Our Daily Bread - Spiritual Life BasicsSample

A culture of individualism has led some Christians to think they can avoid “organized religion” and solely live the Christian life on their own. God never intended us to be “isolated” Christians. After we make a personal decision to follow Christ, we cannot sustain our spiritual walk aloof from other believers. God understands this and that is why he provided the local church as a place where we can experience spiritual growth and help others we find there.

I. Why Church Involvement?

It’s no accident that one of the best definitions of evangelism tells us that true conversion should result in involvement in a local church.

William Temple expressed it this way: “Evangelism is to so present Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit that men [and women] might come to trust Him as Savior and serve Him as Lord in the fellowship of His church.”

In today’s world, those relationships are found primarily through the church. It is vital to our spiritual lives that we understand the eternal importance God places on the church and why we need to be involved.

II. What Do We Mean by “Church”?

The word translated church in the New Testament is from the Greek work ecclesia, which means “called out ones.” It’s a word that simply identifies those who have separated from the world through relationship with Jesus Christ. The church is not a building and not an organization. It is a living organism made up of Christians.

The church can be understood in two ways. First, there is what is called the invisible church. By this, theologians do not mean that you cannot see it, but that it represents all Christian believers from the past, in the present, and in the future. It will be their destiny to live with Jesus Christ Himself in an eternal community of believers.

Using the metaphor of Jesus as the Shepherd and believers as the sheep, He said,

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:27-29 NKJV).

To be a Christian is to be in a relationship with Christ where we trust and follow.

The second aspect of the church may be called “the visible church.” This refers to those who can be seen actively involved in a community of faith where Christians seek to grow in their spiritual lives and serve Christ.

It’s so vital that each member be dependent upon the other that the New Testament repeatedly exhorts us to stay involved:

“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” (Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV).

III. What Are the Benefits of Church?

When we overcome our desire for independence and become involved in a local church, we receive great spiritual benefits. Let’s briefly examine some of them.

A. A Place to Worship

We glorify God by our lives and in our worship. And that is why worship is key in the life of each Christian and in the practice of the church as a whole. The praise and honor we express to God privately and in corporate worship will continue into eternity.

Individually, we can have an attitude of worship every day of the week, much as Paul commands when he says “pray without ceasing” and “in everything give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18). But if the goal of worship is to bring glory to God, worshiping by oneself is not enough. When Christians with the attitude of worship come together, the glorifying, magnifying, and honoring of God is multiplied many times over. When we do that, we are drawn closer to Him and to one another.

B. A Place to Grow

The believer is exposed to a variety of religious ideas over a lifetime.

It is interesting to note that the growth process God has designed for the believer depends on being nourished by the Word, which is truly biblical content. Peter uses the illustration of a child’s need for milk:

“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2 NKJV).

The Greek word translated “pure” in this verse could literally be translated “unadulterated.” The text of the Bible itself is the central ingredient for taking in spiritual truth. Churches that faithfully teach and preach the Word are an invaluable source of nourishment for the believer.

C. A Place to Fellowship

One does not have to be a Christian for much time at all before realizing that God is holy and we have a tendency to sin. Even though we may sincerely try to obey, our wrong choices may not only inhibit our fellowship with God but also may drive a wedge between individual believers. The remedy for that is ongoing cleansing and reconnecting with God and other believers in fellowship.

“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7 NKJV).

The Greek word for “fellowship” is koinonia and means “to have all things in common with.” As believers, our ultimate identity is linked through Christ with our heavenly Father and with one another. Having Christ in common is the great basis for all fellowship.

D. A Place to Give Back

When someone has been given a wonderful opportunity to prosper, they often feel the need to give back to others from the resources with which they themselves have been blessed. By giving financially to the local church, we can help expand ministries of outreach and growth, assist the poor, and send missionaries into the world to expand Christ’s kingdom.

Central to the whole idea of giving back is the motivation God desires of us.

“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:7-8 NKJV).

As we cheerfully plan to give to the Lord’s work, we have the promise that God will provide for our needs and multiply opportunities for good works.

E. A Place to Serve

The local church is a place where gifted leaders can provide training so we can find a place to serve the Lord.

Paul describes it in this way:

“for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13 NKJV).

The Greek word translated “equip” is a fishing term used for sewing up holes in fishing nets. The connotation is very significant. Many of us may feel inadequate in teaching others, using our musical talents, or helping out in some other way. You might say we feel a gap in our training. That is why God has provided gifted leaders to provide training so we can have our gaps filled in.