Principles for New Believers (or really anyone) to Thrive in a Local Congregation Part II

For a whole variety of reasons people in the U.S. and in many other nations are responding to the gospel and to their very real need to be an integral part of some kind of church or fellowship in wonderful ways in these last days before our Lord returns for us.

If you are one of those people you probably have lots of questions and perhaps some level of anxiety about getting involved in a local congregation, whether it meets in a traditional building, store front or in a home somewhere.

One of the things you are going to discover sooner or later is that any church that honors Jesus as its Head has some formidable enemies to deal with. Those enemies are: the flesh (every person’s sinful nature), this evil world system formed and run by the devil and his demons, and the devil himself and his horde of demons. They hate God, they hate Jesus His Son, and thus they hate His church.

Now lest you read this and decide you therefore may change your mind about getting involved, you need to know there is no safe place or neutral zone from these enemies. Wherever you go in this fallen world your sinful nature (called “the flesh” in the Scriptures –see Romans 7:18, Galatians 5:19-21) will be right there with you.  This evil world system (called “the world” in the Scriptures – see John 14:30, John 17:14, I John 2:15,16) is pervasive, and though invisible it has dominion over every man, woman, young person and child on planet earth until and unless Jesus Christ frees them from such. Satan and his demons live to destroy everyone they can. Only Jesus Christ can teach you and enable you to resist him/them. So actually joining a church where Christ is the Head is the best way and only way to overcome these enemies.

But because they especially hate Christ’s church, you need to know they are constantly looking for a way to slow it down and disrupt its mission. They know the church is the only organism on planet earth that can help people come into a vibrant relationship with Christ and His people and learn to walk in freedom from and over one’s sinful flesh, the evil world system most people in the world are oblivious to and slaves to, and the devil and his demons.

There are many ways the devil seeks to attack Christ’s church. One of the ways Jesus spoke of in Mark chapter 4 is he will try every way possible to keep God’s word from getting alive and active in your heart. In Jesus’s parable of the soils, He first explained in a parable, “…the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell besides the road, and the birds came and ate it up.” (vs. 3,4). Later He explained, “These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.” (vs. 15).  Satan greatly fears the power of the word of God in your heart and mind and thus will do everything in his power to distract you when someone is teaching or preaching God’s word or when you are meditating on it yourself.

Another way Satan and his demons try to war against the church is by planting tares or fakes/imposters/hypocrites among the true believers in congregations. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 13:24-30, “Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” 

Jesus goes on to explain this parable in vs. 36-43. And in vs. 39, He states that “….the enemy who sowed them is the devil,…”. I would encourage you to read this whole passage. The devil is quite clever and sinister in this evil work of planting seemingly sincere people among us who are actually “…the sons (or daughters) of the evil one;” (vs. 38). Thankfully Jesus promises to eventually send His angels to mete justice out to these imposters (see vs. 40-42). He just wants us to be aware of such and of who is behind them.

Church leaders need to give every person in their congregations every opportunity to grow and repent since we do not know who these tares are. They need not hinder the church’s mission or progress. If Christ is being honored and submitted to as the Head He will show us the way forward.

One of the most sobering passages in the New Testament is Acts chapter 5 where there is a spontaneous move of God among the church in Jerusalem. Literally thousands of people were coming to Christ. And they were being so transformed by His love and grace that they were gladly selling their properties and houses they owned (besides the one they were living in) and giving all the proceeds to the church. No one told or asked them to do this. It was a spontaneous organic move of God. But one couple (were they tares? Only Christ knows for sure) decided they would fake it and give some of the proceeds of the sale of their property and keep the rest for themselves, but make it look like they were doing what the others were doing. When the husband of this couple – a guy named Ananias – gave his gift – laying it at the apostles’ feet (see vs. 1,2), God told Peter he was lying, and this is what Peter said to Ananias in front of everyone, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”   You see Satan hopes his imposters will look spiritual enough to get church leaders to entrust things and even the sheep to them in time so he can use these imposters to harm the sheep and hopefully destroy the church. This is why it is very important that members of churches pray for their leaders to have the discernment from God they need to lead wisely and carefully.

Another way Satan works in the church is by getting church leaders to lay hands on potential elders/leaders too quickly. Paul warns against this in his first letter to Timothy, wherein he is instructing about the need to and how to appoint elders for the churches. In chapter 3 Paul makes very clear the kind of character these elders ought to have. And then in vs. 6 he says, “and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.”

Jesus promised that the church He is building will withstand all Satanic attacks as it learns to depend on the Holy Spirit and wait on Him for guidance, wisdom, discernment, etc. But there will be attacks and thus it behooves all of us to “not be ignorant of his schemes” as Paul spoke to the church in Corinth (see II Corinthians 2:11).

May the Holy Spirit give you my reader the joy of being an integral part of His victorious church until you die or until our Lord and Savior returns for us.