Those who seek to know God have to take what what the Scriptures say about one's involvement in a church seriously. That is, such people should look for opportunities to participate in the life of the corporate or visible church, which ideally involves membership in a local church (complete with elders and deacons). It seems to me that in order to be consistent with the Scriptures, anyone who is not a member of a true church should either be diligently seeking to become a member of an existing church, or else be diligently seeking to assist in the formation of a church of which one hopes to become a member. Some of the applicable Scripture passages are as follows: Col. 3:15-16; Heb. 10:24-25; 13:17. (For more information on church membership, read the article, "Is Church Membership Optional?"; for a discussion on the authority of Scripture itself, see my article, "What is Your Ultimate Authority?")

In order for one's involvement in a church to have significant spiritual value, the church must be a true church, as opposed to a mere imitation (see my article, "What about the Various 'Christian' Denominations?"). Unfortunately, even many true churches seem to be greatly deficient in terms of the message they proclaim. Why is this? Putting care into their message requires serious attention to doctrine, and many churches, it seems, do not emphasize doctrine because it would risk bringing division, which is an indication that it is more important to their leaders to keep as many people as possible attending their churches instead of faithfully holding up the truth and discipling people in it.

In what ways are their messages deficient? I would submit that in many churches the law of God in all its purity and terror is scarcely mentioned, and if it is mentioned it is often modified to make it non-threatening, or at least more "user friendly." God is said to love all people indiscriminately, regardless of how seriously they may take His law. In short, the law of God means little if anything to a great many churchgoers.

Not only is the law conspicuously absent in so many churches, but so is the gospel, at least in an undiluted or unpolluted sense. The simple offer of free grace is turned into everything from an alleged salvation that is somehow dependent on the will of people in order to become effective, to one that is entirely accomplished by human means.

As we look more closely at what is going on, we will often see large numbers of church members having no real understanding or appreciation of ultimate truth. They will often be grossly ignorant of the Scriptures. A consequence of this is that people are allowed to think they can go about living their lives with only a superficial relationship with the Savior and still have a home in Heaven.

Emphasizing doctrine, however, is not a guarantee that a church is in good condition. Their leaders should be able to demonstrate that their doctrines are derived from interpreting Scripture in the sense in which it was intended by the writers. If we expect others to interpret what we say in the sense we intend, why should it be any different in the case of Scripture? Furthermore, some people may elevate their own unnecessary inferences from the text to levels of exaggerated importance, perhaps to the extent that they will promote their ideas as causes for division. Those who wish to be dogmatic about a given interpretation should be prepared to demonstrate conclusively that it is the only possible interpretation.

In summary, then, it seems to me that if more churches are going to function the way the Scriptures prescribe, they will need to emphasize the proclamation of the law of God, the gospel of free grace, and doctrine in general, which all must be accomplished within the framework of the interpretation of Scripture in the sense in which it was intended by the writers.

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