A CHURCH FAMILY IDENTIFIES ME AS A GENUINE BELIEVER
I can’t claim to be a follower of Christ if I’m not committed any specific group of disciples (John 13:35). When we come together in love from different backgrounds, race, and social status, it is a witness to the world. No one believer can be the body of Christ on his or her own.
A CHURCH FAMILY MOVES ME OUT OF SELF-CENTERED ISOLATIONISM
The local church is the classroom for learning how to get along with other believers in God’s family. It is a laboratory for practicing unselfishness and the maturity process (I Corinthians 12:26). It is only by having regular contact with regular, imperfect people (just like myself) that I learn real fellowship and sacrifice for others.
A CHURCH FAMILY KEEPS ME FROM BACKSLIDING
None of us are immune to temptation, falling prey to false doctrine, or cooling off spiritually. Given the right situation, any one of us is capable of sin – even returning back to a life of sin. God knows this, so He has assigned us the responsibility of keeping each other on track, (Hebrews 3:13).
- A related benefit of a local church is that it also provides us the spiritual protection of godly leaders. God gives us shepherds and overseers to guard, protect, defend, and care for the spiritual welfare of the flock. Hebrews 13:17 (KJV) says they “…watch for your souls....”
Satan loves detached believers because he knows they are more vulnerable and less protected.
The Christian life is more than just a commitment to Jesus Christ; it includes a commitment to other Christians. 2 Corinthians 8:5 states that the believers in Macedonia understood this principle – “…but they first gave themselves to the Lord, AND UNTO US by the will of God.”
Isn’t it time to come home again?