Why Does the Church Matter?

As a pastor in a small community, I meet with many people who consider themselves Christians but do not attend any church. Many people today believe that the church is not necessary for their faith. For some they have been hurt through difficult experiences while, for others, they see the great hypocrisy that goes on in the church. For these reasons, many have said ‘good-bye’ to the church. 

This article is not written to defend the church as though these problems are no big deal. I believe that they are a big deal. But I believe that the church is so important for Christians that it should not be given over to those who cause problems or live as hypocrites. I believe this for three reasons.

First, the church is the Bride of Christ. It would be difficult for me to hear someone tell me that they truly love me but hated my wife. My wife is such a big part of my life. When someone says that they love Christ but hate the church that is what they are saying. The church has been purchased by the blood of Christ upon the cross. He did this “so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27).

In Revelation 21:2 we see a picture of the church as the New Jerusalem, prepared “as a bride adorned for her husband.” Of course the church, this side of eternity, is far from being holy and without blemish. There is an “already but not yet” aspect to the church just like there is with our own holiness. If we trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins then we know that we are holy before God. But we also know that we continue to struggle with our sin.

Second, the church is the Kingdom of God. In the Old Testament, God worked through the nation of Israel. If someone wanted to be saved then they would become part of the nation. However, in the New Testament, we read about how there is no longer any distinction between Jew and Gentile (Romans 10:12). In the New Testament, the church is said to begin in Jerusalem and Judea and to spread to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). It is through the faithful ministry of the church that God calls his people to Himself.

This does not exclude the fact that God calls us into a personal relationship with Himself through Christ. It just means that there is something more than a personal relationship. God saves us into a community of like-minded believers. We need one another for our faith to grow. A Christian outside of the church is like an Old Testament Israelite outside of the covenant community.

Third, the church is a family. Shortly after the Day of Pentecost, we read that the Christians were regularly meeting together; “they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). The church is the community of God’s people where we should find encouragement, instruction and safety. The church is not perfect, of course, but the promise is that one day it will be perfected.

In the end, too many people look for the church to fill the wrong holes. Many people want the church to provide youth programs or marriage seminars or twelve steps to their best life. But the church does not exist for any of these reasons. The church’s purpose in this world is the faithful worship of God and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection. We all need to be reminded of what God has done to save us and we are called to gather every week to worship God and to grow in our faith.

We are told, in Hebrews 10:24-25, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

It’s hard to imagine but by the time Hebrews was written (around 64 A.D.) Christians were already starting to abandon worshiping together. But the author of Hebrews wants to encourage God’s people to continue meeting together for spiritual growth, for mutual encouragement and for faithfulness in worshiping God.

Understanding the WHOLE Bible

One of the joys I have in pastoring a local church is meeting with new people who have questions about the Bible. The Bible is a big book. It contains 66 individual books and covers a period of history, spanning thousands of years. It covers everything from the time of creation until the time when Jesus will return to bring re-creation…and who knows when that will be! 

Because of the size and scope of the Bible, many people have struggled to understand it. This has not been helped by the fact that nearly every denomination, church and Christian has their own interpretation of what a particular passage means. There are true disagreements that need to be worked through but that should not blur the clear message of the Bible.

In my meetings, I have found four different approaches to the Bible:

For some, the Bible is nothing more than a religious ‘fortune cookie.’ They crack it open each morning to find a nice saying that will help them through the day. While it can be good to meditate on specific verses, or passages (like Psalm 23), this can also have a negative impact on understanding God’s word. It is reading the verses ‘out of context.’ This is a problem because Psalm 23 (“The Lord is my Shepherd”) makes so much more sense when we consider David’s life as a shepherd as well as the dangers he faced throughout his life as the king of Israel. Why can David say, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life” when he is threatened by death every day?

For others, the Bible is a big jumble of thoughts and ideas all put together. It is common for me to hear the statement that there are contradictions in the Bible. Though, when I ask where, it is often the case that the accuser does not know of any. But the Bible can be a difficult book to understand if you take it in pieces or ignore large parts. How do we handle the wars of the Old Testament and the coming judgment spoken of in the New? How do we understand Old Testament Israel and its relationship to the New Testament church?

Still, for others, the Bible is a big self-help manual. It tells you how to eat properly, have perfect children, run a good business and transform the world into heaven now. This approach drives all kinds of self-help books.

But perhaps the biggest category of people that I meet with, in our community, are those who have given up on reading the Bible at all. Too often the Bible has been used as a weapon for division rather than God’s word that provides our hope for salvation. The ‘Good Book,’ as it is often called, for many does not bring anything good. Good News often becomes burdensome and legalistic.

But what if the Bible wasn’t written for any of these reasons? What if the message is altogether different and, even, simpler? 

For the past three summers we have had the pleasure of hosting a community Bible study at the local library. The first year we studied “Jesus in the Old Testament” and, last year, we looked at “How to Handle Difficult Passages.” This year we are going to try something a bit different by covering the whole Bible in 8 weeks. It might sound impossible, but I believe it can be done. We’ll do this by looking at topics, or themes, that arise in Genesis chapters 1-3 and we will trace those themes throughout the historical, poetic and prophetic books of the Old Testament and see where they go into the New Testament from the Gospels through Revelation.

The topics we’ll cover are: 

1. Creation, 

2. Mankind, 

3. Marriage, 

4. God’s Presence, 

5. The Sabbath, 

6. The Trees of the Garden of Eden and 

7. The Serpent, Sin and Judgment. 

On the 8^th week we will look back over the whole study to see what we have learned about Scripture, God, Man, Sin, Salvation, the Church and the End.

I believe that the Bible has only one story from Genesis to Revelation. I invite you to come and learn what that one story is at this year’s community Bible study. This study will be held every Monday night, beginning July 11^th at 7:15 p.m. at the Hillsdale Community Library. Coffee and snacks will be provided. If you have any questions, please call 437-4462 or email hopcbs@gmail.com.