory when far away from man made light.

WATSON:

“I see more stars than I could ever count and a boastful full moon.”

SHERLOCK:

“And what does that tell you Watson.”

WATSON:

“Well, astronomically it tells me that there are millions of stars out there, astrologically it tells me that Saturn is in Leo, ontologically it tells me that there are things of which their coming to be is unknown and mysterious, theologically it tells me that God or the Divine is much larger than we are and we in comparison look quite insignificant, meteorologically it tells me that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow, why Sherlock, what does it tell you?”

SHERLOCK:

“Watson you fool, someone has stolen our tent.”

Sometimes the best answer is the simple one. Christ knew that we needed to be meeting together, and so did the writer of Hebrews.

“Do not neglect meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.” Hebrews 10:25 (Every preacher’s favorite verse right?)

Apparently they were having similar struggles even then. Some saw meeting regularly with other believers as unimportant, not worth their time, not necessary to the faith. The writer of Hebrews exclaims that it is indeed important to take time out of our busy schedules to meet together.

Now, obviously this does not say, “Do not neglect going to church on Sundays,” but that is an easily and correctly made application. There is rarely, if ever, a time for you to meet with so many other Christians together, for the primary purpose of edification of one another and glorification of our shared Father and Lord, like there is at the gatherings of the organizational church.

We are, as faithful Christians, supposed to meet together. And just like all of the other commands that are given to us throughout scripture, Christ gives this one also to us for our good. He knows how desperately we need constant and consistent Christian community and how desperately we need to have our eyes forced back upon the Cross and the Gospel and how desperately we need to receive and give encouragement to other believers.

We call these other Christians our brothers and sisters, let us prioritize meeting with our family from this day forward.

There are, in my estimation, even better and more convincing reasons to be involved in the “corporate church” coming in the next articles this week.

(In a Q & A after one of Keller's Sermons)

Questioner:

“Can I be a Christian and not go to church?”

Tim Keller:

“Not a faithful one.”

Grace and Peace