An average of all 2021 Gallup polling revealed 69% of Americans “identify with a Christian religion.” That’s a majority, but I’d suggest many of these respondents are saying, “I’m not an atheist. I’m not Buddhist. I’m not Muslim. I must be Christian.” For these folks, though, Christianity is just a title, it isn’t a belief system.
Every week, on the day appointed by God, everyone who belongs to Christ makes their way to church to worship Christ with everyone else who belongs to Christ. In obedience to him, we gather with other believers from our community (Hebrews 10:24). Gathering to God’s throne with us are the elect angels and all our loved ones who have died in the Lord (Revelation 5:11-12). Altogether, we gather at Mount Zion to hear from God and receive his grace through Christ, imparted by the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 12:28-29). Truly, it is a foretaste of the glories to come.
The Church cannot exist apart from the Bible. The Church’s definition and mission come from Scripture, not vice versa. Scripture teaches us that Christ came announcing the arrival of his kingdom (Mark 1:15). He came to reign over the lives of his people. He rules over us when we obey his commands in Scripture, which requires believing that the Bible is God’s Word.