Deutero Q

What should our attitude be toward the church, the people of God? First of all, we should recognize that the Bible has a high view of the church. Many people have a take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward church life, but the Bible says Christ loves His church and died for it (Eph. 5:25). Should we take lightly that for which Christ died?

Scripture says, "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 approaching" (Heb. 10:25). This verse is part of a larger passage of Scripture that includes an exhortation to draw near to God. It is then that the biblical writer refers to Christians meeting together. Both are very important--drawing near to God and drawing near to God's people!

It has been my experience as a pastor that whenever people start withdrawing from corporate church life their spiritual life suffers; it is not long before they begin growing cold toward the things of God. It is vitally important to remember, with regard to church life, that Christianity is personal but not private; when the Lord saves sinners He places them into community--the church. "For we were all baptized by one Spirit," the Bible says, "into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink" (1 Cor. 12:13).

God is triune in nature, existing as one God in three Persons. Consequently, there is communion among the Persons of the Godhead. And of course communal life is to characterize the people of God.

Certainly the Bible has much to say about community, a concept that is sometimes lost in our American setting, where individualism is so strongly emphasized. Consider, for example, how many of the New Testament books were written to communities of faith rather than to individuals. Consider, too, how frequently we interpret verses in an individual sense, often forgetting their corporate context. For instance, Rev. 3:20 is often quoted to urge sinners to accept Christ, when the context has nothing to with individual salvation but is instead an invitation to let Christ be part of the Laodicean church!

The corporate nature of Christianity cannot be gainsaid. The psalmist said, "Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together" (Ps. 34:3). Togetherness characterized the early church, as Acts 2:42-47 reveals.

Peter described Christians in these terms: "You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5). Christians are "spiritual stones" being built together into a house. Thus, a Puritan minister named Joseph Hall said, "There is no place for any loose stone in God's edifice." It is unfortunate that there are so many loose--and even rolling--stones in the church today.