We are in a series called Deconstructing and Reconstructing Faith. My goal in this series to answer some of the questions that I have seen and heard people facing, which is moving people to consider leaving the Lord, leaving the faith, leaving the scriptures, or leaving the church. In this lesson I want to talk about the church. There are a number of challenges to the church today. Do you believe you need to go to church to be a Christian? Sometimes people will say that they believe in Jesus but do not believe in the church. I would like to respond to this by saying that I understand where you are coming from if you had a terrible, abusive experience. We covered that in the first lesson called Deconstructing Experience. Unfortunately, experience has caused people to distrust the church but want to still believe in God. Some argue that they do not need organized religion. If you mean the complicated superstructure organization that we see some religions and churches create, then I would like to point out that the scriptures do not show the church being this complicated hierarchy and superstructure. Some say that they do not need a middleman to connect with God. But the scriptures do not teach that the church is a middleman for you to connect to God. Sadly, I think the reason for church has been missed.
But before we can forward, we need to go back and recap some of the points we have made about authority in the prior lessons. We need to have a right view of scriptures if we are going to have a right view for the church. We started by asking if it matters. Does it matter what we do? Does it matter how we live? Does it matter how we worship? We showed that it does matter to God. Since it matters, how do we know what we are to do before God? We spent two lessons talking about some of the false ways people are approaching the scriptures to find God’s authority. Our feelings do not determine God’s will for our lives. Our good motives are not enough to determine if we are right before God. Silence does not give us authority either. We cannot argue that the scriptures do not say we can’t because that is not the way God decided to communicate with us. We cannot ignore or not talk about authority because this leads to people not knowing why we do what we do. We are not told to follow human traditions as our authority. The scriptures plainly teach to not follow human traditions and that our only authority is the scriptures. Finally, just saying that we will follow the example and heart of Jesus is not enough because we are told that all of God’s word is authoritative for our lives, given to us as an example and for our learning. If you have any questions about those points, please go back to the prior two lessons on authority. Where we landed after those lessons was that God speaks to his creation the same way that we talk to each other. God tells us what to do, shows us what to do, and implies to us what to do.
Authority For Life
Let me firmly make this point: we need authority for all that we do in life. We need authority for what we do in life as individuals and as a church. I have heard some teachers and preachers say that we do all kinds of things in our individual lives that the scriptures do not say anything about. I hope that if we heard those words, we would quickly rethink that idea. Does God’s word have authority over our individual lives? YES! Why do the scriptures teach us to stop complaining, be holy, be a light to the world, don’t be gossips and busybodies, have a job or you will not eat, and teach us how to be husbands, wives, parents, children, workers, and bosses if God does not have authority over our lives from Monday through Saturday? We get silly about these things and say that the Bible doesn’t say anything about watching TV. Do we understand that the scriptures are timeless? God can’t talk about TVs in the first century. Further, if the world continues to spin for another 1000 years those people would wonder what in the world a TV even is. So did God say anything about TVs? Yes, he did with passages like Philippians 4:8 where we were told to think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, and excellent. Everything we do is to be controlled by Christ.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17 ESV)
Why Church?
But why the church? Why can’t we just believe and do what God has told us to do? Why can’t we just stay home, enjoy our families, and live a good life like God tells us to do? Do I have to go to church to be a Christian? So I would like to answer this question in a number of ways. First, I would like for us to think about what a selfish thought process this is. Even if I did not have any scriptures to use in talking about the meaning and the purpose of the church, it is terribly self-centered to say that we do not need anyone else. I hope that we would see that this is just a sad way to think. We just want to walk with God completely by ourselves? One of the things that Covid revealed to the world was that humans were created for relationship and community. God was right when it said that it is not good to be alone. We need to think about those who are single, who do not have a family, who do have a family but are not Christians, or who have lost their family. What about the widows and widowers? What about those with broken families? If we are going to follow Jesus and love our neighbor, then we cannot just be satisfied with our own blood family. We cannot be selfish and think that since we are content at home, then that is good enough. I would also ask us to consider that regularly showing up late or right at starting time and leaving early or right on ending time does not allow for the building of community together. Again, we are just thinking about ourselves, what we want to do, and what we need rather than the needs of other Christians. If there is anything that Jesus is teaching us is that Christianity is not about you. The apostle Paul taught that love is not selfish or self-seeking (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:5). Yet, far too often when we start talking about church and worship, the only thing we think about is ourselves. We give ourselves reasons like it’s hard, it’s far, it’s boring, I’m tired, I had a long day, I’m exhausted, or whatever else to downplay the church. Church is not about me. Christianity is not about me. Jesus is teaching us to live beyond ourselves.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4 CSB)
Second, can we do what God asks of us in isolation? When we wonder if we need the church and can we be a Christian without the church, I would like for us to think about if it is possible to do all that God has said in isolation. I want us to think about some of the following scriptures and how they show the need for spiritual community.
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47 ESV)
I want us to see that when they came to Jesus and were forgiven of their sins, the first thing we are told that they did was become a community of believers and did not remain separate. Look at verse 44. “And all who believed were together and had all things in common.” Notice it was not a bunch of individuals but they became a “they.” The Lord added to their number. Notice the repetition of the word “they.” Listen to how the apostle Paul teaches this “we” idea:
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV)
Notice that the roles of apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers have a purpose to equip the whole body of believers to do the work of ministry and to build up the body of Christ. Paul does not speak about us as individuals but as a connected body. We are pictured as growing in the faith and growing in maturity so that we each are doing our part as members of the body so that the body grows as it is built up in love. Paul does not say that “you are to grow” but “we are to grow.” When you chose to follow Jesus, you were being joined to Christ’s body and joined to each other. The scriptures are showing us that you cannot practice Christianity without community. I want to read Hebrews 10, but I am going to look at it in reverse order so that we can see the purpose. If you grew up in the pews you might have been beaten down by Hebrews 10:25 and told you are commanded to go to church.
“…not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25 CSB)
But why does the author of Hebrews say this? Why it is so important to not neglect our gatherings like some are in the habit of doing? One reason is in this verse itself. We are to be together to encourage each other. We need each other and we need to make the choice to come together so that we can give encouragement to each other. Also listen to how this sentence starts in the prior verse.
And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, (Hebrews 10:24 CSB)
We are to consider each other and consider how we can push and poke each other toward love and good works. How are we to do this? By not neglecting to gather together as some are in the habit of doing. I challenge you that we cannot do all that God has told us to do in isolation. This explains why we see Paul doing what he did when he moved to Jerusalem.
When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple. (Acts 9:26 CSB)
Paul had become a Christian and when he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join himself to the group of disciples in that city. He tried to join the church that met in Jerusalem. Why? Paul is an apostle. Paul does not need anyone, right? No, he does. He understood the need community and looked to belong to a body of believers. Now these scriptures are giving us a great picture of what the church is. The church is a body of believers who are joined together to do the work God has asked them to do in a particular area. It is not some big superstructure of religion. It is just Christians agreeing to work together for the Lord. We cannot ignore these pictures. As much as we might be content in our homes and content with our families, we are constantly described as an interwoven body, not a bunch of individuals who happen to believe in Jesus.
I would like to make a commitment challenge for you today. I am asking you NOT to commit to the church. I am not asking you to commit to this building or an institution. I do not want you to think about it like that. Rather, I am asking you to commit to Christ. If you will commit your life to Christ, then you will see the importance of one another. If you will commit your life to Christ, then you will commit to the people who share the same faith as you who live in this area. If you will commit to Christ, then you will remember the second greatest commandment is to love each other as you would love yourself.