THE CHURCH THAT DIED

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

Revelation 3:14-17

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.’”

 

There’s a story told of a man who graduated from seminary and was asked to accept a pastorate at a small church in Texas. The deacons who requested that he come to their fellowship stated that their church had been very dynamic in the local area but over the years had shrunk in size and influence due to poor attendance and involvement of the Christians in the community. The pastor, anxious to serve his Lord, accepted the position.

 

Upon arriving at the church and through some investigation the pastor discovered that unfortunately the assessment of the deacons was very much true. Attendance had dropped from hundreds to only a half a dozen dedicated saints. After much prayer the pastor decided to hold a funeral service for the church. A date was set, preparations made and announcements printed in the local newspaper and mailings. All the community received an invitation to come to the funeral of the local church.

 

The day of the funeral came and hundreds of Christians flocked to the church they had once attended. Anxious to see how the preacher would conduct the service, Christians who used to teach Sunday school, served meals to the homeless and sang praises to God in this church gathered together in this house of God to witness a commemoration of its death. All those who entered the building could not help but notice the casket at the front of the church draped in black.

 

The pastor walked up to the podium and greeted everyone in a very solemn tone and asked them to bow their heads while he led them in a prayer. After saying amen, the pastor began his eulogy for the church. He shared how he had interviewed members of the community and researched the history of the church. He proceeded to share about how the church had ministered over its lifetime. He covered the influence the church had upon not only the Christians in the community but also the non-Christians as well. He listed all the ministries that had at one time been in place to serve the homeless, the abused and the orphaned. The pastor shared that unfortunately that over the years the church had died a slow and agonizing death. When he was finished, the pastor walked down and stood by the casket. He shared that now to pay last respects to the church everyone would pass by the open casket.

 

The pastor turned, opened the lid of the casket and asked the first row of people to proceed. The people rose and walked along the edge of the casket to view its contents. Women cried and men wept as they looked inside. Many Christians could hardly remain standing after they had looked within the ebony tomb that held the dead church. What had these people seen within the casket to bring upon them such deep emotion?

 

Within the open casket lay a mirror so that whoever looked inside would see a reflection of themselves staring back at them. The pastor knew that the church had died because the spirituality of the people had died. He knew that the church was only alive when the people allowed God to work in their lives through studying His Word, listening to His Holy Spirit, sharing the gospel and ministering to those in need.

 

We are told in Ephesians 5:23 and Colossians 1:18 that Christ is head of the church which is His body. This church that belongs to God is made up of every believer who has accepted Him as Lord and Savior. Local church fellowships are gatherings of servants of Jesus who live close to one another and who wish to serve and worship God together. While local churches can wax and wane and possibly even die at times, God’s universal church will never die. We are told this in Matthew 16:18. But as the story above illustrates a local fellowship of Christians will become ill when those who belong to it do not strive to live as servants of the most high. In 1 Peter 2:9 we are told that every believer is a member of a royal priesthood. Belonging to a priesthood carries with it responsibilities. Priests are expected to dedicate themselves to their Lord. They are to seek to obey what God says. They are expected to serve others and follow the pattern of behavior and actions that reflect the Lord they serve. Priests are expected to know something of spiritual matters and develop in wisdom as they grow in the knowledge of their Savior. Each Christian in a local church is a priest and is expected by God to follow the calling of the priesthood that is laid before them as servants of Christ. A church fellowship grows weak and dies when Christians do not follow the path of the priesthood.

 

In 1 Corinthians chapter 12 we are told that there are spiritual gifts and ministries that are given to Christians, members of God’s royal priesthood. These gifts are given for the common good. That is, these gifts are bestowed upon Christians by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of serving one another and others in the community in the purposes of God. Accepting Christ as one’s Savior grants salvation to that person but it also brings with it a responsibility. Each Christian is given specific spiritual gifts to be used to serve others in the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit distributes these gifts to be used. When we fail to use them as intended others in the body suffer. Spiritual gifts are meant to be expressed so that people can be ministered to and God can be glorified. A church fellowship withers and dies when people do not seek to use their spiritual gifts.

 

In Hebrews 10:25 there is an issue addressed by Paul concerning church attendance. Apparently there were those in the Christian community who felt it was not important to attend a local fellowship on a regular basis. Their invalid reasoning led them to believe that they were fine not to fellowship with other Christians on a regular basis. Paul is stating here that nothing could be further from the truth. When we fail to attend church regularly we miss out on the teaching of God’s word, corporate worship of our Lord and service opportunities. We also fail to be able to express and grow our spiritual gifts. We are not giving opportunities to others to express their spiritual gifts towards us when we fail to fellowship with them. Attending a local fellowship places us in a position of accountability for how we live. We all need accountability to continue in our growth as Christians. A church dies when members fail to attend church and prevent their spirituality from growing to maturity.

 

In Acts 2:42-47 we are given the recipe for a living church that avoids death. The guidelines of the early church were to devote themselves to the apostle’s teaching, fellowship and prayer. When the first Christians lived according to these truths dynamic things happened. They were filled with awe. God worked in their midst. They saw their lives and the lives of others changed. They witnessed miraculous signs of all sorts because the power of the Holy Spirit could be manifest in such a healthy body of believers. Through their fellowship they shared with one another and met each other’s needs. They were dedicated to meeting together on a regular basis. They grew closer together in their relationships because they were based on the love and truth of God. Out of this fellowship and dynamic church life arose a praise and worship of God. In addition; the non-Christian community thought highly of them for what they stood for and how they served the needy. It is true that the reputation of a living and growing church influences society’s perception of the nature and character of God. Because of this dedicated behavior of first-century Christians the church grew by leaps and bounds. A local church will never die when following these guidelines. Your local church will never die when YOU follow these guidelines.

 

Ephesians 3:20-21

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”