Mentoring Men for the Master

ARE YOU A CURE FOR THE MISCONCEPTIONS OF THE CHURCH?

The biggest problems facing the church today are the many Misconceptions of the church in society at large:

  • Misconceptions of The Church:
  1. A building on the corner
  2. A denomination
  3. A Religious Social Club
  4. A Country Club
  5. A Political Action Committee
  6. An Instrument of Social Justice
  7. A Crutch for the Weak-Minded
  8. A Con Game
  9. A Money-Making Business
  10. Irrelevant
  11. Sham at Worst
  12. A Bunch of Hypocrites
  13. Your nomination
  •  CHARACTER of The Church. The cure for these misconceptions is for the CHARACTER of the Church to be the Church God intended.  The Apostle Peter defines the church in 4 ways:
  1. Chosen Generation (1 Peter 2:9). God has called the church out of the world, elected and selected as a very special lot.  “Many are called but few are chosen.” (Matthew 20:16).  See John 15:16.  Remember our victory pledge, “We are too chosen to be frozen.”  Just think:  God picked me out!!!
  2. A Royal Priesthood – royal because it serves in the name of King Jesus, Lord of Lords and King of Kings. We have royal blood in our veins. The church is a “spiritual house and holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5) to offer up sacrifices to God. “The spiritual sacrifices of the New Testament priest are:
    1. The presentation of the body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This is an act of spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1).
    2. The sacrifice of praise. “That is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Heb. 13:15).
    3. The sacrifice of good works. “Do not forget to do good…”  This sacrifice is pleasing to God (Heb. 13:16).
    4. The sacrifice of possessions, or pocketbook. “Do not forget…to share.”  This sacrifice also is pleasing to the Lord (Heb. 13:16).
    5. The sacrifice of service. Paul speaks of his ministry to the Gentiles as a priestly offering (Romans 15:16).
  3. A Holy Nation – The chief character of holiness is separateness. “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord and touch not the unclean things; and I will receive you.”  Separation does not mean isolation, but to live in the world without contamination.  “I pray that you not take them out of the world but keep them from the evil in the world” (Jesus in John 17:15).  Jesus moved in the midst of human activity but without sin, and He says to His Church, “Be ye holy – all of you- because I am holy.” (1 Peter 2:16).
  4. A Peculiar People – (People of His own possession) “Peculiar” not to be odd, but because we are the private, special, treasured possession of God (from pecullium). “Ye are not your own.  For you are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body, which is God’s.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
  • CONDUCT of The Church  – Having set forth the Character of the Church, Peter then sets forth the CONDUCT (function) of the Church.  “You are a Chosen Generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people in order that you might proclaim the excellencies of him who Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:10).  The word “proclaim” means to shout for joy the “excellencies” of Jesus.  It takes two forms:
    1. One is the act of worship in Spirit and in truth in which we meet together on Sunday and other times to proclaim the praise of God and to thank Jesus Christ for the awesome sacrifice He made on our behalf on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, and His sending the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.
    2. The second way we proclaim the praises is to gladly share with others how we were delivered out of darkness into the light of His dear Son.
  •  CONSECRATION of The Church. Having set forth the Character and Conduct of the Church, Peter than says that the church must live CONSECRATED lives in a sinful world.  He described the members of the church as “Sojourners” and “Pilgrims.” (1 Peter 2:11).  Now a Sojourner is a person who is just staying in a place temporarily, and a “Pilgrim” is someone who is a traveler, on a spiritual journey, his real home and destiny being heaven.  Like the saints of old, Sojourners and Pilgrims have no permanent place on this earth, but is looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. (Hebrews 11:10).  Illus:  “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through.  Since a Sojourner and a Pilgrim would not put down roots in an area where he or she had no intention of staying, Peter warns the church against WHAT?  Against getting involved in “Fleshly Lusts” which war against the soul (1 Peter 2:11).  Why?  For two reasons:
  1. Fleshly lusts inhibit our journey as pilgrims. The more we involve ourselves in the lust of the flesh, the less time we will have in Internalizing the Word, Prayer, and witnessing.  What are these fleshly lusts?  We necessarily think of “bad things,” but Peter was not just talking about sexual immorality, drugs, abortion, but about anything that we indulge in at the expense of our relationship with God.  “When we read the exhortation to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, we think immediately of sexual sins.  But the application is wider than that; it refers to any strong desire that is inconsistent with the will of God.  It would include over-indulgence in food or drink, catering to the body with excessive sleep, the determination to amass material possessions, or the hankering for worldly pleasures.  All these things wage incessant warfare against our spiritual well-being.  They hinder communion with God.  They deter spiritual growth.”[1] Question:  How about being habitually late?
  2. Fleshly lusts destroys our witness to those outside of the body of Christ. Why?  Remember how I said that people think the church is a sham, or irrelevant, or a bunch of hypocrites.  Where do you think the world got this idea?  By looking at us.  We have talked the talk but not walked the walk for generations, and it is catching up with us.  We have fallen into the trap of thinking we are special and holy without every acting holy or special.  In a word, Peter is saying “the only defense the church has to the accusations that your faith, your church, your life, is nothing but a sham.”  The answer to this charge is to live a holy life through the control of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16) and then we will be able to say, “That’s not true.  We live the way we say we live, we live the way God wants us to live.”

Are you and I doing that?  As you think of your daily walk, could your brothers and sisters first of all and then your lost neighbors be able to point to your life and say, “There’s proof that the church is not a Sham or a Scam or a Bunch of Hypocrites, Just a Country Club – just look at their lives.”

[1] William McDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary, Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, 1995, p. 2262.