Have you ever wondered what the purpose of the church is? Is it a place to get your needs met? A place to hang out with like-minded friends? A place to get a shot in the arm for the week ahead?
Nowadays more and more churches are like that.
I hate to say it but we’re not allowed to re-purpose the church to our liking or to meet the needs of the culture. God didn’t give us pastors to be inspirational speakers, or comedians, or storytellers. And he certainly didn’t give us pastors to be our life coaches either. For that you have movies, TV shows, and TED Talks.
So what’s the purpose of the church anyway if they’re not clubs for the cool, support networks for tech families, or places for therapy?
According to the bible, God has given the church three mandates:
- The worship of God
- The maturing of believers
- Bringing sinners to faith
If our churches aren’t doing this, then we need to ask if it’s a true church.
What tools is the church to use for the worship of God, maturing the saints, and bringing sinners to faith?
The gospel.
The teaching and preaching must be the gospel. It’s the only tool God promises to use that is powerful and accomplishes its purpose.
The gospel is not inside of us by nature. That’s why we need to hear it from the outside. The church is where this is done in song, in prayer, and in preaching.
It’s not only the pastor’s responsibility, it’s all of ours. We need to be specialists in the gospel so we’re able to share it, counsel it, and tell it to others.
As private Christians we have many assignments in life, but the church has only one: the preaching of the gospel.
And we need to be reminded of the gospel every week, no matter how old we are in the Lord.
The gospel is not only for sinners but for Christians as well.
Talk to me.
Messy Christians 