Commit yourself to God and the Brethren
The sin of the church of Thyatira was compromise…
The great menace to the church was the numerous Trade Guilds. Their meetings began and ended with prayers to the gods, and they became centers of drunken orgies and lax morals.
In the church at Thyatira there were those who asked: "Why shouldn’t we join the guilds?" "Why sacrifice good business by remaining out of them?"
In this church there was no commitment. There was only compromise. Don’t get me wrong, there were good people in that church, but the bad outweighed the good.
(Here in lie’s the problem) The Christian is the citizen of two worlds!
In Christ, we have been raised to a new life that looks to a city whose builder and maker is God. But we have to live that life here, and that means positive qualities of love, patience, mercy, meekness plus the standards of Christian morals and conduct.
The Christian’s greatest contribution to the welfare of this present world is to live as a citizen of Heaven, and that means committing our lives to Christ and His church.
The Christian, who finds better fellowship in his lodge or legion, VFW or Ball Team than he does amongst his brethren in the church, should seriously examine his relationship to Jesus Christ and his brethren. Conformity to this world’s standards is no mark of the committed Christian.
Studdert Kennedy tells of an explorer who brought back a chameleon which his household affectionately named Billy the Lizard. The explorer left Billy in charge of his butler who showed him to his many friends and associates. When the explorer returned, he asked how Billy was. "Well, sir," said the butler, "it was like this. We put Billy on the green rug he turned green as Ireland. We put him on the red rug he turned as red as Russia. Then some fool put him on a patchwork quilt, and poor Billy burst, into a million pieces.”
Says Kennedy: "The world we live in is a patchwork quilt, a bewildering complex . . . patched with the colors of the rainbow, and we madly try to adapt ourselves to its complexities. We change our characters according to the company we keep." And because we choose to be this way, we can not commit to anything.”
Anyone walking into the church at Thyatira would have thought it surging with life. But there was too much world in the church and not enough church in the world.
As a young man Joshua Harris’ attitude toward the church reflected many peoples attitude today.
He considered the church secondary, outmoded, inefficient, a hindrance. It wasn’t that he didn’t love God or God’s people. It just wasn’t as important as some other things and besides, there was more fun in other things.
Joshua is not alone! Many people today, Christians, Church Members, think and act the same exact way. Regular church attendance is a relic designed to hinder our freedoms.
There are reasons why some Christians think this way…First some are just indifferent to committed church attendance. In other words, they could take it or leave it. One man told me one time that his parents go to church for something to do on Sunday morning. Besides, there’s really nothing on TV until noon anyhow.
Another reason is because they are ignorant. They are uninformed. They’ve never considered the Bible’s view on committed church attendance, or the consequences of neglecting it.
Other persons are Indecisive. They can’t make up their mind if church is important or not. But the church is usually the first stop at the sign of tragedy.
I’ll never forget what my sister Marsha told me once, she said,” People aren’t going to leave the church because you made them mad; people leave because they want to leave and they’ll use any excuse that works.”
Last but certainly not least are the independent Christians, called Lone Rangers, who don’t want to be saddled down with the burden of church commitment. These Christians don’t want people in their business. They want to come when they want, get what they want, and leave unattached, when they want. They’d rather play than pray. Getting up is a bummer. Giving is a burden, unless of course, I enjoy it, although I enjoy shopping more.
God’s intent is for the Local Church to be central in the Life of His people. Committed church members become healthy Christians who understand that such a commitment is precisely how God intends His people to live out the faith, work out their salvation, and experience Christian love. Some day your world, as you know it, may fall apart. Will your extra curricular activities be enough to pull you through the traumatic trials and tribulations of this evil world?
I think not!
In the book, “What does a committed church member look like” is a list of ways committed church members express themselves.
1. Attends regularly - Hebrews 10:24-25
Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. [25] And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.
Being present, being known, and being active is the first step to being committed.
2. Seeks peace- Romans 14:19
So then, let us maintain harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
A committed church member is committed to the maintenance of peace, so if there is a need for maintenance and the committed worker is not there, the peace is left wanting.
3. Edifies Others- Ephes. 4:11-14
He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. [12] Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, [13] until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.
[14] Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth.
There comes a time when we put down the bottle and eat solid food. We cannot hinder the elders by continually drinking the milk of the babes. Jesus said that a committed member comes to serve, not to be served.
4. Warns and Admonishes Others – A committed member is one to speak truth in love to brothers and sisters of the faith. A committed member will not be intrusive and at the same time he will be hands on because of their love for the brethren.
5. Prepares for, looks forward to, and takes part in the Ordinances.
Committed Christians participate in Communion and Baptism.
These privileges give us visible proclamation that Christ died for sinners and rose again to eternal life. It’s a great tragedy when Baptized Christians take the Lords Supper as if it’s just a thing we do once every month or so. An it is just as much a tragedy when we see Christians who’ve been baptized acting as if it was just a cold water bath without soap. There is NO power in a Christian that is not committed to the Ordinances.
Friends, this is the year of Commitment! A healthy, committed Christian is one who seeks Discipline.
Discipline in Attendance, discipline in seeking peace, in edifying others because of their knowledge of God’s Word. One who’s committed to warning others while at the same time admonishing them. And we want to be committed to our promises to God in the Ordinances of Baptisms and the Lord’s Supper and the solemn Holiness of them.
The Christian is a citizen of two worlds. Will you choose this world and burst like the lizard, or will you choose the next world, and live eternally committed to Jesus Christ, the One who committed His life to you? He died for you. He doesn’t ask you to die for Him physically, just to self.
Christians, don’t waste your time. Choose you this day whom you will serve; the gods on the other side of the river or the gods of the amorites, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
R. Neal Gracey, Deacon (Ordained)
