Commitment to the Church

The church universal includes believers worldwide, ranging from the suburban North American communities, comprised predominately of Christians, to the persecuted Middle Eastern residences, sparsely sprinkled with believers. The church is not a building, or even a place of worship, but rather "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9). But if the church is comprised of believers worldwide, rather than being an establishment with strictly defined membership, one might ask then, what is the purpose of such an institution and why should it authoritatively systematize a set of beliefs.

Good questions, indeed, but perhaps the average believer, living in the midst of Christian culture, does not ask such questions, but instead casually assumes that some incidental benefit might come from the institution, but certainly not perceive it as a crucial means of spiritual sustenance. But faith, I would argue, is not an incidental benefit, but rather an imperative means to an end; that is, that God might receive glory through its manifestation in us. "We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing" (2 Thessalonians 1:3). If growing in our faith were an accessible feat for us to accomplish on our own, then there would be no need to thank God. But Paul in this passage is clearly attributing growing in faith and love to the benevolence of the Lord, for which we are to be thankful, however insufficient our appreciation.

The purpose of the church, therefore, is to be the communal means by which God increases faith and amplifies love. We find no better example than in the roots of the apostles themselves:

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.... Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:42,46-47).

Teaching...fellowship...prayer...sharing lives... Are these not the very things God would have in store for us through the body of believers so that we might be encouraged!? Encouraged by joy, overflowing in thanksgiving, through the pursuit of a hope greater than ourselves! "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (Romans 5:5).

If we were, indeed, competent enough in ourselves to invariably pursue such hope, then perhaps any notion of institutionalizing the church would seem causeless at best, but otherwise wasteful. But alas, man is not yet blameless, neither in thought nor action. Even the regenerate man, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, retains his defective flesh and must, therefore, "fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience" (1 Timothy 1:18-19). So perhaps the organization of doctrine, the appropriation of authority, or simply the practical imitation of scripture would serve well to equip us with the weapons of spiritual warfare and the promise of eternal victory.

Why, then, do we go to church only when the time is convenient, no other work remains, and a full previous night's rest is secured? If God would grant us the fervor of the persecuted believers abroad, who covet the opportunity to corporately worship, then we would see that surrendering ourselves to God through a commitment to the church is not a matter of sacrifice that may be inconvenient to our schedules, but alternately one of sustenance that is life-giving to our souls.

Admittedly, though, no church is perfect, and many are downright messy. People bring their selfish motivations and erroneously contrived suppositions into a group of similarly defective people, and sin is bound to occur. This is what causes divisions between churches, denominational arrogance, and spiritual apathy. Would this now be our excuse for trying to grow in our faith privately, apart from other believers; or is it just an opportunity to embrace a "tolerant" and "open-minded" congregation that proclaims a "different gospel—which is really no gospel at all" (Galatians 1:6-7)? Should we, then, abandon the notion that the benefits resulting from our commitment to the church far outweigh the inconveniences of "carrying each other's burdens" (Galatians 6:2)? Or in an attempt to avoid such a dilemma, should we simply continue to delicately shop for just the right church, no matter how long it takes, so that we might satisfy our comfort criteria rather than earnestly join others in their pursuit of holiness?

A Bible-believing, God-exalting body of believers, committed to faith and repentance, is all that is needed for any individual to grow in the church. This is, however, a tall order, and no church is capable on its own; only by the ordination of God may a congregation aspire to such an ideal. Sinful people lead churches; sinful people make up its membership; sinful people share the gospel of Jesus with nonbelievers so that the Holy Spirit might show them how the Father no longer sees them as sinful; the righteousness of Christ now covers them. "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will" (Ephesians 1:4-5).