Sunday Sermons
A Place to Belong
A Place to Belong
“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).
“The Bible knows nothing of solitary saints or spiritual hermits isolated from other believers. The Bible says we are joined together (Eph. 4:16), built together (Eph. 2:22), heirs together (Eph. 3:6), fitted together (Eph. 2:21), and held together (Colossians 2:19) and will be caught up together (1 Thess. 4:17). You are not on your own anymore. While your relationship with God is personal, God never intends it to be private” (The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren, p. 130).
The Household of God
Membership in the family of God is priceless. The family or household of God is also called “the church” (1 Timothy 3:15). The church is so significant that Jesus died on the cross to purchase this relationship (Acts 20:28). The church is not only referred to as the household of God, it is also called the “body of Christ” (Ephesians 1:22-23) and is viewed as the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:23). Thus the person who says that they don’t need the church is either completely ignorant of what the Bible says or very unappreciative. To say that “I don’t need the church” is the same as saying to Jesus, “I love You, but dislike Your wife”, or “I love You but reject Your body”.
Love Your Family
Warren is right when he notes that many professed believers use the church but they don’t love it (p. 132). Yet the Bible exhorts us to not only love Jesus, but to intensely love His bride as well:
- “In sincere love of the brethren” (1 Peter 1:22).
- “Love the brotherhood” (1 Peter 2:17).
When Saul of Tarsus was persecuting the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:3), Jesus said that Saul was persecuting Him (Acts 9:5 “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting”). Jesus’ ties with the church are so close that He plainly said that when we help out another brother with even their physical needs, we are actually helping Him (Matthew 25:40). So we need to make sure that we are not dismissing, demeaning or complaining about the bride of Christ.
Churchless Christians?
The world seems filled with people who profess to believe in Jesus but are not a member of any local congregation. Yet, I cannot find this type of Christian in the New Testament:
- When the good hearts on the day of Pentecost were baptized they were added by the Lord to the church and immediately they were involved in a local congregation (Acts 2:41-47).
- Wherever Paul preached and converted people, a local congregation was established (Acts 14:22; 16:5).
- Paul is always found starting or working with a local congregation (Acts 9:19; 9:26; 11:26; 13:1).
The Bible likens the relationship of an individual believer to the body of Christ, as an organ in the human body (1 Corinthians 12:12ff), or a stone in a building (1 Peter 2:5), a sheep in a flock (Acts 20:28), or a child in a family (1 Timothy 3:15). So a Christian who is not a member of a local congregation is like an organ without a body, a sheep without a flock, or a child without a family. Such is unnatural, unhealthy and often dangerous.
Attender or Member?
“The difference between being a church attender and a church member is commitment. Attenders are spectators from the sidelines; members get involved. Attenders are consumers; members are contributors. Attenders want the benefits of a church without sharing the responsibility. They are like couples who want to live together without committing to a marriage” (Warren p. 137).
Why Do I Need the Church?
To Have Credibility
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). When the world sees people from all different backgrounds and upbringings working together, standing united on God’s truth, speaking the same thing (1 Corinthians 1:10) and loving each other, such is real proof of the legitimate power of the Gospel (Romans 1:16), and changed lives.
To Help Me with My Selfishness
“The local congregation is the classroom for learning how to get along in God’s family. It is a lab for practicing unselfish, sympathetic love. As a participating member you learn to care about others and share the experiences of others. Only in contact with ordinary, imperfect believers can we learn real fellowship” (Warren p. 133).
- “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love….distributing to the needs of the saints…given to hospitality” (Romans 12:10,13).
- “Resolve this, not to put a stumbling-block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way” (Romans 14:13).
- “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26).
- “That the members should have the same care for one another” (1 Corinthians 12:25).
- “Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another” (Colossians 3:13).
- “Warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all” (1 Thessalonians 5:14).
- “We ought to lay down our lives for our brethren” (1 John 3:16).
To Grow Spiritually
“Over fifty times in the New Testament the phrase ‘one another’ or ‘each other’ is used. We are commanded to love each other, pray for each other, encourage each other, admonish each other, greet each other, serve each other, teach each other, accept each other, honor each other, bear each other’s burdens, forgive each other, and many other mutual tasks. It may seem easy to be holy when no one else is around to frustrate your preferences, but that is false, untested holiness. Isolation breeds deceitfulness” (Warren p. 134). It is like thinking how patient you would be as a parent when you don’t have any children yet. Being a member is proof that we are serious about loving Jesus and His disciples in reality, not just in theory. We are willing to love, support and encourage real people, not imaginary or ideal people.
To Do God’s Work
It is foolish to think that I can do God’s work all by myself. No one is that gifted or talented. In order to save the lost and edify the saved it takes many people with all sorts of different gifts and talents (Ephesians 4:16). The church is the pillar of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15) and not the solitary individual believer.
To Prevent Backsliding
Once again, isolation is deceitful. Much of what I have learned about the Bible over the years was in connection with studying with others. I need interaction with other believers to avoid believing what is false, to test my conclusions, to be encouraged, to learn, and to have wise leaders watching over me (Hebrews 13:17). “But exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13). “Satan loves detached believers, unplugged from the life of the Body, isolated from God’s family, and unaccountable to spiritual leaders, because he knows they are defenseless and powerless against his tactics” (Warren p. 136).
Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net
