The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
November 19, 2006
In
This Issue:
Are
You Attached?
by
Steve Klein
It's
Time to Change
author
unknown
Are You Attached?
The amputation of a part of ones body is at best an unpleasant consideration. Just trying to imagine having an arm or leg cut off probably makes most of us a little squeamish. No one wants to have a part of their body permanently severed. Amputation invariably handicaps the body and destroys the part that is amputated. Our body parts must stay connected to our bodies for the benefit of the body and the life of the parts!
The church is a body. The body parts are the church members. "For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ." (1 Corinthians 12:12). But some members think, act and speak as if they've been amputated.
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They think that their presence isn't necessary in assemblies. A church functions as a body in its assemblies. It worships, it edifies and it communes. What if all the parts of the body felt that they didn't need to assemble? Would the body be able to function without all of its parts coming together? Would it not be more like a lifeless carcass, mutilated in some chain saw massacre with its parts strewn all over? The body is made up of parts, and every part must maintain its connection to the body! "For in fact the body is not one member but many" (1 Corinthians 12:14).
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They talk as if they are not part of the church. They'll refer to the church that they are supposed to be a member of in the third person. Instead of saying "We had a gospel meeting" or "Our attendance was good" they'll say, "They had a meeting" and "Their attendance was good." But just because a member talks like he is detached from the body, doesn't mean that he is. "If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body?" (1 Corinthians 12:15-16).
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They act as if the church can do just as well without them. Every part of the body has some function. Some parts may appear to be more important than others, but EVERY PART has a role to play if the body is to be at its best. "The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary" (1 Corinthians 12:21-22).
These things being true, why would any church member stay "detached" from the church? Are you attached?
--Steve Klein
(Acts 16:31; 22:16; Luke 13:3)
Conversion means change. God's plan for us is to change, to be born again, to be transformed into His glory. What is required in conversion?
Three changes are necessary: a change of heart, a change of life, and a change of relationship. Faith changes the heart. Repentance changes the life. Baptism changes the relationship. None of these can take the place of the others.
Baptism does not change the heart; it's changed by faith. Baptism does not change the life; it's changed by repentance. But baptism does change our relationship to God. This accounts for one of the things that puzzles us. We see many wonder-fully good people who have not been baptized, and some wicked people who have been baptized. Why? Because baptism doesn't make a person good. It changes neither the heart nor the life. If someone enters the baptistery whose heart has not been changed by faith and whose life has not been changed by repentance, he will be no better after baptism than he was before baptism.
How can we illustrate these three changes? It's like marriage. Boy meets girl. They fall in love. He asks, "Will you marry me?" and she says, "Yes." They have experienced a change of heart through courtship.
There is a visible change in their lives. They act differently. They are engaged. A radical change in life is essential to a good marriage.
Then the wedding is performed. There comes a point in the ceremony when the minister says, "I now pronounce you husband and wife." Question: Are they married? Yes! When were they married? When their hearts were changed? No. When their lives were changed? No. They were married when the relationship changed. The ceremony changed neither their hearts nor their lives - but it did change their relationship.
Make sure all three changes have taken place! Faith changes your heart. Repentance changes your life. Baptism changes your relationship.
Via Good News, A weekly publication of the Smoky Hill church of Christ, Aurora, CO
-- author unknown