We need to understand that churches are imperfect institutions filled with sinful people trying to learn to be like Christ. At the same time the church body (those who are members) formally affirm an individuals’ profession of faith and baptism as credible and trustworthy. In Matthew 18:20 while talking about the importance of purity within the church, Jesus tells the disciples, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Many use this verse to talk about the power of prayer meeting, but the reality is that this passage is talking about the authority of the church to affirm a persons walk with Christ based on the choices they are making. The Lord gives the body of Christ the authority to affirm that a person’s walk matches His words. If they do not the body of Christ responsibility is to evangelize the person living in sin, and no longer exhort them to repent. This gives us assurance in our walk and relationship with Christ, not because we we hope to get to heaven, but because there is a redemptive community that affirms our walk with the Lord. We must remember that the church is not a building, rather it is “a group of Christians who regularly gather in Christ’s name to officially affirm and oversee one another’s membership in Jesus Christ and His kingdom, through gospel preaching and gospel ordinances” (Church Membership – Jonahan Leeman, P 62-63). We need to be part of the body of people who Jesus came to rescue and reconcile to Himself, understanding that Jesus uses each of us who are apart of the redemptive community that we are apart of, to encourage, educate, and exhort on another. We each must find a local assembly that we are willing to serve and fulfill our Biblical responsibilities to build up the kingdom of God.
