"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. "
1 Corinthians 12:13
LOVE AND TRUTH
Read It: John 13:34-35; 1 Timothy 3:14-15 Let me give you two more reasons why the church is so critical in the process of growing mature disciples who imitate Jesus Christ. The first reason is relational. Jesus Himself issued the identifying mark for His disciples: our love for one another. God's people are so vitally connected nected that we're like members of the same physical body. The parts of your body are in dynamic relationship. Just smash your thumb or stub your toe, and you'll have a good biblical reminder of the interrelationship ship of your bodily members. Once you disconnect a body part, you cut off its ability to function because it is separated from the source of its life. As Christ's disciples and members of His body, we're all in this thing together. That's why Paul calls the Church the "household of God." Your home is supposed to be the place where you give and receive love unconditionally. ditionally. It takes more than a paid professional staff in a church to produce duce this kind of love. It has to come from each disciple in dynamic relationship with every other disciple. One person can't do it all either, because no one person has everything another person needs.
Another reason the church is so critical in the disciple-making process is that the church is where truth is found. Paul calls the church the "pillar lar and support of the truth." What do pillars and supports do? They hold up buildings. The church holds up the truth of God, preserving and passing ing it on so each generation of new disciples can operate from the basis of truth. The church is the one place you ought to be able to go and get the truth. I hope you know there's not a lot of truth in the world now There's a lot of shucking and jiving and game-playing out there, but there is a critical shortage of truth. Well, in a biblically sound church you should always hear the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you, God! So your first concern when you go to church ought to be, "Tell me the truth," not, "Make me feel good." Even if it makes me feel bad, tell me the truth. Think About It The church is not a gathering of strangers, like fans at a ball game who just happen to be sitting next to one another.
No Comments