Dear Fellow Christian,

I am writing this letter because I feel that there is a deception that has developed among Christians. Often I hear Christians say, “I don’t believe that I have to go to church to be a Christian.” Sometimes people will say, “I can get better sermons on TV.” Maybe so, but there is still a biblical reason why each of us needs to be engaged in the local church. Let me explain why.

The body of Christ, the building of Christ, the bride of Christ

First, the Bible refers to Christians as the body of Christ, the building of Christ, and the bride of Christ. These examples, demonstrate the togetherness of believers. The Apostle Paul writes,

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Eph. 4:11-13

The body of Christ meets together in an organized fashion, whether a regular Sunday service, small groups, Bible studies, etc., to build us up so that we come together in unity. We need to come together to grow up in the Lord. Our enemy, the devil, has a strategy that includes separating people from the body of Christ. If he can’t keep you from become a Christian, then he will do all that he can to make your life as ineffective as possible for Christ. It starts by cutting you out of the herd, much like a lion cuts a deer out of the herd, so that they can wear it down and kill it.

The devil knows that you draw strength from other believers. Every time I come to church, I draw strength from the other believers. They pray for me and encourage me. I’m glad to see them. If you fail to attend church regularly, then you miss out on the strength that you can draw from other believers.

Oh, I know, the church is full of hypocrites. We are a spiritual hospital. We all have issues and are all imperfect. What you have to realize is that you want grace for yourself and therefore, need to give grace to others. We are all trying to grow in the Lord.

You have a ministry

Second, you also miss out on the ministry that God has ordained for you if you are not involved in the local body of believers. The purpose of the leadership of the church is “to equip his people for works of service.” Regardless of your age, there is a place for you in the body of Christ. If you don’t do what you should be doing, guess what? It doesn’t get done.

We rub each other the wrong way.

Third, we rub each other the wrong way. The Epistles in the New Testament are largely written to deal with problems in the church. We only have half the conversation and have to figure out what was going on requiring the letter to be written. Today is no different. There are constantly problems in the church. That is how we grow in the church. We deal with each other. We are like sand paper on each other sanding away our rough areas. That is why the fruit of the Spirit is so important.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Gal. 5:22-23

Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness.

Fourth, Jesus said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matt. 6:33

Often I see that people have let “other things” push the Lord out of the way. It is easy to do. We live in a world that does not value Christianity and in fact stands against much of what we believe. I encourage you to make sure that you keep God first in your life, including fellowshipping with other believers.

I could say much more, but I encourage you to evaluate where you are in the Lord and re-commit to living all out for God.

Pastor Bob