1 John 3:2-6

“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.

We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.”

John calls those whose sins are forgiven “children of God” (1 Jn. 2:12), yet in these verses he observes that we do not look like the Father who has begotten us: “it has not appeared as yet what we will be.” Furthermore, we are told that everyone hoping in Christ should “purify himself, as He is pure.” But how can we do this since we fall short of our calling? To encourage us in pursuing holiness, John reviews three indisputable facts, regardless of our external appearance:

First, sin is lawlessness (v. 4). When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, they transgressed God’s law, rejecting His standard and substituting their own. They, and their posterity with them, became lawless and thereby separated from God. As long as we are sinful, as long as we are lawless, we cannot be reconciled to the law-giving Lord. This fact would drive us to despair, were it the end of the story.

But the second fact answers the need of the first: Christ appeared in order to take away sin (v. 5). As the Godman dwelling with us (Jn. 1:14, 6:38), He lived perfectly because “in Him there is no sin”; He obeyed where we did not. Additionally, in His work on the cross, Christ takes our sin upon Himself, bearing its punishment in our place. His death settles the matter of sin. If Christ took away my sin, and in Him there is no sin, then where is the sin He took away? “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12).

These two facts, (1) sin is lawlessness and (2) Christ takes away sin, lead to John’s concluding third fact: God in Christ justifies His children: “No one who abides in Him sins” (v.6). While God’s children prescriptively should not practice sin (cf. 1 Jn. 3:9), here they are told that they do not sin. Whereas lawlessness is applied to those “practicing sin” (v. 4), the absence of sin is applied to those “abiding in Christ.” Those forgiven in Christ are not judged by their present shortcomings but according to the effective righteousness of Him in whom “there is no sin.”

These facts should fill us with joy, and hope for our sanctification! In Christ God the Father has forgiven our sins and named us His children. Whether we feel worthy or not, those who abide in Christ are the Father’s children and still will be when Christ returns (1 Jn. 3:1-2).

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift (2 Cor. 9:15)!

Great Forgiveness for Great Sin

Charles Spurgeon

Preached December 31, 1876 

Published MTP 1903

Provided by Mack Tomlinson

 I like the way Luther talks upon this subject. … He says, “Jesus Christ is not a sham savior for sham sinners, but He is a real Savior Who offers a real atonement for real sin, for gross crimes, for shameless offenses, for transgressions of every sort and every size.” And a far greater One than Luther has said, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa 1:18). I have set the door of mercy open widely, have I not? There is no one here who will dare to say, “Mr. Spurgeon said that I was too guilty to be forgiven!” I have said nothing of the kind. However great your guilt, though your sins, like the great mountains, tower above the clouds, the floods of divine mercy can roll over the tops of the highest mountains of iniquity and drown them all. God give you grace to believe this and to prove it true this very hour!

The greatness of God’s forgiveness may be judged by the freeness of it. When a poor sinner comes to Christ for pardon, Christ does not ask him to pay anything for it, to do anything, to be anything, or to feel anything, but He freely forgives him. I know what you think: “I shall have to go through a certain penance of heart, at any rate, if not of body. I shall have to weep so much, or pray so much, or do so much, or feel so much.” That is not what the gospel says. That is only your false view about it. The gospel says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Act 16:31). Trust Jesus Christ, and the free pardon of sin is at once given without money and without price (Isa 55:1).

   Another thing that indicates its greatness is its immediateness. God will forgive you at once, as soon as you trust Christ. There was a daughter, well beloved by her father, who, in an evil hour, left her home and came to London. Here, having no friends, she soon fell a prey to wicked men and became an utter wreck. A city missionary met with her, spoke faithfully to her about her sin, and the Holy Spirit brought her to the Savior’s feet. The missionary asked for her father’s name and address; and at last, she told him. But she said, “It is no use for you to write to him. I have brought such dishonor on my family that I am quite certain he would not reply to any letter.” They wrote to the father and stated the case; and the letter that came back bore on the envelope, in large text hand, the word Immediate. Inside, he wrote, “I have prayed every day that I might find my child and am rejoiced to hear of her. Let her come home at once. I have freely forgiven her, and I long to clasp her to my bosom.” Now, soul, if thou seekest mercy, this is just what the Lord will do with thee. He will send thee mercy marked Immediate, and thou shalt have it at once. I recollect how I found mercy in a moment, as I was told to look to Jesus, and I should be forgiven. I did look; and, swift as a lightning flash, I received the pardon of sin in which I have rejoiced to this very hour. Why should it not be the same with you, the blackest and worst sinner here, the most unfeeling and the least likely to repent? Lord, grant it; and Thou shalt have the praise!

“Divine Forgiveness Admired and Imitated”

Colossians 3:13

Charles Spurgeon

MTP, May 1885 Sermon number 1841

Taken from Spurgeon’s Expository Encyclopedia 7:401, 402, 405, 406.

When He forgives He forgives the whole of our faults, follies, failures, and offenses. There is a certain solidarity about sin, so that it makes up one lump. I read the other day of a certain theologian speaking of Christ having put away original sin while He left actual sin. Nonsense! Sin is one and indivisible. Iniquity is not to be done up in separate parcels. The sin, the iniquity of men, is spoken of in the Bible as one thing. Although we sin multitudes of times the various streams all flow into one sea of evil, when sin is forgiven all sin is put away, not a shred, nor fragment, nor particle remains. The Lord Jesus drowns all the hosts of sin in the depths of the sea, and the whole of our guilt is swallowed up forever. This is great forgiveness, indeed. Glory be to Him who gives it! Let us follow Him in His truth and heartiness.  This forgiveness, again, is given by the Lord Jesus Christ in the completest possible manner. He keeps no back reckonings; He retains no reserves of anger. He so forgives that He forgets. That is the wonder of it, He says, “I will not remember your sins.” He casts them behind His back; they are wholly and completely gone from His observation or regard. Alas, such is poor human nature, that even fathers, when they have forgiven a wayward child, will, perhaps, throw the offense in his teeth years after, when he again offends, but it is never so with Christ. He says, “Your sins shall not be mentioned against you any more forever.” He has done with the sins of His people in so effectual a way that not a whisper concerning them shall ever come from His mouth so as to grieve them. They will themselves remember their sins with deep repentance, but the Lord will never challenge them on account of their past rebellions. Blessed be the name of Christ for such complete forgiveness as this.  The Lord Jesus Christ forgives His people in a continuous manner. He forgave us long ago, He still forgives us. He does not forgive and afterwards accuse, His forgiveness is eternal; it is not a reprieve He gives to you, believing ones, but a free pardon, under the King’s hand and seal, which shall effectually protect you from accusation and punishment. “In those days, and in that time, says the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.” He has finished transgression, made an end of sin, and brought in everlasting righteousness. Send to hell a pardoned sinner! It is a contradiction to the very nature of God. Condemn those for whom Jesus died! Why, the apostle mentions that death as a conclusive answer to the challenge, “Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yes rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” How shall He intercede for us and yet accuse us? It is impossible for Christ to be both Redeemer and Condemner to the same persons. So perfect is His pardon that our sin has ceased to be, He has put away sin forever by the sacrifice of Himself. 

…

In urging you to this copying of Christ, let me notice that this forgiveness of those who offend against us is gloriously ennobling. We are not asked to perform a duty which will in the least degrade us. Revenge is paltry, forgiveness is great-minded. Was not David infinitely greater than Saul, when he spared his life in the cave, and when he would not smite him as he lay asleep on the battlefield? Did not the king humble himself before David when he perceived David’s forbearance? If you would be the greatest among men, bear injuries with the greatest gentleness; if you would win the noblest of conquests, subdue yourself. To win a battle is a little thing if it is fought out with sword and gun, but to win it in God’s way, with no weapons but love, and patience, and forgiveness, this is the most glorious of victories. Blessed is that man who is more than a conqueror, because he inflicts no wounds in the conflict, but overcomes evil with good. In the process of such a conquest the warrior is himself a gainer. A nation in fighting, even if it wins the campaign, has to suffer great expense and loss of life, but he that overcomes by love, is the better and stronger man through what he has done. He comes out of the conflict not only victor over his adversary, but victor over sin within himself, and all the readier for future war against evil. He glorifies God and himself becomes strong in grace. Nothing is more glorious than love. Your Master, who is King of kings, set you an example of gaining glory by enduring wrong, if you would be knights of His company, imitate His graciousness.  

Notice that this imitation of Christ is logically appropriate to you all. Brothers and sisters, if Christ has forgiven you, the parable we read just now shows that it is imperative that you should forgive your fellows. If our Lord has forgiven us our ten thousand talents, how can we take our brother by the throat for the hundred pence, and say, “Pay me what you owe”? If we are indeed members of Christ, should we not be like our Head? If we profess to be His servants, are we to pretend to a dignity greater than our Master, who washed His disciples’ feet? If He forgave so freely, how dare we call ourselves His brethren if our spirit is hard and malice lingers within us? 

I say, to conclude, that this copying of Christ is most forcibly sustained by the example given in the text. We are to forbear and to forgive. “Even as Christ forgave you, so also do you.” I have heard it said, “If you pass by every wanton offense, and take no notice of it, you will come to be despised, and regarded as a person of mean spirit, your honor demands vindication.” When Christ forgave you, did His honor suffer by that forgiveness? You transgressed most wickedly, and yet He forgave you, do you regard Him as less honorable because of that readiness to pass by offenses? Far from it, it is His glory to forgive. The hallelujahs of saints and the songs of angels are sent up to His throne the more heartily because of the richness of His grace, and the freeness of His mercy. Dishonor indeed! What pride it is on the part of such poor creatures as we are to talk about our honor! Where is the honor of revenge? It is a dishonorable thing to put yourself on the level of him who injures you. A heathen philosopher used to say, “If an ass kicks you, is it necessary for the maintenance of your honor to kick that ass again?” That speech looks like a noble one, but yet it is too much flavored with contempt. When you speak, or even think, of another who has wronged you as though he were only worthy to be regarded as a beast, you are not right in spirit, a degree of evil remains in your heart. Think of the offender without contempt, as well as without resentment. Believe that he is a brother worth winning. Say, “If he does me an injury, for that very reason I will do him a double service. My only vengeance shall be double love. I will not allow myself to even think harshly of him. I will put the best possible construction on all that he does, and thus show that the spirit of Christ is in me, conquering the spirit of fallen humanity both in me and in him.”

Our love for Jesus flows directly from our awareness of how much he has forgiven us. I do not minimize the compelling nature of his attributes when I affirm this. His excellence should move us to love him in and of himself apart from any favors we receive. In forgiveness, however, we see all of his excellence in action; all of his wisdom, power, righteousness and holiness as well as the revelation of a number of tender mercies conspire to produce the truly divine disposition of passing over our abundant offenses. All of them were necessary in order to find forgiveness from the One who is “forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty”(Exodus 34:7). Luke illustrates this gospel principle at a memorable dinner party (Luke 7:36–49).

Simon the Pharisee had invited Jesus over for a meal with his friends. Luke does not say if the invitation is sincere or a trap, but when Jesus arrives, Simon’s greeting is less than enthusiastic. He provides no water for Jesus’ feet, gives him no kiss of welcome, and neglects to anoint his head with oil—all basic tokens of hospitality. Is Simon’s inattentiveness to Jesus calculated, or just careless? In either case, his love for the Savior is underwhelming.

Soon, another figure enters the room, as different from Simon as we could imagine. She is an unnamed “woman of the city,” known to all as “a sinner.” She was likely not invited to Simon’s distinguished home. But, apparently, she has met Jesus before; at least she has heard his message about God’s grace. When she learns Jesus is at Simon’s house, she shows up with an alabaster flask of ointment. Finding Jesus reclining at table, the woman kneels behind him. Weeping, she bathes his feet with her tears. She wipes his feet dry with her own hair, kisses them, and anoints them with her oil. It is an extravagant display of love.  

As Jesus goes on to explain in a story about debt, our love for him is always proportionate to our sense of how much he has forgiven us. The notorious woman knew that her sin-debt was massive. When Jesus canceled her debt and sent her away in peace, she loved him much. Simon is, of course, every bit as spiritually impoverished as this woman. But his external righteousness has blinded him to his crushing need before a holy God. He does see himself as a debtor; he feels no need for mercy. He assumes that he requires little forgiveness, and it shows in his little love for the Forgiver. 

Our story suggests that few practices can yield greater spiritual fruit in my life than considering just how much and how freely Jesus has forgiven, is forgiving, and will forgive me (cf 1 Tim 1:15). As our story suggests, such reflection produces humble gratitude to God, loving commitment to the Savior, sympathy and tenderness toward my fellow sinners, and unshakable peace in my heart as I reenter the world. 

“Forgiving myself” is common practice among Christians today, almost taken for granted as right, necessary, and biblical. The idea runs roughly like this: when I sin, I must confess my wrongdoing to God, accept his pardon, and then forgive myself. Poignantly reflecting the heavily psychologized world in which the Church walks, to witness how vigorously this historically-recent practice is advocated (and defended) bears testimony to just how much water the Old Ship of Zion is taking on. 

Christians confess the sufficiency of Scripture for doctrine and practice (2 Pet 1:3; 2 Tim 3:16-17) – that is, the Bible contains all that is necessary for me to know who God is, what he requires of me, and how to do it. But forgiving myself draws from culture, not Canon; since Scripture is silent about this construct, it “goes beyond what is written” (1 Cor 4:6). The Bible tells us “a broken heart and a contrite spirit he will not despise” (Ps 51:17). “Return to me and I will return to you” (Ps 34:8). “…the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin…if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:7,9). Scripture highlights the all-sufficiency of God’s pardon by Christ’s work, calling me to rest in it – and nowhere else. My sin and guilt must be laid at the foot of the Cross alone.

The danger is subtle, but strikingly real. Consider what I’m telling myself in practicing self-forgiveness: I softly say that God’s absolution in Christ is insufficient for peace with him, that having my heart sprinkled to cleanse a guilty conscience (Heb 10:22) isn’t enough. I confess in it that his poured-out wrath on his only Son might pass muster for heaven’s judgment, but not for mine. To “forgive myself” is fundamentally an argument that the suffering and death of Jesus served for “peace with God” (Rom 5:1) – just not for peace within me. Jesus said “it is finished,” yet since I must forgive myself, his grace truly isn’t sufficient for me (2 Cor 12:9). Instead, I supplement the grace of the Cross, completing his pardon by adding my work to it. 

Precisely here is the quiet shift from well-intentioned error to genuine heresy. To forgive myself is to substitute God’s standard with mine, to append my judgment and assessment of Christ’s work to Scripture’s, to exchange the Father’s mercy and approval for what I think is best. It’s a gentle replacement which “makes the Cross of none effect” (1 Cor 1:17; Mk 7:13), ultimately relying on “what is right in my own eyes” (Jdg 21:25), on my terms. It makes my sin out to be so great the Jesus couldn’t handle it, or so insignificant that Jesus couldn’t be bothered with it; but either way, I deify myself. In the name of faith in Christ, I put faith in me. At its core, forgiving myself is self-pardon, self-absolution, self-salvation. 

I must learn rather to “set my heart at rest in his presence” (1 Jn 3:19-24) when conscience condemns me, by full confession and repentance before the only One who can forgive sins (Mk 2:5-11). I must “still and quiet my soul” by the mercy and merits of Jesus alone (Ps 131:2), for he “is faithful and just to forgive.” By the Spirit’s gracious help, I must learn to look solely to Christ, stricken for sinners like me, to know peace with God (Isa 53:4-6).

Plans sputter, hopes crumble, relationships derail, or evil exposes itself. I know I did my part – but God didn’t come through. Because life is full of disappointments, modern pastors and writers inform me, it must also be full of forgiveness. Their sage advice? Loosely commandeering Psalm 142:2, they urge cultivating a lifestyle of forgiving others, forgiving myself, and forgiving God to move forward. After all, they assert, forgiveness is “for me.” Some go so far as to assert that forgiving God is required, arguing unforgiveness affects my faith, intimacy with God, and eternity.[1]

As with the error of forgiving myself,[2] this is an argument from silence – not from Scripture. Isaiah and Jeremiah faced unspeakable horrors under God’s providences toward Israel; Paul’s list of sufferings for Christ makes me wince every time I read it (2 Cor 11:16-33 and 12:5-10); but none of these men forgave God. Saint after saint in Scripture “endured as seeing him who was invisible” (Heb 11:27). There’s not a hint of charging God with wrongdoing.

But what goes unrecognized? Forgiving God is deeply theological in nature. It forges my working confession of faith: shaping my worship, framing my life, and demonstrating my operative approach to Scripture. Consider the articles implied in my “forgiveness.”

God failed; and fundamentally, he failed me. In my disappointment, I learn God made a mistake: this means he was wrong, he erred. This instance may have been something he couldn’t handle, foresee, or accomplish…turns out he’s mostly sovereign, though perhaps not meticulously so.

Therefore, God must be somewhat imperfect. Nobody is entirely perfect; limitations and flaws characterize all beings in a fallen world, which necessarily includes God. The Creator is more like his creatures than his word attests; even his wisdom and judgments stumble sometimes.

Hence, I must consider God insufficient. I may cast many of my cares upon him, perhaps even most of them; he cares for me, but can’t always do anything about it. I must face facts: sometimes God loses, evil wins, and hope is deferred, awaiting “next time.”

Because of this, God might not always be trusted. He means well in Scripture, though he can be a bit unreliable or unrealistic in what he says there. Like a kindly uncle who does his best, he’s usually good for what he promises.

Consequently, God isn’t entirely truthful in the Bible. He means most of what he says there, but everyone exaggerates periodically. Most of his ways are just; many of his paths are lovingkindness; and his mercies are over a majority of his works. In quite a few things, he works for my good; but “all” doesn’t always mean all in these verses.

My conclusion must be, God raised my hopes and handled my situation in a misleading way. He thus wronged me, which means he sinned – and he sinned against me. Since God is a sinner, I must forgive him. 

These unspoken assertions may be unconscious, unintended, and unconsidered, but they’re active. Advocates immediately distance themselves from such conclusions, but they ultimately can’t: against the plumbline of God’s word, “forgiving God” belies utter egocentricity. It smacks of self-realization, not Scripture, anchoring in theories of positive thinking and pop psychology. My final decision clarifies and codifies my operative theology, irrespective of any creedal orthodoxy I may recite on Sundays. It displays human wisdom at its finest, but not the wisdom of the Cross. 

And make no mistake here – to forgive God is to assert that he wronged me. Scripture is replete with its praises of God’s perfections, wisdom, and faithfulness: “all his ways are just” (Dt 32:4). “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ps 25:10). His “goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life” (Ps 23:6). If God deals wrongly with me, God has sinned, and he is no God at all – certainly not the perfect God Scripture describes.

God’s answer is to behold his character in his word. He is my Rock, strength, fortress, and deliverer (Ps 18:1-2). He alone is good (Mk 10:18). He has no shadow of turning due to change (Jas 1:17). His faithfulness surrounds him (Ps 89:8); righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne, while steadfast love and faithfulness go before him (Ps 89:14). His wise purposes are infinitely higher than my puny pay grade merits clearance to understand (Isa 55:8). I must humble myself under his mighty hand (1 Pet 5:6), not think of myself more highly than I ought (Rom 12:3), submit myself to his faithful disposal of my life (Isa 64:8), and repent of such shameful pride as to think the thrice-holy Lord needs anything from me – much less my forgiveness.

Job charged God with wrongdoing and received three chapters of rebuke (Job 39-41): “where were you when I formed the earth by my wisdom?” I must learn the humility of a creature, that there are many – if not most or all – things beyond my grasp, and that God’s ways and wisdom are not my own. Scripture assures me this King is for me, not against me (Rom 8:31ff), calling me to entrust myself to him amidst the hardest providences. It is not my place to lash out in sinful anger against God (1 Pet 4:19), for “in him there is no sin” (1 Jn 3:5). He alone who is “holy, blameless, and undefiled” (Heb 7:26) is full of mercy to every sinner who will look to him – mercy and grace to help us in time of need (Heb 4:14-16). 

[1] For example, see R.T. Kendall’s Totally Forgiving God: Even When It Seems Like He Has Betrayed You (Charisma House, 2012).

[2] See the companion article “Forgiving Myself?” in this edition of The Founders Journal.

Jeff Johnson is the founding pastor of Grace Bible Church, the Owner/Operator of Free Grace Press and a graduate of Veritas Theological Seminary. He serves as the Director of Academics at Grace Bible Theological Seminary. Jeff is the author of several books including The Fatal Flaw of the Theology Behind Infant Baptism, Behind the Bible: Introduction to Textual Criticism, The Church: Why Bother?, The Kingdom of God, The Absurdity of Unbelief, The Pursuit of Glory, and He Died for Me.

Dr. Mark Coppenger, retired professor of philosophy at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a former professor at Wheaton has given us an excellent study of how God’s lordship in creation lays the groundwork for aesthetics. Mark is an effective writer and author, an engaging teacher, has served in numerous positions of service among Southern Baptists at the national and state levels and also been pastor of churches. He is the author of a new book entitled If Christianity is So Good, Why are Christians so Bad? Also, he is an author/editor of a book highly pertinent to the topic of this Journal, Apologetical Aesthetics. Since the triune God is Creator and Sustainer and Owner of the earth, it is impossible that every aspect of it not reflect some element of his glory. The existence of everything is dependent on him and his power, intelligence, beauty, purpose, and glory. The study of aesthetics is the investigation of principles underlying our perception of beauty and awe. This could be applied to art, music, poetry, physics, chemistry, or the mere pleasure of standing in awe of natural things. Mark has given a narrative of how aesthetics has its foundation in the realty that “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” He has shown the confluence of nature and art in how the beauty, symmetry, threatening danger, and power of the one inspires the other. His article itself is an engagement with aesthetics of language.

“… I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:14–15).

I became a Christian in the spring of my senior year in high school. That fall I went away to college and worked part-time in an insurance office to pay for my college education. Though it was difficult to both work and take a full college load, I was nevertheless excited about my new life in Christ. I was going to church regularly, studying the Bible daily, reading good books, meeting new Christian friends, learning to pray and growing in Christ. Those were very joyful and exciting times.

Toward the end of my freshman year I realized I was going to need more money than the seventy-five cents per hour I was making on my job (that was in 1955). I heard of a job on a large company farm near Chicago where college boys could make good money. So I loaded my belongings in a small black trunk, boarded a train and headed to Mendota, Illinois, really not knowing for sure what I was getting into. Shortly after my arrival, the canning company, for which I worked, assigned me and several other young men from across the nation to a pea farm, where they housed us in some rather plain barracks, fed us three meals a day and worked us seven days a week, often as much as sixteen to twenty hours per day. It was hard, dirty, dangerous work, but where else in 1955 could a college student earn up to $200 per week, with no living expenses?

When we began that summer there were a few believers among the crew and we had some rich fellowship on that farm. But soon the hard work, long hours and homesickness began to take their toll. Serious attrition began. Within a few weeks I was the only college student left on that particular farm. In order to complete the crops that summer, the company began to pick up men off skid row in Chicago and bring them to live and work on the farm. The result was that I was the only Christian there, with no one else left to provide me with spiritual fellowship. Many of the men were alcoholics and were foul-mouthed derelicts. Thus began some very lonesome days. I was starving for spiritual conversation. Yet I needed the money if I hoped to return to college that fall.

Finally, late in the summer we received a Sunday off in order to rest. That morning I hitched a ride into town and made my way to a small, white frame building, which housed the local Baptist church. But much to my dismay a sign was stapled to the door, which read: “Closed for the summer.” 

The remainder of my time there that summer was spent with no Christian fellowship. My only spiritual stimulation was my Bible and the few Christian books I had with me.

I now believe that this episode in my life was used by God to show me the vital importance of the local church. All one has to do to recognize this is to be without one. I am glad the Lord taught me this lesson early in my Christian life. Several times later while on mission trips, the need of a local church was made much clearer to me. In some of those areas of the world, there have been many villages where there were no Christian churches whatsoever. My heart bled for those individual believers who were forced to live and grow spiritually all on their own.

In America, particularly in the southern Bible belt, we are very spoiled. Churches abound. In some of these areas churches are on almost every corner. This is not true in many parts of the globe. To be without a local family of God is to miss some of God’s richest blessings. Just how important is your church? Consider the following:

• It provides you with daily and weekly fellowship.

• It warns and encourages you.

• It helps hold you accountable.

• It provides communion for you.

• It challenges you to use your spiritual gifts.

• It provides a place for those gifts to be exercised.

• It helps protect you from heresy.

• It guides you to godly living.

• It spiritually ministers to your family.

• It collectively supports Christian causes and missions around the world.

• It often means the salvation of souls (perhaps even your own).

• It helps you when you are spiritually, emotionally, physically or financially in need.

• It is the pillar and ground of the truth in your area.

• It disciplines you when you develop a sinful lifestyle.

• It helps bring down racial barriers.

These are just a few of the benefits of belonging to a good local church. Try to imagine where else you could receive such benefits and direction. Indeed, our Lord manifested His wisdom when He established both the universal and the local bodies of Christ. And we are the primary beneficiaries. Today, thank God for the grace shown to you in placing you in a sound, local church body. If you are not in one, either find one to join, or help start an evangelical church in your area. It will be an important key to your spiritual growth and service.

This article is an excerpt from Curtis Thomas’ book – Life in the Body of Christ: Privileges and Responsibilities in the Local Church. A new hardcover edition is now available for pre-order for $19.98 at press.founders.org

The Universal Church: “… and on this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18); “… because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9); “… just as Christ loved the church… to present her to himself as a radiant church” (Ephesians 5:25–27); “… for the sake of his body, which is the church” (Colossians 1:24); “to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven” (Hebrews 12:23).

The Local Church: “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church” (Matthew 18:17); “In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers” (Acts 13:1); “From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church” (Acts 20:13); “I commend to you our sister, Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchreae” (Romans 16:1); “Greet also the church that meets at their house” (Romans 16:5); “To the angel of the church in Ephesus, write” (Revelation 2:1). 

It is clear from the Scripture references above that the New Testament speaks of both the church universal (which comprises all of the true believers throughout history, from every kindred, tribe and tongue) and also speaks of local churches (which consist of all of those separate bodies of Christ who meet together for worship, study, prayer and communion, in local congregations). 

The Universal Church has in it only true believers, ones who have been called by the Spirit to trust in the saving work of Christ, who are kept eternally by the love of God and who will be presented to Christ without spot or blemish.

Local Churches have in their membership people who are professing believers, some of whom are genuinely saved, while others are unsaved and are still lost in their sins. Sometimes it is impossible to clearly distinguish between the two, because often unbelieving members exhibit many of the outward characteristics of believers. But the Lord knows who are His.

By far most of the commands in the New Testament are given to believers in the context of local churches. Christians (and church leaders) are told:

• To guard the flock (Acts 20:28, 31)

• To use their spiritual gifts for each other (Romans 12:3–13; 1 Corinthians 12:1–30; Ephesians 4:7–16; 1 Peter 4:7–11)

• To rejoice with those who rejoice and to mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15)

• For the strong and the weak brothers to accept one another (Romans 14:1–15:13)

• Not to fellowship with a brother who is living in unrepentant sin (1 Corinthians 5:1–13)

• To make judgments regarding disputes (1 Corinthians 6:1–11)

• To support those who preach and teach (1 Corinthians 9:1–27)

• To take communion together in a worthy manner (1 Corinthians 11:17–34)

• To collect a relief offering on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:1–4)

• To greet one another with a holy kiss (1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Corinthians 13:12)

• To forgive a repentant sinner (2 Corinthians 2:5–11)

• To restore a brother (Galatians 6:1)

• To carry each others’ burdens (Galatians 6:2)

• To look after the interests of others (Philippians 2:4)

• To help solve member problems (Philippians 4:3)

• To keep away from those who are idle (2 Thessalonians 3:6–15)

• To choose qualified elders and deacons (1 Timothy 3:1–13; Titus 1:5-9)

• To honor spiritual leaders (1 Timothy 5:17–19)

• To warn those who are false teachers and those who are quarrelsome (2 Timothy 2:14–26)

• To teach one another (Titus 2:1–10)

• To remind the members to be obedient to authority (Titus 3:1–2)

• To warn a divisive person (Titus 3:9–11)

• To encourage one another daily (Hebrews 3:12–15)

• Not to forsake assembling themselves together in the local church (Hebrews 10:25)

• To look after orphans and widows (James 1:27)

• Not to show favoritism (James 2:1–4)

• To confess their sins to each other and to pray for each other (James 5:13–16)

• To serve as examples to the flock (1 Peter 5:1–4)

• To be submissive to elders (1 Peter 5:5)

• To repent (Revelation 2:1–3:22) 

This is not a complete list, but merely a sampling of the many commands given to and for the local churches in the New Testament—and to our churches today. 

There are many professing Christians who do not attend a local church, saying that they “can be a Christian without going to church.” However, it is clear from the many examples given above that such people cannot be obedient Christians, for these commands must be obeyed in the context of a local church. 

Trying to be a “lone ranger” Christian, outside of a church body, causes one to also miss the many joys one can have in the local church, such as fellowshipping with brothers and sisters of like mind, rejoicing with those who rejoice, jointly promoting the gospel, caring for each other spiritually, physically and financially, praying for each other, restoring one another, even weeping with those who weep. To cut ourselves off from these wonderful opportunities is to rob ourselves of many of the blessings Christ provided for us through the local church. It is also to disobey the Head of the church. Church involvement should be He–centered rather than me–centered.

This article is an excerpt from Curtis Thomas’ book – Life in the Body of Christ: Privileges and Responsibilities in the Local Church. A new hardcover edition is now available for pre-order for $19.98 at press.founders.org