Faith

3 Reasons Every Christian Should Join a Church

/ Marcus Glover / Leave a comment

 

Are you a member of a church? Well, you should be.

Mark Dever says, “If you call yourself a Christian but you are not a member of the church you regularly attend, I worry that you may be going to hell.”[1] That’s a pretty extreme statement, but I totally agree with it.

You see, what Dever is suggesting here is not that membership in a church contributes to a person’s salvation, but rather church membership is a vital means of confirming that a person’s salvation is genuine. After all, the Bible is clear that nobody is a true Christian simply because they think they are.[2] There are objective criteria that must be met. And the local church helps clarify those criteria while affirming (or denying) an individual’s claim to meet those standards.

In other words, the church says, “Okay, so Joe claims to believe the Gospel. Well, we the church are an authorized distributor and guardian of the gospel. So we can look at Joe’s life and let you know whether it appears, from our standpoint, that Joe’s claim is legitimate.”

With that in mind, allow me to briefly offer three reasons for that every Christian should join a local church.

1. For your own sake

If you claim to be a Christian, you should join a church for your own sake. In other words, you should join a church so that you can better understand the state of your own soul and thus be more equipped to repent from sin, hope in Christ, and live in obedience.

All too often, we believe the lie that we are the world’s experts on ourselves. I know I am a Christian, I might say, because I know my own heart. I know what I truly believe, regardless of what others may think. Other people cannot see into my heart, but I can.

It is true that we do have unique insight into our own internal thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. To assert otherwise would be ridiculous. But we must not give ourselves too much credit. We are all sinners, and one of the most tragic and difficult aspects of sin is how deceptive it can be—even for repentant followers of Jesus.

Scripture is rife with warnings about the deceptiveness of sin. For example, the apostle Paul warned the church in Corinth “not to associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler.” (1 Cor. 5:9)

So apparently, it’s possible to believe you are a Christian even when your life gives clear evidence to the contrary. I don’t know about you, but I find that terrifying!

But notice what Paul tells this church to do about such a person—do not associate with him. Cut him loose. In other words, the church should make it clear to this individual that his conduct is inconsistent with his claim. He is not living like a Christian, but rather an idolater, a slanderer, a drunkard, etc. Despite his own claims to love Christ—a claim that could very well be honest and well intentioned—he appears to be deceived.

In the same way, it is vital for us to submit to the authority of a local church in order to more clearly see the reality of our own hearts. What a joy it is when my profession of faith is affirmed by a church who observes my life and agrees that Christ indeed lives in me. But if it appears that Christ does not live in me, the most loving thing anyone can do for me is warn me of that fact so that I can turn from my sin and seek salvation through self-denying faith in Jesus.

2. For the sake of other Christians

Similarly, you should join a church for the sake of other Christians. In the same way that the church serves to affirm the veracity of your gospel profession, you can be a part of doing the same for others. Do you want to really love and help those who claim Christ? The church provides you with an effective outlet for holding up the gospel and helping others understand their own hearts’ response to that gospel.

However, your role as a church member is about more than just affirming or denying the professions of others. Church membership is about Christians making a covenant with one another to pray for one another, serve with one another, guard one another from sin, encourage one another in faith, affirm one another’s gifts, and meet one another’s needs.

The writer of the book of Hebrews instructs Christians to “spur one another on” and “not neglect meeting together as some are in the habit of doing.” (Heb. 10:24-25) This is just a small sample of what how the church functions for believers. When we read through the rest of the New Testament, we find that this is the normal way of life in the local church.[3] 

3. For the sake of non-Christians

Finally, it is vital that you join a church for the sake of non-Christians. Just as church membership clarifies the Gospel to those inside the church, it also clarifies the gospel to those outside. When we accept some people as members of a church—while excluding others—we are, in a sense, distinguishing ourselves from the rest of the world. We are in effect saying, “Hey world, check out our church members. This is what a Christian looks like! This is what the gospel looks like!”

When we refuse or neglect to take part in church membership, we are forfeiting a tremendous witnessing opportunity, one which God himself has graciously ordained for the spread of the gospel in our neighborhoods and in the nations.

So why pass that up? Sure, no church is perfect, and living in covenant with other sinners will always bring challenges.  But I can say from experience that for the three reasons I discussed above—and many other reasons—it is definitely worthwhile.

Are you a Christian? Prove it. Join a church.

[1] Mark Dever, What Is a Healthy Church? (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2005), 21.

[2] See Matt. 7:21-23

[3] For a few examples, see Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37, Eph. 4:11-16, Phil. 1:27-30

Same-Sex Marriage and the Civil Rights Movement

/ Marcus Glover / Leave a comment

There is a new civil rights movement underway in the United States of America.

At least, that’s what many proponents of same-sex marriage would have us believe. Among those Americans who support the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States, one common line of reasoning and rhetoric involves drawing comparisons between the current battle over gay marriage and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

Some, like David Badash who writes for a pro-gay marriage blog called The New Civil Rights Movement, are quite explicit in the comparison they draw. In a recent article, Badash writes in a matter-of-fact tone that “there is no valid reason to oppose same-sex marriage, just as there is no valid reason to oppose interracial marriage.”

Do you see what Badash is doing here? He is attempting to portray gay marriage as an issue that essentially boils down to basic fairness and humane treatment of an oppressed, marginalized minority. By Badash’s logic, the very same issues that lie at the heart of racial prejudice and discrimination also lie at the heart of the debate surrounding same-sex marriage.

The implication is clear: If you support racial equality, then you must also support same-sex marriage. After all, they are really just two sides of the same coin. Moreover, those who oppose same-sex marriage while supporting racial equality are not only bigots, but they are the worst kind of bigots—hypocritical bigots.

While I understand much of the underlying logic of the comparison between same-sex marriage and the civil rights movement, I see one major problem with it: it is downright wrong. Period. When it comes to issues of morality, human decency, and equality, there are no legitimate grounds for comparison between the campaign for same-sex marriage and the civil rights movement.

If this is true, then why do so many people insist on drawing this comparison? Well, I think the comparison is often rooted in any number of faulty assumptions with regard to same-sex attraction.  Allow me to address just one of these assumptions here.

Desire is Destiny: I was born this way

In her recent song “Born This Way,” pop singer Lady Gaga expresses the pervasive spirit of our age:

Don’t hide yourself in regret,

Just love yourself and you’re set

I’m on the right track, baby

I was born this way

Lady Gaga continues later in the song:

No matter gay, straight, or bi

Lesbian, transgendered life

I’m on the right track, baby

‘Cause baby, you were born this way

Notice the logic articulated in these lyrics. Since we all possess personal attributes that we did not choose, and therefore cannot change, we should never be restricted from pursuing actions and lifestyle related to these attributes. Some even go a step further and suggest that these attributes have been given to us by God, and so therefore it is God’s design that we live it out without embarrassment.

Whether it’s race or sexual orientation, or anything else, it’s who you are. Do not try to change, and do not let anyone treat you differently. God made you that way, and you can’t change that. So embrace it, and don’t try to change who you are.

Hence the supposed connection between same-sex marriage and racial equality. The prevailing assumption is that same-sex attraction is as fundamental to a person’s identity as their ethnicity. You didn’t choose it, and you can’t change it. Therefore, to deny an individual the right to legally marry simply because of their sexual orientation is just as unjust as denying an individual the right to vote simply because of the color of their skin. Discrimination is discrimination, no matter how you slice it.

However, there are several flaws in this logic. First, it is simply naïve to assume that we are not held accountable for desires that we did not choose. Conventional wisdom in our postmodern society says we are only responsible for the things we consciously think, decide, or do. But Romans 1 tells a different story.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

-Romans 1:18-21

This is what we Christians call Total Depravity. It means we were all born with two things: (1) an inherent knowledge of God’s nature, majesty, and righteous standards; (2) a corrupt heart and mind which do not acknowledge and submit to God’s nature, majesty, and standards.

This is true for all of us. And guess what? We did not choose to be born this way. But the fact that we did not choose it does not mean God does not hold us accountable. That much is clear in the above passage. Rather than letting human beings off the hook God reveals his wrath.

This is instructive for us Christians in how we relate to the gay community. We need to recognize that the debate over whether same-sex attraction is a choice actually misses the point! Regardless of whether same-sex attraction is a choice, it’s still sin, much like pride is a sin even though I don’t really choose to be prideful in my heart. And like every other sin, we must turn away from it and trust in Jesus Christ who died on a cross to bear the righteous wrath of God.

Same-sex attraction, it appears, is not always a choice. But we Christians have a theology that can handle that. Instead of insisting homosexuals are willfully choosing to be attracted others of their same sex, we should plead with our homosexual friends to turn away from these desires—rather than acting on them—and ask God to forgive them in Christ and help them change by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Ethnicity, on the other hand, is morally neutral. In other words, it is not a sin to be black, white, Hispanic, Asian, or any other ethnicity. On the contrary, God has created us all with particular ethnic backgrounds in order to display his own beauty in the diversity of his creation. As human beings created in God’s own image, we are all endowed with a certain kind of inherent dignity and respect.

The civil rights movement was about upholding and affirming this inherent dignity of all human beings, regardless of ethnicity. Courageous men and women of all ages and ethnic backgrounds gave their lives to fight for this kind of equality because it is good, right, and just. In various places in the world—including in our very own country—this fight continues, and it is always a battle worth fighting.

The gay marriage movement is about making room for sinful lifestyles under the guise of tolerance and equality.

The distinction between these two movements is of vast importance, and we must be crystal clear about what is at stake in both. Let us be valiant in our pursuit of justice for the oppressed and marginalized, but always standing for truth. God has not called us to compromise.

Our Counseling Must Be Biblical

/ Marcus Glover / Leave a comment

Sometimes, Scripture just isn’t enough for us.

Even for those of us who are Christians—and therefore consider the Bible to be the perfect, powerful, infallible words of God himself—sometimes even the most well-meaning citation of a passage from the Bible does little or nothing to console us when we’re hurting or give us understanding when we’re confused. We need more than the Bible, we say. We need something real and practical.

Sadly, some pastors and professional counselors are prone to make the same mistake. Don’t beat people over the head with Scripture, they say. Listen. Encourage. Help. The Bible is not the main thing that drives our counseling. In fact, quoting verses from Scripture, it is said, might actually do more harm than good.

Yet have you ever stopped and wondered why this is the case? What is going on in our hearts and minds that we would judge God’s Word to be of little use in our greatest times of despair? As I’ve considered this myself, I have found in my own heart—and have often seen revealed in others—that such a low esteem of Scripture is rooted in a prideful, idolatrous dependence on ourselves and on the wisdom of this world rather than God.

As such, I want to offer two suggestions to help you depend more on God’s Word for help in troubled times. First, an encouragement: God’s Word has real power to save us, comfort us, and give us wisdom. And second, a warning: It is dangerous and foolish to disregard God’s Word.

God’s Word has real power to save us, comfort us, and give us wisdom.

First, we need to understand that the Bible has real power to save us, comfort us, and give us wisdom. The Bible is God’s inspired, infallible Word, and it is his primary means of revealing himself and speaking to us. Therefore, the Bible is always relevant.

Consider the apostle Paul’s counsel to his young disciple Timothy:

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”

– 2 Timothy 3:16

Notice the comprehensiveness of Scripture’s usefulness in Paul’s view. All Scripture is useful for all aspects of ministry—whether it be teaching, rebuking, or counseling. And why is Scripture so useful? Because it comes directly from the all-powerful, all-sufficient God himself. The words of the Bible are the words of God.

It is helpful also to note that Timothy is a pastor. Why is this important? Well, the ironic fact is that many pastors today are the ones who functionally have the least trust and dependence on God’s Word in matters of everyday ministry. Instead, it’s so easy to rely more on ministry models and techniques learned from a book or a seminary classroom. But here is something that far too many pastors miss: While textbooks and seminars can be useful aids, they can never be a replacement for the real thing—God’s inerrant Word, the Bible.

So much did Paul believe this, that he also wrote this to Timothy:

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”

– 2 Timothy 4:1-2

Pastor, give yourself to studying, understanding, and preaching God’s Word. Don’t flinch from it. Do it continually and well. Christian, expect this from your pastor. Demand it from him. Keep him accountable in it. Faithfully teaching you God’s Word is his primary job.

But this lesson is not just for pastors. It’s for all Christians. As God’s people, we must understand that our greatest and most important resource for teaching and encouraging one another is God’s Word. When we rely on our own wisdom and techniques, we undermine our own claims that we trust God.

Do you really trust God? Then humble yourself, and rely totally on his perfect wisdom. Preach the Word!

It is dangerous and foolish to disregard God’s Word.

The second lesson, then, deals with how we receive counsel and encouragement: It is dangerous and foolish to disregard God’s Word. Again, let’s take a look at what the apostle Paul says to Timothy on this matter:

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

– 2 Timothy 4:3-4

Paul’s observation here is, sadly, the reality of the human heart. We don’t naturally want truth. We want what sounds good to us. The problem is, our rebellious posture against God’s laws often gives us terrible discernment. The things we want to hear are sometimes not the things we need to hear. In order to get the help our souls really need, we must be reminded of God’s holiness, our sin, Christ’s death and resurrection for our forgiveness, and our need to trust him.

The reason Paul so adamantly charges Timothy to preach the Bible is that he recognizes our sinful proclivity to pursue false teaching.

Essentially, Paul is telling Timothy: “Look, the deck is stacked against you. The people you are shepherding do not naturally love the truth. In fact, many of them love falsehood so much that they will beg you for it. But don’t do it. Don’t give them what they want. Give them what they need. Give them the one thing you know is absolutely true and unfailing. Give them the Word of God.”

The implications here couldn’t be clearer for us. We must rely totally on God’s Word. The Word of God is the best medicine for your own hurting heart and the hearts of those you are ministering to.