A Word to the Churches

One of the more interesting sections of the book of Revelation is the letters to the 7 churches of Asia. It's amazing how relevant they remain. It's apparent from reading them that they reflect a deep love and concern for the church, not just locally but universally as well. It's also interesting to note that the churches are judged as fellowships and not just individual members. Scripture takes the concept of the church as "the body of Christ" seriously.

But thankfully, letters of this sort are not just limited to scripture. I think that God still prompts many to write letters today. While they may not be inspired or authoritative, they do reflect a deep love and concern for the church. And like the letters of Revelation, they are timeless and profitable to other churches and situations as well.

The following is an example of a letter written by a friend of mine to his local congregation. He writes this from a very personal point of view so I have edited out the personal references. I hope you find his words as meaningful and timeless as I did.

____________________________________________

To my Church family,

Three years ago, my wife and I faced an agonizing decision. We thought God was leading us to move, but it was not the easiest choice to make. One of the reasons for that was because we loved our church so much and hated to leave it. We were uncertain we would find a comparable church in our new home.

But after joining our new church, we discovered quickly that our initial fears were unfounded. In recent days we have seen more clearly than ever how gracious God was to us in leading us here. We are so grateful for you, for our godly elders and for God's continued blessings upon our church.

I write to you today to sound a warning -- one that I am more mindful about now than ever. I say this not because there are problems in our church to be addressed, but because we always need to be guardians of what God has entrusted to us. Traps and snares are all around us if we become careless, conceited and complacent.

We must not take God's blessings upon us for granted. We must not grow slack in our pursuit of holiness, or in our concern for one another's welfare and sanctification. We must not grow accommodating of sin in our midst -- especially the sowing of dissension and division that can rob us of the unity we all value so deeply.

Trust me, I know this from experience.

In three short years since leaving our previous church, I have watched from a distance as it has unraveled and become the very thing it once so adamantly stood against. Sin gained a foothold and was allowed to fester. This was a church that was once characterized by a warm fellowship and a union around its leadership and the gospel. That is no longer the case, and it breaks my heart to see what a once-great church has become.

Too many selfish church members insisted on continuously griping and complaining about the smallest of matters (like what summer youth camp to attend). All the while, they made life miserable for a couple of godly men on staff who had devoted many years of their lives in service to the church. Where there was once unity, backbiting and petty bickering became common. Where there was once selflessness, selfishness is prevalent. Where there was once a love for holiness and righteousness, blatant sin now goes unaddressed.

Without going into detail, those most responsible for the church's collapse are the gossips, slanderers, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, foolish, faithless, heartless and ruthless that Paul describes in Romans 1. Rather than putting the welfare of the church and its members first, they chose instead to become instruments of Satan, and to divide and destroy a church that had been built so faithfully over so many years.

They lifted their hands and voices against the Lord and His anointed leaders, and in doing so forced the resignations of these two men of God. For that, they will have their reward. We can learn much by making sure we never follow their pattern.

This wasn't a situation that developed overnight, but one that gradually deteriorated over a period of months and years. And as is often the case, the problems in that church are caused by a small minority who insist on having things their way, even if it causes strife and destruction to the church for which Christ died. In doing so, they have succeeded in thwarting the interests and desires of the majority. My heart breaks for those in the church -- my dear brothers and sisters in Christ -- who have remained faithful to God. They deserved better than to have the church they loved hijacked by a vocal few.

Looking back now after seeing how things have developed, we can only thank God for His remarkable kindness to us in removing us from that place, and in bringing us here, where we don't have to deal with anything of the sort.

I write these words not primarily to accuse my old church or anyone therein. God Himself will handle that, and I tremble to think about what some people there will be reaping. These are people I once loved and believed to be godly men and women of integrity. But they have proven my former opinions of them to be gravely wrong, and I fear that some of them were never regenerate in the first place. They have sown discord and strife, and I do not believe that will go unpunished.

Instead, I write these words to you as a warning about what can happen if we become complacent and comfortable in what we have. We must be ever vigilant to fight sin fiercely -- in ourselves and in the lives of our fellow church members. We must respect, support and encourage our elders, who labor among us so faithfully in teaching God's word. We must love one another with a selfless love and always look for ways to serve and minister to each other. We must pray for each other. I will be the first to confess that I do not pray for you the way that I should. I ask for your forgiveness, and I pledge to do better.

And if we ever find ourselves in a position where we cannot support the church or its leadership, we must have enough integrity to leave in peace, and find another place where we can serve. My former church could have been spared so much heartache if the malcontents had simply left for another church. But they loved their sin more than they loved Christ and His church, so they acted dishonorably and stayed where they could be the devil's agents to sow division. We must never do likewise.

God has indeed blessed us, but that does not give us license to slacken in our diligence or chill in our devotion to Jesus Christ and His church. We must hold fast what we have, and continue to entrust ourselves to the One who is able to keep us from stumbling.

I thank God for planting my family here. My prayer and desire is that God will allow me to labor alongside you for the rest of my earthly pilgrimage, until we are one day presented complete in Christ, so that God will be glorified above all things.