Your New Family

Back to Basics: (Part VII)

YOUR NEW FAMILY

Acts 20:28 (NIV)
28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

Ephesians 2:19-22 (NIV)
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household,
20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

            Today, it is not unusual to meet Christians who no longer believe in the importance of joining a church. Many have formulated some excuses why they are having difficulty in joining. The most common excuses you would hear are:

  • Services are long and boring
  • Sermons are irrelevant for their lives
  • Christians are judgmental and hypocrites
  • Churches ask for money all the time 
  • Churches have too many conflicts within
  • Bad experiences in the past

Only one of these excuses is enough to keep someone from church. Now, beside these excuses, there are also those who do not join the church because of personal inconvenience like Sunday being the only day off they have and they need to do other things or others has to work all the time. With all of these excuses that people are coming up with, I feel that we as God’s people should be able to really understand what God is saying about the church and why we should seek to be a part of it. I hope all of you will be convinced that church is not optional for us; rather that God has built it so it can help us develop into the kind of people we should be before God.

            In the initial texts we have, we can immediately recognize how important the church is for us. First, in Acts 20:28, Paul told the pastors in Ephesus that they need to be responsible shepherds of the church, which Jesus willingly bought by His own blood. Think of it, despite all its imperfections, the church is still so important to Christ that He did not hesitate to sacrifice His very life for her. Then secondly, in Ephesians 2:19, Paul referred to the church as God’s household or God’s family. What a significant truth! Without a doubt, God had used this concept about the church to show us one of the important reasons why He has placed the church on earth. It is design to be a life-support system for individual Christians.

Can you imagine a baby growing without the help of a family, without the help of parents, brothers or sisters? Evidently, it would be very tough for babies to survive it. For the same reason, when a person experiences new birth in Christ, it is expected that he or she finds a church family that will provide sufficient support for growth. You see, Christian life can be difficult at times and it is because of those times that we need a support system. And the best support a Christian can get can come from the nurturing love of a church family. Perhaps, it would benefit all of us if we go back and revisit this doctrine about the church. There are four elements about the church that we should never take for granted:

 

I           THE MEANING OF CHURCH:

            In the New Testament, the word church comes from the Greek word Ekklesia, which literally means “Called out ones.” If you analyze this word, it helps define the Christian’s relationship to the world around him. Peter emphasizes the same concept in 1 Peter 2:9:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Consider the underlined part. Christians are called out by Jesus Christ from darkness to be His light in the world. That’s the very purpose why you and I are still here in the world. Christ desires that we light our world.

With this definition, Christians are the church. It is the body of believers who share the same faith, and not the church building. In other words, we don’t look at this church building as the church and we assume that because you come into this building every Sunday that makes you a Christian. Of course not, you are a Christian because you have exercised faith in Christ. And being a Christian you join other Christians together to establish the church. When you all go home after the service, the church has also left this building.

So, the church is not only the called out ones, they are also called out together. It is quite clear in the New Testament that there is no such thing as a solitary Christian. Once a person believes in Christ, he or she takes the next step of joining the church.

Acts 2:41-44 (NIV)
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.

            Look at verse 44, “All the believers were together.” More than anything else, this serves better the calling of the church to shine as lights for Jesus.  Wouldn’t it be better if you put one candle with many others? They will give more light collectively than one lone candle ever could, and together they can easily dispel the darkness in the world.

II         THE MANDATE FOR THE CHURCH:

            There are Christians who are saying that there is no command in the New Testament about joining the church. This is absolutely false. Hebrews 10:24-25 gives a very plain command:

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

            If you take the first part of verse 25, you would find the direct command, “Let us not give up meeting together.” If translated in a more literal sense, the author is saying, “Stop abandoning meeting together.” Now, why would God command Christians to join and church and not take it for granted? If you consider the background of the text, joining the church will keep Christians from drifting or backsliding. What was happening during this time was that these Hebrew Christians were facing some severe persecutions because of their faith. Some of them have already drifted away from the faith. But the author of this letter knew that more important than the potential of being subjected to physical sufferings were the benefits they could gain through gathering with other faithful believers.

            Also, notice from the passage in Hebrews that some are already “in the habit of doing” this. I’m always concern whenever Christians don’t take seriously the specific commands that God has given them. I believe it really boils down to our love of God. Remember the words of Jesus Christ again:

John 14:23-24 (NIV)
23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

            Honestly, it’s really hard to say we love the Lord Jesus and turn our backs on a clear command to worship Him together with other believers because of other activities like work, children’s ballgames, recreational activities, and others. If we love Him, then He will be our priority. I have known many parents who would do everything in their power in order not to miss their kids’ school games or events. Why? Because they love them. Why can’t we apply this to church. Today, the church of God is suffering terribly because of convenience Christianity. Too many Christians easily decide not to attend church, or hop from church to church looking for what they can get out of it rather than what they can put into it. They look for the church that can meet their needs rather than a church they can serve best. No wonder many churches are struggling to survive, and are failing to make a difference in the world. I pray that none of us fall into this trap. Let’s do our best to move away from convenience Christianity, and begin to take the church seriously.

III        THE MUTUALITY OF THE CHURCH:

            Thirdly, I would like to talk about the support system that God expects in the church. Let us consider again the passage in Hebrews 10:24-25, the author being aware of all the challenges the Christians are facing will impress the need for mutual care among the members. Twice he mentions the phrase “one another.”

            Within the local church where the family relationship must be strongly upheld, believers should consistently practice the “one another” mindset. Throughout the New Testament, this phrase is repeated about forty-five times in the context of church members interactions (pray for one another, forgive one another, build-up one another, etc) including about a dozen of love one another statements. This emphasizes beautifully the interdependence of believers in the church. Take for example the two areas mentioned in Hebrews 10:

  1. A.     Spur One Another:

To spur suggests to stimulate, to incite or create heat. It’s a picture of a fire that burns brighter and longer, and puts out more heat, when many logs are stacked together as opposed to a single log that would easily burn out. 

The easiest way to put out your fire for God is to isolate yourself from other believers. And that’s exactly what the Devil wants to do. He knows that church participation can stimulate significant growth in our lives. According to George Barna, statistics show that if Christians do go to church for more than a month, the odds are almost two-to-one that you won’t go to church for more than a year (What Americans Believe).

  1. B.     Encourage One Another:

The church can also provide encouragement. The Greek word literally means "to call alongside." It presumes that its object is under pressure (fearful, weak, overwhelmed), and it means to strengthen by giving appropriate aid. The reality is: Christians live under intense pressure--not just the normal pressures of everyday life in a broken world, but also the pressures of serving Christ in a spiritually hostile environment--and therefore need to be spiritually strengthened on a regular basis.

God uses the fellowship of the church as a source of great stability in life. By the example of more mature believers, members who are discouraged can be inspired to persevere and continue to grow in their love and service for the Lord. This positive peer pressure is also expressed by Proverbs 13:20:

He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.

Let me challenge you to share your life to other believers in the church. Mutual care means they need you and you need them as well. Don’t forget that you are living your life before your brothers and sisters in the Lord. Your faithfulness can affect them tremendously, so be more intentional about it.

IV        THE MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH:

            There is still one more passage I would like to emphasize before I close:

Ephesians 4:11-12

11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 

12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

            According to this passage, God has gifted all believers with special abilities so that they can effectively serve Him outside and inside the church. When Christians are serving each other inside the church, this process will propel growth within them. This growth will overflow that they would begin to affect the lives of people outside the church. Thus, their impact goes out beyond their walls.

            As a church, we should promote balance. Yes, we want to minister to our own church family, but we should not stop there. Our church exists also for the people who still need to get saved. Ultimately, this is the most important reason why the church has been established in the world. Other functions of the church like worshipping and fellowshipping will continue when we get to heaven, but not evangelizing. We have the luxury of fulfilling this only while we are here on earth. Therefore, when you join the church, actively participate by using your spiritual gifts and talents so that the church will continue to grow spiritually and numerically.  God expects this from His church.

            Is the church important to you? Would you consider yourself an active participant in the church? God has commanded you not to take the church for granted. Not only because you need the church, but also because the world needs your light.