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We Americans live in a mostly "religious" society -- some 90% or so still believe in God in some sense or another -- but we primarily serve another deity: independence. There is nothing more important than American independence. This sounds good at the surface, but aren't we supposed to be dependent? You know, like, on God? On each other? We worship independence at least in name. And that, I'm pretty sure, is the reason for the growth in the "I'm spiritual, not religious" crowd. A growing number of people classify themselves as "spiritual" but not connected to any religion as such. "I'm independent," they say. "I don't need organized religion to commune with God." There is even a sizable portion of Christians who say something similar. "I believe in Jesus. I don't need a church to do that." So, do you have to be in a church to be a Christian?

On the face of it, the answer is clearly and positively "No!" With perhaps the sole exception of the Roman Catholics, Christianity teaches we are "saved by grace through faith in Christ", not by being in a church. So, no, you don't have to be in a church to be a Christian. But don't scratch the surface of that question, because you might find another layer.

What do you mean by "Christian"? If you mean "saved", that's one thing. But "Christian" normally means something ... more. It doesn't merely mean "I've escaped judgment." It means, "I'm a follower ... of Christ." We are saved by faith alone, but not by faith that is alone. As James puts it, faith without works is dead (James 2:17). For faith -- faith that can save -- to be alive, it has to produce something in the believer. And beyond the sense of "saved", being a Christian includes that product. What product?

The Christian ethic is largely a "one another" premise. We are to be devoted to one another in brotherly love, give preference to one another in honor (Romans 12:10), admonish one another (Romans 15:14), through love serve one another (Galatians 5:13), bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2), be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other (Ephesians 4:32), be subject to one another (Ephesians 5:21), regard one another as more important than yourselves (Philippians 2:3), comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18), encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11), live in peace with one another (1 Thessalonians 5:13), stimulate one another to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24), confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another (James 5:16), be hospitable to one another (1 Peter 4:9), and clothe yourselves with humility toward one another (1 Peter 5:5). And that's just a sampling. Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (John 13:34) Beyond that, this "love one another" according to Jesus would be the singular marker of a disciple of Christ. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35) (On my list, most don't repeat, but "love one another" is commanded over and over.) That is a huge "one another" concept.

The phrase means, in its word construction, simply "one person to one other person", but it means something more in its usage and intent. When we are told to love one another, it doesn't imply "One person should love one other person." It carries with it more of a mutuality, a back-and-forth. That is, I am commanded to love my brothers and sisters in Christ regardless of whether they love me back, but they are also commanded to love me regardless of my return, so we end up with a give-and-take, a back-and-forth, a mutual exchange. And it implies also "Whenever the conditions are met." That is, "Whenever I encounter any other believer, I ought to relate to them in this way and they ought to relate to me the same way." So it is both mutual and expansive.

So, back to the question. Can you be a Christian without being part of a church? You can come to faith in Christ, certainly. In that sense, the answer is yes. But can you "observe all that I commanded you" (Matthew 28:20)? Since the overwhelming sense of the Christian life in Scripture is a "one another" life, the answer is no. You cannot be a healthy functioning follower of Christ without being invested in a body of Christians -- a church. Maybe not a building on the corner with a steeple and a sign, but certainly a body of believers gathered for fellowship, worship, and discipleship. The modern "Lone Ranger Christian" concept doesn't fit when laid up against the biblical version of a faith that produces works predicated largely on "one another". In order to be a healthy follower of Christ, we must not forsake the gathering together of fellow believers. It just isn't Christian.

"Refreshment in Refuge" from Gina Burgess

Things that go bump in the night