Key Life Network

Steve Brown: Really, does the church make any difference at all? Let's talk on Key Life.

Guest (Male): This is Key Life with our host, author and seminary professor Steve Brown. He's nobody's guru. He's just one beggar telling other beggars where he found bread. If you're hungry for God, the real God behind all the lies, you've come to the right place.

Steve Brown: Thank you, Matthew.

We're talking about the church. We went down a side road yesterday. Sorry about that, but I felt like it needed to be said, so I said it.

And if it causes bad things, I'll repent. Sin now, repent later is the slogan of a lot of Christians, and it's really not mine.

We're talking about the church, two basic texts. Matthew 18:20 for where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

And then Ephesians 5:25 through 27. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Now, we have talked, and if you were listening, I'm going to test you on this material. If you were listening, we saw what the Bible says about the church.

And it clearly teaches it all over scripture. It teaches first that the church is people who have been brought close to God at a great price.

Secondly, the Bible teaches, the church has not only been brought to God at the price of the cross, it is a family that has been brought together by the same price.

And then thirdly, we saw that the church is not only a family brought to God to each other at the price of the cross, the church is a family with an incredible heritage.

Once we did that, then we were open for me to move the previous question. What difference does the church make?

We've seen that the church makes a difference because as a Christian, you are incomplete without other Christians.

You remember the pandemic? When we only worshiped by looking at a screen and a livestream of some others who were someplace, I hated that.

I mean, I did it because it was something, and something's better than nothing, but as a matter of fact, it wasn't church, and you know why it wasn't church? Because you weren't there. And because I wasn't there.

In fact, the church makes a difference because as a Christian, we're incomplete without other Christians. And spiritually, we all experienced that during the pandemic.

Then secondly, we've seen the church makes a difference because it is only within the fellowship that a Christian experiences the fullness of God.

When Jesus said that if a bunch of you get, even two or three get together in my name, that would be the church. And then he said, I am there in the midst of them.

There's something about church when we're together. I always laughed and said to the ushers, count one more, and that would be Jesus because he promised, and he would be here.

And then finally, and we haven't talked about this, so let's talk about it. The church is the instrument by which Christ accomplishes his purposes in the world.

Let me add to that. The church is the instrument by which Christ accomplishes his purposes in the world.

Even with all its problems, all of its spots, all of its wrinkles, all of its sin, all of the negative that is a part of a human institution.

Just as mountain climbers scaling a high peak need one another to accomplish their goal, so the Christian needs other Christians if Christ's work is to be done properly. I can't do it by myself, and you can't do it by yourself.

I love Young Life. It is an amazing ministry.

In fact, when I was in Boston, I was the first Young Life ministry that came to New England started in my study in a church that I served in the Boston area.

I can close my eyes and remember that night when we got together. We were excited because we had found the right staff person. We were going to raise the money, and we were going to change the world in young people's lives throughout New England.

You know what happened after a year and a half? That staff person resigned, and the whole ministry went down the tube. That's true, by the way. And I winced even telling you about it.

So what did we do? We decided to try again. But we did it with some advice from some wise people.

When God does something big in the world, he doesn't do it with one, he does it with a bunch.

And so we didn't call one, we called a staff of people. And the Young Life ministry in New England is still functioning because we understood the principle about why the church is important. You can't do this by yourself.

I need you sometimes to tell me, Steve, you've done good.

I need you to love me enough to say, Steve, you could have done better.

I need you to say, let's go out and do something fun for Jesus. I need you because you have gifts I don't have, and I have gifts you don't have to change the world.

And that is a design on purpose by the God of the universe.

As with the mountain climbers I referred to, it's not a question of one making it and the others not making it. If they all don't, none of them will. It's the same thing with the church.

It's witnessing and serving and helping and preaching and loving, and caring and changing and inspiring and feeding and clothing and healing.

There is so much to do that only an idiot would even attempt to begin without others.

The church is a body. God's gifts given in 1 Corinthians 12 and a couple of other places were not all poured out on one Christian. They were distributed among many of us.

What you can't do with God has given you must be done with others whose gifts are different than yours. That includes almost everything that Jesus has called his people to do.

Now, I want to add one final word of caution here. The Christian must be very careful about the individual church he or she chooses.

There are some organizations that are called churches that really aren't. They're just religious institutions, doing religious things, and enjoying being with one another.

Nothing wrong with that, but that's not the church. The church is a place where, if it's a real church, Jesus Christ is exalted.

In other words, he's the head of the church. And if they don't exalt him and praise him and worship him, go somewhere else.

And where the Bible is taught as God's revealed propositional truth.

When the teachers in the church begin to add caveats to God's word, change it, or say this isn't true any longer, then go to another place.

And the church is a place where people should be making a major effort to love one another.

And if you don't find those things in a church, then go find a church where those things are present.

As I said, there's nothing wrong with a religious institution, but it's not the church.

It's possible for a church to become nothing more than a gathering place for fun and games. Nothing wrong with that either, but it isn't the church.

It's possible for the church to go so far away from the teaching of the Bible, and that's okay if you want to do that, but it's not the church.

Make sure that it's the real deal before you sign your name on the bottom line.

And then God will use you and your brothers and sisters to change the world. You think about that. Amen.

Guest (Male): Thanks, Steve. That was Steve Brown continuing to show us the difference that the church makes. Perfect? No, but an important part of how God accomplishes his will in the world. And in case you missed it, our text today was Matthew 18:20 and Ephesians 5:25 through 27. More tomorrow, hope you will join us.

Well, if you've been a part of the church for any time, you've experienced both laughter and lament. And whether we like it or not, both of those things are part of God's plan. Steve spoke about this in a book called Laughter and Lament, and if you haven't read it, I have some good news. We took sections of that book and created a special booklet that we would love to send to you for free. Claim your copy right now by calling us at 1-800 Key Life. That's 1-800-539-5433. You can also email Steve at keylife.org to ask for that booklet, or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the US and Canada. Again, just ask for your free copy of the Laughter and Lament booklet.

And before you go, if you value the work of Key Life, would you join us in that work through your financial support? You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope, or you can give by text. Simply text Key Life to 28950, then follow the instructions. And if you can't give right now, listen, we get it, but if you think about it, please do pray for us, would you? Always needed, always appreciated. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and Force CN in Canada, and Key Life is a listener-supported production of Key Life Network.