2024-02-14

Five Requirements of Church Life

What does your church life look like? If you nod politely to your fellow church members, go through the motions of singing, listening and praying with your thoughts wandering to Sunday lunch; something is missing. You are missing out on fruitful Christian living, connection and growth in Christ. This may come as a surprise, but you need to adhere to some requirements of the church to become fruitful, to serve in the body and grow closer to God. Read on and discover how your fellowship with Christians and walk with Jesus can be transformed by applying the five requirements of church life.

1. Agreement on Faith and Doctrine in Humility

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction.
1st Corinthians 1:10

Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:1-3

Paul calls to the churches in Corinth and Phillipi to be united. To achieve unity agreement is necessary. Church members must submit to the leadership of the church and be in agreement about doctrine and theology. Contrary ideas and views cause division, which is the very opposite of the unity and like mindedness that Paul is preaching. Our agreement must be loving and humble, therefore there will be no place for haughtiness or forcefulness when it comes to matters of faith and doctrine. We must carry one another’s interests and burdens with sincerity and be gentle in dealing with differences.

3 - Commitment to Gathering and Encouraging One Another.

Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:23-25

No man is an island. If life is generally lived best with companions, our faith lives can be no different. We are the bride of Christ, a body of believers. There is no space for singularity in these definitions. If we are to encourage each other, as Paul suggests, we must build relationships with one another. Regular church meetings is a definite requirement. Church must be high on our list of priorities. It is not somewhere to go when we have no other plans. We must grow together in prayer, laughter and tears. To carry and be carried by one another in this way is sure to be a blessing to us all.

3 - Teachable and Humble Attitude

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!
(Psalm 143:10)

Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
(Psalm 86:11)

These are the words of King David. Even as a great king, David had a humble and teachable attitude before the Lord. Can you and I say that we are this humble and teachable? Are we prepared to be vulnerable, admitting that we do not know all the answers and being willing to receive correction? If king David could do this, so can we.

In order to walk out of church meetings refreshed and perhaps a little wiser, we must empty ourselves of arrogance and our “know it all” attitudes and receive God’s teaching with a teachable and humble attitude. If we are arrogant and stubborn, we will surely gain nothing.

4 - Servanthood and Humility

The greatest among you shall be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:11-12

To be a Christian means to be a servant. In John 13 : 1 - 5 Jesus sets the blueprint of servanthood in washing the feet of His disciples. The King of kings, our Lord and saviour bows down and does the work of the lowliest servant. He commands His disciples to do the same. In Matthew 23: 11 - 12, He equates greatness with servanthood. The Church will be a place of growth and greatness, if we can use our various gifts to serve one another. Whether it is through welcoming someone at the door, teaching or cooking, we must all use the gifts God gave us to serve in His church. God made us unique. This is where the metaphor of believers as the body of Christ is very effective. As each of our body parts have a unique and important function, so each child of God has a different role to play in the body of Christ. Some people serve by teaching, others with prayer and encouragement. Some of us are more practical and serve in areas such as hosting or organising. Our service to God is also not limited to actual church meetings. In some stages of our lives, we are called to parent our young children, in others we might nurse an elderly family member.

5 - Love and care for one another

A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34-35

Our greatest acts of service would be empty, if we did not have love. Love needs to be the intention and motivation behind all of these requirements. Without love, you would agree on doctrine only to keep the peace. Your church attendance would be to please people, your humility and encouragement would be false.

Love must be the foundation of our church lives. If we are a body, the one hand cannot enjoy riches and pleasure if the other hand is suffering. We must have sincere love for our fellow church members. Their spiritual, physical and even financial well being must be a priority to us. True biblical love is self - sacrificial, it aims to give and not receive. The world loves whatever or whoever they stand to gain something from. But we are called to love in a radically different way. It is easy to say we love one another, but do we pay attention to the rest of Jesus’ words in John 13: 34 -35? We must love as Jesus loved us. He gave His life. He withheld nothing from us. So we too must love genuinely and sacrificially as Jesus did. By this genuine and sacrificial love the world will know that we belong to Jesus. This love is the difference between someone who merely knows their Bible front to back and can debate theology all day long and someone who loves with the love of Jesus. Let us be characterised by this kind of love.

Conclusion

For some, church is a mandatory tradition. For others it is just another option on a Sunday morning. But for those who wish to mature in Christ, it is an indispensable anchor. These people know the value of attending regularly, submitting and being teachable, they are humble and serve where they can. Above all, they act in sincere love, seeking not only for their own interests but the best interests of others as well.