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Brian Cole: Church is Not Found in the Bible - Conclusion

Brian Cole: Church is Not Found in the Bible - Conclusion

So, this will end my Biblical summary as a biblical response to those who don’t think you need to go to church, or those who say “church isn’t in the bible.” As you can see by the last 3 articles, church, and going to church is biblical, and I haven’t even been “legalistic” and brought up the Hebrews verse yet! No fear, I will in this last installment!

I will end by saying that the Church or local community of believers is ESSENTIAL to our spiritual well-being. In the New Testament, there are no “Lone-Ranger” Christians. Believers need each other and God expected them to be there for each other. 

God has ordained that we play a vital part in each other’s faith. From Genesis 2:18 God tells us “It is not good that man should be alone.” Eccl. 4:9-12 says 2 are better than 1. And Hebrews 10”25, “Not to give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing…” 

Using the excuse of not getting along with others or certain people, or, I only need me, myself, and I, or, I don’t need others…IT IS NOT AN OPTION. This doesn’t mean only going to church, or only on Sundays… just gather together. God has a purpose for putting us together. 

Being part of the body is not without its difficulties and frustrations. Remember, any community is affected by sin. It can’t be otherwise since it is made up of sinners.

Nevertheless, we must not back away from the fellowship of the body. We must make an unwavering commitment to the body that no matter what, we need to be there for one another to deal with issues rather than walking away from them. Just as a family commitment, you don’t just walk away when things aren’t going your way, so we as a body are a family and need to support rather than fault find, bicker, and run when things get tough.

This can be likened to a group of porcupines that the philosopher Schopenhauer used to illustrate this point. “A group of porcupines were marooned one cold bitter night in the middle of a large frozen field. There was no way to escape the biting wind. They could not burrow into the frozen ground. As they huddled together to keep warm, their sharp quills began to pinch and hurt. The closer they moved together, the more the pain increased. Some of the animals could not bear the pain and drew apart to sleep. In the morning, they had frozen to death.”

In our humanness, there are times when we hurt each other and the tendency is to pull away and go it alone, or find another crowd thinking things will be different. We must resist this tendency.

We were created for community. The journey of faith is often trying, difficult and painful. Discouragement, relentless temptations, sins, ridicule, weaknesses, heavy burdens, unanswered questions, rejection… little wonder why God has given us the body. It is an unquestionably essential source of strength and guidance.

Eph. 2:19 reminds us that as a result of our relationship with Christ, “You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.”

Acts 2:42 says that the early believers “Devoted themselves to fellowship…” to the community of faith. Let us do likewise as we come to the Lord’s table.

Last Update: Jul 24, 2017 7:55 am CDT

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