“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which (Jesus) has purchased with His own blood.”
I have been thinking a lot about the church today. What I am sharing here is not an exposition of the text, but a mention of the declaration of the church. (When I write “the church” I do not mean that there is only one entity called “church,” but that all Christians together make up Christ’s Church.) But I am writing from the standpoint that each local entity of the church is important in the ongoing business of the church. Let me stop here and share with you what I have been thinking about Christ’s Church. “Church” is not just a concept of man, but the idea of God. Acts 20:28 tells us that Jesus bought His church with “His own blood.” The idea of Christians being together in worship, fellowship, evangelism and missions is written about throughout the New Testament. Most of Paul’s letters are written to local churches, and even those to individuals deal with churches in one way or the other. The Book of Revelation is written to seven local churches. Do not write off the importance of the local church in the work of God. A man once asked me if I thought he could be a Christian and not be part of a local church. I told him that I guess he could but why would he want to? Surely, if something is important to God, it should be important to us. Church should be seen by us as an agent of accountability. If I am involved in something by myself, I can make of it what I want. It is easy for us to forgive our own sins, no matter how bad they look when other people do the same thing. The fact that we are in this together gives us a natural accountability to one another. I don’t mean that we in the church should snoop on one another, and sit in judgment on one another, but that we have each other to remind us when we get off of the path. Church is a means of sharing our lives in Jesus with other people. I spent several months when I had to attend the “great church of television.” To be sure, I heard some good sermons, but what was missing was the shared experience with God’s people. Mary and I can have fellowship, but it’s just not the same as being with all of the other people. When I have gone through difficult times, it has been good to be part of a church. Other Christians have been there to pray for me, visit me and to encourage me. It is through the church that a lot of ministry has taken place in the lives of people that would not have been done without the group of Christians called “church.” Being part of a church is not always easy. After all, the church is comprised of human beings with different personalities, different likes and dislikes and different opinions. This didn’t start with your church. Most of the New Testament, after the gospels, deals with problems in churches. At no time did Paul demean the importance of church, even when he was dealing with problems in particular churches. He dealt with the problems because the church was important to him, and the problems needed solving. Paul did not give up on the idea of church, but he toiled to make churches better. Do not give up on church. If you absolutely cannot get along in your present church, go to another. But I warn you, after awhile there will be problems there too – just saying. Just think of the church as being important enough to Jesus that He shed His blood for it. If the church is important to Jesus, it should be important to us as well. I haven’t really delved deeply into the importance of the church, but I hope that what I have shared here will help you as you consider your part in the church that you attend. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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