THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHURCH

By: Ralph A. Crawford

Scriptures:

Matthew 16: 18, “and upon this rock I will build my Church.”

Ephesians 5: 25 “...Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.”

Colossians 1: 18 “And He is the head of the body, the church.”

It is well for Christians to consider the importance of the church. It is the only thing that belongs to Jesus that we still have with us today. We do not have his sandals, or his robe, or the cup He used in the Passover feast. For a long time the Roman church displayed many relics which they claimed belonged to Jesus, but these claims were not supported by genuine evidence. Jesus didn’t use the possessive pronoun very often. However, He did say “My Father. My Sheep, My disciples, and My Kingdom.” It is important that He put the Church definitely in the category of His possession, because He said, “I will build My Church.” Immediately this makes the church the most important institution on this earth, especially to all believers. To be sure there are a lot of good organizations in our culture, but none of them have the place the church has. God started the family, and Jesus started His church.

The Greek work for Church is ekklasia, meaning “the called out.” His church is not to be confused with a building. His church is a special “called out” people. Paul calls the church a peculiar people (Titus 2: 14) and Peter embellishes this description by saying, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:..”( 1 Peter 2: 9). The church was called out of darkness into His marvelous light.

I believe that Jesus used the generic sense of church when He said He would build His church. This generic use refers to “all believers.” The Young’s Analytical Concordance lists 109 uses of the word Church in the New Testament, and the greater majority of them refer to the local church. To capture the importance of the church let us review the influence and accommodations Jesus gave to the church.

Ÿ Jesus called out the church to Follow Him.

Ÿ Jesus organized the church, (they were set in the church first apostles)

Ÿ Jesus is the Head of the church

Ÿ Jesus trained the church, (three year seminary course)

Ÿ Jesus promised the church power.

Ÿ Jesus promised He would be with the church.

Ÿ Jesus gave the church two ordinances.

Ÿ Jesus said the gates of Hell would not prevail against the church.

Ÿ Jesus promised to return for His church.

Ÿ Jesus purchased the church with His own blood, Acts. 20: 28

Ÿ The church was called His Bride, His body, His Building, and His flock.

Ÿ Jesus gave His church a world wide commission.

These descriptive words force strongly the belief that the church belongs to Jesus. To love the church is to love the one who called it together. To work in the church is to work in the body of believers that Jesus enriched with His own sacrifice. “Thus we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together with the church for it is the spiritual fellowship to which the Lord gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

I. THE CHURCH IS THE DESIGN OF A DIVINE MIND.

For one to ignore the church is to ignore the Lord. Some people say they believe in Jesus, and trust in Him for their salvation, but they have no use for the church. This is a contradiction of terms. The church is the Lord, and the Lord is the Church. To love Him is to love the church, to serve Him is to labor in the church. The two cannot be separated. Some people who claim to be born again ignore the church as if Jesus made a mistake in establishing it. The church gives us a physical public and visible witness to the world and very definitely shows which side we are on. The weekly fellowship with people who are of like faith and belief supplies us a place for encouragement and strengthening. Paul in writing to the believer in Rome said, “For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.” (Romans 1: 11-12) Jesus knew the church was necessary for our living in this old carnal world.

A pastor went on a wiener roast with a Young Men’s Sunday School Class that was trying to encourage some prospects to attend church. They were sitting by a fire roasting wieners on a stick. One young man insisted that he could be just as good a Christian without going to church. Church really didn’t do anything for him. The pastor took a stick and pushed a hot glowing ember in the fire out to one side. As soon as the glowing ember was by itself, the red hot glow faded, and it became very dark. Then the pastor pushed that same ember back up into the fire, and suddenly it was aglow again like it was before. Without saying a word, the young man saw the truth and importance of fellowshipping our faith in the church. Paul said we are to “Let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16) Going to church is good for you and everybody around you.

II. THE CHURCH IS MADE UP OF PEOPLE.

The variable and sometimes undependable character of the church is that it is made up of people. You know and I know that people are not perfect. We still have the nature to do wrong. Romans 7 is Paul lengthy and clearly written essay on the battle of sin in the Christian’s life. He says when we want to do good we end up doing evil. It is human beings like this that Christ called out to be in His church. Because of this, the church is far from perfect. But thank the Lord, we do not hold up and preach the people, but we hold up and preach the Lord Jesus Christ. The very fact that we are a part of the church identifies us as sinners saved by grace.

Even the church that Jesus called out while He was here had some really less than perfect people in it. One of them betrayed Him. One of them denied three times that he ever knew Him. The mother of James and John, (Mrs. Zebedee) ask Jesus if her two boys could sit on either side of Him in the Kingdom. This was the first “power struggle” to occur in the church. Three of them fell asleep when He wanted them to be in prayer, and later they all forsook Him when He was arrested and put on trial. Six of the disciples followed Peter who said he was going back to fishing, and Jesus had to bring them back to their called-out duty. (John 21: 1-6)

Because of the imperfect nature of mankind, it is not likely that we could ever find a perfect church. However, if you should ever find a perfect church it would do well that you not join, for it would immediately become imperfect.

There is a story told about a man who lived twenty years all by him self on a south sea island. After all those years a ship finally came, and he was discovered living there alone. They noticed three bamboo buildings and they asked him if he build them and did they belong to him. And he said that they were his. They wanted to know why he built three buildings. “Well He said the one in the middle is my home, that’s where I live. The one on the right is my church, that’s where I go to church.” He didn’t say anything about the one on the left, so they asked him “What is that building on the left?” “Oh! He said, that‘s the church I used to go to.” This very clearly tells us that no church is perfect even if it only has one member.

III. THE CHURCH WAS GIVEN A WORLD WIDE MISSION

The purpose of the church was to Preach, Teach and Observe all that Jesus had commanded. Jesus was a preacher, He was a master teacher, and He gave approval and submitted to Baptism at the hands of John the Baptist and He instituted the Lord’s supper with His twelve disciples. The corner stone of Forth Worth Hall at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has Matthew 10: 7 carved in stone. It says, “As ye go, preach.” Most all Baptist church buildings are built with the main focus on the pulpit from which the good news is proclaimed. Paul said, “It pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:21)

The church was to become a living monument of dedicated people giving visible proof to the world of their life change in Christ. The church was the staging area for winning, developing, teaching and sending out of missionary preachers and teachers to cover the whole world. The church was to be a fellowship of believers that would help to revive and encourage the members to continued their evangelistic labors and not become discouraged by the opposing forces of Satan. The church is really the First-Aid station for all the battle weary soldiers who sometimes feel they are losing the battle. Truly, the church is for the saved. The born again, the recruited soldier who needs “back-up” and the strength of numbers to inspire bravery, and to overcome his fear. We are in a war! Not to kill physically, or slit the throats of infidels, as reported of some religions, but to win them in love and gentleness to the benefits of eternal life.

It is very possible to be a part of a church group and become disillusioned about your duty and effectiveness. Defeats and failures often dim our view of the victories we think we should have. The Apostle Peter had a defeating experience at the trial of Jesus. He denied three times that he knew Jesus. Bitter remorse set in, he wept bitterly, and he didn’t feel worthy to continue, in fact he said to the other disciples, “I go a-fishing.” (John 21:3) Later Jesus said a peculiar thing to him in Luke 22: 31-32. Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Some times we use this word “converted,” as we use the word “saved.” or “born again.” But here is doesn’t refer to salvation, it refers to the way Peter is thinking. He needed to change his way of thinking. Jesus could have said, when you start thinking right, or when you get your head on straight, or when you come to your senses.” Sometimes we Christians forget who we are and what we are all about. We loose contact and focus with the Lord who is our primary duty to serve.

IV. THE CHURCH, ITS ANALOGY TO MILITARY SERVICE.

I had a unique experience during my military training in Jefferson Barracks Missouri. I believe it was similar to the experience Peter had. In May of 1943 I received my “Greetings” letter telling me to go to Tulsa, Oklahoma for a physically fitness exam, and swearing into the armed forces. Needless to say I passed my physical with flying colors, and came into a large room where the Recruiting Officer said, “Raise our right hand and repeat after me.”

“I Ralph A. Crawford, do solemnly swear that I will

support and defend the Constitution of the United States

against all enemies, foreign, and domestic; that I will bear

true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey

the orders of the President of the United States and the orders

of the officers appointed over me, according to the regulations

and the uniform code of Military justice, So Help Me God.”

We were told to put our hands down. Then he said, “You now belong to the United States of America.” That sounded a lot like what Paul said, “Ye are not your own, you have been bought with a price.”(1 Corinthians 6: 19-20). I was proud that I, Ralph Crawford was found fit to serve the United States of America that was established in 1776 by such men as George Washington, the fighting army of the American Revolution, and a total of 32 elected Presidents. I had not felt this proud since the day I was baptized in the First Baptist Church in Nowata, Oklahoma and became a member of the church which was organized by Jesus in A.D. 33. In that baptism I had put on the outward uniform of a believer.

After I graduated from Nowata High School I was put on a bus and taken to Fort Sill Oklahoma where they ran us through quarter master to get our army uniforms. In no time at all a bus full of civilians became to look like soldiers. I remember asking someone why we had to wear uniforms, and one fellow answered, “So the enemy will know who to shoot at.”

This being in the armed forces was a whole lot like being in the Service of the Lord. We had a supreme commander, we had commissioned and non-commissioned officers for training, discipline, and physical conditioning. There were very few decisions we had to make for ourselves. In most all the activities of the day we were told what to do, when to do it, and where to do it. Our day was regimented with activities that would develop us into competent and dependable soldiers. We had to learn to take orders. We had to learn how to endure difficult tasks. We had to learn to keep going when we felt we couldn’t take another step. We had to know how to take our rifle apart and put it back together blindfolded. We had to know our weapon.

We had to be present and accounted for at every roll call. . We learned that anyone who went AWOL during the time of war could be Court Marshaled and put to death. They read The Articles Of War to us every six months, and I still remember the words. “If any soldier shall absent himself from his post of duty during war time, he shall suffer death or such other punishment that a Courts Marshall may direct.” The hard and exhausting physical exertion, the brash and derogatory language of the drill sergeants soon caused the thrill and glamour of the military service to evaporate. This would parallel what Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:3, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” I remember I wrote letters home to my mother asking her and dad to pray for me since they were trying to push us and push us to the breaking point with cruel and blasphemous language. I learned later that this cruel and inhuman treatment was their way of taking the little boy out of us and making men of us.

Being a member of the church also has its difficult and uncomfortable experiences. Human beings get tired, and bored, and loose interest. Like Peter who didn’t admit that He knew Jesus during His trial, he lost the sense of belonging, and felt that the cause of not important. He declared he was going back to fishing. Today many will give up their service in the church if things are not to their liking. They will grumble, complain and openly criticize those who are doing their best. Their minds and hearts are not in the cause of the church and the Lord’s Great Commission. They don’t attend, and they don’t give. Their loyalty has been short-circuited. What they need is a CONVERSION! I believe this is what Jesus meant when he told Peter to strengthen the brethren when he was converted.

My army conversion happened one Friday afternoon when all the personnel in Jefferson Barracks were ordered to stand “Retreat.” No one was excluded, everyone on the base had to dress in class A uniform and march in Company Front to the parade ground. All the base Officers were present in the reviewing stand. It was in July. It was hot. The Asphalt paving was soft and spongy under our feet from that hot July Sun. Getting 35,000 troops on the drill field in companies caused considerable delay, and we stood at “parade – rest” much of the time waiting our turn to move up. We were groaning, and complaining. Wishing to be anywhere other than where we were. We wondered, “what could be so important that we should be exposed to this tremendous heat?”

Our grumbling complaints were cut short when we heard far down the street the commands, “Companeeeee!” “Tee- hutt!” Then heels began popping as company after company came to ATTENTION. Then we heard, “Right - Shoulder – Arms!” And then the slapping sounds of rifles being brought to the right shoulder. Then the Jefferson Barracks Band began to play John Philip Sousa’s “Semper Fidelis” (Always Faithful). The most powerful march that has ever been written. Mr. Sousa once said, he wanted to compose a march that would cause a man with wooden legs to get up and march. Truly his “Semper Fidelis” is that march. From the first company to our company we heard the command, “Forward March” That march took the grumble and bitterness out of my heart and I became alert to an excitement I had not experienced in all my basic training.

As we came on to the parade grounds, I looked across the plane and saw a part of the 35,000 troops stationed at Jefferson Barracks marching, and everybody’s left foot was hitting the ground in unison. We took our place facing the “Stars and Stripes” on a tall mast. What a beautiful Flag! And then as if my spirits were not pitched high enough, We were given the order to “Present Arms.” Rifles were slapped with precision and brought from the right shoulder to “Present Arms,” and then the band began to play the National Anthem. I didn’t know before that moment who I really was, and what I was doing at Jefferson Barracks. For some reason tears began to flow down my cheeks, and I noticed that several around me were having the same problem. For the first time since receiving my “Greetings Letter.” I realized I was a soldier. My life belonged to my country, to go wherever and do whatever I was ordered to protect the freedoms and liberty of my country. I was not my mother’s little boy any more. On that plane I was one of thousands whose life was not his own. I call that First Retreat Formation at Jefferson Barracks my Army Conversion experience.

I believe many people have received Jesus as their saviour, but have never had a conversion experience where they realize their duty in the Kingdom’s Army. They are enjoying the benefits of being God’s Children but have not committed their lives to His ownership. Paul says, “Ye are not your own, you have been bought with a price.”( 1 Corinthians 6: 20)

While stationed in Southern Italy, I read a story in “The Stars and Stripes” written by an Army Chaplin. They were preparing to make a landing in North Africa. A young recruit came to the Chaplin and told him that he was afraid to leave the landing craft and hit the beach. The Chaplin told him that practically all the men on the ship were afraid. But he contended, “How do I get rid of my fear?” And the Chaplin said, “You don’t get rid of it, but it won’t bother you if you consider yourself already dead.” The Chaplin was saying something similar to Paul’s comment in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:”

The importance of the church is seen in the words of Paul in Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”