Does One Need to go to Church When Baptised?

Answers given to questions at the Bible Education Centre, South Africa

Firstly, it is useful just to think of the word ‘church’ which in Scripture mean the members. Unfortunately today, a lot of people think of the word as meaning the building in which Christians meet. For this reason the Christadelphian community chose the word ‘ecclesia’, derived from the Greek word meaning simply an assembly or a group of people meeting together (though in Greek the word has no intrinsic Christian meaning), in order to emphasise that the focus of Christianity is essentially on ‘people’ rather than on ‘buildings’ or particular places.

You are right in saying that we join with the ecclesia (i.e. fellow believers) to take bread and wine and to have fellowship. It is significant that the early church in Acts 2: 42, devoted themselves to “the apostles’ teaching, and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Notice that ‘fellowship’ is put before ‘breaking of bread’. This verse is followed by ‘every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts…’ You will note the ‘togetherness’ of it all. It is not possible for us to meet every day as they did at the beginning of the early church (our jobs, distance and travelling and family responsibilities etc. hinder us from doing that). So a central meeting place and a definite day and time are a good way for us all to get together and remember our Lord. Whilst it is true that we can meet at each other’s homes, this I think would restrict our contact with each other – there would be a temptation to just meet either with only those we like or only those who live near us.

Christian fellowship (Greek ‘koinonia’) implies a sharing. This idea is particularly brought out in Paul’s use of the ‘body’ as an analogy for the ‘body of Christ’. See 1 Corinthians 12: 12 – 30. Of particular importance in this context is verse 25 ‘…there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other’. We therefore have to be involved with each other. This does not mean we have to be bosom pals with every brother and sister and live in each other’s pockets but that we should have a deep and sincere concern for each other’s welfare (both material and spiritual) – remember each brother and sister is someone for whom Christ died. Also remember, we are God’s witnesses charged with preaching His salvation to the world. Whilst we have to do this on a personal level, we also have to witness as a church, on the collective level – a group of people working together can achieve much more than many individuals working in isolation.

We actually need each other. Someone used the analogy of coals burning brightly together in a fire. Take one away and separate it from the rest and it loses its brightness and eventually goes cold and dead. Put it back into the fire and it regains its glow and its heat and makes the whole fire bigger and more effective.

The writer to the Hebrews knew the value of fellowship when he said ‘Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together’.

Regarding your question of disfellowshipping after 7 consecutive weeks’ absence – there is no scriptural precedent for this. This is a man-made rule. There are all sorts of reasons why someone does not attend the ecclesia for some time and these need to be examined to see what the ecclesia can do to help, if there are problems. However, someone who has been baptised and truly ‘discerns the Lord’s body’ will want to remember what the Lord Jesus did for us and in the company of those who likewise gratefully acknowledge His sacrifice.