“OF ALL QUESTIONS I’M ASKED ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN FAITH, THE ONE THAT COMES UP THE MOST IS – ‘WHAT’s SO IMPORTANT ABOUT GOING TO CHURCH?’”

 I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about the place and plan of God for every Christian that involves the local gathering together of believers in what is called the local church…

…You know today more than four out of five Americans call themselves Christians, but do you know that less than half of them attend church services in any given week? In fact recent statistics show that church attendance is down over the last half a century. Many people today see little relevance to the worship services held in most churches in our land. What's wrong with the Church today? Why is it not making a greater impact upon our world?" Why do so many professing believers in God, find no relevant place for the local church in their lives? Well, we’ll look into this after we pause one more time to listen to this…

… In my opening statement I asked "What's wrong with the Church today? Why is it not making a greater impact on our world? Is the Church dying?" Well recently, George Barna, the Christian pollster wrote a new book, called “Revolution,” based on his latest statistics of the pulse of church. This new work has become created a flurry of protests because of its conclusions.

According to researcher George Barna, we're in the midst of a "spiritual revolution of some 20 million people. These people who claim to be Christians are reshaping Christianity, personal faith, corporate religious experience, and the moral contours of the nation."

Unlike the Great Awakenings, of past centuries which brought people into the church, this new movement of the 21^st century, "entails drawing people away from reliance upon a local church into a deeper connection with and reliance upon God." Already "millions of believers have stopped going to church." George Barna expects that in the next 20 years, "only about one-third of the population will rely upon a local congregation as the primary or exclusive means for experiencing and expressing their faith." Down will go the number of churches, donations to churches, and the cultural influence of churches.

Again we must ask - "what's wrong with the church? Why are so few of today's generation being attracted to it? Has the Church failed to meet their spiritual needs?" For starters, if one examines a majority of American churches today they will find some real answers. Many of them have a confused theology and a lack of serious commitment to biblical truth, as experience oriented teaching and ministry has replaced the old fashioned teachings of the Bible. In addition, it seems that the traditions of the past have “all” been junked, by these Christians, in favor of new and popular "secularized" worship schemes and ministry, if any at all.

It appears to me this newest generation has lost its way and identity, when it comes to being a true part of the authentic Church of Jesus Christ . As such, I meet more and more people these days, professing to be Christians mind you, who say they can be "good" Christians without being a part of a local church. But I submit to you my friend, they are wrong, seriously wrong and more they are spiritually disobedient to Jesus Christ, the One they claim to know and follow. Therefore today I want to talk with you about the value of “the local Church” of Jesus Christ and why it is still important to everyone who claims the name of Christ.

We need to answer those who ask: “Why go to Church and be a part of its daily organization?” “Why be financially supportive and surrendered to its leadership?” Here are five reasons why every believer in Jesus Christ should consider being an active faithful partner in a local Bible believing church:

1. JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISHED ONLY ONE EARTHLY ORGANIZATION FOR THE PROPAGATION OF HIS GOSPEL.

This organization is called the "universal Church," found tangibly in organized groups of gathered believers, known as the local church. Friend, if you read the entire New Testament you will find that every letter, every book is written not to individual Christians, but to the organized and gathered groups of believers called the local church. The Spirit of God was interested in growing God's people who were “gathered together,” not scattered sheep on a hillside. Paul the great New Testament apostle writes in,

1 Cor 1:2 (NIV) "To the church of God in Corinth , to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together…"

Gal 1:1-2 (NIV) "Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ… to the churches in Galatia :"

Col 1:1-2 (NIV) "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus… 2 To the holy and faithful [brethren] in Christ at Colosse…"

Rev 1:4 (NIV) "… to the seven churches in the province of Asia : Grace and peace to you.."

Without any doubt, one can see, the entire New Testament was written by God, to those who were “gathered together” in the name of Jesus Christ to do His will. That gathered institution is the universal Church of Jesus Christ known as the organized local assembly of believers. The Lord Jesus went on to say.

Mat 16:18 (NIV) "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

Mat 28:18-20 (NIV) … "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.""

Acts 2:41 (NIV) "Those who accepted his [gospel] message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."

Acts 2:47 (NIV) [These gathered saints were ]"praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

Indeed it appears 20 million Christians today are asking: “Why be a member of a local Church, and a contributing part of it?” The answer is because the “gathered church,” alone, is God's ordained place where God wanted all work for the kingdom to be generated from.  Now just what is a church? Is it a building, a specific place or certain denomination? The answer is none of these.

Biblically, a church "is a group of born again believers, identified with Christ, and organized with Spirit appointed leaders in the biblical offices called pastors, elders and deacons, all committed together to the ministry of the Word of God." And this exactly what you find in the New Testament when it speaks about the church, for it almost always refers to a specific local church. Thus, it is my conviction that God's main instrument, for carrying out His kingdom work in every age including the 21^st century, is the local church. Sadly the newest adult Christians today have neglected this to a great degree and failed to be accountable to it, but nonetheless that is the standard of the local churches work and ministry.  Now the second reason to be a functioning part of a local church is,

2. EVERY BELIEVER IS FASHIONED BY GOD, TO BE A WORKING PART OF A BODY OF PEOPLE!  

In saving us, God has placed us into His Body the invisible Church, but that part of the body is to be seen, experienced, and felt. A new social order is God's plan for this world. The church while it waits for Heaven, is to be a tangible part of the world in which it exists. Paul reminds us over and over again.

Rom 12:5 (NIV) "so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."

1 Cor 12:27 (NIV) "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."

Eph 4:16 (NIV) "From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

You see, we who are believers in Christ, all belong to each other! No Christian has the right to keep himself or herself aloof from the rest of the Body. To do so is sin, and destructive to you and the others as well. To stay away from faithful participation in a local Bible believing church then is to be a rebellious sheep, whom the Lord will in time chasten. Better to be obedient and experience His blessings rather than the opposite for disobedience. Now a third reason why every believer should be joined and involved regularly in a local church is,

3. GOD HAS COMMANDED EVERY BELIEVER TO PERSONALLY & COPORATELY, WORSHIP AND SERVE HIM!

We are told in the Bible that our worship involves our personal activity and commitment in a group setting. We cannot really worship God alone on the golf course, or fishing on the lake, or at Starbucks, or snoozing under a paper in our easy chair on Sunday mornings. All who do are AWOL from the Lord's Church, and claiming to be children of God, they dishonor the Word of God. We read in,

Rom 12:1 (NIV) "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship."

You see, the Bible says spiritual worship is really the “offering of ourselves to God” and to other believers for Christ's sake. In Barna’s book, “Revolution,” he illustrates with two fictional characters that’ve "eliminated church life from their busy schedules." Why? Because, they did not find a ministry "that was sufficiently stimulating" and "their church, although better than average, still seems flat." Too bad for the lowly local church that people today insist on having "unique, highly personalized church experiences."

However, this is not a criterion for staying away. God commands you to be there not to first “get,” but to first “give - yourself to God and the brethren.” Again we read of this in the Bible,

2 Cor 8:5 (NIV) "… they [the Corinthian believers] gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.

God wants every believer to offer himself to serve the body of Christ. We do this by offering our talents, treasures and spiritual gifts of service. Paul told the people of God’s local organized churches,

Rom 12:10 (NIV) "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."

Gal 6:2 (NIV) "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

Eph 5:21 (NIV) "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

Heb 3:13 (NIV) "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness."

One cannot give themselves to others in the Body, unless they are a part of a local fellowship of believers. And of course, God has planned our greatest joy and satisfaction will come, when we learn to do this. But now there's a fourth reason why every believer should be a part of a local church.

4. GOD HAS COMMANDED EVERY BELIEVER, TO BE A WORKING PART OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE SYSTEM HE DEMANDS FROM THOSE WHO ARE HIS OWN.

Now worship is not sitting in a pew listening to performers, entertainers, or lectures. Worshipping the one true God involves a three-fold process that can only be accomplished in the atmosphere of an assembly of the saints. Worship by its very nature involves what we call "celebration, instruction and response." We celebrate the goodness of God, the majesty of God, the mercy of God, and the grace of God, together with our Christian brothers and sisters by singing praises to God's name, offering up joyful testimony of who God is and what He has done for us, and praying together for God's will to be carried out in our lives and the world at large. Only by being together for this main purpose can God be best glorified.

Secondly, we worship by placing ourselves under the instruction of God's Word, by His Spirit equipped and appointed men of God. The early church when it was first founded reveals this for we read,

Acts 2:42 (NIV) "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

All true believers willingly place themselves under the teaching and authority of the Word of God through the instruction of God's pastor/teachers in the local church. Now one can be instructed in personal Bible study, even today by the wonders of electronic media, but it’s not like personally being there in the assembly of the local saints. There, God especially talks to a congregation. You know as a pastor, having served in a number of previous churches, well I save my messages perhaps to be preached again, but do you know what I've found? When I've gone over them in a different local setting, I've keenly discovered that when I prepared them, God was speaking through me to a particular congregation. The messages, if unaltered and not reworked extensively, usually didn't fit the congregation I was now serving. The emphasis, and the spiritual temper were geared especially and uniquely to the people of the day in which I prepared the message. This is why I rarely if ever preach pre-packaged old messages. God simply won't have them, He has new and fresh things to say to His people today, gathered to worship Him every Lord's Day!

But now, worship is one more thing too. Worship involves "response." Or, as the Bible calls it -- "repentance." In worship, we surrender ourselves to God's Word of instruction, but in the process we open ourselves to change, as God would teach and lead. We find we do not truly worship until we hear God's Word and respond to it by faith. Oft times it requires a painful process to say before the Lord - "I've sinned, I've broken your commandments, I've been unloving, dishonest, selfish, cruel, mean, abusive, arrogant, immoral, and worst of all - I've been complacent, uncaring, indifferent to what touches your heart O’ God. Here I am  -- Cleanse me!"

Yes, you have only really worshipped when you have responded to God's Word as the Spirit of God leads us freshly in each worship experience and setting. Therefore any preacher or teacher "worth his salt," will not close a message from God without an opportunity for God's people to respond. Whether it be  -- “altar calls,” or personal moments of reflection, commitment and prayer - God's people must be given an opportunity to respond to the voice of God that speaks from His Word. Such an atmosphere rarely affords itself outside the assembly of the saints. Now lastly for today -- every true believer should be a part of a local church because,

5. BEING INVOLVED IN A LOCAL CHURCH IS THE GREATEST DETERRANT OF A SELF-CENTERED LIFE!

God has placed the local church in operation, so every believer will not continue to be infected by the “individualistic” self-centered spirit of the age. Independence is not God's plan for a believer, rather “inter-dependence upon each other.” It is very easy for a Christian to begin thinking of God and His or her relationship in terms of oneself. God doesn't want that. This is why churches often struggle with relationships, and why it is often so hard to be or stay together. Our sinful selfish souls demand personal attention and acclaim, but God says real joy doesn't come from others serving us, and conforming to our will, but the opposite. Paul writes,

Rom 12:2 (NIV) "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."

The pattern of this world is that self-centered, "me, me, I, I, my, my" that God wants to work out of the sinful heart of every believer. Only in the ministry, fellowship and service of a local Bible-believing church can this process of conforming to Christ be truly done. There we learn to confront others who are not walking rightly with God, but there also we learn to be confronted, by others who see our sins and shortcomings.

This, my friend, is the meaning and value of the local assembly of God's people. Ever true Christian should be accountable to some Bible believing church, a local assembly in the community in which he or she lives. If you have the opportunity to choose between two or more good churches, well and good, but remember there is no perfect church. It is your input as you are yielded to Christ, which makes it "better or worse."

Now many Christians today drift from church to church when they are personally offended, unhappy, or are unrecognized. Others, in place of the church, get heavily involved in some Para-church organizations, or simply go it alone, but that is not God's will. One day such people will find rather than the Lord's blessing for their labors, God's chastening words for disobedience and failure to obey His great command. The Bible says clearly in the Old and the New Testament,

Psa 50:5 (KJV) "Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."

Heb 10:25 (NIV) "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day [Christ's return] approaching."

May God give us all, a new perspective on the value of the local organized church, and may these ominous statistics George Barna reports in his newest book, “REVOLUTION” be changed and turned around. May every true believer see a new importance for the local church, and may we make our personal and family commitment to serve the Lord there faithfully till He comes in glory. Joshua of all said it best,

Josh 24:15 (NIV) "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve … But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.""

Those who are truly saved by God's grace, will be those who follow Christ and His Word. They will obey His plan and purpose for His children in this age of grace and become a tangible part of a local Bible-believing assembly of the saints. And, in love and gratitude for His wonderful gift of salvation and life eternal, there they will serve gloriously, faithfully, nobly, and sacrificially till the Lord Jesus Himself triumphantly returns in glory. So friend, in the light of this we must live, labor and love. Amen.

---

·         Radio talk #0906

·         Broadcast date: February 26, 2006

·         Speaker: Dennis L. Finnan, Commentator

·         Program: The World, the Word & You! Radio Broadcast

·         Address: P.O. Box 60033 Grand Junction, CO 81506

---

The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures. A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request. These weekly radio commentaries are not exhaustive studies of any particular subject due to the time limit of broadcasting. Actual broadcasts can be heard in selected areas around the nation, as funding provides. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for over 25 years, and serves as General Director.

* These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are actual audio radio messages on CD's, and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of recent messages is available upon request also.

---

Want to Help?

If you've been blessed and encouraged by these messages, you can help keep them on the Internet. Below is a secure link to PayPal, a way to donate through the Internet to this Christian Radio Broadcast. We are a faith ministry depending totally upon the love gifts of friends like you. Please consider a donation today of any amount. Or you can use the snail mail address at bottom left to write to us. God bless you.

---

* DISCLAIMER: PLEASE READ - By printing, downloading, or using you agree to our full terms. Review the full terms at the following URL: http://www.wwy.org/disclaimer.htm. Below is a summary of some of the terms. If you do not agree to the full terms, do not use our information. We only publish the talks of Dennis L. Finnan, who does not claim to be an author but a compiler of related information. Such information may have errors or in time be outdated. Some information is from historical, spiritual and biblical sources or represents opinions of the author. It is for edification and research purposes only. The information is "AS IS", "WITH ALL FAULTS". User assumes all risk of use, damage, or injury. You agree that we have no liability for any damages. We are not liable for any consequential, incidental, indirect, or special damages. You indemnify the World, the Word & You! and Dennis L. Finnan for all claims caused by you and your use of these articles.

Visit us at our radio website:  www.wwy.org