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"Today more than four out of five Americans
call themselves Christians, but did you know that less than half
of them attend church services in any given week? What's wrong
with the church today? Why is it not making a greater impact
upon our world?" I'm Dennis Finnan,
host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! And in a moment
we'll talk about it …
… In my opening statement I asked "What's
wrong with the Church today? Why is it not making a greater impact
on our world? Is the Church dying?" Well recently polls
do not paint a bright picture. The Barna Research Group reveals
in its latest study that more than four out of five American,
or 82% call themselves Christians, but less than half of them
attend church services in any given week. In fact, this new nationwide
survey of religious behavior, reveals that "marking the
fifth consecutive year, attendance at religious services …
has declined to its lowest level measured, since Barna Research
began tracking religious involvement in 1986" [1]. The
survey reported in the American Family Journal for May 1996 reveals
that "of the 'baby boomers,' generation (born between
1946-1964), less than 31% had attended church in the last week."
[2]. Even worse in attendance, are the "baby busters,"
the generation of Americans ages 18-30. These show the least interest
in traditional church activity. Now if this trend continues, the
"handwriting is on the wall." There may be no visible
organized church flourishing in the 21st century!
Again we must ask - "what's wrong with the church?
Why are so few of today's generation being attracted to it? Has
the Church failed to meet the spiritual needs of today's generation?"
For starters, if one examines a majority of American churches
today they will find some real answers. Many of them have a confused
theology and a lack of serious commitment to biblical truth, as
experience oriented teaching and ministry has replaced the old
fashioned teachings of the Bible. In addition, it seems that the
traditions of the past have all been junked in favor of new and
popular "secularized" worship schemes and ministry.
It appears to me almost a whole generation has lost
its way and identity when it comes to being a part of the Church
of Jesus Christ. As such, I meet more and more people these days,
professing to be Christians mind you, who say they can be "good"
Christians without being a part of a local church. But I submit
to you my friend, they are wrong, seriously wrong and disobedient
to the one they claim to know and follow. Therefore today I want
to talk with you about the Church of Jesus Christ and why it is
still important to everyone who names the name of Christ. Why
go to Church, be a part of its daily organization? Why be financially
supportive and surrendered to its leadership? Here are five reasons
why every believer in Jesus Christ should consider being an active
faithful partner in a local Bible believing church:
1. JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISHED ONLY ONE ORGANIZATION
FOR THE PROPAGATION OF HIS GOSPEL.
This organization is the "universal
Church" found tangibly in organized groups known as the local
church. If you read the entire New Testament you will find that
every letter, every book is written not to individual Christians,
but to the organized and gathered groups of believers called the
church. The Spirit of God was interested in growing God's people
who were gathered together, not scattered sheep on a hillside.
Paul the great New Testament apostle writes in,
1 Cor 1:2 (NIV) "To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together…"
Gal 1:1-2 (NIV) "Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ… to the churches in Galatia:"
Col 1:1-2 (NIV) "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus… 2 To the holy and faithful [brethren] in Christ at Colosse…"
Rev 1:4 (NIV) "… to the seven churches
in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you.."
You see the entire New Testament was written by God
to those who were gathered together in the name of Jesus Christ,
to do His will. That gathered institution is the Church of Jesus
Christ. The Lord Jesus went on to say.
Mat 16:18 (NIV) "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."
Mat 28:18-20 (NIV) … "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.""
Acts 2:41 (NIV) "Those who accepted his [gospel] message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
Acts 2:47 (NIV) [These gathered saints were
]"praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being
saved."
Yes, the question is - why go to Church, why be a
contributing part of it? The answer is because the church alone
is God's ordained place He wanted all work for the kingdom to
be generated from.
Now just what is a church? Is it a building, a specific place or certain denomination? The answer is no. Biblically, a church "is a group of born again believers, identified with Christ, and organized with leaders in the biblical offices of elders and deacons, committed together to the ministry of the Word of God." And this exactly what you find in the New Testament when it speaks about the church -- it almost always refers to a specific local church. It is my conviction that God's main instrument for carrying out His kingdom work for this last age is the local church. We have neglected this to a great degree and failed to be accountable to it, but nonetheless that is the standard of the local churches work and ministry.
Now the second reason to be a functioning part of
a local church is,
2. A BORN AGAIN BELIEVER IS MADE BY GOD, TO
BE A WORKING PART OF A PEOPLE!
- In saving us, God has placed us into His Body the invisible
Church, but that part of the body is to be seen, experienced,
and felt. A new social order is God's plan for this world. The
church while it waits for Heaven, is to be a tangible part of
the world in which its exists. Paul reminds us over and over again.
Rom 12:5 (NIV) "so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."
1 Cor 12:27 (NIV) "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."
Eph 4:16 (NIV) "From him the whole body,
joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and
builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."
You see, we who are believers in Christ, all belong
to each other! No Christian has the right to keep himself
or herself aloof from the rest of the Body. To do so is sin, and
destructive to you and the others as well. To stay away from faithful
participation in a local Bible believing church is to be a rebellious
sheep, whom the Lord will in time chasten. Better to be obedient
and experience His blessings rather than the opposite for disobedience.
Now the third reason why every believer should be involved regularly
in a local church is,
3. GOD HAS COMMANDED EVERY BELIEVER TO PERSONALLY
& COPORATELY WORSHIP AND SERVE HIM -
We are told in the Bible that our worship involves our personal
activity and commitment in a group setting. We cannot really worship
God alone on the golf course, or fishing on the lake, or snoozing
under a paper in our easy chair on Sunday mornings. All who do
are AWOL from the Lord's Church, and claiming to be children of
God, they dishonor the Word of God. We read in,
Rom 12:1 (NIV) "Therefore, I urge you,
brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act
of worship."
You see, the Bible says spiritual worship is really
our offering of ourselves to God and to other believers for Christ's
sake. Some say I don't go to church because I get so little out
of it. Or, I can't find a place I like, or feel comfortable in.
However, that is not a criteria for staying away. God commands
you to be there not to first get, but to first give - yourself
to God and the brethren. Again we read this in the Bible,
2 Cor 8:5 (NIV) "… they [the Corinthian
believers] gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in
keeping with God's will."
God wants every believer to offer himself or herself
to serve the body of Christ. We do this by offering our talents,
treasures and gifts of service. Paul told the people of local
churches,
Rom 12:10 (NIV) "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."
Gal 6:2 (NIV) "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
Eph 5:21 (NIV) "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."
Heb 3:13 (NIV) "But encourage one another
daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may
be hardened by sin's deceitfulness."
One cannot give themselves to others in the Body,
unless they are a part of a local fellowship of believers. And
of course, God has planned our greatest joy and satisfaction will
come, when we learn to do this. But now there's a fourth reason
why every believer should be a part of a local church.
4. GOD HAS COMMANDED EVERY BELIEVER, TO BE
A WORKING PART OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE SYSTEM HE DEMANDS FROM THOSE
WHO ARE HIS OWN.
Now worship is not sitting in a pew listening
to performers, entertainers, or lectures. Worshipping the one
true God involves a three-fold process that can only be accomplished
in the atmosphere of an assembly of the saints. Worship by its
very nature involves what we call "celebration,
instruction and response." We celebrate the goodness
of God, the majesty of God, the mercy of God, and the grace of
God, together with our Christian brothers and sisters by singing
praises to God's name, offering up joyful testimony of who God
is and what He has done for us, and praying together for God's
will to be carried out in ou lives and the world at large. Only
by being together for this one purpose can God be best glorified.
Secondly, we worship by placing ourselves under the
instruction of God's Word. The early church when it was first
founded reveals this for we read,
Acts 2:42 (NIV) "They devoted themselves
to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking
of bread and to prayer."
All true believers willingly place themselves under
the teaching and authority of the Word of God through the instruction
of God's teachers in the church. Now one can be instructed in
personal Bible study, even today by the wonders of electronic
media, but its not like being there in the assembly of the local
saints. There God especially talks to a congregation. You know
as a pastor, having served in a number of previous churches, well
I save my messages perhaps to be preached again, but do you know
what I've found. When I've gone over them in a different setting,
I've keenly discovered that God was speaking through me to a particular
congregation. The messages usually didn't fit the congregation
I was now serving. The emphasis, and the spiritual flavor was
geared especially and uniquely to the people of the day in which
I prepared the message. This is why I rarely if ever preach old
messages. God simply won't have them, He has new and fresh things
to say to His people today gathered to worship Him.]each Lord's
Day.
But now, worship is one more thing too. Worship involves
"response." Or as the Bible calls
it "repentance." In worship, we surrender ourselves
to God's Word of instruction, but in the process we open ourselves
to change, as God would teach and lead. We find we do not truly
worship until we hear God's Word and respond to it by faith. Oft
times it requires a painful process to say before the Lord - "I've
sinned, I've broken your commandments, I've been unloving, dishonest,
selfish, cruel, mean, abusive, arrogant, and worst of all - I've
been complacent, uncaring, indifferent to what touches your heart
O God. Here I am cleanse me!"
Yes, you have only really worshipped when you have
responded to God's Word as the Spirit of God leads us fresh in
each worship experience and setting. Therefore any preacher or
teacher "worth his salt," will not close a message from
God without an opportunity for God's people to respond. Whether
it be altar calls, or personal moments of reflection and prayer
- God's people must be given an opportunity to respond to the
voice of God that speaks from His Word. Such an atmosphere rarely
affords itself outside the assembly of the saints. Now lastly
for today -- every true believer should be a part of a local church
because,
5. BEING INVOLVED IN A LOCAL CHURCH IS THE GREATEST DETERRANT OF A SELF-CENTERED LIFE! - God has placed the local church in operation, so every believer will not continue to be infected by the individualistic spirit of the age. Independence is not God's plan for a believer, rather inter-dependence upon each other. It is very easy for a Christian to begin thinking of God and His or her relationship in terms of oneself. God doesn't want that. This is why churches often struggle with relationships, and why it is often so hard to be together. Our sinful selfish souls demand personal attention and acclaim, but God says real joy doesn't come from others serving us, and conforming to our will, but the opposite. Paul writes,
Rom 12:2 (NIV) "Do not conform any longer
to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's
will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."
The pattern of this world is that self-centered,
"me, me, I, I, my, my" that God wants to work out of
the sinful heart of every believer. Only in the ministry, fellowship
and service of a local Bible-believing church can this process
of conforming to Christ be truly done. There we learn to confront
others who are not walking rightly with God, but there also we
learn to be confronted, by others who see our sins and shortcomings.
This my friend, is the meaning and value of the local assembly
of God's people. Ever true Christian should be accountable to
some Bible believing church, a local assembly in the community
in which he or she lives. If you have the opportunity to choose
between two or more good churches, well and good, but remember
there is no perfect church. It is your input as you are yielded
to Christ, that makes it "better or worse."
Now many Christians today drift from church to church
when they are offended, unhappy, or unrecognized. In place of
the church some get heavily involved in para-church organizations,
or simply go it alone, but that is not God's will. One day such
people will find rather than the Lord's blessing for their labors,
God's chastening words for disobedience and failure to obey His
great command. The Bible says clearly in the Old and the New Testament,
Psa 50:5 (KJV) "Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."
Heb 10:25 (NIV) "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 [Christ's return]
approaching."
Oh may God give us all a new perspective on the value
of the local church, and may these ominous polls that reflect
the downsizing of the American church, be changed and turned around.
May every true believer see a new importance for the local church,
and may we make our personal and family commitment to serve the
Lord there faithfully till He comes in glory. Joshua of all said
it best,
Josh 24:15 (NIV) "But if serving the LORD
seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day
whom you will serve … But as for me and my household, we
will serve the LORD.""
Those who are truly saved by God's grace, will be
those who follow Christ and His Word. They will obey His plan
and purpose for His children in this age of grace and become a
tangible part of a local Bible-believing assembly of the saints.
And, in love and gratitude for His wonderful gift of salvation
and life eternal, there they will serve gloriously, faithfully,
nobly, and sacrificially till the Lord Jesus Himself triumphantly
returns in glory. So friend, in the light of this we must live,
labor and love. Amen.
_____________________________________________
ENDNOTES:
1. "Church Attendance Down Again: Boomers Cut Church, "American Family Journal; May 1996 Edition, Page 11.
2. ibed.
The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures.A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request.These weekly radio commentaries can be heard in selected areas around the nation. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for 16 years, and serves as General Director. These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of all messages is available upon request also.
For further information, reprints, or a listing of all topics, please write to our speaker, Dennis L. Finnan(wwyfin@sparc.isl.net) or visit our webpage at THE WORLD, THE WORD & YOU! BROADCAST [ http://www.isl.net/wwyweb.html ]