Note: We had an abbreviated “Sunday School” session
after lunch at CRBC last Sunday on the topic of churchmanship, which I defined as, “The spiritual discipline of
conscientious and consistent participation in the life of the local church that
brings glory to God and blessing to man.” I noted that we cannot
really obey Jesus’ New Commandment to love the brethren (John 13:34-35) unless
we do so as active and involved participants in a local, visible church. I listed several marks of churchmanship, but
the first was “consistent participation.”
Below are some notes on this topic, drawn from some discipleship
material I have written:
First, it is important that every believer be a solid and faithful
participant in a local church. Sometimes a parent who does not have a lot of
time to spend with his children will say that he wants to spend “quality time”
with them. But every parent knows that children need not just “quality” time
but a large “quantity” of time. Families need to spend lots of time together in
order to really know each other. Shared experiences strengthen their
bonds. This is also true for a church
family.
To be a real member of the body, the member must be seriously
connected to the body. This requires that every member spends a lot of time
with the other members of the body. What would you think of a man who tells his
wife, “Honey, I love you and you’re the most important thing in my life,” but
he rarely comes home to spend time with his wife? We would say that his actions
do not match up with his words. Jesus said that the church is his body. If the
believer says he loves Jesus, he will naturally love his church and want to
spend time in fellowship with his church family. Jesus said, “a tree is known
by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33). If there is no fruit, is the tree alive?
A key scripture to keep in mind is Hebrews 10:24-25: “And let us consider one another in order to stir
up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you
see the Day approaching.” The meetings of the local church are crucial.
This means meetings for worship, Bible study, fellowship, prayer, ministry,
etc. This does not mean that I should visit a different local church each week,
but that I should be committed to meeting together with one local body, where I
can grow to know and serve people, as they grow to know and serve me. I need to
be present in my church to hear the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. I
need to be present to support the church’s leaders. I need to be present to
support my fellow members. I need to be present to reach out to non-believers
who come into the church. My participation is my primary ministry in the
church. When any member is absent, the strength of the church is diminished.
This means that when I make personal plans for the way I spend my
time, I should intentionally shape my schedule to give priority to the meetings
of the church. I should not allow sports, recreation, business, or even family
to interfere with my commitment to Jesus and his body. There are, of course,
times when one is not able to attend the meetings of his church. Occasional
illnesses, trips out of town, vacations, and other types of necessary
commitments are certainly to be excused. When one is out of town and not able
to attend the local assembly to which he belongs, he has the valuable
opportunity to worship and share fellowship with a like-minded church in the
area he is visiting. There are also
times when a person cannot regularly attend church meetings for a prolonged
period of time due to age or chronic illness. In times like these, it is the
church members who are responsible for taking the fellowship to their
home-bound members. If one is in good health and has no obvious obstacles to
attendance, however, he should make every effort to be present among the
saints. For believers this is a glad
duty, not a drudgery or inconvenience.
Those who regularly absent themselves from the gatherings of the church
without justifiable reason usually are giving signs of spiritual problems. As Peter commanded, let us “love the
brotherhood,” (1 Peter 2:17).
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff
Riddle
No comments:
Post a Comment