Local Church Fallacies
We hear the refrain that church is unnecessary more frequently nowadays. The idea is that church is an optional club Christians can either choose to take part in or not, and going to church is a sort of side issue in the real business of following Jesus. Let’s briefly attempt to address some local church fallacies.
1. “Jesus wasn’t interested in the church”
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
- Matthew 16:18
It is well-known that the word “church” comes from the Greek ekklesia. Ekklesia is used in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, to describe the assembly of Israel, and later to describe Christian congregations. Jesus’s ministry envisioned his followers gathering together to teach, baptize, and take communion in memory of him (Matt 28:16-20). More than that, Jesus spoke explicitly about the church as the intended goal of his ministry, built upon the rock of Peter’s confession. It is given the authority to bind and loose, according to the teaching of Jesus (Matt 16:19).
2. “The church is optional for Christians”
“And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” - Ephesians 1:22-23
The church, far from being a side dish, is the main course of the New Testament. It is hard to imagine any of the New Testament from Acts onward without the local church. Even the Book of Revelation is addressed to the seven local churches (Rev 1:4). Nearly all the commands in the epistles are addressed to churches. The call to love one another, bear with one another, forgive one another, serve one another, carry one another’s burdens, etc. are all addressed to local congregations. From the church in Jerusalem to Antioch to Crete to your town, the church is how Christians live out their faith.
3. “All that matters is the universal Church”
“If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.”
- 1 Timothy 3:15
While it is true that there is one holy, universal, and apostolic Church (think capitol C), the members of this Church meet together in visible, local gatherings: the church in Corinth, the church in Ephesus, the church in Thessalonica, etc. The way we conduct ourselves in our actual gatherings is what upholds the Gospel of Truth to the world, like a pillar. In the Greek New Testament, ekklesia most commonly refers to a local congregation, and less often to the unified whole of Christianity.
4. “Church is anytime Christians get together”
“For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?”
- 1 Timothy 3:5
Christian fellowship is certainly not limited to one local church. We can enjoy unity with believers the world round. That said, simply getting together with other Christians is not the church. The New Testament envisions the church as a place where elders are appointed (Titus 1:5), the Word is preached (2 Tim 4:2), church discipline is enforced (1 Cor 5:4-5), and the ordinances are practiced (1 Cor 11:18). If there is a gathering of Christians in which all these things are practiced regularly with a group of committed Christian brothers and sisters, it’s a church. If not, it’s not a church.
5. “Church membership isn’t biblical”
“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”
- 1 Corinthians 12:27
The body imagery for the local church is a common one, where individuals make up members of that body. That is how I am using the word when I talk of church membership. This is not akin to membership at the local country club, or Sam’s Club; it is a committed, contributing and recognized part of the whole. If a church chooses to call its members something different, say, a “covenant partner” or a “committed brother or sister,” so be it.
Outsiders come into a church gathering (1 Cor 14:24), necessitating a group considered insiders. What is more, for a church to enact discipline, removing a part of the body, there must be a recognized body from which to be removed (Matt 18:17). Who is the “they” that chooses church leadership (e.g. Acts 6:5)? Certainly not anyone who happens to show up on a given day. Written rolls or not, the churches of the New Testament had members.
6. “The church is not about getting together”
“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
The context of this key passage in Hebrews is crucial. The author is addressing a congregation with saints who gather (13:24) and leaders to be obeyed (13:17). This gathering is not just friends hanging out for dinner, but the assembly of the saints at the direction of their shepherds. From the book of Acts onward, the local church is described as believers who meet. They addressed one another in song (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16) and with lessons (1 Cor 14:26), rightly handled the Word (2 Tim 2:15), and gave mission reports (Acts 14:27). Again, the very word ekklesia means assembly.
7. “The church isn’t important, the great commission is”
“So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”
- Ephesians 3:10
How important is the church in the mission of God? God makes known to humans and angels his manifold wisdom through the church! The gates of hell will not prevail against its advance. It is the pillar and buttress of the truth in a deceitful world. It is the bride of Christ being prepared for glory (Eph 5:27). The end goal of everything is to have Christ as head over all for the church (Eph 1:22-23).
As the late John Stott famously stated, “An unchurched christian is a grotesque anomaly. The New Testament knows nothing of such a person. For the church lies at the very center of the eternal purpose of God.” It would be hard to overemphasize the church’s role in the plan of God!
Rick Harrington is a pastor at First Baptist Church - Haverhill in Massachusetts and the Provost of the (upcoming) BCNE Multiplication Center. He is the author of the books "How to Find a Church: Seven Steps to Becoming Part of a Spiritual Family" and "The Weight of Preaching: Heralding the Gospel of Grace".