Acts 3:36-40
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”
Acts 1:15
“In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)”
I think we, as a church, have lost sight of the big picture. I feel that in general as a church (the body of Christ) we’ve become to focused on two things. These two things though not problematic in and of themselves (in fact they are rather good things), but, as the only focus they are an extreme issue.
The first issue being what I like to call an introverted church. Being an introverted church means focusing on building up the already faithful members and never reaching the world. An introverted church will never reach out to the lost, hurting, pain-stricken, sinful world, but instead keep indoors. An introverted church often will turn away new faces, not on purpose, but due to selfishness. When the homeless woman wanders in, or the young drug addict stumbles in, or the lost businessman appears, the church usually ignores them. See an introverted church is more focused on becoming “spiritually obese” than touching the lost. They spew theology and wisdom. Quote proverbs and Jesus. They pray together, and talk together. They discuss and debate. They find “truth” in scripture, and yet, they never really do. See Jesus says
“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17)
and James says “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:22-25).
So how can we simply feed ourselves and forget the hungry? The church is not solely about sustaining it’s own members, it’s about loving everyone, caring for everyone.”Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) “Make disciples of all nations…teaching them” How can we make disciples of ALL nations when we are only focused on those who are already disciples? The answer: we can’t.
The second issue I believe the church has is almost the opposite. When I look at the church I see it trying to build its numbers and be so “seeker” friendly that it forgets the gospel and tries to create an open friendly atmosphere with no truth and no accountability. What’s the issue with being friendly and open? Nothing! The issue is when you compromise the truth in order to make people like you. As a christian you are not supposed to be liked. Read John 15:18-16:4
Some key points from it “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” and “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will TESTIFY about me. And YOU ALSO must testify” also “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.”
You WILL be hated for being a Christian. If not, you are probably doing something wrong. Jesus says if he had not spoken to people they would not be guilty, but since he has they are! Likewise, if you tell people God’s words that they are sinners, they have no excuse. They know the truth! How many people do you know that enjoy being confronted about their sin? No one. Yet Jesus calls us to testify. We can’t just create an open environment where we play games and talk about happy things and drink good coffee, we have to testify about the truth! Back to making disciples (Matthew 28:19); they are not disciples if they aren’t being taught the truth. A disciple of Jesus KNOWS Jesus, he doesn’t just attend “Jesus” church and drink coffee and sing upbeat pop songs.
Along with this we can’t be concerned about offending people. They WILL be offended. That is not our place. The Bible say in Hebrews 4:12-12 “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” and 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 “But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying [speaking truth/God's word], he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
So get with it. Head back to the beginning of God’s call. Save the lost (Luke 19:10), preach the good news (Luke 4:43). Share the Kingdom of heaven (Matthew 4:17)!
