By Douglas Teague
The cover of the April 9 edition of Newsweek was emblazoned with the words “Forget the Church––Follow Jesus.” The article within, penned by Andrew Sullivan, was quickly posted to such sites as the Huffington Post and The Daily Beast. At the heart of the argument is the plea to reject organized religion (i.e. the church), while at the same time accepting Jesus as one’s personal savior. The implication is that one can be saved separate and apart from the church. The Bible supports no such conclusion. You cannot separate Jesus from His church. Consider the following: 

  1. You cannot separate Jesus from His church because He shed His blood to purchase it: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28, KJV). To contend the church is nonessential is to contend the blood of Jesus is nonessential (cf. 1 Peter 1:18-19; Ephesians 1:7). 
  2. You cannot separate Jesus from His church because the saved are added to it. The New Testament church was “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). Just as all the saved were in the ark in the days of Noah, even so today all the saved are in the church. This being true, it is foolish to contend that one can be saved apart from the church.  
  3. You cannot separate Jesus from His church because He is head of the church and Savior of the body (Ephesians 5:23). The body is the church (Colossians 1:18). Just as the physical head is connected to the physical body, so also the spiritual head (Christ) is inextricably linked to the spiritual body (the church).  
  4. You cannot separate Jesus and His church because they are bound together. This is clearly evidenced in the narrative of Saul of Tarsus, who was “…ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3, ESV). When Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, His first words were, “… Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” (Acts 9:4, KJV). He identified Himself to Saul by saying, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest…” (Acts 9:5, KJV). Such language could not clearer. Persecuting (and disparaging) the church is the equivalent of persecuting Jesus Himself.  
  5. You cannot separate Jesus from His church because we are reconciled to God by Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18-20) in the one body (Ephesians 4:4), which is the church (Colossians 1:24). “And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby” (Ephesians 2:16, KJV). 
  6. You cannot separate Jesus from His church because He promised to present it to Himself. “That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27, KJV; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:24). 
  7. You cannot separate Jesus from His church because God does not have children outside His family. The church is the house (i.e. family) of God (1 Timothy 3:15). To become a member of God’s family, one must be born into it (John 3:3-5). When one is born again, he is saved and added to God’s family, the church (Acts 2:38,41,47). To teach a person can be a child of God but not a part of His family is to accuse God of spiritual adultery! 

It is true that horrible atrocities have been committed in the name of the church. Yet, the sins of humanity do not justify the rejection of the church of which Jesus is the Architect (Matthew 16:18-20). The church was in the eternal purpose of God (Ephesians 3:10-11). One cannot follow Jesus without being a part of the church He died to establish (Acts 20:28).