THE CASE FOR THE LOCAL CHURCH

"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together." - Psalm 34:3

Lee Strobel was once an outspoken atheist. Now he is a born-again believer. He speaks and writes with the intent of reaching skeptics with the Gospel. His best-known books include, "The Case For Christ," "The Case For Faith," "The Case for Miracles," and so on. Like a lawyer presents his arguments, Strobel uses the printed page to make his case for Christianity.

In this message, I want to make my case for the local church. You see, these days so many have devalued the church. Sadly, the degrading of the church has come from professing believers. Many "believers" use their blogs and books to drive people away from local churches.

While it is true that church attendance does not make you a Christian, it is wrong to assume that Christian discipleship can be conducted properly apart from the church. It is true that there are many good Christians who are physically unable to attend church. Yet even these believers would testify that they would love to attend church if they could.

What has happened to the American Church? I think many are believing the lie that the church is not very important. Church attendance is a low priority for many people. Church involvement is even less important. Yet many of these people have no problem using a church for a family member's wedding or funeral.

The fact is that the local church is a place where believers come and worship together. The psalmist wrote, "O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together." While it is true that we need to pray and read the Bible at home, we must confess that there is a need to worship God together. I find that when we omit the church from our lives, our spiritual vitality quickly diminishes. Our spiritual growth seems to hinge, in part, on our involvement with a local body of believers.

Look at the contrast between American Christianity and the persecuted believers of other countries. In some countries, it is forbidden to attend a Bible-believing church. Instead, believers risk their lives to assemble. Sometimes they gather in an abandoned building. At other times, they will secretly meet in someone's home. It isn't uncommon for Christians to gather in the woods and have a service. They believe in public worship and risk their lives to sing, pray, have communion and hear a Biblical sermon. Here in America, church members mow grass, go shopping, go hunting or sleep while churches are having services.

The local church is the place where the ordinances of baptism and communion are properly administered. The local church is the place where believers come to worship together. The local church is the location where Christian fellowship thrives. Furthermore, at a local church Biblical messages are proclaimed to instruct, challenge and help us. The local church is a place where believers can utilize their gifts, talents and abilities to advance God's program. At a local church, believers are trained to evangelize and do the work of ministry.

Read the book of Acts. God's work was accomplished through local churches. In his missionary journeys, Paul was instrumental in establishing churches. Many of our New Testament epistles were written to encourage and challenge churches. The book of Revelation has two chapters dedicated to seven specific local churches in Asia. There is not one verse of Scripture in the New Testament that indicates that the local church is unimportant or is a low-priority matter.

The blogs and books that many pattern their lives after are wrong and dangerous. Instead of reading their books, we need to get back to reading God's Book. Instead of following a blogger, we need to follow the Lord and His Word.

There are just a few institutions that God has created and ordained. He instituted marriage, government and the church. All three are under assault by the enemy. You'd think that Christians, of all people, would be strong supporters of the church. Our failure to emphasize the importance of the church is one of the reasons that the institutions of marriage and government are failing miserably.

Perhaps you've had a bad experience with a previous church. Maybe you are appalled at hypocrisy in some churches. These things shouldn't rob you of the blessing that comes from being in a good church. Find a good church. In a recent tweet, Steven Lawson wrote, "Go to a church, not of your convenience, but of your conviction."

So let me challenge you to be in church this Sunday. Bring your family with you. Quit making excuses. Start going to church and don't quit. Make it a high priority to worship the Lord publicly.

"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together."