“You don’t have to go to church be BECOME a Christian, but you do have to go to church to BE a Christian.”
This was a quote from a sermon I preached about 4 important relationships we need that we find in a church community. There will be a link to the entire sermon at the end.
What It Means to BECOME a Christian
The key words in my statement are “become” and “be.” Let’s start with “become.” How does one become a Christian?
1. Not by our human effort. Salvation is by grace through faith and not by our human doings. (Ephesians 2:8-9). We do not earn our way to heaven by going to church, being a good person, or even being baptized. Salvation is not something we attain, but something we obtain.
2. By God’s grace. Grace is God’s favor toward us, irrespective of any worthiness in us. We don’t obtain salvation because we deserve it. Instead, we obtain salvation in spite of the fact that we do NOT deserve it. We deserve the opposite – eternal damnation and separation from God.
3. Through faith. Salvation comes to us when we believe the Gospel – the good news. Jesus is the Son of God. He came to earth and lived the perfect life that we were intended to live. Then He died the death that we are supposed to die because of our sin. He took our place. He paid our sin debt. Then He arose from the dead in victory over sin’s penalty. He ascended to heaven, sent the Holy Spirit to work in us to reform us. One day, He will return to judge the wicked and restore the world to the perfect order which God created it. We are saved when we trust that truth and surrender to Christ as our absolute King now and forever.
What About the Church with a Capital C?
Once we become a Christian, we begin a wonderful journey of living this new life that God gives us. And one of the greatest privileges in the Christian life is to belong to a church.
The word “church” appears in the New Testament 115 times in either its singular or plural form. The word refers to the general church – all believers collectively – 20 times. That means that 95 times – almost 4 times as often – the word refers to a local body of believers. From that we understand that Jesus’ intention was for His followers to gather together.
From the beginning in the book of Acts, believers were gathered both in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. The New Testament contains 21 books that we call “Epistles” or letters. Nine of them are addressed to specific gatherings of believers in specific locations. Some of those even mention other locations where believers gathered as a church.
Paul wrote 3 to pastors who served local congregations and one to a prominent member of a local congregation (Philemon). Peter addressed his two letters to groups of believers gathered in specific locations in Asia Minor (modern day western Turkey). The Book of Revelation opens with Jesus addressing letters to seven specific congregations in Asia Minor.
So yes, gathering as a church was considered the norm in New Testament times.
How the Church Helps Me BE a Christian
Several New Testament passages indicate that the early church considered “membership” important. We will consider those at another time. Suffice it to say for now, the New Testament practiced intentional membership.
I don’t know about you, but I love to sit around a fire in a fire pit. But if you remove a log from the fire two things happen. First, the heat and light from the fire is diminished. The fire just isn’t the same without the log. But you will also observe a second result. The log which you removed will soon lose its glow and its fire. It will eventually grow cold.
Believers apart from a local church are like that log removed from the fire. The church provides instruction, encouragement, and accountability. The Holy Spirit uses the church in those three ways to grow us toward maturity in Jesus. Candidly, a believer who is not engaged with a local church will remain stunted in their sanctification.
Two Takeaways
So there are two considerations I hope you take away from reading this.
First, make certain you are a Jesus follower. Believe the Gospel. You don’t have to work harder and do better to achieve enough to attain salvation. Trust in what Jesus has already done on your behalf.
Second, if you are not in a local church, find a good Bible-teaching church and attach yourself to them. The Holy Spirit will use those fellow-believers to help you become more like Jesus. And serve in and through that church. You get to be a part of helping others grow to be more like Jesus too. What a privilege.
Oh. And you can click here to view the sermon I mentioned at the beginning.
And 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.
Hebrews 10:24-25