“We worship God because God created us to worship him. Worship is at the center of our existence, at the heart of our reason for being. God created us to be his image – an image that would reflect his glory. In fact the whole creation was brought into existence to reflect divine glory. The psalmist tells us that: “the heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). … Worship must above all serve the glory of God.”
~ Hughes Oliphant Old
The Great Apostle, Paul, wrote these profound words in his masterful treatise we know as the Book of Romans:
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it – the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3.21-25)
The word “justification” is both biblical and practical. Because it is a biblical word, it not a word that should be ignored or merely glossed-over. It warrants our consideation, contemplation, and understanding. More than just being a biblical word, though, the concept of justification holds a central place in the message the Apostle is proclaiming. It is like the lynch-pin that holds together the various components of salvation.
Author and seminary professor Dustin Benge offers these thoughts to help us consider the doctrine of justification:
The doctrine of justification by faith alone is vital for the church:
1. It is essential for salvation: The Bible teaches that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ, apart from any works we may do. Without this doctrine, we would have no assurance of our salvation.
2. It guards against legalism: Justification by faith alone guards against the idea that we can earn our salvation through good works or religious rituals. This protects us from the dangers of legalism, which can lead to self-righteousness and pride.
3. It upholds the sufficiency of Christ: By emphasizing that we are saved by faith in Christ alone, justification by faith alone upholds the sufficiency of Christ’s atoning work on the cross. It teaches that we cannot add anything to what Christ has already accomplished for us.
4. It promotes unity in the church: The doctrine of justification by faith alone promotes unity in the church, as it is a shared understanding of the gospel that transcends cultural and denominational differences.
5. It encourages evangelism: The doctrine of justification by faith alone provides a clear message of salvation to share with others. It encourages us to share the gospel with confidence, knowing that salvation is based on faith in Christ alone.
Overall, the doctrine of justification by faith alone is vital for the church because it is central to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thom Rainer, Founder and CEO of Church Answers, recently noted:
Each year, for every 100 people who attend your church, you will lose
- 1 person to death
- 9 people to moving
- 7 people to transfer to another church in the community,
- 15 people to declining attendance frequency.
That’s 32 people out of 100!
I’m still not sure what to make of this analysis. I am in no way doubting the veracity. I also realize that these stats represent a national average, and that there will be some varaince from community to community. For instance, where I live, in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, we have the largest population of military personnel in the world, so we often see more move away in any given year than would a church in almost any other region.
I think most stunning stat is that 7% of church members simply change churches every year. Of course there are all sorts of variables as to why some may change churches – and there are both good reasons and bad reasons for someone to leave their church. But either way, good reasons or questionable reasons, it is sad. It is sad if 7% are leaving simply for consumeristic reasons (a “Bad” reason). But it is also sad to think that 7% of churches are giving their members “good” reason to leave – i.e. the church has allowed a toxic culture to develop; or the church has develued God’s Word, and has consequently become heterodox and unfaithful; or even that the church has become so in-grown that it is not faithful in engaging in God’s Kingdom Mission, whether globally or locally, and so those who are committed to a holistic mission and to the Great Commission long to be part of a body that shares their (biblical) missional commitment.
If only I could believe that a significant part of that 7% were leaving a vibrant, healthy, faithful church to participate in the planitng of new vibrant, healthy, faithful churches in other communities where faithful churches are not presently present… It happens… But I have my doubts that “mission” is the primary reason among the 7%.
Lord, have mercy!
Lesslie Newbigin, in his book The Reunion of the Church, challenged the Church to be on mission:
“The responsibility of the church is to declare to each generation what is the faith… This is always a fresh task in every generation… No verbal statement can be produced which relieves the Church of the responsibility continually to re-think and re-state its message. No appeal to creeds and confessions can alter the fact that the Church has to state in every new generation how it interprets the historic faith, and how it relates it to the new thought and experience of its time… Nothing can remove from the Church the responsibility for stating now what is the faith. It belongs to the essence of a living church that it should be able and willing to do so.”
NOTE: Those unfamiliar with Newbigin may appreciate this article by Bruce Ashford: How A Man Named Lesslie Changed the Way I Think.
“Perhaps one of the greatest barriers to faith is not the things we don’t know but the things we think we know yet we’re wrong about… We think of heaven as a pleasure factory rather than life with God… We think of Christians as people who have got the heaven job done, while we think of discipleship as optional extra-credit work for spiritual overachievers.”
The Bible comes to us in various forms of literature: history, poetry, and letters, just to name a few. But essentially, the Bible tells one epic story from beginning to end, using all the various genres.
Eugene Peterson, writing the introduction to Matthew in The Message, said:
“Every day we wake up in the middle of something that is already going on, that has been going on for a long time, genealogy and geology, history and culture, the cosmos – God. We are neither accidental nor incidental to the story. From it we get orientation, briefing, background, reassurance. Lacking such a context, we are in danger of seeing Jesus as a mere diversion from the concerns announced in the newspapers. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
The challenge is to find myself and my place in God’s great story of Redemption and Restoration.
Famed philosopher Blaise Pascal noted:
“Ecclesiastes shows that man without God is in total ignorance and inevitable misery.”
Elaborating on the message of Ecclesiastes, Pascal summarazied it in these words:
“We do not rest satisfied with the present. We anticipate the future as too slow in coming, as if in order to hasten its course; or we recall the past, to stop its too rapid flight. So imprudent are we that we wander in the times which are not ours and do not think of the only one which belongs to us; and so idle are we that we dream of those times which are no more and thoughtlessly overlook that which alone exists.
For the present is generally painful to us. We conceal it from our sight, because it troubles us; and, if it be delightful to us, we regret to see it pass away. We try to sustain it by the future and think of arranging matters which are not in our power, for a time which we have no certainty of reaching.
Let each one examine his thoughts, and he will find them all occupied with the past and the future. We scarcely ever think of the present; and if we think of it, it is only to take light from it to arrange the future. The present is never our end. The past and the present are our means; the future alone is our end.
So we never live, but we hope to live; and, as we are always preparing to be happy, it is inevitable we should never be so.”
GRACE & PEACE 