After reading Dever's 9 Marks of a Healthy Church, what 3 do you/your
church need to work on the most and why?
Mark 4, f Dever’s commented this, “A Biblical Understanding of Conversion” “The
Spirit's conviction does not cause us to become spiritually paranoid and or to imagine
that we have committed more sins than we had previously realized (though in a sense
we do begin to do this). Rather, as God's Spirit begins to convict us, he brings a
particular sin to our attention, and that particular sin seems more serious than it did
before.”[1] Part of the problem with conversion is that so many people never
experience it. When we ask God into our lives there is not that conviction from the
Holy Spirit that brings about change. Not saying that happens all the time, but it does.
I have been baptized three times; I never had that conversion experience until the last
time I was baptized. The first two times I was doing what I always did and even got
worse. I believe that there are people in the church that have never had that
conversion experience. They received the Holy Spirit and they have the strength to
change some of the habits they had through the sanctification process. However, there
is no change in habits in church, still only go once a week for two hours a day. That
excuse that they were not called to ministry justifies why they do not do more. Jesus
did not save us to go to church four days four hours a month. Certainly, the desire to
do more should be there. It is always the same people doing the same thing during
church activities and no desire to do more. Luke teaches on an empowerment to do
the work of Christ, that boldness to stand-up for Christ and proclaim the gospel
without fear. Conversion and sanctification are not the same. Although conversion is
said to be that coming to Christ, from non-Christian to Christian I believe that there is
more to it. If all a person is doing is changing a few bad habits and no desire to do
more, they were sanctified and being sanctified daily. Conversion is a total 180 from
what you use to do and on fire to do more. A person would be like Jeremiah said,
(E.S.V.) “If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name, there is
in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with
holding it in, and I cannot.”[2] My church preaches about living right and doing the
right thing, but most agree that there is a sanctifying experience that we go through
and that change takes place daily. There still needs to be that conversion experience
where you turn around and head the other direction and are on fire for God. I guess
what I am saying is, why are people in church content with sitting back and letting
just the ones called to full time ministry the only ones on fire for the Lord. If
sanctification is about becoming more like Jesus, then the church is in trouble because
the only ones doing the work of the ministry are the ones who do ministry for a
living fulltime. Maybe my conversion experience was different from others. I could tell
the difference between my desires for sin and for the Lord verses on fire for the Lord.
It is never preached that people need to do more than sit in pews a couple times a
week. Evangelism, discipleship, church expansion or planting other churches is not
spoken about. Churches are supposed to be planting other churches. Churches are and
organism not an organization. We miss that concept. f f f
Mark 6, Dever’s said this, “A Biblical Understanding of Church Membership”
“According to the New Testament, the church is primarily a body of people who
profess and give evidence that they have been saved by God's grace alone, for his
glory alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.”[3] Church membership has always
been an issue. People want to be a member of a church so bad because they feel that,
that is the only way they can get the insights as to what the church is doing behind
the scene. Thing is though, the church is the people of God, the building is a place
where we can meet to get out of the elements that take place in nature. It is a good
place to go where we can go for worship in terms of a place to hook-up equipment
for music and have it sound decent and hearable. Fellowship takes place in church; it
is where we can rub off on each other in a good way. Proverbs 27:17, (E.S.V.), “Iron
sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”[4] I realize that some churches do not
allow memberships because that way the pastor can’t be voted out if something goes
wrong. Another is because the Bible states this in 1Cor. 12:27, (E.S.V.), “Now you
are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”[5] Romans 12:5, (E.S.V.),
remarks, “So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one
of another. Each of us has a job to do as a member of the body of Christ. We were
given gifts to use that we could help each other and help build the Kingdom of
Heaven. Even though the Kingdom will grow and advance, God still desires to use us
so that we can take part and be a part of his goal. Ephesians 1:5, (E.S.V.), “He
predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the
purpose of his will.”[6] As adopted children of God, we should desire and be thankful
that he allows us to partake of his will. If we are connected to Jesus, he has a job for
us to do. 1Cor. 6:20, (E.S.V.), “for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in
your body.”[7] Jesus shed his blood to purchase us, we owe him. Being connected to
him, we should do what he has called us to do by connecting with others in a
building sometimes to sharpen our skills from and through him through fellowship.
Mark 8, Through discipleship we get growth. We teach other people the basics for
discipleship and then send them out. Jesus spent three years with the disciples teaching
them everything that they should know so that they in turn could go out and make
disciples of all nations, Matthew 28 gives the “Great Commission” he said “GO”, after
Jesus left that is what they did. You can tell who is fulfilling the Great Commission,
if a seasoned church member is lost as far as approaching somebody and leading them
to Christ, that is a sure sign they are not doing it on a regular basis. Dever’s
remarked, “A Concern for Discipleship and Growth” “Paul was a good disciple of
Jesus, who himself had taught that the growth of the kingdom of God comes from
God and does not ultimately depend on us.”[8] Dever is right, God does not depend
on us, but he chooses to use us. We should want to go and do for Jesus, after all he
paid the ultimate price for us and we were the sinners not him. Isaiah said, (E.S.V.),
“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for
us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”[9] God wants to send us; he is asking if we
are willing to go. He doesn’t need us, but he wants to use us. All he needs is a
willing vessel. We do a lot of teaching, but we need to teach more on the criticalness
of discipleship in order for other areas to grow and multiply.
What steps could you/your church take to implement those areas?
The only steps that need to be taken is to teach on these areas more so that people
do not think that discipleship is an option because it isn’t it is a command from Jesus
when he said “GO”. He did not say if you feel like it, if you want to, or I did not
call you, do not worry about it. He has called everybody. Church expansion is not an
option, church is to be planting churches. God created everything to live forever. Jesus
when he started to build his church was not meant to die either. If a church is dyeing
or plateauing, there is something in that church that is not right and they need to
reevaluate their mission statement, values statement, and its core values to see where
they got sidetracked at. If churches do not have the Holy Spirit or he can’t be felt,
then there needs to be a check as to if sin is being allowed in the church. 1 Cor. 5:5,
(E.S.V.), “I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his
flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (5:5) To put the
professed believer out of their fellowship, to excommunicate him, would be to deliver
such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh. Satan is the ruler of this world,
and turning a believer over to Satan, therefore, thrusts the believer back into the world
on his own, apart from the care and support of Christian fellowship. That person has
forfeited his right to participation in the church of Jesus Christ, which he intends to
keep pure at all costs. The word deliver (paradidomi) is a strong term indicating the
judicial act of sentencing, of handing over for punishment. The sentence passed on a
sinning believer is to be given to Satan. Paul excommunicated Hymenaeus and
Alexander because of their continued and un-repented blasphemy. They were pastors
with a false gospel; he “delivered them over to Satan that they may be taught not to
blaspheme”[10] (1 Tim. 1:20 Links to an external site.). (MacArthur
Commentary)
Words 1,896
Bibliography
Dever, Mark. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. 3rd ed. Minneapolis: Crossway/Good
News, 2013.
MacArthur, John. “What Does It Mean to Be Handed Over to Satan?” Grace to you.
July 09, 2021. https://www.gty.org/library/bibleqnas-library/QA0140/what-does-it-
mean-to-be-handed-over-to-satan
Footnotes
[1] Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, 3rd ed. (Minneapolis:
Crossway/Good News, 2013), 108.
[2] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard
Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
[3] Ibid., 157.
[4] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard
Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
[5] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard
Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
[6] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard
Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
[7] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard
Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
[8] Ibid., 213.
[9] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard
Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
