What?

“What?”
1 Cor. 12:12-13
“I’m a Christian, but I’m not a part of a church.” This phrase appears in many different ways in individuals' daily lives, but it is completely disconnected from scripture. “I’m a Christian but don’t go to church.” “I love Jesus but I don’t like church.” Feel free to comment or tell me other ways you have heard the phrase. When one is saved, the Lord adds him/her to the church. In Acts 2:37, many of the Jews at Pentecost recognized their sin and desired to correct it. Peter told them to “Repent and each of you be baptized.” He continued and said “Be saved from this perverse generation” (Acts :41). About 3,000 people “received his word” and they were baptized and therefore saved. Luke records that day “there were added about three thousand souls.” In Acts 2:47, it is clear that “the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” The saved are those who were being baptized, and as a result, the Lord added them. This is consistent with 1 Cor. 12:13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” What is the body? The church (Eph. 1:22-23; 5:22-23; Col. 1:18). So according to the scriptures, to be saved, is to be a part of the church. To forsake that assembly is to neglect your brother and sisters in Christ (Acts 2:42-47; Heb. 10:25). Also, consider the phrase “I love Jesus but I don’t like church.” If the church is the body of Christ, and it is, then would the following phrase have any coherent meaning? “I love Jesus but I don’t like his body.” It is scripturally and logically inconsistent. When we obeyed the gospel, the Lord rescued us “from the domain of darkness” and He transfers us “to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:13). If you were never taught this biblical truth, I implore you, please reach out for a Bible study. I love you all!

In His service,
Steven Hugley ​