REnew & REstore

There is a fairly new hymn that is titled: “Renew Thy Church, Her Ministries Restore.”

As we contemplate that title, what do we have in mind as we think about restoring the ministries of the Church?

And, in what respect do we think the church needs to be renewed?

In other words, just what is the distance between what the church actually is, and what she should be?

Now, please understand that I am not speaking about renewing this congregation. The church that Paul is speaking of here and that we are looking at this morning is the Church that Jesus Christ established.

Some people have spent years looking for the “perfect church.”

This usually results in “church hopping” – hoping to find that church that fits or suits that person’s felt needs.

In all their search, they have been unsuccessful in their search.

Why is that?

The answer is simple -

There is no perfect church on earth.

And, if we are perfectly honest about it, we would know that if we found a perfect church – the moment any person joined that church it would immediately become imperfect.

This is a very sobering fact, and it should cause us to be realistic in our expectations. It should not discourage us from pressing toward that goal of maturity which the Lord has set before His people.

Some solid help in refining our goals will be found in Romans 12:9-13.

In his writing, Paul lists a series of requirements to the church at Rome.

He outlines several characteristics of the perfect church.

Romans 12:9-13

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

One outstanding feature of such a church is its...

SINCERE LOVE

Verse 9 says: Let love be sincere.

• This requirement is what binds us in the life of the congregation.

  
  

• It challenges us to maintain a fellowship that is wholehearted.

  
  

• It demands that our love be complete without hypocrisy and that it be spontaneous.

  
  

Do you often hear people talk about love when their hearts are not really in it?

God, in His divine wisdom, anticipated that condition when He led Paul to write these words to Timothy.

 I Timothy 1:5

“But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

It is good for us to determine if we pass the examination of whether we love from a pure heart.

I Peter 1:22 tells us:

“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.”

Have we purified ourselves so that we can love one another deeply from the heart?

There are some qualities Peter tells us we must attain in order to exercise this deep love for one another.

1 Peter 2:1

“Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander….”

Love from the heart cannot exist with a desire to see others hurt, or with an attitude of attempting to outsmart them, or with resentment toward others, or a desire to make hurtful statements about others.

Sincere love is rooted in the truth.

That means that any action inconsistent with the truth is also inconsistent with love.

This sincere love must be coupled

with a very tender sense of right and wrong, which is what Paul says in these words:

“Hate what is evil, cling to what is good.”

Unhypocritical love has a negative attitude toward what is bad and a strong positive attitude toward what is good.

There can be no compromising neutrality – no half-hearted love for others.

One of the things that makes the Church an imperfect representation is the fact that many people who belong to the church have no well-defined, well-developed stance on what is right and wrong or even a clear understanding of what the Bible says.

Many people have their own idea of what is right and what is wrong for them, but in their minds, that is usually different from others.

When that attitude or manner of thinking is present, we cannot live by love. There is no commitment or sincerity in our love.

Another characteristic of the “perfect church” is its

Brotherly Spirit

Verse 10 in our passage says,

“Be devoted to one another in Brotherly Love.”

This requires a love that is appropriate for those of our own kind. The addition of the phrase “brotherly love” provides a double emphasis that Christians are not isolated beings but are part of a family to which they should be tightly bound.

1 Thessalonians 4:9

“We have been taught by God o love one another.”

We are human, and so we occasionally need a reminder, and we find one such reminder in Hebrews 13:1 where the writer encourages us

“Keep on loving each other as brothers.”

We do have a responsibility in this.

The brotherly spirit is further emphasized by the command to Honor One Another Above Yourselves.

This is very often not an easy obligation to meet on our daily walk.

We need to develop the capability of lending a hand to someone else instead of always to ourselves.

Instead of waiting and looking for praise for ourselves, we should be looking for opportunities to honor and praise our brothers and sisters in Christ.

When we are able to do that –- that is, not setting ourselves above others in holiness and purity --- we can wipe out one of the destructive attitudes that often exists – even among Christians.

It is true that we will never have peace until we fully understand that none of us has claim to special privileges.

Another attribute of the perfect church is its

WHOLEHEARTED COMMITMENT

Romans 12:11 –

“not lagging behind in diligence (zeal), fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”

This verse emphasizes the intensity, strength, and power of the Christian life.

The church is no place to have a “nodding acquaintance” with Jesus Christ or His people.

God’s people are not just “spectators in the crowd but are to be wholly dedicated participants.

God actually demands our total being.

Romans 12:11 verse mentions “zeal.” Zeal can be defined as eagerness, enthusiasm, or an active willingness.

When we have that zeal – or are zealous – we will be busy doing the work, or we will know nothing about serving the Lord.

No one admires a person who always needs to be asked to do something or is lazy and unwilling to work.

People – yes, even Christians - can also become lazy in their devotion and service to our Lord.

Paul is referring to those who are unwilling to accept the responsibilities that accompany salvation so freely given.

He is warning us that we must not become lazy and indifferent when it comes to using the talents and opportunities that God gives us as we serve Him.

If we refuse to venture out into new, uncharted waters, or to step out and say – with enthusiasm – “Here am I, Lord. What can I do for you?” – God will take that into consideration when Jesus returns.

There is a word in verse 11 – “fervent” or in some translations: “fervor”.

The word means: “to boil” in the Greek language.

So, what does that mean for us? It means we need to become those who are “boiling over” in our eagerness to serve in our spiritual life, becoming bold enough to confront the needs and the work of the church face-to-face and then to do it.

One of the goals of the church is to be the church established and loved by Jesus Christ.

When we have that attitude and expectation, God will, through His Spirit, enable us to go beyond what we could never accomplish on our own.

In doing so, we will truly serve the Lord.

A reliable source of encouragement as we strive to be the church Jesus established is this, found in Ephesians 3:20-21:

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

A fitting example of a lack of Zeal, of course, is the Laodiceans – whom the Lord “vomited them out of His mouth.”

Someone has said, “If nothing burns, there can be no light.”

That also is true of the church – of Christians.

If we are not on fire, we can provide no light.

Are we burning with a fervent, zealous desire to serve Jesus Christ in every way we possibly can?

Consider this – again – if nothing burns, there can be no light.

The alternative to eternity in Heaven with our Lord is hell with Satan.

There will be great burning and fire --- but there will be NO LIGHT!

We must be careful that light continues to shine from this place because we know, believe, and follow the Light that leads to eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ.

May it always be said of this body of Christ that there is a fire burning here – a fire that no amount of effort by the world could ever extinguish.