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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHURCH “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Eph. 5:23-32) I want to spend some time dealing with the importance of the church. There are times when we have to miss church, but it should never become a habit and it should never cease to bother us when it has to happen. In our opening text, Paul made a pretty big deal about the church, not just Christians individually, but Christians collectively in a holy, blood-washed, called-out assembly called “the church.” Just as a man’s bride is important to him, the church is important to Christ, and we should never be so careless as to undervalue its importance. The word “church” is found eighty times in the Bible, and the word “churches” is found thirty-seven times. That’s a big deal. You can’t find that many references to the Virgin Birth and the Bodily Resurrection of Christ combined! That’s 117 mentions! Yet, some Christians have the silly idea that their healthy relationship with God can be maintained without any involvement with the church. “I’m saved,” they’ll say, “and that’s the main thing. God can direct my life without a preacher and church people.” More and more people are starting to think that way, and it’s straight from hell, because God placed a heavy emphasis on the importance of the church in the life of the Christian. I recall witnessing to a certain young lady who said, "I’m a Christian, but I don’t always go to church.” I smiled and replied with, “You mean like a soldier who doesn’t join the army or a ball player who doesn’t join the team?” You could see the shame just blushing all over her face. She knew very well that she was in the wrong, that she was betraying her Lord and her people for a few worldly pleasures and conveniences. People KNOW that Christians belong in close association with the church. They might not admit it or practice it, but they know it, and when challenged on the issue, they have no valid arguments. The Bible is just too clear about the issue. Alright, get Matthew 16:18: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Notice that Jesus spoke of HIS church. He could have said, “Upon this rock I will build strong Christians,” but He didn’t. He said that He would build His CHURCH, a collective body of believers in an assembly. It must be important to Jesus, else He would have worded it differently. He spoke of BUILDING and PRESERVING “my church,” not individual Christians separate from the church. Look at Matthew 18:17: “And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” Well, how do you intend to obey that command without being faithful to the church? You can’t “tell it to the church” if you aren’t going to church! You see, it is assumed that the Christian will be a regular part of a local New Testament assembly. Acts 2:47 will be our next stop: “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” He didn’t just save a bunch of people; He ADDED THEM TO THE CHURCH! Christians belong IN THE CHURCH. Just as the Israelites were a “peculiar treasure” unlike all the other nations, the church is God’s treasure, a pearl of great price, and God wants all believers to be a part of His church, His team, His army. Next, get Acts 11:26: “And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” Now, look at that. That’s the first mention of “Christians” in the New Testament, and they are assembled with the church. They aren’t just saved and maintaining a personal relationship with God like some folks today claim to be doing; they are also maintaining a relationship with the church. Acts 20:28 is also instructive: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” See that? Christians make up a “flock,” and that flock is to be FED by overseers who are led by the Holy Ghost. No freelance Rambo stuff going on, just faithful Christians regularly coming together and submitting to the preaching and teaching of God’s word. Let’s grab a couple in Romans, chapter 16, verses 1 and 5: “I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea” Phebe wasn’t just a servant; she was a servant “of the church.” The Lord’s work was centered around the church, and she was a part of it. That’s how you serve God, through the work of the church. Then verse 5 says, “Likewise greet the church that is in their house . . .” He didn’t say to greet this or that believer without mentioning the church. The church IS the believers collectively, and Paul respected that. Let’s see a few in I Corinthians. The first is I Corinthians 4:17: “For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.” That’s Timothy he’s talking about, and Timothy was the pastor of a church. Then he said that he teaches like Timothy “every where in every church.” He didn’t speak of teaching separate from the church, but IN the church. That’s God’s plan, and those who ignore it, be they teachers or students, are going to be sorry at the Judgment Seat of Christ. I Corinthians 10:32: “Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:” See that? That says the church is one of the three major classes of people on earth. How can you ignore that? How can you make light of something that God mentioned well over 100 times in His word? The other two classes, the Jews and the Gentiles, are both lost, and God doesn’t even acknowledge the saved apart from the church itself. I Corinthians 12:27-28: “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” We are members of a BODY, not individuals separate from the body. A Christian that tries to function without the church is like a hand or foot trying to function without the rest of the human body. That’s insane! No one believes that, and no one should think that a Christian can get along spiritually without the local church. After all, it’s in the local church that one benefits from the variety of spiritual gifts that God gives to the church for edification. Hebrews 2:12: “Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.” How will you obey that one, if you don’t attend church? Now a more familiar one, Hebrews 10:25: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Look at that! He specifically addresses the issue of people skipping church! He says we ought to be exhorting one another, and we can’t do that, if we never get together. Then he adds a bit of context to the command: “as ye see the day approaching.” He’s saying that one of the flaws of end-time believers will be to neglect the local assembly. He says for us to NOT do what others are doing, but to do what God commands. Alright, a couple from Revelation. First, Revelation 1:1-2: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.” It says that the Lord wants to show these things unto His “servants.” Who is that? Who are the Lord’s servants? Verse 11: “Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.” He didn’t say to make ten thousand copies and send them to individual believers all over. He said to send the book to the seven CHURCHES. If the believers are doing what they are supposed to be doing, then they’ll get the messages because they will be IN THE CHURCHES when the messages are read. Like it or not, Jesus Christ works through His church. Okay, one more, and we’ll be done. Revelation 22:16: “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” Where does the Lord testify? IN THE CHURCHES! He doesn’t neglect the local assembly by going to the homes of all the believers instead and meeting with them there. For the standard worship and work of the ministry, it is IN THE CHURCHES that the Lord is found. Christ loved the church and GAVE Himself for it, yet some folks want nothing to do with the church, and they honestly think that’s okay? I doubt that. I think they know better, and they just need to be reminded. Hopefully, some of the Scripture covered in this study will serve that purpose. Active involvement in a sound, Bible-believing church is one of the greatest things you can accomplish in your life, and neglecting church is one of the dumbest things you can do. If you are not presently an active part of good, KJV, old-fashioned, missions-minded church, then you are not pleasing God and you are not prepared to meet God. Stop kidding yourself and find a good church.