Proverbs 18:1: A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment. (NKJV)
I believe in the local church. I believe that every Christian should be a committed member of a local church. In Hebrews 10:25 believers are exhorted to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. However, many Christians isolate themselves from the church and from other believers. Proverbs 18:1 clearly reveals that these people are seeking their own desire.
We cannot effectively live the Christian life in isolation from other believers. In the matrix of the local church we are encouraged to continue to walk with God. The local church is a place for the wounded to be healed, for the weak to receive strength. It is a place where all of us receive edification and instruction, not only from the pastor, but from each other.
Why then don't all believers commit to a local church? Some simply want to do their own thing. Paul said in Philippians 2:21, For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.
In a local church a person is confronted with the preaching of the truth of the Word of God. To live in accordance with the truth demands change. The truth demands we forgive. The truth demands we consider the needs of others. The truth demands that we walk in holiness and forsake the sin the pervades our culture. The truth demands that we obey the will of God rather than our selfish desires.
If you isolate yourself from the church and from the counsel of the Word of God and from the counsel of godly people, you are skating on thin ice. We need one another.
In these last days God will move in a powerful way. He will use the local church. I challenge you to find God's church for you. I challenge you to become faithful to that church.
Keep your footing on the solid rock of Jesus and His church, not on the thin ice of isolation.
Wayne L. Williams
wayne@fotwm.org