The Model Church

For example, some are shocked that the members of a church act less than perfect. Listen, I am shocked that they are shocked! Anytime you deal with humans, you have to keep in mind that the only perfect person who walked on this earth was the Lord Jesus, and imperfect people crucified Him!

We should never be shocked at the things we see in God’s church. Never! Why? Because while we Christians are endeavoring to live lives of perfection, we have an abundance of evidence to prove we have not reached that level yet.

The apostle Paul certainly recognized that.

Look at Philippians 3:12-14. We read, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Every day we, as Christians, grow in grace. But while we are going through this growth period, we sometimes see people who know the Lord as their Savior, but whose lives still reflect a lot of immaturity.

Illus: Let me give you an example. A Sunday school class went on a picnic and the teacher invited everyone to come. But on the day of the picnic he thought about a lady who had been overlooked when the invitations were sent out. It was an oversight, and immediately the teacher went to her house to invite her to the picnic. When the teacher arrived, the woman was furious. The teacher apologized for the oversight, but the woman said, “It is to late, I have already prayed for it to rain!”

This woman was acting childishly!

Remember what Paul said in 1 Cor. 13:11, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

All churches consist of MATURE and IMMATURE Christians.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could pull out all the MATURE Christians and put them in one church? Wouldn’t that be a great place to worship God?

Then we could take all the IMMATURE Christians and pull them out, and put them in another church building and let them do what they seem to want to do - FIGHT IT OUT!

Illus: However, some of us might be saying, “What a great idea to get rid of those immature Christians.” But if this was done, some would be surprised to discover they would be a part of the IMMATURE CHURCH!

But God does not pull out the IMMATURE or the MATURE of His church. God has a mixture of MATURE and IMMATURE Christians who form His church for a reason.

Illus: If we separated them, then we would not have the MATURE CHRISTIANS in the church to put out all the brush fires that the IMMATURE Christians seem to be always starting, and God’s church would be ridiculed in the news every night.

But when you look at the church of Thessalonica, it almost seems like God pulled out all the mature Christians and placed them in this wonderful church.

It could safely be said that this church is a MODEL for our churches today. Let me show you some things about this MODEL church.

I. THEY WERE A MODEL IN THEIR POSITION

Look at 1 Thess. 1:1. We read, “Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ..”

Notice, Paul said this church was, “…In God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ…”

The New Testament uses the phrase, “In Christ”, seventy-seven times!

WHY IS THIS EXPRESSION USED SO OFTEN?

Because the only place of safety, is “In Christ.” The Church of Thessalonica was “In Christ”.

We have already talked about IMMATURITY, but one of the reasons we have some of the problems in God’s church today has nothing to do with IMMATURITY in the church. It has to do with the fact that in God’s church, many of the professing Christians have NEVER been born again. They are not “In Christ”.

You can be In The LOCAL Church:

• As a MEMBER

• As a TEACHER

• As a DEACON

• As an USHER

• As a PASTOR

and still not be IN CHRIST!

The reason people act like the Devil inside of the church and outside of the church, is because they have never been born again. They are still serving their father the Devil!