Do I have to Go to Church to be a Christian?
October 29, 2010 by Phill Marsh
Filed under Blog
I was recently asked this question by one of the young people here at Firwood Church. It is by no means the first time that I have been asked it in one form or another, and I am sure it will not be the last. Just how essential is ‘going to Church’ to being a Christian? If someone doesn’t go to church, does that mean that they are in fact not a Christian?
It’s a tricky question, because we know that we are not saved by anything that we do (our good works, in which category we may include ‘going to church’), but by Grace, through faith as Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
However, I would question why someone who claimed to follow Jesus would not have a love for something that Jesus loves so much.
Jesus is all about the Church. He:
- obtained it with his own blood (Acts 20:28)
- sits as head over it (Ephesians 1:22)
- loves it (Ephesians 5:25)
- gave himself up for it (Ephesians 5:25)
- is coming back for the Church, to present her perfect and spotless as His bride (Ephesians 5:27)
- cherishes it (Ephesians 5:29)
In the gospels, we see Jesus speaking to Peter and telling him that He (Jesus) is going to build His Church (Matthew 16:18). It’s not just some additional idea that we have thought up. God’s plan has always been for the Church. In fact, in Ephesians 5 Paul says that marriage, which was initiated in the beginning of creation (Genesis 2:24), is a picture of Jesus and the Church (Ephesians 5:29-33).
The Church was God’s plan right from the beginning.
The Bible is clear that we become part of the Church when we become Christians (1 Corinthians 12:13), but what does that mean? Could it be viewed as being on some kind of heavenly membership list, but not necessarily being together in a particular place and time each week?
There is just no room for that in scripture.
Hebrews 10:23-25 calls for Christians to not stop meeting together. The Church is supposed to meet together, with worship, teaching, communion, baptism, and leadership. All this is found in scripture.
Why should we meet together? Well, apart from the fact that the Bible just told us to (which should be enough), the Bible also makes clear why this is the case:
Christians in the church…
- help other Christians stay strong during difficult times (Heb 10:23-25)
- encourage love and good works in other Christians (as above)
- build up each other with the different gifts God has given (1 Corinthians 14:12)
- make up the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23, 1 Corinthians 12:13)
- all have unique and purposeful roles in the church (1 Corinthians 12:12-26)
- suffer with each other in difficulty, comfort each other, and share joy with each other (1 Corinthians 12:26)
- are built up TOGETHER to be a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer acceptable spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus (1 Peter 2:5)
- glorify God (Ephesians 3:10 – this verse is talking about the angels. God shows them His glory through his work in the Church – this is incredible!)
… and so much more.
In summary of this short post, I would like to highlight four key points:
1. Jesus loves the Church. If we claim to be like Jesus, but hate his Church, or even just aren’t bothered with it, there is something wrong (compare this to ‘hating a brother’, which John speaks about in 1 John 2:9).
2. Jesus is coming back for his Church (Revelation 19:6-10). If we do not belong to it, where do we think we stand?
3. We need the Church. It is God’s plan for us, to help us grow and keep us faithful.
4. The Church needs us. It is God’s plan for the Church, that he would uniquely gift us and position us so that we can serve and build up other Christians.
So, can you be a Christian and not go to Church? I’d ask why a Christian would not want to.
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**This blog post accompanies a sermon preached by Phill Marsh at Firwood Church on 24th October 2010. To download or listen to the podcast of this sermon, click here.**
Great post, Phill. Loved it!
Good post, I realise its a short post (my comments will probably be shorter) but also looking at what the word ‘church’ means would help us work through this question.
My understanding of the original text is that is literally interpreted as ‘gathering’ or ‘religious gathering/ assembly’ and the word assembly in the bible is only ever used in reference to a distinct people, or heavenly, group. So I don’t think it would be stretching the word, although slightly off topic, to say that the church should be distinct, different and cohesive to those outside of it and inside of it (I could write a lot more on this but just don’t have the time).
Though the actual word we translate as church (ekklesia) is built of two sources ‘ek’ [out] + ‘kaleo’ [calling/ to be called], so at its most primitive the words has routes in and would have been understood historically as (when used to reference a group of people) those ‘outcalled’ or ‘called out’, to which I would add by God, though we are certainly back in the realms of a distinctive group.
Could we say this another way? Is the church a ‘gathering’ of those ‘called out’… by God?
I support congregational Church (and am active in the one I attend) and believe the New Testament model of house church’s and local gatherings set precedent for meeting as ‘congregations’ or as ‘those called by God’, so do not misinterpret my following comments…
Church is more than a building or <> persee. I think all of Phil’s points are correct (from my humble opinion…) but I would expand them to include that:
• When you become a Christian you become part of the Church. Period.
• Christians are ‘those called out by God’. Full Stop.
• The church is Christians (bad grammar I know, but couldn’t think of a better way to put it). The End.
I would then say that each member of this church, and yes that’s means you if you are a Christian, needs to fulfil the model that the bible sets for church life (which Phil covers well above), being the life of those called out by God. Part of that is finding a local group of believers or assembly/ congregation to commit to and Serve.
The bible (and I am assuming here that you view it as God’s Word) does not give us a model of isolated faith (except for a very few and very specific callings).
So there is a lot more I could say (and I’m sure Phil could) but if I don’t start doing some work soon I might get fired, but to finish on Phil’s Question…
Can you be a Christian and not go to Church? If you are a Christian you are the Church.
Draw closer to God and Live like it.
Be Distinct.
Be called out.
Thanks for your comments.
To the cool person above (I’m not sure who you are!), I wouldn’t really disagree with what you have written. I fully believe that Christians ARE the Church – not some building somewhere. You hit the nail on the head when you recognised that this is a short post, and not a full dissertation!
When you become a Christian, you become part of the Church (1 Cor 12:13), which I did briefly touch on in the original post.
I have felt the awkwardness of decribing what we do on a Sunday as ‘going to Church’, as I know that this fits strangely with then saying that the Church is not a building. However, the word ekklesia implies being called out to a gathering – it can be applied as the name for the body of Christ globally, or it can mean a specific meeting of Christians together for worship.
Here, I was trying to answer those that would take ‘Christians ARE the Church’ to the wrong extreme; those who say that we don’t need to meet together (and all that that entails).
That being said, your comment certainly deals with the equally damaging idea that going to some building each week makes you part of the Church…
…Oh, and yes, the Bible is God’s Word.