Believers and The Local Church

     Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  In this article I would like to address the heresy and teaching that states:  That believers do not have to go or belong to a local body of believers and an incomplete thought that believers of Jesus Christ are part of a universal church.
     Let me begin with the latter part of the issue.  There is no doubt there is a universal Church.  A church that is NOT set up by buildings or any material structure.  The word of God makes reference by saying such:

Ephesians 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

1 Peter 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:19-22  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;  (20)  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;  (21)  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:  (22)  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

     Provided the scriptures above it is already clear that while we as individuals make up part of the universal church, there is a strong indication that even we as individuals are bound together to make up a larger purpose.  

     So yes, we as believers enter a universal church bound together by Jesus Christ but scriptures make it very clear that we as individuals are called to part of a local body of believers (FITLY JOINED TOGETHER).  Let us consider the following:

     No Christian that ever came to Christ was an individual unto themselves.  In other words the bible makes it clear that Christians who came to Christ were baptized and then added to the Church.

Acts 2:41-47  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.  

Someone had to baptize them into the Church and someone had to do the counting.  Also note that they were ADDED UNTO "THEM."  This is a strong declarative sentence that there was some form of close possession or group.   They were added to a tangible, material and visual group.  

Those who also were added continued in the apostles TEACHING and FELLOWSHIP.

(42)  And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.  (43)  And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.  

     There were teachers who instructed, guided and taught the believers.  They belonged to a community of believers that shared and fellow shipped with one another.  They were not alone but a group.

  

     They also were TOGETHER and shared with one another.

(44)  And all that believed were together, and had all things common;  (45)  And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.  (46)  And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,  

     They were TOGETHER and continued daily in ONE ACCORD in SINGLENESS of heart.

People saw them together and the works that were happening because of their unity.

(47)  Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

     There was ADDITION to the Church DAILY.  Those that were saved were ADDED to the Church.  Not just some universal invisible group but a real tangible group of believers who shared, cared, taught and ministered together.     

     The text above gives us a clear EXAMPLE of what every believer should be doing when they come to Christ.  This example was placed to show us what Christ intended all believers to do and be.  Why then are people taught differently when we have such a clear and clean example of what believers did?  Why do people believe that being part of a local body of believers is not a NECESSARY part of the Christian Faith?  Where do people get the idea that God is OK with a believer not belonging to a local body of believers? 

Could you imagine if the scriptures said this:  Those who believe were baptized and then they went home.  They never met together, or gathered for fellowship.  They did not get taught anything for they relied on the Holy Spirit to teach them.  When someone was in need they had to figure it out.  They ate their meals by themselves and God kept bringing people to Christ to be just like them.

Of course not.  Such a story would be ludicrous and yet we have people teaching and preaching that that such a life in Christ is fine and permissible.  They believe that those who believe in Christ are part of a universal Church and do not have to be part of a local body of believers.  Such a teaching is false and has never ever been taught or even shown in scripture or even in the life of an early believer.  The Early Church held to the belief that anyone separate of the local body of believers has no part of God.

Cyprian of Carthage (240 A.D.) wrote:
   6. The spouse of Christ cannot be adulterous; she is uncorrupted and pure. She knows one home; she guards with chaste modesty the sanctity of one couch. She keeps us for God. She appoints the sons whom she has born for the kingdom. Whoever is separated from the Church and is joined to an adulteress, is separated from the promises of the Church; nor can he who forsakes the Church of Christ attain to the rewards of Christ. He is a stranger; he is profane; he is an enemy. He can no longer have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his mother. If any one could escape who was outside the ark of Noah, then he also may escape who shall be outside of the Church. The Lord warns, saying, He who is not with me is against me, and he who gathers not with me scatters. Matthew 12:30 He who breaks the peace and the concord of Christ, does so in opposition to Christ; he who gathers elsewhere than in the Church, scatters the Church of Christ. The Lord says, I and the Father are one; John 10:30 and again it is written of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, And these three are one. 1 John 5:7 And does any one believe that this unity which thus comes from the divine strength and coheres in celestial sacraments, can be divided in the Church, and can be separated by the parting asunder of opposing wills? He who does not hold this unity does not hold God's law, does not hold the faith of the Father and the Son, does not hold life and salvation.

     These thoughts and doctrines were taught throughout the scripture.  The apostles, bishops and church fathers knew that a Christian can in no way practice the Christian Faith outside the Local body of Believers.  Lets move on to other examples.

     One important point is to note that every epistle was written to Churches and/or the affairs of the Church.  Not universal church but individual churches.  If people were not part of the local church, how would they have gotten such instruction.  How would they have heard what God wanted of them? That is why when the Apostle wrote letters he wrote them to the Church because that is where all believers were.  Those who did not belong to the Church were not considered Christians.  Let us look at how the Apostles and Bishops began their letters in the Bible:  

Romans 1:7  To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

(1 Peter 5:13  The church that is at Babylon "ROME", elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.)  ROME HAD A CHURCH.

1 Corinthians 1:2  Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, 

2 Corinthians 1:1  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

Galatians 1:2  And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:

Ephesians 1:1  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

(Revelation 2:1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;) EPHESUS HAD A CHURCH

Philippians 1:1  Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:  (bishops and deacons were the leaders)

Colossians 1:2  To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (WHAT MADE THEM FAITHFUL?)

1 Thessalonians 1:1  Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1:1  Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

EVEN JESUS ADDRESSES CHURCHES IN REVELATIONS BY WRITING:

Revelation 2:1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

Revelation 2:8  And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

Revelation 2:12  And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

Revelation 2:18  And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

Revelation 3:1  And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

Revelation 3:7  And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

Revelation 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

     It is very clear that the letters written by the Apostles and Bishops were written to CHURCHES.  Instructions were given to groups of people.  These instructions were then taught to the people by Bishops, Pastors, Teachers, Deacons and such.  Instructions like, dwell in unity, love one another, provoke one another in love, encourage one another, sing with one another, pray for one another, submit to one another and many other ONE ANOTHER's.  How could this possibly happen if one is not part of a Local Body of Believers?

     The Bible also calls believers to be accountable saying things like:  Submit to those who have rule over you, to honor the elders who serve in the church, among other things.  If one does not belong to a local body, how can they be accountable?  Who do they answer to?  How are they taught?  How do they serve?  Who do they give to?  When they do good and help others the next questions I have is who are they glorifying?  Who are they truly helping?  How are they helping the work of Christ?  If I do not belong to a Church and lets say, I am a good person, believer in Christ and have a sincere love for God and I help someone.  How does my helping glorify God?  If such a person likes what I am doing and saying and then receives Christ as their Lord and savior, what are they to do now?  How am I to instruct such a person?  Do we then tell them just read the bible?  Do we tell them to just do good?  Where do they get fed, how are they taught and how do they grow without the Church?  Our work becomes VAIN and all a person has done is birthed something only to destroy it due to malnutrition.  Matthew 13 (Parable of Sower)

     I will not exhaust this any further but provide you a couple more scriptures:

         Hebrews 10:24-25  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:  (25)  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

     How can one be obedient to Hebrews 10:25 if they do not belong to a local body of believers?  Have they not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together?  Does one have communion by themselves, does one baptize themselves, does one give to themselves, does one love themselves?  A person who does not assemble under the Church can not truly follow the teachings of Christ and even fulfill what is written in Hebrews 10:25.

Again listen to what Jude writes about they who are dis joined,

Jude 1:19-20  These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.  (20)  But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

THE WORD SEPARATE THEMSELVES - apodiorizō - ap-od-ee-or-id'-zo means to disjoin (by a boundary, figuratively a party): - separate.

And again the apostle John writes,

1 John 2:19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

     In Conclusion,

     Many people will argue that there are a lot of problems in the Church.  That just because a person goes to church does not mean they are saved.  While much may be true, we do not throw out the baby with the bath water.  We have problems in our schools, in our work places and in our country but it never stops people from being taught or working or even staying in this country.

     God gave us each other because He knew that it is in the Church there is safety.  In numbers we can be held accountable, love, encourage and keep each other up.  God never intended believers to be alone or not be part of a local body of believers.  

Ephesians 4:11-13  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  (12)  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:  (13)  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

     God has a body.  This body is made up of many members.  These members are led by Pastors, Teachers and leaders.  These leaders bring the members in the Body into Unity.  A body that has members in unity to one another become a perfect man and receive the fullness found in Christ.  

     ANALOGY:  Christ is the TREE, The Branches on this TREE is the CHURCH.  The leaves on each branch are the MEMBERS in the CHURCH.  These separate branches are connected to the Same TREE.  A leaf by themselves can not survive and a leaf connected straight to the tree with no apparent branch is called a sucker branch.  They may take the nutrients from the Tree but truly produce or multiple no real fruit.  Such a branch is usually broken and removed from the tree so that the branches produce fruit.  

What fruit is produced from a person who does not belong to a Church?  A person who belongs to a Church can produce fruit and multiple 30, 60 and 100 fold.  

- Pastor Michael Salman

Bishop of the Alethian Christian Church     

*  P.S.  If you believe this article to be inaccurate please let me know how and what is inaccurate about it.  So that we may truly discuss any exceptions that I may have overlooked.  Going to Church does not save you, Christ does but he saved you to bring you into the Church so that you may remain saved and produce fruit and grow.  Unless you are on your death bed reading this nothing should stop you from being part of a local body of believers.  Be obedient and do the right thing.