WHAT ROLE DO YOU PLAY IN THE LOCAL CHURCH?

WHAT ROLE DOES THE LOCAL CHURCH PLAY IN YOUR FAMILY?

The local church occupies an important position in God’s scheme of things. It is through the local church that Christians execute certain works. These are works which God commands that can only be accomplished as a group in the context of a local church. To illustrate this, consider the partaking of the Lord’s Supper. It is to be done on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7) when the local church is assembled together (I Corinthians 11:20,33). Another example would be the discipline of an unfaithful Christian. This discipline is to be administered by the local church in its assembly (I Corinthians 5:4,5). The Christian is to provoke other Christians and to be provoked by other Christians. This provoking is done in the assembly (Hebrews 10:24,25). Who can deny the importance of a local church? Does not the aforementioned items prove as much?

Paul understood how important the local church was to his Christian life, hence, “…when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples” (Acts 9:26). Obviously, Paul saw the necessity and benefit of being a member within the structure of a local church.

A failure to appreciate the benefits of membership in a local church will cause the Christian to live below his potential. Sadder still, it will cause him to lose his soul.

It is impossible for the Christian to fulfill collective responsibility unless he is a faithful member of a local church. The idea that a Christian can be a member at large, never settling down at one congregation, where he would be accountable, is not acceptable conduct for a Christian. This is tantamount
to ‘forsaking of the assembly’ and is a failure to support the work of a local church, which equals sin. Yes, disassociating one’s self from active participation in a local church is harmful to your spiritual health.

We often hear Christians lament the lack of growth in local churches. Could it be that lack of growth is symptomatic of the mentality that minimizes the importance of the local church? I believe it does! How can we work together to build up the local church if we believe the local church is not important? We cannot!

I am not saying that we should be a member of a local chu-rch that does not respect the authority of God. There have been and are local churches which teach and practice things that are contrary to sound doctrine. To them the Lord says, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the work you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent” (Revelvation 2:5). On the other hand, there are local churches which have set themselves to abiding in the doctrine of Christ (II John 9), it is to such a congregation one should join himself.

Dear Christian, if you have been guilty of devaluing the local church, I encourage you to repent. If you have failed in your responsibilities toward the local church of which you are a member, I encourage you to repent. Repent and get busy working within the framework of the local church.

 

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE LORD’S CHURCH TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY?

“THE PROBLEM WITH THE AMERICAN CHURCH!!

Over the past few years a trend has increased among people, especially Americans: the idea that people can be good Christians without being part of a church. Many people will recognize that Jesus is the Messiah and Lord, but yet want nothing to do with any church. This attitude fits with the independent streak that marks most Americans. Many also feel that churches are just trying to get money out of people, and they do not see the value or relevance in being part of a church.

It is too often true that churches are not living up to the call of Jesus Christ. Some churches do not teach the Bible at all, and other churches favor their traditions over what the Bible teaches. Too many other churches teach the truths of the Bible and yet do not show the love and community that God desires. Do these difficulties, however, mean that we can or should be Christians without being part of a church?

We must first understand that there can be no such thing as a “churchless Christian.” In Ephesians 4:4-5, we read that there is “one body”, as assuredly as there is “one faith” and “one Lord.” In Ephesians 5:29-30 (and Colossians 1:18), Paul identifies that “one body” as the church; this is the body for which He gave His life (Ephesians 5:25-27). Anyone who is not a part of this “universal church” is separated from Christ, and will not be saved! A Christian, then, that is entirely “churchless” is no Christian, and has no part in the resurrection of life!

Is it possible for a Christian to be part of the “universal” church without being identified with a local church? The Scriptures give us no reason to believe that such is possible except temporarily, such as being converted while traveling.

God desires for His people to act in certain ways, and many of these actions require a person to be part of a local church of fellow believers. God desires that His people die to self and live for others (Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:1-4). Christians are to think more highly of others and the needs of others than of themselves and their own needs. God intended for Christians to be first concerned with the needs of their fellow Christians (Galatians 6:10, Matthew 25:31-46). How can this be done if one is not part of a local church?

God also desires that His people work together, both to strengthen each other and to further His purposes (Hebrews 10:24-25, Galatians 6:2, Acts 2:42-47). Encouragement and accountability are important aspects of the Christian faith. Christians are commanded to consider how to provoke other Christians to love and do good works and to bear each other’s burdens. They are to be open and honest with one another so that they can be the best servants of God they can be. This can only happen when Christians come together and get to know each other, and the local church has been designed for this purpose.

The witness of the Scriptures is clear: God expects Christians to work together in a local church. Love for one another, encouragement to continue in the faith, and accountability are all learned in the environment of the local church. We cannot grow to be the type of Christians that please God if we attempt to do so on our own!

Yes, it is unfortunately true that too often local churches are not representing God’s intentions very well. Too many churches encourage too much passive behavior and do not challenge their members to represent the community that God expects the local church to be. Just because many churches fail to live up to God’s desires, however, does not mean that we are “off the hook” of the local church. God established local churches in His wisdom for our benefit. If God desired to have “maverick Christians,” He could easily have done so. He recognizes, however, that we are too weak to defeat Satan by ourselves. Christians need opportunities to assemble with one another, to show love to one another, building one another up, and encouraging and exhorting each other to continue to serve God according to His will.

If you believe in God and Jesus Christ, do not deprive yourself of the love and encouragement you need and that others need from you: join us!

 

SPIRITUAL GROWTH IS A MUST–”MY PEOPLE ARE DESTROYED FOR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE”

Why Go to Class?

Besides assembling for worship on the first day of the week, this church meets regularly to study the scriptures in class settings. Some may ignore these opportunities and others may simply take them for granted, so it is worth inquiring: Why go to class?

We go to class because “He gave some to be … teachers“. The Lord equipped the church with people in various roles to foster its growth, as Paul penned, “He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). Certainly, each position listed – apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor – is one whose work includes teaching. Nevertheless, mentioning “teachers” as a distinct role implies that it is possible to be a teacher without being an apostle, prophet, evangelist, or pastor. Since there are teachers who are not evangelists or pastors, then there must be teaching that is neither preaching nor shepherding. A class is the setting in which such teaching would occur. By neglecting to participate in these classes, one diminishes the ability of the body to effectively edify itself.

We go to class because some need “milk” and some need “meat”. Any healthy church will include members from across the spectrum of spiritual growth. There will be the mature and knowledgeable, as well as the uninformed, and those in between. Members of every standing are necessary (I Corinthians 12:14-24), and each has different needs, as it is written, “For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:13-14). Just as a nursing infant would choke if fed a steak or pork chop, so the novice Christian may be overwhelmed by some of the controversies debated among brethren, requiring instead “the first principles of the oracles of God” (Hebrews 5:12). Paul explained to the Corinthians, “I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it” (I Corinthians 3:2). Conversely, an adult cannot receive sufficient nourishment from milk. It will not sustain him; he needs meat. The Christian who is fed nothing but a constant repetition of “the elementary principles” (Hebrews 6:1) will never grow to the maturity desired by God. As Paul admonished, “Brethren, do not be children in understanding … but in understanding be mature” (I Corinthians 14:20). Thus, opportunities are needed to address various members of the church at their respective levels of knowledge and growth. Classes furnished by the church are an appropriate setting in which to accomplish this.

Christians have a responsibility to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18) and the Lord has supplied the church with teachers to expedite this purpose (Ephesians 4:14-16). Members of the church need to let the teachers teach by attending and participating in their classes.