What Role Should the Church Play in My Life?

Let’s Dissect

After clarifying the jobs of the Church and God’s role in the Church in our previous post, I believe we would all find it extremely beneficial to discuss in a deeper length, what role the Church should play in our day-to-day lives. As we have seen all throughout this month, the book of Acts is our best source when it comes to learning about the functionality of the Church and in particular, Acts 2:42 which again says, “42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Now if this is the job of the Church gathering on a Sunday morning, what effect should we notice from this practice every other day of the week? To answer this question, we are going to break down Acts 2:42 and dissect each aspect of this passage to see the importance of these attributes according to scripture. Once we do that, I believe we will be able to piece together the large picture of what we should see in our day-to-day lives as the outcome of gathering as God’s people.

Part One

To start, we see that the first thing mentioned in this passage is that the Church ‘devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching’. If you were to type in on Google, ‘Bible verses on teaching the Bible’, it wouldn’t take you long to realize how high our Lord holds the teaching of scripture. To see just how important it is to find a pastor that can accurately teach the Word of God, let’s look at what Paul says to Timothy about this exact matter. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states, “16 All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.” This, in essence, is what the teaching of scripture should inspire us to do. The next time you are at a church service, ask yourself, ‘Is this teaching of the Word of God leading me to desire correction and righteousness?’, because not only should we notice this effect when gathered with believers, we should notice this every day of our lives. There is a reason this passage affirms that scripture should equip us for ‘every good work’, and not just ‘some good works’. It is undeniable that the truth and correction we hear from the Word of God every week should lead us to be more faithful and righteous outside of just a Sunday morning.

In our next step in Acts 2:42, we can see that the Church ‘devoted themselves to fellowship’. Perhaps no passage explains the importance of fellowship better than Hebrews 10:24-25 “24 let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, 25 not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” It is quite clear from this direction in Hebrews that the major reason for meeting together is so that we may build relationships that encourage us in our walk with Christ. The idea of being encouraged in ‘love and good deeds’ along with being encouraged ‘as we see the day drawing near’, shows just how vital these relationships are. The relationships we build when we gather as the body of Christ are not just relationships meant to encourage us when we have a rough day at work or get a new haircut. These relationships are quite literally alliances with other Christians that we should be able to lean on when following Christ gets hard, and especially when the end times are drawing near! This is no ordinary relationship by any means.

Part Two

Thirdly, we see the Church ‘devoting themselves to the breaking of bread.’ Communion is a very common practice for the Church these days, but sadly, as clear as scripture makes it out to be, so many churches use it for the wrong reasons. Let’s look to Jesus Himself for the reasons He claimed we should take communion in Luke 22:19-20 “19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood.” It doesn’t get more simple than this folks. The sole reason to take communion is to remember the sacrifice and work of Christ. All too often we see and hear of churches that would much rather twist communion into praying for a miracle that you need or asking God to fulfill the deepest desire of your heart. While I find no problem in praying for these things, this is not what communion is for at all. The Lord’s Super is solely for the remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our sins. When we make it about anything else, it is much easier to forget Christ’s finished work than remember it.

Lastly, we see the final thing the Church devoted themselves to was ‘prayer’. One of the most famous passages about prayer could be so much more powerful if we actually lived it. Philippians 4:6 mentions, “6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” I love this passage in particular because it doesn’t just tell us to pray about some things or under specific circumstances, it says ‘in everything’. If we are practicing and being taught prayer at our church services, we will have no shame in praying for anything and everything, no matter what the circumstance. Prayer is not just something Christians do before meals, it is our very source of communication with God, even when all the anxieties of the world are thrown our way.

Final Result

So, what do you think? Did your church pass the test? Obviously, this was a large breakdown but allow me to simplify it for you with this question: Does your church equip you to fulfill the Great Commission? All of these qualities listed above are practices that Christ taught His disciples, and once He knew His time to depart was near, He left them with this simple command in Matthew 28:19-20 “19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” When you leave a church service on a Sunday morning, I pray that you were taught well, unified with others, prayed with each other, and remembered the sacrifice of Christ, so that you may fulfill the Great Commission yourself. Friends, this is not an option, it is our mandate from Christ Himself. If our church doesn’t lead us to be more and more equipped to make disciples, perhaps we need to take a good look at who is disciplining us. As Louie Giglio says, “We want our very being to amplify His. Believing the whole of Scripture harmonizes and condenses in God’s passion to make his glory known throughout the universe, we believe this, too, is the purpose of the Church.”

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Sources

[1] “Access Your Bible from Anywhere.” BibleGateway.Com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 150 Versions and 50 Languages., www.biblegateway.com/. Accessed 2023.

[2] “Our Local Church and God’s Global Purpose.” Desiring God, 18 June 2023, www.desiringgod.org/articles/our-local-church-and-gods-global-purpose.