The Individual Christian and the "Church"

There is a definite distinction made in the New Testament between the actions and responsibilities of the individual and those of the church. Granted the church is made up of individuals, and is just a group of individual Christians banding together. But there is reason to note that the church has a special command and focus that is different from the individual in some respects.

There is no question that the NT teaches a great deal about what we as Christians are to be doing. It starts with the teaching of the Lord Jesus. Like, in Matthew 5-7, the sermon on the mount. Jesus, over and over, taught that we are to treat others as ourselves, love our enemies, help the poor, both in and out of the church, be forgiving people, turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, tell others about Jesus, follow Him. All of this teaching is to the individual.

But there is teaching regarding the "church" that differs some from the above. First, Jesus "built" the church, died for it, and loved it. As we look at the beginnings of the church, first in Jerusalem (Acts 2), then into the rest of the world, we see that the church had a mission, a focus. The charge to the church was to take the message, the gospel, into all the world. Jesus told His disciples in Mark 16: 15+, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." We see them doing this starting in Acts 2. And throughout the book of Acts we see churches being established everywhere. And we see church organization, the appointing of elders in every church. With all this preaching and dedication and zeal, the church grew rapidly. But the focus of the church remained this: the saving of souls. We never see the focus shifting to social matters, feeding the poor, recreation, etc. Individual Christians had opportunities and responsibilities in the social areas, but not the church.

But, having said all of that, there may be valid criticism of us as individual Christians not doing enough of what we have been charged to do. And churches have moved into the social areas, making the focus of trying to meet the social needs of society, and trying to attract people into the church by making it fun, entertaining, and satisfying. But we need to remember that the only one we are trying to satisfy is God Himself.

That is hard teaching; but I believe it is what the Bible is teaching. Have a good week and thanks for sticking with me.

The Kingdom and Us

In Acts 1, the apostles asked Jesus, "Lord, will You at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?" And Jesus said, "It is not for you to know....." Jesus then ascended into heaven to begin His reign as King. In Revelation 1:6 it says that He "has made us kings and priests to His God and Father...." So Jesus has elevated us, as Christians, to a very high level in the eyes of God.

But we must not get conceited about status. Yes, Jesus has given us a great boost. But on the other hand, he taught that we must humble ourselves in the kingdom. In Matthew 18, the "disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' " Jesus called a little child to Him and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by not means enter the kingdom of heaven."

Humility is a key factor in being in the kingdom of heaven.

Thanks for reading! See you next week.

The Kingdom

I don't know that there is a more central theme of the Bible than "The Kingdom." I can safely say that because throughout the Old Testament there was a looking forward to the coming Kingdom, the one that Jesus would bring, a spiritual kingdom that would last forever (reference Daniel 2, Joel 2, Isaiah 2). In Matthew 4, John the Baptist was preaching, "Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." When Jesus started preaching, He was preaching the "gospel of the Kingdom," (Matt. chapters 4 & 9). The Kingdom was the major topic of discussion.

In Mark 9:1, Jesus said, "Some here will not taste of death until they see the Kingdom of God come with power." Thus we know that the Kingdom of God was begun during the lifetime of some of the witnesses of Jesus. We see this actual beginning in Acts 2. And we know that Jesus is now reigning as the King, and we are His subjects. Note Colossians 1:13, where it says that we, as Christians, are "translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love."

The Kingdom of God, founded by Jesus Christ with Him as King, exists now with Him ruling. But it is a spiritual kingdom. People always wanted a physical king, a ruling king to dominate all nations around. But Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world," (John 18:36). He never intended to build an earthly kingdom.

There are many people in today's world who are convinced that Jesus will come back to the earth one day and establish an earthly kingdom; they often reference Revelation 20 for this theory. But this contradicts what Jesus said, that His kingdom was not of this world.

Perhaps next week we will discuss the personal significance of the Kingdom of God; how it affects how we live and our relationship with God. See you then!

Come Out From Among Them

God wants us to be different from other people in the world. The "Masses," as I often refer to them, are drifting along, not sure where they are headed or why. But we, as Christians, are to be different from that; we are certain of our direction and certain of who leads us. But it still is a challenging and difficult road, a narrow road that we walk.


2Corinthians 6:17+ says, "Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." We must be willing to separate ourselves from the evil that grips much of our world.


In Revelation 3, speaking to the church in Sardis, the Lord tells us, "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments....."


In heaven, we Christians will be clothed in white garments, not because we have lived perfectly, because no one does that, except Jesus Himself; but it will be because we have followed Him and "overcome." Let's all commit to that......to do that this week. May the Lord bless you!