The State of Theology: Worshiping Alone

It’s difficult to be a pastor in America these days. Five out of ten Americans think you don’t need the church. So do three out of ten Evangelical Protestants. As the The State of Theology survey also shows, the majority of Americans do not see their pastor’s sermons as carrying authority over them. You can find the full results of the survey at TheStateOfTheology.com. These few questions related to the local church, however, deserve a closer look and our significant attention.

As we turn to the pages of the New Testament, we see the church emerging as the institution God blesses. The Gospel accounts end with Jesus promising to build and establish His church, and Acts begins with the church in fact being built and established. Paul was a church planter. The last letters that he wrote and that were included in the Canon were his Pastoral Epistles. In these final inspired words, Paul lays down the law for God’s people. For Paul, the church is the household of God, the Living God. The church is the pillar and buttress of truth (1 Tim 3:15)

. This fledgling church continued to thrive against all odds. It suffered persecution without at the hands of the Roman Empire. It also faced hardship within at the hands of false teachers and heretics. Yet, the church grew and flourished. It is hard to look over the pages of church history and not see the church playing an indispensable role in the lives of individual Christians. John Calvin writes, “I shall start, then, with the church, into whose bosom God is pleased to gather his sons, not only that they may be nourished by her help and ministry as long as they are infants and children, but also that they may be guided by her motherly care until they mature and at last reach the goal of faith.” Calvin adds, “For those to whom he is Father the church may also be Mother” (Inst. 4.1.1.). Here Calvin references the church father Cyprian: “You cannot have God for your Father unless you have the church for your Mother.” Through the centuries the church was indispensable. Read more

The Christian faith and way of life is something that must be practiced in community with other believers, not in isolation from them. This is the pattern that our Lord himself established. We cannot grow to maturity in Christ if we separate ourselves from our fellow believers. When removed from the fire, a burning coal will quickly become extinguished. When returned to the fire, it will burst into flames again.  A fire made up of burning coals piled together can warm an entire room. A burning coal on its own becomes cold like the rest of the room.