The Local Church Matters
Preached by Jason Abbott
April 23, 2017
Imagine for a moment that we’re involved in a battle. We’re fellow officers over the same army which is fighting an evil and ruthless enemy.One afternoon we receive a startling briefing from our intelligence officers. There’s been a surprise attack, and our army will likely be thrown into confusion and total disarray unless a successful counterattack can be waged immediately. Moreover, our response will need to be united if it’s going to have a chance.So you and I pull out a map of the battlefield and begin to plot our response. Yet, every time you suggest we make an assault upon the enemy with our forces, rather than agree with you, I tell you that it’s best if our troops reoccupy the ground we’ve already taken. I pretend that there’s no real danger from this surprise attack. I simply want to ignore it.What will be the result? Disaster for us! Defeat for our side!Yet this morning, I don’t want to talk about hypothetical scenarios or battles. I want us to consider the real, yet unseen, spiritual battle which is raging around us at this very moment—a battle over the importance of the local church.An insightful Christian once wrote this:
If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the Word of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Him. Where the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battle front besides, is mere flight and disgrace if [the soldier] flinches at that point [of attack].1
Today we will not flinch. This morning I pray that we will charge precisely into the heart of this battle over the character of the local church—this struggle over its place in the Christian life. Some people act as if it’s not that important where or why or how often we go to church. They say, Take in the worship music over here, or listen to the preaching over there. Just come when you want to come. After all, it doesn’t really matter.But what if it does matter? Friends, I’m going to argue today that it matters. I’m going to argue that faithful participation in a local church is the primary way which God plans to craft you progressively into the image of Christ. To argue this, I’m going to show (1st) that services matter and (2nd) that separations matter. But, before we dig in, let’s begin by praying for God’s guidance.
1. Services matter (Hebrews 10:24-25).
What I mean by this is that, when the church assembles or gathers together, it’s worthwhile and important to try, if at all possible, to be there. Sunday services matter. Congregational meetings matter. Baptisms matter. Good Fridays matter. Church picnics matter. Small groups matter.Now it would be incredibly easy to just dismiss me—because I’m a pastor—by saying it only matters because I need my ego stroked: Like having more people around makes Jason feel more important. However, before you pigeonhole me, consider what the Bible says about the importance of these gatherings.In a passage of Scripture—dedicated to encouraging believers to persevere in the faith, to pursue Christlikeness over time—the author of Hebrews writes this:
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 . . . (Hebrews 10:24-25).
Football huddle
The author of Hebrews says, Getting together regularly really, truly matters. In fact, these meetings are so important that he commands us not to neglect them. Friends, it appears that—“Something more than individual effort is needed if love and good works are to be fostered [in us]”—if Christlikeness is to be crafted in us.2 We need regular fellowship in a local church to see such glorious attributes worked into our very being.Now don’t get me wrong when I say services matter, as if all that you need is perfect attendance on Sunday mornings and a few other times during each year, to be a good Christian. When I say services matter, that’s not what I mean.Perhaps it’s helpful to think about the importance of the regular gatherings of the local church in this way.What’s this picture? You all know it’s a football huddle, right?What happens in one of these? The team, of course, is given the play to run. If you’ve never been in one of these, there are also often a few specific exchanges between all the linemen and the halfbacks and the wide receivers and the tight ends as they coordinate their responsibilities during that play. They’re communicating so they can succeed—so they can perform in unity.Now suppose you’re on a football team, and a number of the players decide to begin regularly skipping the huddles. Maybe they complain the quarterback’s play-calling is dry and one dimensional. Or perhaps they think it’s too awkward standing right next to their teammates—they say it’s too crowded in those huddles. If this begins, what will happen? How will the team perform? Badly!Friends, the services of the local church are a lot like the football huddle. Believers gather together so as to dust one another off and encourage one another. They come to admit where they’ve failed and focus their attention on the next play, on what’s coming. They receive instructions and coordinate their responsibilities with one another. Finally, they break huddle and (hopefully!) perform in unity.Look, if you show up every single Sunday but that’s all church is to you—just services, just huddles—then your Christianity’s like a football game comprised of huddles only. Imagine that! Would anyone want to watch that or even play that? Huddle up . . . stand around . . . huddle up…stand around! What on earth is the point of that?! It’s lunacy without the execution of the plays!On the other hand, if you’re skipping huddles regularly, if that’s Christianity to you, then your faith may not be boring to watch, but it will be painful to watch. You’ll be a poorly trained, chaotic mess. And—please hear me when I say this!—your faith will look nothing like Jesus’ faith. For, though he was God in the flesh nevertheless he didn’t forsake the huddle. Just consider what Luke says about him. Luke records this about Jesus:
And [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day . . . (Luke 4:16).
Friends, what’s your custom? Is this your local church but you make it here on a Sunday or two a month? (I’m not talking to those who often work on Sundays. That’s not a custom. That’s a necessity. I’m not talking to you if you’re ill or sick and unable to make it every week. That’s not a custom.) You choose your customs. I’m talking to those who have a choice: How important are the weekly gatherings of this local Bride of Christ to you when you have a choice?Well, let’s move now to our second point.
2. Separations matter (1 Corinthians 12:14-17).
What I mean is, when you leave the local church, it matters to that church, and it matters to you. Breaking fellowship with a local church is a really big deal. It will hurt or wound that local body of believers, and it will hurt or wound you. (I’m not making this up.) Look at what Paul writes to one local church in Corinth. Speaking about the local fellowship, he warns them as well as us:
For the body [or the local church] does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? (1 Corinthians 12:14-17)
Let me begin by dispelling a myth. Paul’s not talking about the big-Church. Paul’s not talking about believers in Northern Ireland telling believers in Canada—We don’t need you. He’s not even talking about those from 1st Church of Corinth telling those from 2nd Church of Corinth—We don’t need you. Rather, Paul’s telling the members in a single, local congregation—You can’t say to each other: We don’t need you. Just think about that!When I was growing up, my grandparents went to a church in Jefferson City, Missouri every Sunday rain or shine. In the 1960’s, when they started attending, their church was a very solid choice—professing the Bible to be God’s Word, discipling men and women in Christlikeness, as well as practicing the ordinances of baptism and Communion in a biblically faithful manner. Over time, however, things began to change, and their church stopped practicing biblical Christianity. Nevertheless, my grandparents stayed—even when they shouldn’t have.Yet, that’s not our problem, is it. Today, rather than stay in a congregation which is theologically dead when we should really leave, we leave a congregation which is theologically alive when we should really stay. We leave local churches when it gets hard or boring or when we aren’t getting what we want.I asked Benjamin to brainstorm a list of reasons we’ve been given by those who’ve separated from the churches we’ve either attended or served over the years. Here’s just a sample with some pastoral commentary:
“We feel led to go to another church.” (Well, I’m feeling led to tell you that you should stay. So who’s right? What does the Bible say?)
“We feel hurt by someone in the church.” (Good luck finding a church where that won’t happen. And what about Christlike reconciliation?)
“No one called me when I was in need.” (Well, how connected were you? Did you let others know you had a need? Did you ask for prayer?)
“The leadership isn’t moving in the direction we feel they should move.” (Is that direction clearly unbiblical? What does leadership mean to you? Is it only good leadership if it’s done your way?)
“The church is changing.” (Well, if you mean going theologically wrong, then by all means go. But, if you mean growing in uncomfortable ways, then is the main purpose of a local church to make you feel comfortable? I’d argue that to challenge and change you is the church’s main purpose!)
Friends, how would you characterize the kind of pastor who regularly jumps from church to church—who is continuously on the lookout for a greener pasture in which to shepherd? What would you think of a pastor who is constantly looking for a cooler congregation or a more exotic location? Not highly, I’ll bet.Why is it then—in the local priesthood of all believers, in the local church—that we apply a different standard to the members of the church—like what’s good for pastors isn’t what’s good for congregants as well? I think we’ve bought a lie from our consumer culture! I think we’ve made the local church into marketplace for our ministry consumption!But what if the church wasn’t primarily meant to make you happy, but holy? What if holiness took hard work and sacrifice in intimate relationships over years or even decades? What if serving God means learning to forgive those in church who’ve stepped on your toes and hurt your feelings—as well as being forgiven when you do the same to them? What if hearing at the end of this life from God: Well done good and faithful servant! means fidelity to a local body of believers through changes that are often uncomfortable? Would holiness still be worth it?Friends, Jesus at the end of his earthly life prays for unity for his followers. He prays for unity so that the world may know that Christianity is real and true—so that unbelievers will know that there is transformation and salvation and peace with God through trust in Jesus. Where, however, will they see this transformation and salvation and peace besides in the local church?! And where is unity seen without commitment?! And where’s commitment without lasting relationships?! Friends, the local church matters! Don’t neglect it!
1
This has been widely attributed to Martin Luther but most likely wasn’t original to him. See
article for more concerning a similar quote from Luther.
2
Donald Guthrie,
Hebrews
, 215.
