Don't GO to Church
Matthew 22:37-40
Last Sunday our message was all about how you can freely receive the Resurrected Life by putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Today we want to look at what I believe is the most important truth for a New Believer to actually start walking in the resurrected life that Jesus Christ has given them.
And the church at large has always known the first steps for a New Believer are critical. But unfortunately – by far – the biggest approach we’ve seen to address this critical first step is to tell a New Believer – Go to church…
But can I share with you please a quote I’ve used a hundred times and given the credit to Greg Laurie every time? But I googled it yesterday and it turns out it was actually a quote by Keith Green. Here’s the quote.
“Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to Mcdonald's makes you a hamburger.”
I promise you – just walking into a church building each week, just that action – by itself – will never enable you to live the resurrected life.
Now, just to give you the whole picture. Walking into a place where other believers are gathered IS a critical part of what it takes to begin living the resurrected life. But the action of walking into a building, in and of itself, does you no good. The Bible doesn’t tell us to GO to church. The Bible tells us to BE the Church.
To begin to live the resurrected life, to walk in the same power that raised Jesus from the grave, we are not called to GO to church. We are called to BECOME the Church. Let’s dig into this truth.
The Greek word for “church” is ECCLESIA which means simply “the called-out ones.”
The Bible says the Church is:
The Body of Christ – (You don’t GO – you BE)
Salt and Light – (don’t GO – BE)
The Flock of Jesus Christ – (don’t GO – BE)
Branches growing from Christ the Vine (don’t GO – BE)
In order to start living the resurrected life and experiencing the transformation that comes with it. You’ve got to learn to become part of the Church.
So, if we can wrap our heads around the truth the Church is not some place I go, the Church is something I become, if we can embrace that truth then we can easily move on.
So, let’s talk about God’s “big-picture plan” for you to learn to become the church. The first thing we’ve got to understand is:
Our God is a relational God
In every way, including his existence as Father/Son/Holy Spirit – (in perfect relational unity) our God is a relational God and we were made for relationship with him. When you look at the Creation account of Mankind, it’s clear God made us for relationship.
God made us to be in relationship with him and God made us to be in relationship with those around us. And so, it makes sense that as we learn how to be part of the Church that we would learn that within a growing relationship with God and within a growing relationship with others.
God’s design for us to learn how to live the resurrected life is based in relationships – a vertical relationship with God and horizontal relationships with others.
The most important thing I can tell you today is that you learning how to be the Church and live the resurrected life is founded on a growing relationship with God, and a growing relationship with other believers. That is the way that your life will be transformed.
And you learn how to have a growing relationship with God by having a growing relationship with other believers. That is the big point today.
And so, (to get this) I think the most important truth for us to initially grasp is what Jesus called the Greatest Commandment because the Greatest Commandment encapsulates everything it means for us to be the Church and to live the resurrected life. That’s why Jesus called it the Greatest Commandment.
Let’s turn to Matthew Chapter 22. A religious leader asked Jesus in Matthew 22:36,
Matthew 22:36 (NLT)
36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
And the answer Jesus gives is the first (in priority) and the Greatest Commandment.
Matthew 22:37–40 (NLT)
37 Jesus replied, “ ‘You must LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 A second is equally important: ‘LOVE your neighbor as yourself.’
40 The ENTIRE law and ALL the demands of the prophets ARE BASED on these two commandments.”
This is the all-encompassing Greatest Commandment. This is a single commandment of love and it is expressed in two directions – vertical and horizontal.
The all-encompassing command from Jesus for us to be the Church and live the resurrected life is learn to love God and learn to love others. And when we do that, with Jesus Christ as our Lord and the Holy Spirit directing and empowering us, we become the Church and we begin to live the resurrected life.
So now, we’ve cleared up a misunderstanding. You don’t go to church – you become the Church and now we’ve got an “all-encompassing” commandment to guide us in the new life in Christ.
Learn to LOVE God with all your heart, soul, and mind
Learn to LOVE your neighbor as yourself
And so now, the question is how do we learn to do that according to God’s Word and empowered by God’s Spirit?
So, let’s just look (briefly) at how Jesus taught his first Disciples to prepare to become the Church.
Mark 3:14 (ESV) – (write in your margin)
14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him . . .
What does that mean that they might be with him? It means Jesus created an environment of relationship with the twelve and then their transformation occurred within that relationship environment. Jesus had the twelve walking, and working, and moving, and serving with him, and while they were with him (in relationship) their lives were transformed, and then he used them to transform the world.
And then, if we look at how Jesus started the Church in Acts 2 (turn there). We see this incredible relationship environment from which the Gospel Message reached all the way to us. And remember, the Believers in Acts didn’t go to church they became the Church.
So, in Acts Chapter 1 Jesus told the Believers, don’t do anything until you are Baptized with the Holy Spirit (still says today) and then they were baptized with the Holy Spirit.
And then Acts 2:41 says,
Acts 2:41 (NLT)
41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. - (NO building)
They were not added to a building – they became the Church. And then Acts 2:42 describes the New Church.
Acts 2:42 (NLT)
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
The Believers were devoted to the Apostle’s teaching within the environment of fellowship, of sharing life together (including communion), of praying together. The word for “fellowship” here is KOINONIA. It means the intimate sharing of life. They were eating together, praying together, having communion together, sharing life together.
The first believers in the New Testament Church had their lives transformed in the environment of close, committed relationships.
And that is exactly how New Believers' lives are transformed today in the environment of close committed relationships with other believers.
And then Acts 2 continues by saying, They met in homes and they shared their lives with great joy and generosity and each day the Lord added to their fellowship (not a building) those who were being saved.
The Church began by New Believers being connected to other Believers in close, committed relationships.
Listen, guys, I’m not being critical of church buildings since we’re sitting in one. What I’m saying is if you want to have your life transformed by Jesus Christ today, you cannot just go to church. That is “not a thing.” If you want to learn how to have your life transformed by Jesus Christ today, you must get connected to other Believers in close, committed relationships.
So, what does it look like when we are being the Church in close, committed relationships with God and other Believers?
Hebrews 10:24–25 (NLT)
24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. (in-line with the Greatest Commandment)
25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
In order to learn to live the new life in Christ, we must be committed to close relationships with God and with other Believers where we are motivating one another to acts of love and good works. We meet together – we share life together – and we encourage one another as the end of Hebrews 10:25 says, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Let me illustrate what I’m talking about with my son David and his wife Lindsay. They are (right now) in the process of being re-stationed in North Carolina. They’ve been in San Diego for six years and it has been an awesome time for them and us. But here is what I believe made it the most awesome for them.
During their time in San Diego, David and Lindsay didn’t go to church – they became the Church. They became part of the Church with a good group of believers and their life, and their family’s life, and their neighborhood’s life were all transformed by them becoming the Church.
Here’s how it happened.
1). They found a group of Believers in an environment they were comfortable in.
2). And they started hanging around more than just the ninety-minute service and they started getting to know people.
3). Then, they offered themselves to this group of Believers to serve the Lord with them in any capacity
4). And then they began doing more both on Sunday and during the week with these Believers
5). And they started attending small group Bible studies where they got to know other Believers more
6). Then they offered to host some Discipleship groups at their home
7). And they were building relationships in Mom’s groups, and Marriage groups, and Men’s and Women’s groups
8). And then they were co-leading, then leading, then teaching in the groups they had developed relationships in
9). And as they grew in the Greatest Commandment (loving God and loving others) they naturally began reaching out to others in their neighborhood
10). And they ended up having a tremendous eternal impact on believers and unbelievers alike in their neighborhood.
They became God’s Church to their neighbors and through these close, committed relationships they were strengthened spiritually and they strengthened those around them spiritually. And they grew immensely in their spiritual maturity and in their impact for God. They grew in their love for God and in their love for their neighbors through their commitment to developing real relationships with other Believers in their fellowship. They stopped going to church and they became the Church.
So, if you want to know how to live the resurrected life and how to become the Church, you learn it by growing close, committed relationships with other Believers who can help you learn to love God more and love your neighbor more, and then you will be on your way to fulfilling the Greatest Commandment living the New Life in Christ and being the Church.
And the church at large has always known the first steps for a New Believer are critical. But unfortunately – by far – the biggest approach we’ve seen to address this critical first step is to tell a New Believer – Go to church…
But can I share with you please a quote I’ve used a hundred times and given the credit to Greg Laurie every time? But I googled it yesterday and it turns out it was actually a quote by Keith Green. Here’s the quote.
“Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to Mcdonald's makes you a hamburger.”
I promise you – just walking into a church building each week, just that action – by itself – will never enable you to live the resurrected life.
Now, just to give you the whole picture. Walking into a place where other believers are gathered IS a critical part of what it takes to begin living the resurrected life. But the action of walking into a building, in and of itself, does you no good. The Bible doesn’t tell us to GO to church. The Bible tells us to BE the Church.
To begin to live the resurrected life, to walk in the same power that raised Jesus from the grave, we are not called to GO to church. We are called to BECOME the Church. Let’s dig into this truth.
The Greek word for “church” is ECCLESIA which means simply “the called-out ones.”
The Bible says the Church is:
The Body of Christ – (You don’t GO – you BE)
Salt and Light – (don’t GO – BE)
The Flock of Jesus Christ – (don’t GO – BE)
Branches growing from Christ the Vine (don’t GO – BE)
In order to start living the resurrected life and experiencing the transformation that comes with it. You’ve got to learn to become part of the Church.
So, if we can wrap our heads around the truth the Church is not some place I go, the Church is something I become, if we can embrace that truth then we can easily move on.
So, let’s talk about God’s “big-picture plan” for you to learn to become the church. The first thing we’ve got to understand is:
Our God is a relational God
In every way, including his existence as Father/Son/Holy Spirit – (in perfect relational unity) our God is a relational God and we were made for relationship with him. When you look at the Creation account of Mankind, it’s clear God made us for relationship.
God made us to be in relationship with him and God made us to be in relationship with those around us. And so, it makes sense that as we learn how to be part of the Church that we would learn that within a growing relationship with God and within a growing relationship with others.
God’s design for us to learn how to live the resurrected life is based in relationships – a vertical relationship with God and horizontal relationships with others.
The most important thing I can tell you today is that you learning how to be the Church and live the resurrected life is founded on a growing relationship with God, and a growing relationship with other believers. That is the way that your life will be transformed.
And you learn how to have a growing relationship with God by having a growing relationship with other believers. That is the big point today.
And so, (to get this) I think the most important truth for us to initially grasp is what Jesus called the Greatest Commandment because the Greatest Commandment encapsulates everything it means for us to be the Church and to live the resurrected life. That’s why Jesus called it the Greatest Commandment.
Let’s turn to Matthew Chapter 22. A religious leader asked Jesus in Matthew 22:36,
Matthew 22:36 (NLT)
36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
And the answer Jesus gives is the first (in priority) and the Greatest Commandment.
Matthew 22:37–40 (NLT)
37 Jesus replied, “ ‘You must LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 A second is equally important: ‘LOVE your neighbor as yourself.’
40 The ENTIRE law and ALL the demands of the prophets ARE BASED on these two commandments.”
This is the all-encompassing Greatest Commandment. This is a single commandment of love and it is expressed in two directions – vertical and horizontal.
The all-encompassing command from Jesus for us to be the Church and live the resurrected life is learn to love God and learn to love others. And when we do that, with Jesus Christ as our Lord and the Holy Spirit directing and empowering us, we become the Church and we begin to live the resurrected life.
So now, we’ve cleared up a misunderstanding. You don’t go to church – you become the Church and now we’ve got an “all-encompassing” commandment to guide us in the new life in Christ.
Learn to LOVE God with all your heart, soul, and mind
Learn to LOVE your neighbor as yourself
And so now, the question is how do we learn to do that according to God’s Word and empowered by God’s Spirit?
So, let’s just look (briefly) at how Jesus taught his first Disciples to prepare to become the Church.
Mark 3:14 (ESV) – (write in your margin)
14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him . . .
What does that mean that they might be with him? It means Jesus created an environment of relationship with the twelve and then their transformation occurred within that relationship environment. Jesus had the twelve walking, and working, and moving, and serving with him, and while they were with him (in relationship) their lives were transformed, and then he used them to transform the world.
And then, if we look at how Jesus started the Church in Acts 2 (turn there). We see this incredible relationship environment from which the Gospel Message reached all the way to us. And remember, the Believers in Acts didn’t go to church they became the Church.
So, in Acts Chapter 1 Jesus told the Believers, don’t do anything until you are Baptized with the Holy Spirit (still says today) and then they were baptized with the Holy Spirit.
And then Acts 2:41 says,
Acts 2:41 (NLT)
41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. - (NO building)
They were not added to a building – they became the Church. And then Acts 2:42 describes the New Church.
Acts 2:42 (NLT)
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
The Believers were devoted to the Apostle’s teaching within the environment of fellowship, of sharing life together (including communion), of praying together. The word for “fellowship” here is KOINONIA. It means the intimate sharing of life. They were eating together, praying together, having communion together, sharing life together.
The first believers in the New Testament Church had their lives transformed in the environment of close, committed relationships.
And that is exactly how New Believers' lives are transformed today in the environment of close committed relationships with other believers.
And then Acts 2 continues by saying, They met in homes and they shared their lives with great joy and generosity and each day the Lord added to their fellowship (not a building) those who were being saved.
The Church began by New Believers being connected to other Believers in close, committed relationships.
Listen, guys, I’m not being critical of church buildings since we’re sitting in one. What I’m saying is if you want to have your life transformed by Jesus Christ today, you cannot just go to church. That is “not a thing.” If you want to learn how to have your life transformed by Jesus Christ today, you must get connected to other Believers in close, committed relationships.
So, what does it look like when we are being the Church in close, committed relationships with God and other Believers?
Hebrews 10:24–25 (NLT)
24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. (in-line with the Greatest Commandment)
25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
In order to learn to live the new life in Christ, we must be committed to close relationships with God and with other Believers where we are motivating one another to acts of love and good works. We meet together – we share life together – and we encourage one another as the end of Hebrews 10:25 says, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Let me illustrate what I’m talking about with my son David and his wife Lindsay. They are (right now) in the process of being re-stationed in North Carolina. They’ve been in San Diego for six years and it has been an awesome time for them and us. But here is what I believe made it the most awesome for them.
During their time in San Diego, David and Lindsay didn’t go to church – they became the Church. They became part of the Church with a good group of believers and their life, and their family’s life, and their neighborhood’s life were all transformed by them becoming the Church.
Here’s how it happened.
1). They found a group of Believers in an environment they were comfortable in.
2). And they started hanging around more than just the ninety-minute service and they started getting to know people.
3). Then, they offered themselves to this group of Believers to serve the Lord with them in any capacity
4). And then they began doing more both on Sunday and during the week with these Believers
5). And they started attending small group Bible studies where they got to know other Believers more
6). Then they offered to host some Discipleship groups at their home
7). And they were building relationships in Mom’s groups, and Marriage groups, and Men’s and Women’s groups
8). And then they were co-leading, then leading, then teaching in the groups they had developed relationships in
9). And as they grew in the Greatest Commandment (loving God and loving others) they naturally began reaching out to others in their neighborhood
10). And they ended up having a tremendous eternal impact on believers and unbelievers alike in their neighborhood.
They became God’s Church to their neighbors and through these close, committed relationships they were strengthened spiritually and they strengthened those around them spiritually. And they grew immensely in their spiritual maturity and in their impact for God. They grew in their love for God and in their love for their neighbors through their commitment to developing real relationships with other Believers in their fellowship. They stopped going to church and they became the Church.
So, if you want to know how to live the resurrected life and how to become the Church, you learn it by growing close, committed relationships with other Believers who can help you learn to love God more and love your neighbor more, and then you will be on your way to fulfilling the Greatest Commandment living the New Life in Christ and being the Church.