Can I Ask That? – Part Twenty – What is the Church?
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2012%3A4-8&version=NLT
Head/Mind – Helpful Information
The church is a human community made up of all of who have ever followed Jesus, follow Jesus now, or will follow him in the future. It is made up of people from every nation, culture, ethnicity, and time period. The purpose of the church is to advance the reign of God, by announcing the good news of Jesus, inviting others to follow him, and by living and serving in such a way that the will of God is done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Our baptism marks us as being members of this community, and a part of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus is to pledge our loyalty to church, by upholding it with our presence, our prayers, our gifts, our service, and. our witness.
But, in our day, a lot of people have fallen away from the church, walked away, or given up on it. And, it is easy to understand why. The church is made up of people. And people will, sooner or later, disappoint us. They will fail to be there when we need them, or they will do something to betray our trust. In one way or another, people will fall short of what we hope.
Yet, we still need Christian community to grow and develop. No, the people we travel with will never be perfect; but, then again, neither will we. We need each other, if we ever hope of becoming the kind of people we dream of becoming.
But, perhaps you are asking, Why can’t I just follow Jesus, without the hassle of other people?
Heart – The Personal Connection
Let me give you forty reasons that come straight from from the Bible. For the sake of brevity, I will not read the chapter and verse. That you can find online in print form. The following are forty commands given to us by the New Testament.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” – John 13:34
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:35
“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. – Romans 12:10
“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.” – Romans 12:16
“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” – Romans 13:8
“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus…” – Romans 15:5
“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” – Romans 15:7
“I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.” – Romans 15:14
“Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.” – Romans 16:16
“But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.” – 1 Corinthians 12:24-25
“Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” – 2 Corinthians 13:11
“Greet one another with a holy kiss.” – 2 Corinthians 13:12
“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” – Galatian 5:13
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” – Ephesians 5:20
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” — Philippians 4:1-3
“bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” – Colossians 3:13
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” – Colossians 3:16
“Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:9
“Therefore encourage one another with these words.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:18
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11
“We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” – 2 Thessalonians 1:3
“But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” – Hebrews 3:13
“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 10:24-25
“Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.” – James 4:11
“Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.” – James 5:9
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” – James 5:16
“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.” – 1 Peter 1:22
“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” – 1 Peter 3:8
“Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” – 1 Peter 4:9
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” – 1 Peter 4:10
“Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” – 1 Peter 5:5
“Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.” – 1 Peter 5:14
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” – 1 John 1:7
“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” –1 John 3:11
“And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” – 1 John 3:23
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” – 1 John 4:7
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” – 1 John 4:11
“No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” – 1 John 4:12
“And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.” – 2 John 1:5
Did you notice what two words all of those verses had in common? – One another. Each of those precepts and commands contained the words one another, which means there are more than 40 direct commands and precepts from the New Testament that we cannot live out or obey if we have will not have anything to do with one another.
Hands – The Practical Application
Community life can be challenging at times, because humans have lots of faults and blemishes. But it can also be deeply enriching. In truth, it is usually both at the same time. You’re spiritual health is going to be better when you do life with other Christians. They will help you grow in your faith, and you will help them.
In our church, we hold to the model of 1 + 1 + 1 = equal healthy, growing disciples. We ask you to be in worship once a week. If you are traveling, we encourage you to visit a church were you are traveling. If you are sick, we invite you to watch online.
We also encourage you to be in one small group. You need a small group whom you can know, and who can know you. You can’t know everyone in a church our size. And, you will likely fall through cracks if you do not seek intentionally to build relationships in small group.
Last, we ask you to serve the church in at least one capacity. When we all work together, the church becomes a might vehicle for advancing the reign of God.