The Local Church is A Necessary Gift for Every Christian

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Maybe you’ve heard the statement: "I'm a christian, but I don't believe it's necessary to be a part of an organized church."

While a phrase like this has become common place in our culture the truth is that Christ believed and taught that the local church is absolutely necessary in the life of a Christian. In fact, it is Christ who organized it, gave specific commands you cannot obey while in neglect of it, and gifted you by His grace with its gathering just as he gathered you in it by His grace.

First, the local church is evidently important to Christ. In the Scriptures, He organized its leadership (1 Tim 2), ordered its worship (1 Cor 14), identified its servants (1 Tim 2), distributed its gifts to be used (1 Cor 12), clarified its care to be exercised (1 Tim 5), its ordinances to be practiced (1 Cor 11), and commanded even with its flaws in mind, that Christians should not neglect its gathering (Heb 10).

The local church is a vehicle of God’s design that He has chosen display (Eph. 3:10), declare (1 Tim. 3:15), and defend (1 Tim. 3:15) the good news of the gospel of Christ.

Second, the local church is necessary in the life of a believer because there are specific commands from Christ you cannot obey unless you're tethered to a local church:

  1. Gather (Heb. 10:25)

  2. Sing (Eph. 5:19)

  3. Discipline (1 Cor. 5, Matt. 18)

  4. Submit (Heb/ 13:17)

  5. Serve (1 Cor. 12-14)

And this does not even begin to mention the great gift the local church is for the Christian. 

The local church gathering is made up of former foreigners made forever family by the blood of Christ (Eph 2:11-22), who presently point one another to heaven (Heb 10:24-25) and praise with one another as practice of what will forever follow in heaven (Rev 22:3).

Don’t neglect the necessary gift of gathering together in personal submission to the instruction of Christ, in communal service with gifts from the Spirit, and in corporate showcasing of the eternal glory of God’s grace.

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Trent Roseman is the Next Generation Pastor at First Baptist Church Tampa, FL. He graduated from Southwest Baptist University with his Bachelors of Arts in Biblical Studies and is currently an MDiv student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Jessica Roseman, just welcomed their firstborn son, Judah David, into the world. Trent enjoys to read, write, drink coffee, kayak, listen to podcasts, and spend time with his wife and son.

Follow Trent on Twitter: @trentroseman

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