{"id":35,"date":"2003-10-01T00:19:36","date_gmt":"2003-10-01T04:19:36","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T04:00:00","slug":"a-tale-of-two-churches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/a-tale-of-two-churches\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tale Of Two Churches"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Mark Frees <\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

An earnest young Christian moves to a small town with two churches. <\/p>\n

Church A is staunchly committed to New Testament principles of eldership, the Lord’s
\nsupper, the priesthood of all believers, and related truths. But sadly, a few visits
\nreveal a lack of spiritual fervor in the assembly. Evangelistic zeal seems non-existent.
\nThe prayer meeting lacks power and unction. Dryness and complacency hang like a pall over
\nthe meetings on the Lord’s day.

Church B, by contrast, is a hotbed of spiritual activity, filled with warm-hearted,
\ngrowing Christians. Souls are being saved, sound doctrine is taught, the atmosphere is
\nencouraging, and the fellowship sweet. These brethren, however, either do not see or do
\nnot attach much importance to certain aspects of the New Testament pattern for the church.\n<\/p>\n

For most modern-day church shoppers, the choice would be obvious. But before this young
\nbrother too readily bypasses Church A for Church B, there are several questions he should
\nconsider soberly and prayerfully. <\/p>\n

Question 1: Is my initial impression of the two churches perhaps a bit simplistic? <\/p>\n

The Church A’s out there are rarely as dismal as they appear at first glance, and the
\nChurch B’s rarely as splendid. Church A may indeed have vexing problems, but a closer look
\nwill likely reveal a small core, at least, of fervent, exercised believers. Church B,
\nwhile doing a fine work for God, no doubt has its share of problems as well. It is a fact
\n(though not necessarily true of Church B) that a smoothly orchestrated church program can
\ncreate the illusion of more spiritual actually exists when the bells and whistles are
\nstripped away. <\/p>\n

Question 2: Does my own life exhibit the same weaknesses I find so distressing in
\nChurch A? <\/p>\n

In other words, could it be that Church A’s main problem is that it is made up of
\nChristians a lot like me? Are these brothers and sisters in need of the reviving,
\nrefreshing influences of the Holy Spirit? So am 1. Do they often struggle in their prayer
\nlives, lose battles to sin in the flesh, lack fervency in their love for Christ? So do 1.
\nAre they capable of being petty and selfish? So am I. <\/p>\n

Why then should I reject a group of Christians for faults I need look no further than
\nmy own life to see? <\/p>\n

Question 3: Will my fellowship at either of these churches cause me to participate in
\nanything that dishonors Christ? <\/p>\n

In choosing a place to fellowship, all other factors, children’s ministry, youth group,
\nmusic ministry, quality of Bible teaching, number of young families, etc., must take a
\nback seat to this supreme criterion: the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ. <\/p>\n

Now if my initial description of Church A and Church B is anywhere close to accurate,
\ncertain aspects of both churches bring dishonor to Christ. Church A may chide Church B for
\nits lack of conformity to New Testament principles, but our Lord is dishonored also, and
\nperhaps more so, by the spiritual apathy and coldness of Church A. <\/p>\n

But the question is, will my fellowship at either place require my participation in
\nthat which dishonors Christ? <\/p>\n

If indeed Church A is marked by spiritual lethargy and lack of evangelistic fervor,
\nthis assuredly dishonors Christ. But does my fellowship there force me to participate in
\nthis lethargy and coldness? Might I not instead set a winsome example of hot-heartedness
\nin the midst of it? <\/p>\n

On the other hand, supposing Church B holds to an unscriptural distinction between
\nclergy and laity, it is hard to see how I can fellowship regularly there without either
\nsupporting this system or causing division in the church. Or if Church B neglects the
\nLord’s supper, reducing it to an infrequent, perfunctory ritual, how am I to fellowship
\nthere without personally sharing in this neglect? This is worth some serious thought. <\/p>\n

Question 4: At which church is my presence likely to have the most influence for good? <\/p>\n

If Church B is a typical pastor-led church, my influence as a layman is going to be
\nsharply limited. The state of affairs in the church, for good or bad, is going to be
\nlargely a function of the personality, spirituality, and giftedness of the pastor. (Thank
\nGod for many godly, gifted pastors.) <\/p>\n

But if Church A, for all its weaknesses, is serious about following the New Testament
\npattern of church leadership and ministry, then each individual member of the body can
\nhave a marked impact on its spiritual condition. <\/p>\n

Is the prayer meeting cold and lifeless? Nothing stops any brother from lighting a fire
\nunder the gathering with his own bold petitions. Is the remembrance meeting dull? Nothing
\nstops him from piercing the dullness with radiant, Christ-filled worship. Nothing stops
\nhim from energizing the Bible studies with thoughtful, enthusiastic comments or igniting
\nthe assembly’s evangelistic outreach with his own courageous testimony. <\/p>\n

Sisters, too, through believing intercession, fragrant silent worship, humble service
\nto the saints, and faithful witness, may be similarly used by God to raise the spiritual
\ntemperature of the assembly. <\/p>\n

Question 5: Is it possible that the deep need in Church A is the very reason God has
\nbrought me to this place? <\/p>\n

In all likelihood at least some of the brethren in Church A are sorrowfully aware of
\ntheir condition. <\/p>\n

Perhaps many earnest entreaties have ascended from this struggling assembly that God
\nmight send those who would be a blessing and encouragement to the work. <\/p>\n

I cannot discount the possibility that I am part of God’s answer to those prayers. What
\na blessing I, and they, might miss if I shun these brethren in a futile, self-centered
\nsearch for the perfect church. <\/p>\n

Yes, our young friend has some important questions to ponder. <\/p>\n

But now let me add a final question: Why should the Lord’s people ever have to make
\nsuch a choice? Why should they be forced to weigh their allegiance to New Testament
\nassembly principles against their desire for a warm, vibrant, evangelistic church? Why
\nshould they not find both in one place? <\/p>\n

Thank God, in some places they can. And indeed it is the task of each local assembly to
\nsee that no one in its community ever has to choose between Church A and Church B. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Mark Frees An earnest young Christian moves to a small town with two churches. Church A is staunchly committed to New Testament principles of eldership, the Lord’s supper, the priesthood of all believers, and related truths. But sadly, a few visits reveal a lack of spiritual fervor in the assembly. Evangelistic zeal seems non-existent. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church"],"yoast_head":"\nA Tale Of Two Churches - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/a-tale-of-two-churches\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Tale Of Two Churches - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Mark Frees An earnest young Christian moves to a small town with two churches. 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