I Believe in God, but I'm Not a Fan of the ChurchSample

REPENTANCE & RESTORATION

Over the last several days, we’ve established the fact that the church is full of imperfect people. As a result of our sinful nature, we have done many things wrong. Often, people’s wrongdoings get in the way of experiencing the Church as God intends it.

God has always had a vision for His church that He would use His people to grow His kingdom despite these failings. If we get back to the original vision He set before us, we can be a Church where people encounter the perfect, blameless Christ. Life change, healing, restoration, joy, peace – it’s all possible within the church. It will happen when we embrace God’s vision and not the human version of what the church should be.

One place we can start is by repenting and apologizing for the things we have done wrong along the way. We can change the course and prove through our actions that we will do things differently: doing Church the Jesus way. We can be a Church of Jesus’s followers who express love, mercy, justice, and humility.

The best part about all of this remains that despite it all, Jesus is always the same. Even when people royally mess up this life, we can rely on Jesus. When we look to Jesus and follow Him, we can embrace His plan for the Church. With Jesus, we can restore the Church.

When we look beyond imperfect Christians, we behold the perfect Christ.

Ask Yourself:

-How can you embrace forgiveness in how you handle your faith with others?

-What stands out to you the most about the passage from Romans?

-What is something that has changed about your impression of the Church over the last few days of study?

Pause to Pray: Father God, I want to behold the perfect Christ. Open my heart and mind to experience you fully. Help me to be a follower who loves your people well…

Take a Next Step: Take some time today to read one of the gospel accounts (Matthew-Mark-Luke-John) to get a first-hand glimpse at our perfect Christ.

Find more resources at www.whoisgrace.com/READ.