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, c 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. c c c
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
