The Internet is a blessing, and I’m thankful for my computer. However, you cannot possibly learn all you need about proper family living by reading through these 10 steps — or even by reading lots of good books! You need flesh-and-blood people to encourage you, teach you, and hold you accountable.
I’m feeling rather outspoken about the need of being plugged into a family of believers, more so with each year that passes. I realize that (sadly, to me) the “church” is becoming “un-politically correct.”
Yes, I realize why — no congregation of believers is perfect, many denominations carry the baggage of hundreds and even thousands of years of bad doctrine and unfaithfulness to God’s Word, and on and on. I do realize the problems with church, and I don’t want to trivialize them. I’ve lost sleep over these issues, too.
Yet — God’s Word says that we need to meet together with other believers!
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
The “Day” mentioned here is the Day of Jesus’ return. The thing that is ironic to me is that, as we get further away from the day Jesus ascended into heaven, the more messed up everything in our world gets, including in the church. Yet the author of Hebrews urges us to “not give up meeting together,” and to do it “all the more” as things get warped, messed up, and further from God’s original design.
Your homework assignment this week is to study what believers are to do for each other and how we are to act to each other. Do this by reading Romans 15 (see below).
- If you strongly support a local congregation of believers, then this assignment will reinforce this even more in your mind — and that’s important!
- If you struggle with whether you should even meet with other believers (and I personally believe that a reading of the New Testament indicates that this group of believers should include more than just the members of your immediate family), then maybe this assignment will show you what the purpose of these regular meetings is, straight from Scripture.
Now — to which group of believers should you connect? How will you know if this group of people is biblical? What if you can’t find believers with whom you agree? These are big questions that take more room than we have to answer. But as we’ve been seeing, God’s Word always contains the answers!
So please add the following reading assignment to your “to do” list — and your “discuss this with my husband” list, most likely! 🙂
Read Romans 15 and next to each of the following sections, write one purpose for meeting together regularly with other believers. (You may wish to read Romans 14 first to get some context… or if you have time, the entire book of Romans!)
- Romans 15:1-3
- Romans 15:4
- Romans 15:5-6
- Romans 15:7-13
- Romans 15:14
- Romans 15:15-23
- Romans 15:24-29
- Romans 15:30-33
I hope you wrestle with these verses! 🙂 I even hope you lose sleep over this, LOL — no, just teasing… but I hope you really sink your teeth into what this passage is saying, that YOU need other people if you ever hope to grow.
So leave me a comment. Which of the purposes of the church listed in Romans 15 is hardest for you? (Mine is certainly verses 1-3.)
