Against Pew-Sitting Christians

Notes on Corporate vs. Individualistic Salvation:

Does God save people as groups or does he hunt them out individually? That is a false dilemma. He does both. Jesus saved John Bunyan, Martin Luther, the Apostle Peter, you, me, etc. But he also saved the Children of Israel from Pharaoh at the Red Sea. And at Calvary he purchased the Church and is sanctifying her and beautifying her to this day.

At my congregation today, Christ Church, which I love very much, we sang this hymn:

The churches one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
She is His new creation By water and the Word.
From heav'n He came and sought her to be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her and for her life He died.

There it is: "for her life He died." Such a beautiful hymn and one that few would wish to read in the quiet of their homes if they knew the joy of singing it in church. Christ died not just for each of us separately, but for the Church.

Of course, this is also a scriptural truth, as well as one embodied in hymnody. Ephesians 5:25 says, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word." Here we see that Christ not only gave Himself for the Church, but He is engaged in sanctifying the Church. This would seem to suggest that a follower of Christ cannot grow in sanctification unless he is engaged in the life of the church.

Some will object, "I wasn't saved when I was sitting in a pew!" Okay, that may be true, but I would argue that the Bible teaches we were saved to sit in a pew, though that is a dismal way of putting it. We are saved to that, but to so much more. Consider the previous chapter in Ephesians:

"And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:11-13).

According to this verse, Pastors (individual pastors whom we can know personally) are a gift from Jesus, a gift from God. And lest we think that televised sermons are an equal substitute for this gift, Paul says that the pastors are for the purpose of building us up until we have unity, that is, unity with other saints. God wants people to have unity. But what does that mean? It means we are equipped for the "work of service." It means simply that we serve one another. It's not enough to be a hearer of the Word. We must be doers of the Word.

Now there are many ways to serve one another. And there is no reason to believe that Paul is speaking of "religious" ways of serving people, by offering sanctimonious words or belting window-rattling gospel solos. One way that we serve is simply by smiling at people and spending time with them. People need the esteem of others. It's one of the most basic necessities of life, without which we will die. If anyone doubts this, consider an older man whose wife has died. By degrees widowers often spend more and more time alone. They stop keeping up their appearance; they don't clean their surroundings as often or take care of their bodies as they used to. And eventually they stop eating right. Death is hastened. Consider also the homeless. We know that people become homeless and stay that way, because they are alone. Somehow they stopped reaching out to to others and others stopped reaching out to them.

Another way that people serve each other is materially and not just by giving to the deacons fund, but by doing business with one another. Scriptures prohibit Christians from being unequally yoked, which would include going into business with a non-believer. But it is scriptural for believers to go into business with other believers. This is one way that we can provide for one another's material needs, by making deals, by shaking hands. Yet another way we may serve one another is by guiding and leading each other. Businesses need CEOs. Schools need principals and teachers. And folk dances need callers, etc. All of these rolls are ultimately for the purpose of "building up the body of Christ." God made us both kings and priests (Rev. 1:6). The kings are those in business called to support the Church in one way. And the priests are the pastors and teachers, etc., called to serve the Church in another way. Both are needed in the Church. And finally, another way to serve others is through seeking and imparting wisdom. There are those who do not play a direct role in leadership, but who are scholars and so serve others through their research and writing.

Of course, no one will be relegated to just one category of service. All will partake in each category to some degree. But the point is that we all must serve one another and, according to the scriptures, the place that we learn this is in church. Christ died for the Church and, by inclusion, you and I. When we go to church, worshiping in faith, we are not merely sitting in a pew, but a mysterious spiritual reality is unfolding. We are being equipped to serve, equipped for our callings in which we serve both saints and unbelievers. Equipped to serve our families. And Christ is fashioning us again into mature men. Men who "measure up" to even Christ.

Is it possible to be saved outside the church? Sure, the thief was saved on the cross. But why would you want to be? The Church is the whole point. She is the Bride of Christ.