SpOL

SpOL-073 WHY CHURCH?

Not long ago I was sitting in an airport lounge. To pass the time, I was reading a book by theologian Robert Capon called The Parables of Judgment.

The couple seated next to me interrupted my reading to ask if it was a good book. I told them I thought it was an excellent book.

They then told me they believed in Jesus, but that they just did not want to be part of organized religion.

I could not resist asking if they preferred to be part of disorganized religion. We all laughed, but their interest was piqued, and one of them asked me: “Why should I be part of a church?”

I told them that being in relationship with God includes being in relationship with other Christians. I shared our church motto with them – “Living and Sharing the Gospel.” And I went on to explain that our motto doesn’t mean we knock on people’s doors or interrupt them on the street to force our views down their throats. Rather, “Living and Sharing the Gospel” reminds us that Jesus lives in us and that our lives are to be a reflection to others of God’s love.

They told me the reason they no longer attended a church was because of the legalism that seemed to be imposed upon them. And I well understand this complaint. I had to admit that discipleship often degenerates into legalism. But real Christian discipleship is not about a list of behaviors. Real discipleship is about undeserving people receiving and sharing God’s love.

But some people seem to be what I call “grace-challenged.” By that I mean that while some people are grateful for God’s grace, they behave as though his grace is not enough, not sufficient, to reconcile people to him. So they feel compelled to emphasize obedience and law keeping over grace, which leads people into the frustration, anxiety and despair of guilt, instead of into the joy of the love of God.

Sin certainly needs to be addressed—I don't quarrel with that—but authentic Christianity is not merely some sin management program. In fact, the best sin management program is to stop worrying over sin, but instead to rest in God’s love and let him share his love with others through you. The central purpose of our lives is to know and love God and thereby experience the fullness of eternal life.

In John 17:3 John records Jesus saying:

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

Knowing God cannot be reduced to a mechanical checklist of dos and don’ts. Knowing God means living in his presence all the time with the secure knowledge that he loves you and accepts you for the sake of Jesus.

It is not a life of keeping score, but a life of loving and being loved. Ephesians 5:1-2 says: “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (NIV)

The couple at the airport seemed genuinely interested, and as my flight was called, I concluded by telling them that being in relationship with God also means being in relationship with others.

And a primary way that happens is in the setting of a local church, the kind of church where there is a real sense of living and sharing the gospel.

I don’t know what their immediate decision might have been, but I expect that in time they will find a good church and join in meaningful fellowship with fellow believers.

I’m Joseph Tkach, speaking of life.