A New Community Called Church
Ministering: Pastor I.S James
Topic: A New Community Called Church (Pt. 3)
Text: Phil. 1:1-11
References: Acts 16:9-25, Heb. 2:1, Luke 4:42
(Phil. 1:11) May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation-the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ – for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
According to this verse, the righteous character in your life produced by Jesus brings glory to God.
The church in Philippi were not just a church that he founded, they transcended that level to become his partners.
The meanings of words can change over time. The word gospel originally meant good news. It meant anything that brought good things & tidings to people. But today it means teachings about the Word of God, the life of Christ and His doctrines.
One major characteristic of good news is that it spreads fast.
What is the value of the gospel (good news) to man?
When man disobeyed God & ate of the forbidden tree in the Garden, he learnt of the existence of sin, this made him prone to temptation. Whatever you don’t know doesn’t tempt you.
God wanted to save man from the sentence of death, but He had to do this without breaking His word.
This could only be done by the shedding of blood of One that had known no sin.
Knowing that you believing in the One who died for your sins through the instrument of faith will save you from the sentence of death is good news!
Phil. 1:5 – “for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.”
As a Christian who has been saved as a result of the “good news”, it’s your responsibility to share the gospel with others. That’s the mission of the church.
What exactly is the Church? Before we define this, let’s point out what the Church is NOT.
1. The Church isn’t a carrier of bad news.
• Ask yourself, why is it that spreading bad news is what interests people in the Church.
2. The Church isn’t a political platform
• Partisan politics by its very nature is divisive. Spreading the gospel & not dividing the people is our primary assignment.
3. The Church is not a platform for forming business connections.
4. The Church isn’t a tribal union.
5. The Church isn’t a funeral group.
The Church is beginning to drift away from its primary assignment.
Drift is defined as a slow unnoticed & unintentional movement away from a set course/objective.
Some churches now seem to be focused on just one aspect of the gospel. That’s a sign of having drifted away from God’s plan, because the Church is meant to preach the full gospel of Christ.
The Church is the light of the world. It is our responsibility to point the light onto the ills in the world and advocate for good causes. While these are good things, they must not take the place of sharing the gospel with the world.
As Christians, we need to move from the level of having employee & customer mentalities onto a PARTNER mentality.
The gospel is simply defined as you who were a sinner going to hell is now saved from the sentence of death and all Christ demands of you, is that you share your story with others.