A Church Or The Church?
When the word church is brought up in conversation, the views on the matter seem to vary drastically with those who are members of various religious groups. Some responses have been, "They are just different shingles on the same roof" or "Choose the one that makes you feel good" or "The church is where people go." Do these beliefs have any backing in the word of God? I want to address each one at a time.
Response 1: They are different shingles on the same roof.
This idea that we are all going in the same direction, all worshipping the same way, and all believing the same things is a simple misunderstanding. Scripture teaches that there is only ONE church that Christ established. When Peter made his confession of who Christ was in Matthew 16:16ff. Jesus replied, “Upon this rock, I will build My church.” His response was not many groups and denominations I will build. The one church that Christ established is the only church there should be.
Response 2: Choose the one that makes you feel good.
While the church was designed to be edifying and spiritually uplifting to the body, as seen with the establishment of leaders (Eph. 4:11ff.), we are people who have sin and sometimes the enlightenment and removal of that sin is not a pleasurable experience. However, the result of life cleansed from sin is an eternity with Christ. While it may be uncomfortable to try to overcome sin in our lives, we can be happy when we read Acts 2:38. We can feel good when we see that there is a cure for a lost sinful life. We can feel good when we discover our sinful condition can be taken care of.
Response 3: The church is where people go.
The fact of the matter is the church is not a place we can go but it is who we are. While there are various places members of the Lord’s church meet when you are baptized into Christ, you become a member of the one church that Christ established(1 Cor. 12:13). There are many members but we are “ONE body in Christ” (Rom. 12:4-5).
Scripture is a story of oneness. One Savior, One Story, One Church. (Eph. 4:4-6)
Let’s change how we see church and learn to BE the church!