Church and church

A conversation with a friend last week got me thinking. I know, an unusual occurrence, me thinking...

Anyway, we seemed to be having some trouble connecting until we realized that we were operating under different meanings of a key word. After that it became a lot easy to at least understand each others positions.

And that brings us to church. I think that there are two definitions of church that are not necessarily mutually exclusive but can cause a lot of disagreement.

The first definition is the body of believers in Jesus Christ. The second definition is a group of people who meet together to worship usually in a building also called a church.

Frank Viola (no, not that Frankie Viola) in his excellent book Reimagining Church points out that Paul in his letter to the Romans calls the church all those whom God has accepted (Romans 15:7). Thus the church spans denomination and division. We are called into fellowship with all who believe regardless of what label they (or we) may apply.

The church of Christ consist of all believers in Jesus Christ who have accepted the free gift of eternal life granted through his death on the cross for our sins. Period.

Anything else is divisive. This includes denominations. All denominations. Nowhere in scripture is it found that we have to belong to a particular group for eternal salvation.

I am convinced that there are many sitting in a church on Sunday who don't know Christ and are there for the entertainment. The sermon and the music. Yet they talk about being members of a particular church.

Again: membership doesn't save anyone. Neither does worship preferences.

We must recognize that our brothers and sisters are those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior regardless of what labels are attached to them. Anything else is wrong.

But we also have to be discerning, humble and patient to know who is our brother and sister.