The primary role of the Church is to feed us with the Word of God. No one can truly know God on their own. We all need to be taught, trained, and instructed in order to understand the mysteries of God’s Word. Without teaching, we risk misunderstanding what God truly meant, and we may fall into false doctrines or heresies.

And now, I hear some people say: “I don’t need anyone; I’m a scholar, I’m intelligent, I have this and that degree…” My dear brother, my dear sister, know this: all your intelligence is no match when it comes to knowing God. If it were, then the most intelligent people in our world would know Him—but that’s not the case.

What am I trying to say? I’m trying to help us understand that no one can open their Bible alone and fully understand God—it’s simply not possible. That is why God Himself said He would give us people to teach us His Word, to explain to us what we do not understand. This is the role of the fivefold ministry described in Ephesians 4:11–12, especially that of pastors. Pastors have been appointed by God to help the members of the local church grow. Let me say it again: Pastors have been chosen by GOD to help us grow.

This means that if we do not allow ourselves to be taught by them, we will never grow—just as surely as a baby cannot grow without breast milk or a bottle.

At this point, many people might say, “But pastors themselves are not perfect. Some are frauds, they’ve done this or that…” But that’s not the point. A woman who breastfeeds or bottle-feeds a baby is not perfect either—she may be a liar, a thief, or even may have cheated on her husband to conceive the child.

However, no baby in the world has ever refused to be fed for such reasons—because that would be suicidal. My brother, my sister, no matter what you’ve heard or experienced in churches or from pastors, you cannot distance yourself from the church because of it—doing so would be spiritual suicide.

The Bible tells us in Hebrews 10:25, “Do not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some…”

This is a command—not a suggestion. The Bible urges us not to abandon, not to flee from our church, because it is God’s will that we remain in fellowship with brothers and sisters…

This text is an excerpt from the book “MY FIRST STEPS IN CHRIST” written by Elza NGALESSAMI.

We invite you to read the next article: “WHO IS GOD? HE IS HOLY.”