When and How to Leave a Church
“Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 13:1-4)
Because of so much church hopping (so many churches you can go to), shallow commitments, and people being so easily offended these days, it is necessary to address this very important issue.
First, every Christian should be a member of a local church. “And the Lord added to the church (in Jerusalem) daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47) In these modern days some think being part of a local church is optional, but a Christian not being in church is unheard of in the Bible. And I’m not talking about being a member of some so-called universal church. There is a universal church, but it is made up of local churches. In the Bible there are local churches: Jerusalem, Antioch, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesians, the seven local churches in Revelation 2-3, and the list goes on. Every Christian should be a part of a local church. You should be a member of the church you attend. And only born again, baptized believers in Christ are real members. Membership is important; it speaks of commitment and commitment speaks of usefulness. How can you be useful in Christ’s church and mission if you are not a committed member? No one can give a good reason why everyone should not be a member where they attend.
You should never leave THE church (Heb.10:25). Jesus’ commitment to the church is: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” The worst church in the Bible has Jesus standing at the door knocking to get in (Revelation 3:14-20). You think the church is so bad that you can’t be a part of it, but Jesus is knocking to get into the worst church in the Bible, the one that makes Him sick. He is not forsaking it. He’s trying to get in and stay in! He wants to come in and dine with them. Don’t ever think that the church is so bad that you can’t be a part of it. The Corinthian Church had multitudes of problems (prolonged immaturity, divisions, sexual immorality, members suing each other, getting drunk at Communion, abuse of the gifts, and false doctrine) but in his letter to that church Paul never told anyone to leave! Not one verse in the 16 chapters that he wrote to that church did he ever even hint that anyone should leave that church. Instead, that’s where you find his greatest message on love in the Bible: “love suffers long and is kind, is not arrogant, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things.” And we are to love one another as Christ loved the church. Jesus said, “As I have loved you, you also love one another.” (Jn.13:34)
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