The Church - For Real

Unfortunately, the idea of the church in the minds of many believers today is a very skewed and distorted view of what the Bible tells us the church really is. Odds are good that if you asked 100 believers what “the church” is you would get 100 different answers. Views of the church range anywhere from a building to all mankind, and the confusion that has come from it has left many believers in a stalemate in their spiritual lives. Misunderstanding the church is to misunderstand your life if you are a believer.

Some reading this have already thought that I have overstated the issue, that church is something that’s good for us as Christians but not essential, that it doesn’t matter where I am or how I do it as long as I’m growing in my own relationship with Christ. It is a belief that’s a demonstration of the sad ignorance of Christians today. Our society has ingrained us with individualism to the point that, for many of us, it is impossible to see things otherwise. It is an individualism so permeating and so powerful that we think of ourselves (though never admitting it) as the center of existence, individualism so commanding that we see God as responding to us instead of the opposite, so influential that we see the church as somewhere to go to help us if we need it.

The church becomes somewhere I go when I need something; a vacation in the midst of a hectic week, entertainment for the children, and music that I really like. In fact, since I don’t need anything, it’s really no problem if I stay home this week. I’m doing fine in my walk with Christ on my own, I don’t need church to help me. I don’t even like the way they do it anyway, it’s just not my preference. I’ll be fine if I do it my way, God works in each of our lives differently. I, I, I…ad nauseam

Sound familiar? How sad.

The church is not about individuals. It is a radically communal body, the body of Christ, his presence on earth personified. Want to know why the church seems so messed up today? Because of all the individuals. The hands go one way, the feet go another, and the body falls flat on its face. The problem with the church is that’s its not functioning like it was designed. Christians should be the most drastically communal people on the planet. The community that is exhibited by the local church is the reflection of Christ to a lost world, and we must understand that in order to live the way that God created us.

Purposes of the Church
1. Worship
The purpose of the body of Christ is to worship him. This cannot be done by individuals. When I say worship, I do not mean singing the type of music that you like with words about God. Yes music can be a form of worship, but it is much deeper than that. We truly worship God when we live our lives the way he created us, loving one another, building one another up, serving one another – all with total satisfaction from and through Christ alone. The church worships in the way they treat each other, its praise comes from the life of its members, its love for one another from a love for God.

2. Edification
The purpose of the body of Christ is to build one another into the image of our Savior. This cannot be done by individuals. We do not go to church so that we can be helped spiritually, we go to church in order to be a help. We pour our lives into those around us and everyone gains from the effort.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4: 11-16)

Notice what the leaders of the church do at the beginning of this passage. They equip who? The saints. To do what? The work of the ministry, building the body of Christ. Church is not a place where we come and let the pastor give us a nugget of truth for the week so that we feel better, it’s a place where we come to learn how to sacrifice our lives by pouring it into those around us. Why? Keep reading. So that we’re built up in Christ, firmly grounded in him. Paul says that we aren’t supposed to live life like that but “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” “Speaking the truth” here is one word in the Greek that’s a verb. It literally means “truthing in love.” It’s an action, a way of life, a community. The body works together or it falls.

3. Evangelism
The purpose of the body of Christ is to share Christ. This cannot be done by individuals. The church shares Christ, not only by mission work, but by the way the members live. True community doesn’t exist in America today, and when the world sees a group of people who have been so gripped by the gospel that they sacrifice everything for one another, they notice. And by the way, don’t think they don’t notice if we’re not acting like the body of Christ. If you want to be a true disciple of Christ then you must share him with others, but that cannot be done apart from living the way that God intended for you to live - in service to one another.

Membership
Often times today we see church membership as a type of club membership. It’s something we join for political reasons, a status, but there is no commitment. Joining the local expression of the body of Christ is an unbelievable thing, not something to be done flippantly whenever and wherever you choose. When we become members of a church we are saying two things:

1. “I submit to the leadership of this church.”
This is why it’s important to find a church that shares your beliefs. By becoming a member of the church you are entering into a covenant that says I am submitting to the church leadership. That does not mean I cannot disagree with them, but I am to submit to them as the final authority.

Now, this does not mean we choose a church based on what we like. Church is not meant for entertainment, it’s not about our preferences. Churches today are more consumerist than ever in history, they think they must be in order to fit into an individualistic consumer society. People go “church shopping” and look for a place where the kids can have fun, a place where the music is just right, or a place where the activities are fun. To choose a church like that is to be a consumer, not a servant, and it's not at all the model we see in Scripture.

2. “I submit to the people of this church.”
When we join a church we make a commitment to the body. This is a commitment of service, a commitment of love, and selflessness. This is where we grow, this is where we live and worship, this is the focus of our lives. “Good morning!” and “See you next week!” don’t cut it. This fellowship is the very core and center of our spiritual lives on earth, without we fail. It’s not a social event; it’s a spiritual journey that must be deeply personal and vastly committed to.

We all need church, we all are the church, and it’s time to stop acting like self-satisfying individuals and start acting like the body that God created us to be. It’s called a body for a reason. It living, moving, and growing; all parts are necessary, it takes some conditioning and commitment, but the result is a God-honoring masterpiece.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23-25)