Reasons Why Church is Irreplaceable
“Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”
(Matthew 16:18 NLT)
“All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”
( 1 Corinthians 12:27 NLT)
In this day and age, people think that truth is subjective and only a matter of their own feelings. Your opinions are subjective, but truth is factual regardless of your feelings about it. This issue has bled into how people interpret the Bible and engage in the faith. When it comes to the subject of the church, people tend to formulate their own opinions and interpretations of what, how, and when the church should be. How does the Bible define church? In the text above, we see the first mention of the word “church.” This is the Greek word “ekklesia.” This word means: a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public space or assembly. How clear is this? This is not a matter of opinion, this is the factual definition of the Greek word used in the text. People say things like, “church is not the building, it's the people” or “I am the church, so I don't have to go to a meeting, church is anywhere that I go.” This is nothing more than new age unbiblical idiocy. The factual definition of church, according to the Bible, is to come out of your house to a public place of assembly. When people say, “I am the church,” they are confusing the word “church” with the concept of being the Body of Christ. The text above uses the Greek word “Soma” which translates to the english word “Body.” You are a member of the Body of Christ, but church is a corporate gathering in which you come out of your house to a public space or assembly. When continuing to examine the word “Church” in the texts, we can see examples of what this practically looked like when the word is used. In Acts 2, the word church is used in correlation to the gathering of 3,000 plus members. In Acts 5,7, and 16, the word church is correlated again and again with the public gathering of multitudes of people. In the Bible, a church gathering is NEVER described as a few rouge Christians gathering together in a home. Begin to examine today why you may push so hard against God's mandate to leave your home and publicly assemble. Is it burn out? Is it flesh that is left unsubdued that causes you to desire other things? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the issue to you, that you may resolve it and come into obedience to the Word of God!