Why We Need the Church

This article was originally written by Greg Laurie of Harvest Church in Riverside, CA.  A very poinient message for the day and age we live in when so many people think church is irrelevant.
The following is from Greg...

I read an article that actually says going to church is good for your health. Among other things, the article revealed that people who had heart surgery and drew comfort from their faith and their church had a higher rate of survival. People who go to church have lower blood pressure than those who don’t. 

People with faith who attend church regularly experience less depression than non-churchgoers. And suicide is four times higher among those who don’t attend church than among those who do.

These are fringe benefits of going to church. The real reason we should come together in worship is because God works in a unique and powerful way when His people gather together in his name. It is in church that we refocus and learn and grow. It is in church where we help one another and use the gifts that God has given to us. 

The church exists for three reasons: for the glorification of God, for the edification of the saints and for the evangelization of the world. And Jesus loves the church.

I bring this up because there are some Christians today who say things like, “Well, I love the Lord. I just don’t love the church.”

Sorry. That is impossible. The apostle John wrote, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too” (1 John 5:1 nlt).

When I become friends with someone, I become friends with their kids, too. If I love them, my love extends to their family. And their kids become like nieces and nephews to me. In the same way, when we love God, we will love his children also. And if you don’t love his children, one has to question how much you really love God.

It is popular today to criticize the church. But understand this: When you criticize the church, you are speaking critically of someone Jesus loves. 

The best way to offend me is to insult my wife. You might walk up and say, “Greg, I disagree with this, and I disagree with that.” I have had people do that, and I am willing to talk with them about those things. On the other hand, if someone comes up and insults my wife, that is a different matter altogether. I would take that personally, as any loving husband would.

The church is the bride of Christ. The church belongs to him, and he loves her. The apostle Paul used that analogy, saying, “Husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her” (Ephesians 5:25 nlt).

Some people claim to be Christians, but they don’t attend church. However, a true Christian should long to be with God’s people.

Some claim they don’t go to church because they haven’t found one they like yet. But here is what the Bible says to believers: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24–25).

Notice this doesn’t say, “Let us not give up meeting together, unless, of course, Sunday is your only day off … or if you have a triathlon … or if it is a great beach day. Then you are excused, because you don’t really need fellowship as much as other Christians do.” No, if you love God, then you will love his people – and love being around them.

And if you don’t love being around the people of God, then are you really a Christian? The Bible asks the question, “For if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?” (1 John 4:20 nlt).

I think someone’s desire for fellowship with other Christians can be a barometer of their love for God. The more someone loves God, the more he or she will love to be in the church – a part of the church, loving the church. The less someone loves God, the less he or she will want to be around other Christians.

Some may say, “Yeah, but I am so over the church. The church is so critical and judgmental. It is so full of hypocrites.” To those who say the church is full of hypocrites, I say, well then, come on. There is always room for one more.

I am not excusing hypocrisy. The church has its flaws, because it is made up of people like me – and people like you. However, Jesus started the church. He loves the church. And He died for the church.

To me, a lack of fellowship with other believers is a sure sign of someone who is starting to lose ground spiritually. In the Christian life, we are either moving forward or moving backward. It is either progression or regression.

There is no standing still. So if someone is suddenly withdrawing from church, backing off from reading the Bible, and has an almost nonexistent prayer life, they are regressing, whether they want to admit it or not.

Backsliding always begins with relaxing your grip on that which you need before taking hold of that which will destroy you. So when someone says, “I am just too busy for church,” or “I don’t have time,” or “There are other things I need to do,” that to me is an indication that something is wrong spiritually.

And it trickles down to the next generation. A study revealed that when parents attend church regularly, 72 percent of their children will remain faithful in their church attendance.

So be a part of the church. Stop critiquing it. Stop maligning it. Don’t be a church connoisseur. Be a church family member. And then watch how things will change for you.
So,make sure you go to Church this Sunday!

I agree wholeheartedly with Pastor Greg.  I hope you will consider going to church this Sunday, and if you come to Myrtle Point Christian Church you just might discover that our church is NOT one of those judgmental, stuffy churches.  We are just ordinary people who love God, and love other people with the passionate, unconditional love of Jesus. Come try it out this week, I think you might be surprised.

God Bless, Roger

Is There Really Just One Way?

I would like to share with you an article I was reading on another website written by Sean McDowell.
Sean McDowell says: “We can’t change how everyone thinks. But we can change us. And that’s the opportunity for the church in the midst of pluralism.” 

I’m asked the question all the time: How can Jesus be the only way?  It’s a universal question that comes from Christians and non-Christians alike. And it’s a question for which we have to have a clear answer—shared with the right motive—because the answer is the foundation of our faith.

NEW TWISTS ON AN OLD QUESTION

Pluralism and competing religious ideas have been a problem for the Christian church since its inception. People wouldn’t have had a problem with Christianity if early Christians had just said, “We follow Jesus, one god among many.” But Christians were persecuted and killed because they took seriously the Scriptures and the words of Jesus that He is the only truth, the only way to get to heaven.

Although it’s not a new question, the state of our culture and technology today inject new nuances into it. With travel increasing in the 20th century and the growth of the Internet in the last decade, every person has access to every religion and worldview imaginable. And immigration brings radically different people groups and religions around us.

In our multicultural society that emphasizes political correctness, the prevailing opinion is that telling other people what they should believe is wrong. It strikes non-Christians and some Christians as arrogant for Christians to claim there is only one way to God. Just because people don’t believe like us, we’re condemning them to hell? The idea of seemingly nice, kind, good people with different belief systems being separated from God strikes people as profoundly unfair.

TRUTH MATTERS

Nevertheless, the belief in the uniqueness of Jesus is important. As James Emery White says in Christ Among the Dragons, this is the core of Christianity. Jesus claimed to be the universal truth and the only way to get to God. We cannot have a Christian faith without sticking to the core of Jesus’ identity. If we don’t know what it means that Jesus claimed to be the only way, the only truth and the only life, we could be giving up what Christianity itself really stands for.

If I view Jesus as just one way to get to God, why am I going to stand up when I’m persecuted? Why am I going to try to share my faith with other people? Why am I going to try to live boldly for my faith, if Jesus is just my way that works for me, as opposed to being the objectively true way that applies to everybody whether they accept it or not? This is not merely a theoretical or philosophical exercise. The Sept. 27, 2010, issue of Newsweek cited the statistic that 80 percent of Americans believe people of other religions can get to heaven. But at least 100 verses in the New Testament either directly or indirectly state that Jesus is the only way.

How do we respond?

TWO MISTAKES AND A BETTER WAY

People tend to make two mistakes in their reactions to this issue. One is to adapt to culture and capitulate to the opinion that Jesus is true for us, but we don’t want to judge anybody else. The other way is to withdraw from culture and become isolated in a Christian subculture so separated from the world that we cease to be salt and light. By improving our understanding in three areas, we can find a better way.

The Need for Theology. Christians become more accepting of the ways of the world as we become less astute theologically. I’ve found in dealing with Christians that questions about the perceived unfairness of other religions not getting to heaven tend to wane when people really understand the truths of Christianity—how corrupt human nature is apart from Jesus, why we need Him, why Jesus died upon the cross and what He actually accomplished on the cross.

The Nature of Truth. In our secular culture, we tend to think of science, math and maybe history as objective, fact-based categories, but religion and morality as subjective categories. That’s why people say, “ Christianity may be true for you, but I have a different truth.” That thinking infiltrates our churches. We have to clarify that when it comes to Christianity, we’re dealing with objective truths about the world that either Jesus was God or He wasn’t. Either the Bible is true or it isn’t.

The Necessity to Engage. The local church also needs simply to get out there and engage people of other religions. People in our neighborhoods. People in the work place. Sometimes that may be a specific evangelism effort. Most often it’s simply building relationships with people, listening to them, trying to understand them. In doing so, we earn the right to be heard, and what we say is more specifically tailored to their need.

THE QUESTION I ASK MYSELF

We have an opportunity as Christians to dig deep and really ask ourselves, “What motivates us?” The only way to counter the prevalent impression that Christians are arrogant and bigoted is to be truly motivated by love. Of course, we can’t change how everyone thinks. But we can change us. And that’s the opportunity for the church in the midst of pluralism. It’s the opportunity to bring us back to how Jesus really treated people, the way He listened to people, the way He loved them for who they were with a self-sacrificing love—living and sharing His truth in the process. Imagine the impact if we did the same!

As an author, speaker and educator, Sean McDowell is passionate about apologetics—knowing what we believe and how to articulate it persuasively and compassionately. Among the books he has authored or co-authored: the apologetics guidebook, GodQuest: 6 Signposts for Your Spiritual Journey (with Stan Jantz).

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2011 issue of Outreach magazine.

The Hesed Love Of God

Each and every day, as we walk the life of a Christian, the love of God should take central stage, but do we really have a grasp on what that means?

The love of God seems to be an endless debate, especially in recent days. I’ve heard the arguments, listened as many re-cast the love of God in terms of human understanding. Only, the reality is that this love is demonstrated in a way we would least expect.

God’s love is displayed in the way He allowed the brutal murder of His only Son. God’s love shines in sacrifice and blood and death. God’s love isn’t some human, fluffy romance novel, feel good, self-serving emotion. In contrast, the love of God is passion that engages justice, requires holiness and lays down its very life to provide us with a choice, the opportunity for salvation.

God’s love is bound up in the message of the cross. By pouring His love into the cross God hides His love from those who would reject His reign.

In Matthew 9:13 Jesus said, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ ” And in Matthew 12:7, Jesus told the Pharisees “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”

In these two verses Jesus is quoting from Hosea 6:6 where God says, "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice. And acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings."

The Hebrew word used for mercy in this verse is “Hesed”. God says, "I desire hesed."

Books have been written on the meaning of Hesed and when we read the word mercy we don’t even scratch the surface of what Jesus is trying to say. I can’t begin to do justice to the term in this one blog post, but consider the implications.

Michael Card says, “'Hesed' is a Hebrew word that describes the indescribable, that defines the un-definable. Put simply, hesed is the defining characteristic of God in the Old Testament."

Hesed is connected with grace, mercy, truth and the covenant keeping love of God. Hesed is personal and relational. And most of all, hesed is the love of God reflected in terms of covenant. The hesed love of God for His people is all about them living under His reign.

The hesed love of God is about the people of God living under His reign.

Isn’t this what the cross was all about? The kingdom of God came to earth. Jesus died, was buried and rose again so we could find forgiveness and the invitation to enter into a new kingdom, rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of the Son.

So that we could find salvation in an everlasting covenant. So that we could live under the perfect reign of a loving God.

This hesed love of God is reflected when people love Him, serve Him, seek to be like Him and give Him thanks while living under His rule. It is mercy. It is Grace. It is Relationship.

The love of God is the cross of Christ transforming lives. This is how we practice the meaning of the Christian life. We live the hesed love of God, making the invisible kingdom of God visible. Jesus told us to learn what this means, and to practice this truth with our lives.

I desire hesed, not religion.

May the loving-kindness of God be expressed in your life today and always as you come in contact with those around you. Then you will truly be revealing the love of God in the World!

God Bless
Roger

(the idea for this article came from "Sojourner's Journey", April 13, 2011)

WHAT IS A “GOOD CHRISTIAN”

I was recently reading an article by a preacher by the name of Francis Chan that really struck a cord with me. Here are some excerpts from that article and some of my thoughts included.

I think it's time we stop asking ourselves the question: "Am I a good Christian?" We live in a time when the term "Christian" has been so diluted that millions of immoral but nice people genuinely consider themselves "good Christians." We have reduced the idea of a good Christian to someone who believes in Jesus, loves his or her family, and attends church regularly. Others will label you a good Christian even though your life has no semblance to the way Christ spent His days on earth. Perhaps we should start asking the question: "Am I a good Christ?" In other words, do I look anything like Jesus? This question never even entered my mind until a friend of mine made a passing comment to me one day.

Dan is a long time friend of mine. In fact, he's the pastor who performed my wedding. He was talking to me about another pastor named Von. Von has been working with youth in the San Diego area for decades. Many of his students have gone on to become missionaries and powerful servants of God. Dan described a trip to Tijuana, Mexico, with Pastor Von. (Von has been ministering to the poor in the dumps of Tijuana for years.) Dan didn't speak of the awful living conditions of those who made their homes amidst the rubbish. What impacted Dan the most was the relationship he saw between Von and the people of this community. He spoke of the compassion, sacrifice, and love that he witnessed in Von's words and actions as he held these malnourished and un-bathed children. Then he made the statement that sent me reeling:

"The day I spent with Von was the closest thing I've ever experienced to walking with Jesus." Dan explained that the whole experience was so eerie because he kept thinking to himself: "If Jesus were still walking on Earth in the flesh, this is what it would feel like to walk alongside of Him!"

After that discussion, I kept wondering if anyone had ever said that about me-"The day I spent with Francis was the closest thing I've ever experienced to walking with Jesus." The answer was an obvious "no." Would any honest person say that about you?

What bothered me was not that I hadn't "arrived," but that I wasn't even heading in the right direction. I hadn't made it my goal to resemble Christ. I wasn't striving to become the kind of person who could be mistaken for Jesus Christ. Isn't it ironic that a man can be known as a successful pastor, speaker, and CHRISTian even if his life doesn't resemble Christ's?

In 1 John 2:6 it says, “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” Are we living in obedience to that instruction of scripture, have we redefined what it means, or have we just ignored it altogether. It is more than a little disturbing isn’t it?

As Christians we are called to become more like Jesus every day. We should not just claim Jesus as our Savior, and then go back about our business, ignoring his instruction and commandments. Being a Christian is more than just trying to be a good person! Being a Christian is becoming more like Jesus!

Pray about these thoughts. Take them to heart, and hopefully we will become real disciples of Jesus Christ, and others will say about us, “The day I spent with (put your name here) was like walking with Jesus.”

Yours in Christ
Roger