After reading Dever's9 Marks of a Healthy Church, what 3 do
you/your church need to work on the most and why?
Mark 4,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.
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 mansharpensanother.”[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.), “Nowyou are the body of
Christ and individuallymembers of it.”[5]Romans 12:5, (E.S.V.), remarks, “So we,though
many,are one body in Christ, and individuallymembers 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, andwhowillgofor 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 besaved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (5:5) To put the
professed believer out of their fellowship, to excommunicate him, would beto 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
worddeliver(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 (Links to an external site.) .
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 theEnglish Standard
Version(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
[3]Ibid., 157.
[4]Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in theEnglish Standard
Version(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
[5]Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in theEnglish Standard
Version(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
[6]Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in theEnglish Standard
Version(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
[7]Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in theEnglish Standard
Version(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
[8]Ibid., 213.
[9]Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in theEnglish 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 (Links to an external site.) .
