Why This Church?

 “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.”

Titus 2:1 ESV

What is it that draws you to a particular church? What is it that convinces you to remain with a particular church? And what is it that leads you to leave your church for another?

I realize these are heavy questions. But I believe they’re important for us to consider. They’re important to consider because they reveal what we believe to be the most important aspects of church life.

As we look at the above passage, the word that stands out to us is doctrine. As Paul instructs a young pastor, named Titus, he tells him to teach what accords with sound doctrine. In other words, his focus and his mission was to faithfully and accurately teach the Word of God.

For most, in the church today, doctrine has become a dirty word. Doctrine is synonymous with boring. It’s synonymous with a dead and a dry spiritual atmosphere. And, for this reason, people shun doctrine.

What leads many of us to join a particular church or to leave a particular church, today, is not doctrine. It may be that our family goes to that particular church. It may be that grandpa shingled the roof of the church building so long ago. It may be loyalty to a particular pastor, or our hatred of another. It might be the worship style. It might be that you hate a structured liturgy, and prefer a worship service that is more informal. Or, perhaps, the opposite is true. You hate the perceived lack of reverence you see in so many churches today, and you long for that which is more structured and seemingly respectful. It might also be the music. You may hate hymns, believing them to be old-fashioned. You may hate music that’s played on the organ or simply on a piano because it seems dull. And you prefer the upbeat contemporary music, with drums, electric guitar, bass, and incredible vocals. Or, once again, this modern music may seem to you to lack reverence, and so you are drawn to the old hymns. It might be the size of the youth program. It might be the activities that are offered. 

There are a whole variety of things that either draw us to a church or that lead us to leave it behind. However, the thing that should lead us to join or to leave a church is nothing less than doctrine. After all, doctrine is simply right teaching. It’s teaching that’s in accordance with the Word of God. 

Please don’t misunderstand me, when I say this. Each of us is certainly entitled to our preferences. But if the choice is between a church that caters to my preferences while the doctrine is questionable, and another where the doctrine is good but not all of my whims are satisfied, I’ll choose the church with right doctrine every time. I’ll choose the church that is going to faithfully proclaim to me, as well as to my family, the Word of God so that we are sustained and built up in the faith.

Perhaps you are fortunate enough to have found both. However, let us never forget what is truly important. More than any other element of the worship service or of church life, it’s doctrine that must be prioritized.

Heaven and Earth

 

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ESV

 

It’s interesting to hear the views that many express when it comes to the afterlife. It’s even more interesting when these people are professing Christians. And it quickly becomes clear that we’re missing something.

 

So many of us, today, tend to think of our eternal existence as something that is purely spiritual in nature. We believe that, when we die, our spirit goes to heaven to be with Christ. And that’s the end of it.

 

When it comes right down to it, we’re unsure of what eternal life will look like. Some view it as an endless church service. Others imagine that we’ll be forever sitting on a cloud, strumming our harp. But, whatever the case, we imagine ourselves to be spirits. We don’t envision any physical aspect of this existence whatsoever.

 

Although it’s true that, when we die in faith, our spirit goes to be with Christ, this is not how it will be forever. Our existence in eternity will not be purely spiritual. We will exist as the physical and the spiritual beings that God created us to be.

 

We see, in the above passage, that those who have passed on in faith are indeed with Christ. They are with Christ, away from the body. And, when Jesus returns, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

 

At that time, Paul tells us, they will rise from the grave. In other words, their spirit will rejoin their now perfected body. And those of us who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the air. We will join them with our body as well.

 

We learn from this, as well as from other passages of Scripture, that our eternal existence will take place in the body. It will take place in the body, which has been delivered from sin. And we’ll live forever in a physical world.

 

The difference between the world in which we live now and the one in which we will live is that, as there will be no more sin, the consequences of sin will be no more. Suffering and death will be a thing of the past. And we will always be with the Lord.

Be Quiet!

 “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, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 ESV

As Christians, we are certainly called to share the gospel. We’ve been called to bear witness for Christ. And we’ve been called to make disciples.

We also have a civic duty to vote. We have the duty to cast our ballot for representatives who will best represent our values. We have the duty to vote for candidates whom we believe will best serve our nation.

We ought to take both of these responsibilities very seriously. We should do them diligently. However, there’s another side of this that we must consider.

Here, in the United States, we have the freedom to say what we want. We have the freedom to voice both our beliefs and our opinions. However, that being said, many of us have become quite obnoxious in doing so. We’ve become obnoxious as we constantly feel that we must make our voices heard.

This is true when it comes to interpersonal conversation. But it’s even more true when it comes to social media. As we hide behind the computer screen, we’re emboldened to say what we will in a way that is both tactless and insensitive.

As we see above, this is not God’s will for us. Paul urged the Thessalonians to love one another. And he encouraged them to do so more and more. However, he then went on to tell them how they were to live within society.

They were to aspire to live quietly, and to mind their own affairs. In other words, they were to be at rest. They were to stay home and mind their own business. And they were to hold their peace, they were to say little to nothing, as they went about their lives.

They were also to work with their hands. They were do so that they might walk properly before others, or win the respect of others. And they were to do so that they might be dependent upon no one.

As we carry out our call to proclaim the gospel and to make disciples, and as we carry out our civic duty to vote for our representatives, we would do well to cultivate these other character qualities as well. We would to do well to love one another more and more. We would do well to hold our peace and to say little. We would do well to stay home and mind our own business. And we would do well to work hard to both support ourselves and to win the respect of others.

Disregarding God

 

“Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 ESV

 

Many of God’s commands are ignored or disregarded today. They are explained away that we might do as we please. And many of these commands concern our sexuality.

 

Living together outside of marriage is prevalent and even accepted among the church. The hook-up culture has found its way into the church and is practiced by many of its members. Divorce for any and every reason is common and accepted. And homosexuality is both practiced and accepted within the church.

 

As Paul makes clear in the above passage, this is not to be the case among the people of God. God’s will for us is our holiness. His will for us is our sanctification. His will for us is that we learn to control our body. His will for us is that we express ourselves sexually only within the bond of marriage.

 

As this is taught and enforced within the church, today, many see it as old-fashioned. They see it as out of touch. The believe that it’s not in keeping with the times in which we live.

 

They, then, disregard these words as the opinion of man. The disregard them as the teaching of man. They disregard them as the teaching of a man who didn’t know any better. And, doing so, they live as they please.

 

Truth, for so many of us, is defined not by God’s Word, but by experience. It’s defined by our feelings. And it’s defined by the feelings and practice of those who are dear to us.

 

Paul, however, makes the point that whoever disregards this directive disregards not man, but God. In this way, he’s making it clear that this is not simply the will or the teaching of man. These commands have come from God himself.

 

This tells us how serious we must take these words. Few of us have a problem dismissing the teaching or the opinion of a man. We have little problem doing so even if he’s extremely educated and cultured. However, even those who have a more liberal interpretation of Scripture are much less willing to disregard God and his direct commands.

 

We must, then, receive these commands for what they are, the very Word of God. And, knowing this, we must conduct our lives accordingly. We must refrain from sexual immorality in all of its forms. And if we’ve fallen short, we must repent and seek the forgiveness that was won by Jesus on the cross.

Growth - A Gracious Blessing

 

“Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”

1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 ESV

 

As Christians, we know and believe that our forgiveness and salvation were provided for us by Jesus. We know and believe that he made these blessings possible by his death on the cross and his resurrection from the grave. And we know and believe that these blessings are received as a free gift through faith in Jesus.

 

As we reach out to unbelievers, this is the message that we proclaim. This, we know, is the message of the gospel. It’s the good news of what God has done for us.

 

However, after we receive the gospel, after we receive God’s forgiveness and salvation, our understanding and our message suddenly change. Instead of trusting in Jesus for the blessings that he provides, we look to our own efforts to produce growth in our faith. And instead of proclaiming the gospel, we instead proclaim a message of law, a message of what must be done in order to achieve growth.

 

Just as there’s nothing we can do to receive the forgiveness and the salvation of God, there is nothing we can do to attain growth in our faith. This too is a blessing received only by grace. And it’s a blessing that is received through faith.

 

We see this as we look at the above passage. Paul had been expressing his concern for the believers at Thessalonica, and his desire to see them. And he looks to God to provide that opportunity for him.

 

He then goes on to express hope that the Lord would cause their love for one another to abound. He expresses hope that the Lord would cause their love for all people to abound. And he expresses hope that the Lord would establish their hearts blameless in holiness before God.

 

In this statement that we tend to read over as nothing more than a personal sidenote, Paul makes it clear that Christ alone is the source of this blessing. It’s the Lord who causes our love to abound. And it’s the Lord who establishes our hearts blameless in holiness before God.

 

We, then, must not look to ourselves for our growth in faith nor in our love for others. We must understand that, just as we are saved by Christ alone, so too do we grow in faith. It is his work as we look to him. It’s his work as we trust in him.

 

The changes that we see in our life, then, are the fruit of this work. It is something that’s produced not by our efforts. It’s something that’s produced by the Lord’s work in our life.

One in Christ

 

^“But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you— for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?”

1 Thessalonians 3:6-10 ESV

 

As believers, we will sometimes receive news that causes us great distress. We may have a conversation with our child, in which they tell us that they have left the faith behind. We may receive news that someone we’ve taught or discipled has fallen into unrepentant sin. We may hear that a well-known or well-respected pastor has abandoned the faith or been seduced by his sinful nature. Or we may hear of a scandal that has been uncovered in the larger Church and that is being widely reported in the news.

 

Even if we are firm in our faith, and even if we possess a strong assurance of our salvation, this news is very distressing. It’s very upsetting to us. And it may even cause us a great deal of stress.

 

Recognizing that we’re saved through faith in Jesus, and that these events taking place in the lives of others have no bearing on our salvation, we might wonder why this is so. We might wonder why these reports weigh on us so heavy. We might wonder why they bother us so much.

 

We can understand the reason for this as we look at the above passage. Paul had been extremely concerned for the believers at Thessalonica. He feared that they may have fallen from faith in response to the persecution they had suffered. And, for this reason, he had sent Timothy to check on them.

 

Now, Timothy had returned and his report was good. They were firm in their faith. Their love was intact. They remembered Paul kindly and longed to see him again. And this report gave to Paul great comfort.

 

Paul then makes this interesting statement. He says: “For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.” What Paul means is that, before the good news had come to him concerning their faith, there was deadness. His heart was heavy. But now that he’d received this encouraging report, there was life.

 

As believers, our hearts are bound with one another. They are bound as we are the body of Christ. They are bound as we share together in faith as well as the call God has entrusted to us.

 

As a result, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:26, when one part of the body suffers, all suffer together. And if one member is honored, we all rejoice together. We cannot separate or isolate ourselves from the rest of the body.

 

The same reality plays itself out in our life, in our congregation, in our association or denomination, and in the larger Church as a whole. Because we are members of one body, we are affected by the events happening in the life of the church as a whole. We can be filled with great joy or sorrow depending upon the events taking place.

 

And this is not something that we should strive to undo. We shouldn’t seek to become unbound from the body that we might escape this entanglement. It’s a blessing as we seek the edification of the church. And it’s a blessing as we ourselves are built up by the rest of the body.