Some people think it’s a sacred zone where they can come to scratch their itch for a sense of mystery, or to throw up desperate wish-prayers for an improved life. Others think it’s a social networking organization that we join to provide belonging and activities for the whole family. Still others think it’s a center from which charitable goods and services can be distributed into the community. But what does Scripture say? What is the church supposed to be?
A Pillar and Buttress of Truth (1 Timothy 3:15, Philippians 2:15-16)
It’s the church’s job to defend Christian truth in every context and every season. There are many other people who would love to define Christian truth for us: Cultural pundits, rogue seminaries, Christian marketers, politicians, best-selling authors, internet influencers. Alas, only the church has the God-given authority to define the faith. How? From Scripture, by the Holy Spirit, in harmony with the faithful confessors of Christ across all centuries. This role means that we have to learn our Bibles – the whole counsel of God. It also means that many efforts of the church to articulate truth may not feel like they have immediate cultural “pay-off”, because they admittedly are “defensive” in nature. We defend the truth not only by studying it, but also by binding it to our hearts through memory, songs of worship, and mutual exhortation.
A Kingdom Outpost (1 Thessalonians 1:7-8, Romans 15:23-24)
But the church doesn’t only play defense. It is through the church that Christ continues to reveal his Kingdom and transfer ransomed rebels into the light. The church teaches and models personal witness for Christ. The church participates in church planting efforts. The church aids in supporting and sending gospel workers to places where the word of Christ is not known. The church’s broadest-reaching weapon is prayer. As we devote ourselves to praying in specific ways for God’s name to be hallowed, for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done, then the schemes of the evil one are thwarted, and God delights to work wonders in response to the faith of His people.
A Hospital for Sinners (not a Museum for Saints) (1 Cor. 6:9-11, 1 John 1:6-10)
Jesus came for the sick, not those who thought they were healthy. His assembly must always be a place where patient love, mercy, and instruction are extended to those from the most broken of society. Our gospel is for prostitutes and tax-collectors. It’s for criminals and addicts. It’s for homosexuals and transgender persons. It’s for those who are tired of pretending and weary of their prideful obsession with put-togetherness. All are invited to come – but none who stay will stay the same. They will be washed with the word, their truest identities will be restored, their painful regrets will be given to the Lord, the bitterness in their hearts will dissolve into forgiveness. And all this will happen because they are welcomed as we ourselves were welcomed by Christ.
A Family and Fellowship of the Redeemed (Phil. 4:2-3, 2 Cor. 1:6-11)
We are a community of spiritual grandparents, fathers, mothers, children, brothers, and sisters. We seek to live out all the “one-another” commands of Scripture. The world will hate us for many reasons, but they will have to acknowledge, “See how these Christians love one another!” As with any family, it’s not always easy. Our sincere love for each other may need to develop even out of the fact that we may not naturally like each other. And family can be awkward! But we keep going, because beauty emerges as He gives us greater grace. And like any family, we don’t only spend recreational time together. We also build each other up, support one another’s growth, and seek out common goals together. That’s where this word “fellowship” comes in. Don’t think primarily about social events – think more like Tolkien’s “Fellowship of the Ring”! We’re bound to a shared and sacred mission. We’ve been given divine gifts. The consequences are life or death. And there is a Power at work that won’t let us fail.