“But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you;” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.”
PONDER THIS
You need to be faithful to your church. Romans 12:5 says, “We, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” Simply put: I belong to you, and you belong to me. So don’t say, “It’s none of your business what I do, pastor.” It is plenty of my business, just like what I do is plenty of your business. We are members one to another in the Body of Christ, and we owe to one another a fearful loyalty. The Bible teaches that we are to be faithful to the fellowship with other believers; we are to attend a local church.
Do you know what is happening today? Some people claim to be Christians who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, but they do not belong to nor are they faithful to a local church. Such a thing was unheard of in the Bible. To be a Christian meant that you were faithful to the fellowship that you attended—when people gathered, you were there. If you stopped attending, they assumed that you were lost, that you were an apostate, that you went back on God. Now people say, “Well I, I believe in Christianity, but I am not a member of a local church.” But we need to be faithful to the local church. We should be in the house of God on a regular basis, bringing in our tithe, our Bibles, our love, and our influence as we gather week after week.
- What is the difference between being a member of a church and being faithful to a church?
- Where does church fall in your priority list right now? What has made it difficult to be faithful to your church?
PRACTICE THIS
Thank your pastors or church staff members for how they stay faithful to your church by sharing their gifts.