“I am writing to God’s Church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be His own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as He did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.” (1 Corinthians 1:2 NLT)
God’s Church, purchased and led by the Lord Jesus Christ, is not defined by the sins of man, but by the sinless Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. May I set your mind at ease? There is no perfect fellowship of God’s people on earth, regardless of the name over their door or the creeds which they follow. If you’re looking for a perfect church on earth, you search in vain.
And here’s the truth. Even if you found a perfect church, the moment you joined, it would become imperfect. Why? Because you, as every other blood-washed brother and sister, still have feet of clay and will be plagued by our sin nature until we draw our last breath.
Does that mean we can’t live above sin? Absolutely not! John reminds us in 1 John 2:1: “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin.” With the clear implication: “will not continue to live by the dictates of your sin nature.” Paul confirms this thought in Romans 6:12 when he writes: “Do not let sin control the way you live, do not give in to sinful desires.”
But how is that even possible? To the extent we give full reign and control of our lives to the Holy Spirit, to that extent we’ll walk in freedom from sin’s control. Does that mean we can’t sin? Of course not. We still have the ability to sin, to obey the lusts of our own flesh, but here’s the truth – it’s a choice! We don’t have to sin, we choose to sin.
When our heart is tuned to the melody of God’s love and grace, sin isn’t foremost in our heart and mind. The presence of the Lord’s Spirit with us, leading, guiding, loving, protecting, nurturing, teaching, and protecting us gives us everything we need to be everything He desires us to be. To believe we must sin is to believe a lie from the lips of Satan himself.
Why the emphasis on sin? Because sin is why there are no perfect churches, because there are no perfect people, except the Lord Jesus alone. Having been a part of “holiness” churches, I learned firsthand that every “holy” person doesn’t walk like Jesus. Should that turn us away from being a part of any fellowship of God’s people? Absolutely not! Because some walk very closely with the Lord.
The church of which I’m a part now, in this season of my life, is not perfect, but my contention is, we see what we want to see. If we want to see things that aren’t exactly as we wished they were, I’m confident we can find some. But if our attitude is – “I’m going to be the best person of God I can possibly be to the glory of God! I’m going to live well, serve well, love well, give well, and make the best contribution to this body of believers as I possibly can” – you’re going to find your place and you’re going to thrive as God’s child.
And beyond that, you’re going to love the people with whom you live, love, and serve. The words of Josh Howerton bless me when he writes: “In their (futile) search for a perfect church, a lot of people never get to pause and enjoy a good one.” I love my church, but here’s the best part: they love me! I feel part of a loving family that I would lay down my life for. The Lord is using His church (“my” church) to bless people all over the world with their generosity, kindness and love.
Don’t you long to be a part of a family like that? You can be and will be when you decide to be that kind of person, making that kind of contribution together with other imperfect, but God-loving people.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 