Dearly beloved,              

Over the last few weeks, we have been considering the calling of a Christian in his various stations in life – office, home, neighbourhood and country. In addition, the Christian is also part of a spiritual community, meaning to say that the Christian has a calling in the church. Is the church still relevant in this day and age when the ministries provided by the church can be easily accessed through the internet? What is the calling of the Christian in the church? What is the calling of the church?

The church as a religious institution has come under attack in recent years. Recently, a video with the title “Why Jesus Hates Religion” went viral. An alternative title could have been “Why Jesus Hates the Church.”

The video was cleverly written and performed by a young man. It is presented in half rap and half poetry, and it appeals to young people. It looks good. It sounds cool. It moves rapidly from thought to thought. It has neat lines which we could quote, such as:

Religion says slave, Jesus says son

Religion puts you in bondage, while Jesus sets you free

Religion makes you blind, but Jesus makes you see

And that’s why religion and Jesus are two different clans

The point of the video is to highlight the difference between one’s personal relationship with Jesus and one’s subscription to Christianity as a religion. The piece attacks the hypocrisy in the church, which I agree, sadly, is in no short supply in the church. Judging by the response in favour of this performance, most people agree too. So yes, while the church is not perfect, has it outlived its usefulness? Ironically, the young man who wrote the rap-sermon attends one of the biggest churches in Seattle, Washington.

Like the young man, there are many so-called Christians today who are scornful of the church as an institution. I have heard people saying to me, “I am interested in spirituality but not the church.” “I am a Christian but I do not believe in the church.” And they replace “church” with cell groups and Bible studies, parachurch organizations, or set up a “church” of their own preference (which is a church nonetheless).

To minimize the importance of the local church will be a tragic mistake. The church is part of the redemptive plan of God. Else He would not have said, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Christ is the Head of the church. Some would argue that our Lord Jesus was referring only to the universal church. I think not. In His letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor, our Lord Jesus is described as the One who holds the seven candlesticks, which are symbols of the seven churches (Revelation 1: 20). It would be rejection of the will of God if one claims to belong to the universal church and yet show disdain upon the local church.

Is the local church perfect? Absolutely not! Are there Christians who have been let down by the happenings in local churches? Most certainly! Is the local church then still the will of God? Most definitely! And our Lord Jesus Christ has a calling for all believers in the church. The Apostle Paul said that God had “some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12).3.

These are the front-line ministries of the church, and besides these, there are countless tasks – routine and lowly ones – that are performed by believers in the body of Christ, which is the church.

Called to Faith

Being a Christian is in itself a calling. “Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified” (Romans 8:30). Peter says that we “are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that [we] should shew forth the praises of him who hath called [us] out of darkness into His marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9). “Church,” in Greek, refers to the ones who have been called. Christians are called by God.

This is the call to faith. It is not a subjective experience or some inner voice that a person has; rather it is an objective call from the outside. It is a call that comes by the preaching of the Gospel.

Called to a Community

Christians are also called to be part of a larger community, namely the local church – the body of believers at a specific location or according to particular theological persuasions. As our Lord Jesus pointed out the local church will be a mixed body of goats and sheep, and tares and wheat.

As has been pointed out earlier, no local church is perfect because the people who go there are not perfect. And there are Christians who feel disillusioned by what they see and experience in the local churches. So while we all have an idea of the ideal church, and there are some believers who are constantly looking for the ideal church, I believe that the proper step is to first examine ourselves to see whether we are the ideal Christians.

The truth is that the local church is a body of ordinary people coming together to worship God. They may look like ordinary. They may sing off pitch. They may not be able to read the Bible fluently. They may not be able to boast of anything. But the fact is that they are as much a part of the body of Christ.

Paul says that the members of the church who “seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness…that the members should have the same care one for another” (1 Corinthians 12:22-25). In other words, the ordinariness and blandness of the members in a local church is our ministry.

Called to a Ministry

Paul says that believers “are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). This means that God has a reason for calling sinners to salvation. Just as God calls fathers and mothers to be heads in the ministry of the home, and kings and prime ministers to be leaders in the ministry of the nation, so He calls some people to be pastors in the ministry of the local church.

The pastoral office is a special calling, not in the sense that it is more meritorious than the other callings, but the pastor’s ministry has more direct effects upon the souls of man. While it is God who calls sinners to saving faith, it is also true that the instruments that God uses are the earthen vessels of the pastoral and preaching ministry.

Of course, no pastor is perfect, but God is able to work with, above and even against the human pastor’s imperfections to bring the Word of life to those who need it.

The pastor is only one of the myriad of ministries in the local church. In Acts 6, the apostles appointed seven men to look after the welfare of the widows so that they could give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4). It seems that the apostles recognise that their calling is the preaching of the word and not the distribution of food, and it is not that the latter is less important.

The church is called to be diverse. And it is the diversity of the church that calls for the division of labour within the local church (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4: 11-16).

The ministry of the church is supported and performed by different members of the church. The Junior Worship teachers, Awana leaders, Choir, Youth leaders, ushers, welcomers, are all part of integrated living within the local church. As the Apostle Paul points out. “If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?... And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you” (1 Corinthians 12:15-16, 21). This is the absurdity and the error of being a solo believer.

Just as every member of the body has its role and function, so does every member of a local church. Again, is the local church perfect? No and it will never be on this side of eternity. However, it is the will of God to work in and through the local church of which every believer ought to be a member and to find his/her calling and ministry.

Lovingly in Christ, Pastor Isaac