There are people today who separate themselves from the local church and feel they are perfectly justified in doing so. The New Testament, however, has much to say about this, and when we look at relevant passages, we can see that doing so is a dire sin. The Scriptures know nothing of living the Christian life by oneself, in isolation from the body of Christ.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. (1 John 5:1)

If you don’t long for fellowship with other children of God, do you really love God?

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:10–11)

It is impossible to obey this passage’s command to use our gifts to serve one another if we are not plugged into a local body of believers and involved on a regular basis. Our spiritual gifts are given to us to “serve one another,” as the text plainly says, not to keep them to ourselves. If we don’t use our spiritual gifts to serve others, are we perhaps like the man in Jesus’ parable who buried his talent and hid it and produced no profit with it (Matthew 25:14–30)?

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph. 4:1–6)

This text not only commands us to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, but it says to be eager to do so. That means we should go out of our way to maintain unity in the church. It is obvious that those who separate from the church are doing the opposite because they are contributing to disunity. Breaking off and separating—unless they have good biblical reason to do so—simply fractures the church further than it already is.

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”

(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, … (Eph. 4:7–11)

Continuing in Ephesians 4, we see another indication why separating from the church is sinful. Christ Himself gave gifts to the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. If we separate from the church, we cut ourselves off from those gifts and essentially say that we don’t need them. That is certainly contrary to God’s will. The gifts mentioned are absolutely vital to the church’s life, health and growth, and so cutting ourselves off from them will result inevitably in a decrease in our own spiritual health. Again, that is something contrary to God’s will.

… to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (Eph. 4:12–14)

Here the apostle explains why the aforementioned gifts of men to the church are so vital to her health and growth. It is through them that God equips the saints for ministry, builds up the body of Christ, and brings the church to maturity for her protection from error. To separate oneself from the church, then, is to remove oneself from God’s divinely appointed means of spiritual growth and protection. Can that be anything less than dangerous, not to mention an affront to our wonderful Christ, who graciously provided those gifts?

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Eph. 4:15–16)

Notice that Paul here not only mentions growing up but specifically growing up into the head, Christ. He also mentions that Christ is the source of that growth. There is, then, no growing apart from being connected with the church, and particularly with those men whom Christ has given as gifts to the church.

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Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.