Can We Be Disciples without Being in a Local Church?
There are many who profess to be Christians who do not participate in a local church. Some wear their aloofness as a kind of badge of honor keeping them above the pettiness and corruption of the church. Maybe it is because of a judgment lodged against their previous church’s wrong priorities, values, or traditions. But probably most often pain is the reason. Many have been hurt, some quite significantly, by church leaders or members. At the root of many people’s going it alone is a deeply embedded determination that no one is going to tell them what to do. They are living in clear opposition to Christ’s teachings, but do not want to be held accountable. Whatever the case, there is a multitude of people who call themselves Christians but do not attend or consider themselves to be part of a local church. This is not good.
I think we can agree that becoming a child of God has nothing to do with church membership. Going to church cannot make one a Christian. Placing our faith in Christ and his finished work on the cross and submitting to his Lordship is what opens the door to our being included in the family of God. God has no grandchildren; so, we cannot claim membership in the family of God just because our parents were believers or we attend a church. Each individual must engage the Spirit for him or herself and be born again spiritually.
Faith is a very personal thing when it comes to the new birth; but, our life as believers also has a corporate aspect. Faith is not merely a matter of surrendering to Christ and believing the promises of the gospel: what we believe must be lived for it to be real, and this is where we need the local church. We grow stronger by associating with those who instruct, encourage, and challenge us to follow Christ and his teachings.
Even though it is possible for a person to come to know Christ without belonging to a local church, I believe very strongly that it is impossible to be a disciple that way. God created us to be dependent upon him and interdependent with one another. Any attempt to “go it alone” is rebellion against God’s created order.
Adam’s and Eve’s first sin was to try to do life without reference to God. This is the most fundamental sin of humanity – a prideful and arrogant demand to call our own shots, or, as Frank Sinatra so famously sang, we want to live “my way.” In the Genesis account it was not long before “doing it my way” resulted in murder. Evil grew stronger the more humans selfishly and independently pursued their own agendas. The beat still goes on, even among people who claim to be followers of Christ. True repentance means we turn away from doing life independently and embrace God’s plan for humble interdependence.
During times of confusion, disunity, and unrest in Israel in the times of the judges and kings, disgruntled Israelites would disavow any connection with appointed authority figures saying, “Every man to his own tent,” meaning “do your own thing.” Unity is one of the most precious results of our properly following the Holy Spirit’s lead in a corporate setting, like the local church. Disunity results when we go it alone, seeking our own way. Where there is disunity, all manner of evil takes up residence, and, if we are not connected to people who will lovingly confront us, we will continue in that vein to our own loss and shame. We need each other.
Paul used the analogy of the human body to describe how church members are to view and relate to one another. Even though each part of the body has a different function, each is precious and needed. We can live without some parts of our body, but there is always sorrow when we lose some part we were designed by God to have. The body operates as a unit directed by its “head.” The church functions in the same way. It would be odd for a few body parts to suddenly leave with the intention of going it alone. Likewise, the church needs every part.
When we opt out of the local church, we reveal that we have an independent spirit. Life has a way of sorting us out and revealing what is inside us.
Have you ever heard someone say, “I love God, it’s just people I don’t like?” It is humorous line with which we can all identify, but the Bible clearly teaches us that our love for people actually reveals whether or not we love God.
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 1 John 4:20 (NASB)
Just as absentee parents have difficulty in communicating how much they love their children, absentee church members cannot express their love for the body in practical ways, nor can they receive as they should. Absence does not make the heart grow fonder in this case. Rather it cuts us off from the ones we should be loving and from whom we should be receiving love. If we have difficulty with people, it just shows how much work needs to be done in our lives, and that work cannot happen if we are out of relationship with the people God has put into our lives to help us.
And what will happen to us if we go “off the rails” and have no one to correct us? When we remove ourselves from regular contact with people who can speak the truth in love to us, we set ourselves up to be deceived. None of us are immune to the tricks and traps of the devil. We need one another to bring correction, balance, and sometimes discipline. Discipline is one of the most important functions of the church, but it is one to which we do not like to submit. Without discipline, however, we will not mature and learn obedience.
And what about the nurturing aspect of the body? God has placed apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers in the church to feed the sheep and help them grow to maturity. When we isolate ourselves, we cut ourselves off from this ministry and opt for stunted growth. Some might argue that it is possible to hear all sorts of great teaching via various media. But Paul warns us of the importance of knowing and being known by those who minister to us.
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. Hebrews 13:17 (NASB)
We cannot know a person will enough to properly “shepherd” them from long distance. That can only happen when we do life together in the context of a local church. The Holy Spirit works through the various people and ministries in the local church to care for and encourage us.
Guidance and protection are two other functions of the local church. Pastoral input can preserve us from much harm and wasted energy. Good leadership does not seek to “lord it over” our faith. Instead its purpose is to confirm, guide, and protect. If we remove ourselves from the “umbrella of protection” provided by being properly related to church authority as vested in the pastor and elders, we once again set ourselves up to suffer. The devil, like a wolf, always goes after the sheep who are straying from the flock. Don’t be one of them. Get back with the group. Remember: the banana that stays with the bunch doesn’t get peeled.
In conclusion, separating ourselves from the local church reveals that we are self-seeking and independent.
One who has isolated himself seeks his own desires; he rejects all sound judgment. Proverbs 18:1 (NET1)
Instead, let us forgive past offenses, put aside our differences, repent of our selfish independence, and embrace the God-given provision of the local church. We can be a very important part of the whole, receive ministry, grow, and participate in the church’s mission to go and make disciples. Otherwise, our story may become a sad footnote referencing how our great potential was wasted because we were determined to go it alone. Remember: we can be a Christian alone, but not a disciple.
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