(12/10/16)
The United States of America is a nation known for its emphasis on the individual. American individualism. Individual rights. Rugged individualism. The entrepreneur. The Lone Ranger. In days past, “The Marlboro Man” – The man or woman alone from the crowd, facing the forces of evil, or attaining success: The self-made man.
Emphasizing the individual is certainly not wrong: God used individual judges to deliver His people in Old Testament times. He used Noah to build an ark. David had his mighty men. And, of course, Jesus Himself attained His victory over sin and death as an individual. God works in and through your distinct individuality, your gifts, your strengths, your desires, your passions, your goals, your personal life.
But our tendency (for various reasons) is to reduce truths to one rather than to do justice to many biblical truths which are multiple – and which may even (to our small, creaturely minds) seem to conflict:
- God’s absolute sovereignty. Man’s full responsibility.
- God’s sovereign election of His people. The free offer of the Gospel to all.
- Without Jesus we can do nothing. We are to work out our salvation.
- The Trinity: Three Persons. One God.
In so many cases we need to hold truths together – not so much “keeping them in balance” as doing
full justice to both. Both/And. Not Either/Or.
So it is with how we understand and appreciate the work that God is doing in history through His reigning Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is saving individuals and families, to be sure; but – in His own language – His grand work is to build His Church. “I will build My Church”, he said, “And the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” Jesus Christ is given as Head over all things “for the sake of His Church”, says the Apostle Paul in the first chapter of Ephesians. Jesus governs everything in human history so that His church will be saved, kept, and made victorious in the earth. Why? Because Jesus loved (and loves) His Church: He gave Himself for it!
But what really is this thing called “The Church”? It’s far more than a particular Christian denomination or local body – although Christian denominations and local bodies are meant to illustrate what “The Church” is designed by God to be. The Church is:
- The great theater in which God shows His wonderful works in forming His people as a colony of heaven in this world.
- The gathering of those who have learned of Jesus Christ, have come to know Him and who profess Him, together with their children.
- The visible expression of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, here on earth.
- The House of God. The Family of God. The Pillar and Ground of the Truth – holding the Truth as it is perfectly revealed in Christ the Truth as the great North Star for the world’s direction.
- “Out of which” (as tried and true Christian doctrinal standards have put it, “there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.” – Not that everyone in a Christian Church IS saved. (There are wheat and tares in best of churches!), but the Church is where the saved gather, worship, grow, and serve as a body.
Why is this God’s plan for His work in the world? Well, for one, “it’s not good that man be alone” either in the realm of nature or the realm of grace. And when we are born – we are born into a family. So, too, when we are “born again”, we are born into a family – a body of spiritual mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters And on a very practical level, we need the encouragements, instructions, and corrections that come from others who profess to be Christians. We need to be accountable to others as means to keep us in the narrow way that leads to life. And if we are to “fight the good fight of faith”, we need to do it as an army – not as a collection of Rambos!
Quite frankly, if you love Jesus, you will love His Church. He IS One flesh with His bride the Church; so we can imagine Jesus saying, “Don’t say that you love me if you don’t love my bride! Ouch! That’s not the way most American Christians think – even though we should.
Do you love the Church of Jesus Christ? Why (or why not?)
That’s the topic of today’s edition of A Visit to the Pastor’s Study. You can hear the recording at:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/za2ah7buvsrpnm7/pastors_study_bill_shisko_121016.mp3