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, d 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. d d d
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).
[10] John MacArthur, “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
