Introduction
The short answer to the above question is because Christ instituted the Church during His earthy ministry for a specific mission and purpose. This mission cannot be accomplished without the combined effort of the community of believers who are organized together as the Church. Christ has appointed shepherds, teachers, and evangelists to the work of ministry. The Holy Spirit has gifted those rightly called pastors and overseers to care for Christ’s Church. Christ has great affection and love for His Church as it is called the Bride of Christ. This image of Christ and His bride displays the relationship of unconditional love and faithfulness pledged by Christ to His bride, the Church. The Church is more than just a once-a-week obligation. It is belonging to a loving community of believers who gather together to raise their voices to praise the one true God!
The Church is currently navigating through a crisis in its membership. For the past several decades the greatest challenge that the Church[1] has faced is the increasing decline in membership. Poll after poll has been conducted and each year the results indicate that the number of persons that consider themselves to be Christian continue their downward spiral. A look at the actual numbers will present a better picture.
- A 1990 Pew Research Poll found that 90% of Americans identified themselves as Christian. By 2020 that number had decreased to 64%. The researchers also concluded that if the trend continues the percentage will drop below 50% in a few decades.
- The 2022 State of Theology Survey indicated that 56% of Americans did not believe that church attendance for Christians was necessary.
What these polls and surveys indicate is that we may soon experience very few people sitting in the pews of many churches, and the closure of several others—as has already happened throughout Europe. The first order of business for the Church is to attract new believers back to the Church by making it relevant in opposition to modern worldviews such as secularism, relativism, and socialism which obscure the truth and challenge religious beliefs. The second order of business is to overcome the objections of many Christians who do not attend any church and have no desire to do so. For example, there are many self-proclaimed Christians who reject corporate worship but instead believe only in individual worship. This is referred to as lone-wolf Christianity, which is unbiblical. Those who profess to be Christian but who consider church membership as irrelevant are as single sheep with no flock or shepherd. They are without direction, protection, and proper instruction. They are loners with no community or family of believers to share love and fellowship.
Before a proper response to both dilemmas facing the Church can be made, the cause or causes for the decline must be determined. Looking back to the 1990’s when the sharp decline began, a pattern was emerging in many churches that became quite evident. There was a wave of new forms, methods, and ideologies for conducting church to make it more appealing to new generations of sophisticated consumers. Evangelism moved from the commission of saving the lost, to a venture of reaching new customers. The gospel message was watered down in favor of man-centered feel-good messages. The result was that they made their churches irrelevant because their message was irrelevant. It preached a false gospel attempting to imitate the true gospel. A man-centered gospel lacks the ability to cut to the heart as a Christ-centered gospel can. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that convicts and brings conversion to the unbeliever through a transformation of the heart. The Gospel of Christ is the only truth that has the ability to turn the heart toward God, by the power of the Spirit. Therefore, the Church needs to return to a robust campaign of Christ-centered Gospel preaching and teaching. This includes teaching the need for life in the local church community. The Doctrine of the Church provides answers to many of the objections against organized religion and for the necessity of church membership.
[1] Church spelled with a capital letter refers to the universal church; church spelled with a small letter refers to a local church.
Church Origins
The Church was established by Christ and expanded by His Apostles and followers to the outer reaches of the world as commanded by Christ in The Great Commission, (Matt. 28:18-20). Following His resurrection, Jesus commanded His Apostles to tend and feed His sheep, this created a leadership of shepherds to watch over the flock of believers, (John 21:15-19). These commands are the foundation of an institution where the followers of Christ can be protected, directed, instructed, and encouraged. This institution is the Church. The gathering of the early church has its roots in the Upper Room where Christ and His Apostles assembled and had the Last Supper. This room was located in the house of one of the followers of Christ, possibly Mary the mother of John, (Acts 12:12). House churches were the principal meeting place for the early church until persecution subsided and they had greater freedom to worship in public spaces. During these times of persecution, the church met in caves, homes, and secluded outdoor locations. The church is not a building, nor is it limited to buildings, it is the community of believers gathered together for worship.
To summarize, the Church was established by Christ and instituted through His Apostles as the assembly of the followers of Christ. The pattern and traditions for church meetings were set by the practices of Christ and His Apostles. They gathered together for preaching, teaching, protection, fellowship, and for the institution of the Lord’s Supper, (Acts 2:42-47) below. This is the model left by Christ for believers to follow through the ages until He returns.
“They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.
And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;
and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.
Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,
praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
The Church as a Community of Love
“Finally, the church is a refuge because it is the community of love. The love of the covenant community is first and foremost the love of the Lord Himself, dispensed through His people. Our love will be imperfect but should be very real. The church is a symphony of Christ’s love known in Christ-centered bearing of burdens, service, prayerfulness, encouragement, godly discipline, and mutual mission to love the world in Jesus’ name. This perhaps is the great outcome—a place of love. That is what our world seeks. The church is that place, according to the Word and work of God.”
Rev. Jay Thomas, pastor of Chapel Hill Bible Church. “The Church Is Our Refuge” in Tabletalk Magazine, July 2024.
Christians are commanded to love God and to love their neighbor. These are the greatest of the commandments, as all the other commandments stand upon these two according to the teaching of Christ, (Matt. 22:37-40). Loving God and one’s neighbor is the basis for corporate worship which necessitates the establishment of the Church. Love can only be expressed through relationship with others and not in isolation apart from others. Love, forgiveness, and compassion are the distinctive qualities of a true Christian which originate from Christ and His teachings, then are passed on through His church, and out to a suffering world. Those who receive salvation by God’s grace are also called to be His servants in His plan of redemption. The Church is the assembly of imperfect people serving to help bring about God’s perfect plan of redemption.
“Community (having all things in “common-unity”) was one of the distinctives of the New Testament Church (Acts 2:44, 45; 4:32–37). John writes that because we have communion with God, we have communion with each other (1John 1:3, 6, 7); in fact, the one who does not love his brother is not of God (1John 2:9; 3:10). That is to say, it is impossible for us to be true worshippers of God, to be one with Him, and not have communion with each other.
Kornfield, D. (1987). The Church. Ashland Theological Journal Volume 19, 19, 91.
Mission of the Church
Christians are called to worship God, love their neighbor, and to place their faith in Christ as their Lord and Savior. The Church, as it was established by Christ, was given a specific mission following His resurrection. This mission is called the “Great Commission.” The commission is found in verses 28:19-20 in the Book of Matthew, pictured above. Christ’s final instructions to His Apostles were to go out into the world and to make disciples from the people of all the nations by teaching them all that He had instructed to them, and then baptizing them. This commission is the authority given to the Apostles and passed on through them to the Church for all time as Christ will always be with His Church. From this command, the mission for the Church is developed with three main objectives: evangelism, teaching, and the administration of the sacraments. From these three objectives the various functions of the Church are established. These functions are displayed throughout the New Testament as we see the early Church engage in discipleship, community worship, celebration of the Lord’s Supper, baptism, evangelism missions, preaching, and social concern through the care for the poor, the widows, and the orphans.
Christ instituted the Church as His own precious possession to fulfill the Great Commission by declaring His Gospel to a world that is lost in spiritual darkness. The members of His Church are not meant to be a closed society concerned only with the needs of the congregation. They were chosen as a Royal Priesthood to be the lights of the world that engages the Kingdom of Darkness which opposes the rule and reign of God in this world. The Church is God’s instrument to proclaim the Word of God and bring lost sheep into the flock. This mission cannot be accomplished by Lone-Wolf Christians, but only by the combined efforts of the community of believers.
The Doctrine of the Church
Why is the Doctrine of the Church important? To begin with the doctrine provides answers to many questions such as the purpose, authority, origin, policies, and mission of the church. In the quote above, (Eph. 2:19-22), the Apostle Paul teaches that Christ is the architect of the Church and the apostles are the foundation, “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,” (Eph. 2:20). Jesus also proclaimed that the church would endure until the end times, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it,” (Matt. 16:18). These verses indicate the importance of the Church as God’s own possession and creation, and they also provide the source of the Church’s authority which is Christ and passed on through the Apostles. This authority also extends to the teaching of the Apostles as documented in the Scriptures. These points of instruction create the Doctrines of the Church that clearly show just how important the Church is for believers and for the will of God to be accomplished through His people.
Final Instructions
The Doctrine of the Church is a summary teaching of the biblical view of the Church as taught by Christ, the Apostles, and the authors of the Old Testament books. It gives the believer the proper view of the importance of the Church as the people of God, chosen by God, and who are assembled together in a loving community with a divine mission and purpose. The Doctrine of the Church provides the blueprint for the conduct and administration of the Church.
In the reality of a world of fallen and imperfect people, the Church faces many obstacles as it strives to conform to the teachings of the doctrine. As such, there are many churches that are not true churches and there are many church leaders who serve but have not received the true calling of God. These are false pastors and preachers that serve for their own selfish purposes, and they are not supported by the Holy Spirit. This is the dilemma for a believer struggling to find a true church with a faithful pastor. Unfortunately, it is also a reason that some have abandoned the Church because they have encountered false teachings and these false preachers. It must be understood that this is a condition of these times of unbelief, and it is also the result of the ongoing struggle between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan. False pastors and preachers are the instruments of Satan to deceive people in order to keep them out of the Kingdom of God.
Believers must remain steadfast in their obedience to Christ and His Gospel. Christ continues to appoint elders, pastors, and overseers to faithfully shepherd His churches. Be guided by Scripture and the Doctrine of the Church in finding a true church and a loving community of believers. If you have been saved, then you have been called to serve Christ in proclaiming His work of redemption to the world. Find a faithful and Christ honoring Church!
For a deeper teaching on the Doctrine of God go the menu bar and click on the Doctrines drop down window, then click on the Church (Ecclesiology) tab.
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