Blueprint for Christ's Church

Blueprint for Christ's Church


Not our typical Palm Sunday lesson but thought it is important to know what Christ died for – His “Church”.

The word "church" is not used in Romans 12. In fact, it's found only 5 times in the entire Epistle and all are in the final chapter. Yet, there is no question that the Apostle Paul is writing to all the Lord's churches in general and His church at Rome in particular.

Likewise, there is not a single reference to Romans 12 being a pattern for a healthy church. Some things are so obvious it's not necessary to spell them out. The healthy church description of this chapter is one such.

Why does this matter?

The health of the Lord's churches in this 21st century SHOULD be a major concern for every Christian. So many churches that were once healthy and strong, vibrant in their witness and effective in their mission, have fallen onto hard times. Some came under the influence of corrupt leaders, some were hijacked by “wordly” power-brokers, and some grew discouraged and surrendered to the world.

The typical young adult today “maybe” has never seen a healthy and strong church. Here is a snapshot of such a healthy church

FOUNDATION: everyone is committed to the Lord. (Romans 12:1-2)

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

This is about our relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. It comes before anything else. Without this, there is no church, period.

a) The mercy of God is the starting point. Everything we do is in response to all He has done. “For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory.” (Romans 11:36). It starts with Him; we are all responders. "We love each other because he loved us first." (1 John 4:19). No one not having a great appreciation for God's mercies has ever come face to face with his own sin and unworthiness.

b) We commit our lives to the Lord God through Jesus Christ. Living sacrifices. We place ourselves on His altar every day of our lives. This means after our initial salvation experience, we daily should recommit ourselves to Him.

c) We become focused on the will of God. Knowing that will and obeying it become our chief concern. "What will please the Father?" was the driving force of Jesus' earthly years. Jesus said, “Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!” This must have been important because these words are in both Matthew 11:26 and Luke 10:21.

Summing up: All the Lord's people have been the recipients of His mercy, have committed their lives to Him, and are daily focused on becoming more like Him and doing His will.

FRAMEWORK: everyone is growing in Christ. (Romans 12:3-8)

“Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” (vs. 3)

This is about our internal relationship. In a house, the framework is the timbers that form the rafters and joists, the underpinning and studs. It will become invisible to everyone, but if it is absent or done poorly, everything is in jeopardy.

Church members are healthy in relation to:

a) Themselves. They are humble, but not groveling. They have a solid, balanced view of themselves as sinners saved by grace.

b) The body as a whole. They belong to the entire group, and are not loners. “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.” (vs. 4-5) They have a deep appreciation for the whole congregation. The more they love the Lord, the more they treasure one another. Let them backslide and this will be the first thing to go.

c) Their spiritual gifts. They accept their gifts and use them within the congregation in Christ-honoring and body-building ways. “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.” (vs. 6-8) (For more of Paul's in depth teachings on spiritual gifts read 1 Corinthians 12-14.)

Summing up: There is no place for lone rangers within a healthy church. People see themselves as part of the Body of Christ. They do not exalt themselves above others. They are no soloists but performers, so to speak, in the Lord's choir or symphony.

FINISHING: everyone lives by the law of love. (Romans 12:9-21)

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. (vs 9)

As with a house, the finish work is what people see. They do not notice the foundation or the framework unless something is wrong. In a congregation, they will see the behavior of God's people toward one another and the world.

As Jesus did in Luke 6:27-38, after commanding us to "love," Paul does not stop there but explains what that kind of love within the body looks like. After all, love in scripture is never presented as an emotion, something we feel, but an action, something to be done.

If our love is pure and without pretense or hypocrisy, here is what it will look like:

a) This kind of love hates some things.

Followers of Christ will hate what He hated: bad religion, corrupt leaders, and hypocritical do-gooders, for starters.

An unhealthy church will love/accept some of the things it should be despising and opposing. (Abortion, living-together-without marriage, and homosexuality to just name a few things that are now “political correct” and “popular”. This is certainly not an exhaustive list)

b) This kind of love values good things.

It's worthwhile to note that this does not say "cling to what is religiously good." After all, "every good and perfect gift comes from Him" (James 1:17). God's people should treasure any music, art, or other expressions that are truly good, and not restrict their approval to the religious, something Scripture does not do.

An unhealthy church values unhealthy things.

c) This love puts others before itself. “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. “ (vs. 10). Seek out and treasure the church that does this and you know you have found a winner. An unhealthy church is beset by members vying for first place.

d) This love is grounded in faithfulness to Christ. “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” (vs. 11-12). This is its source, its reservoir. An unhealthy church will skip the daily faithfulness.

e) This love does kind deeds to others, particularly fellow Believers. “When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them.” (vs. 13). An unhealthy church does kindnesses only to the “deserving”.

f) This love treats enemies kindly. “Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.” (vs. 14). This is in complete agreement with what Jesus says in Luke 6:27, “I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.” An unhealthy church attacks its enemies.

g) This love blesses the hurting and the lowly. “Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!” (vs. 15,16).

No student of Scripture--and that should be all of us who follow Jesus--can miss that the hurting and the lowly are favorites of the Lord. And yet, they are the quickest to be deserted by an unhealthy church.

h) This love is an overcoming-with-good force “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” (vs. 21). An unhealthy church can be overcome by evil.

The Lord fully intends His people to show His kind of love toward those who do us wrong. Our natural instincts kick in here and we want to retaliate. But the Lord's plan is not to destroy our enemies, but to win them over.

When we do loving things toward those who hate us or curse us or threaten us or would forcibly take from us, we do several things:

We honor God, please Jesus, and cooperate with whatever plans the Holy Spirit has going on here.

We infuriate the devil, puzzle our enemies, and silence the church's critics.

We bless the church, encourage other believers going through equally difficult times, and bear a strong witness to the watching world.

Let us practice Romans 12 as Christ’s “Church”.