The natural man says “I don’t need to go to church. I can worship God as I walk through nature.”
So, I say “You walk through nature and worship God alone, and then you turn around and spit on the work that He has shed His own blood to build.”
You see, the universal church is the Body of Christ, and even the most cursory readers of the New Testament should be aware of that concept. By the term “body,” it means body. Jesus suffered for His church. He bled for her. He died in order to establish her.
The New Testament also calls the church the Bride of Christ. How kindly would you look upon someone who claimed to be a fan of yours, but refused to ever talk with your wife, or even treated her with contempt?
Or how would you feel about someone who was fine writing you emails, but refused to ever meet with you face to face just because they “weren’t interested in an organized meeting” or “didn’t need to meet with you in person to actually connect with you?”
You would be insulted, angry even. You would not hold an affection in your heart for such a person. When you refuse to interact regularly with any organized group of believers, you are actually telling Jesus you don’t want to meet with Him, because its His Body you’re rejecting.
When you refuse to be part of a church, you are refusing to interact with Jesus’ Bride. He feels no different about your rejection of His church as you would someone’s rejection of your spouse.
Thankfully, Jesus is much bigger than we are, and much more gracious and loving. He can and does overlook such offenses quite often, but that in no way minimizes their gravity.
If you find yourself having walked in such an error, it is time to simply engage in heart-felt repentance and unify yourself with the Body of Christ. After all, a body is just an extension of the Head itself.
Zack's Desk 