The church is not a spectator sport. It is intentionally personal and requires every member to use their spiritual gifts to build each other up. The secret to this life together is our personal union with Christ. Close intimacy with Him is what leads to a thriving, loving, and relational church. This underground spring gives us inner strength and wisdom which flows forth and blesses others. So put your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ, first, so that your hands will be productive as you minister to the body with love. 

 

Sermon: https://churchandfamilylife.com/sermons/682ac9b3c4eab1dd78874d6a

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Romans 12, 6, or 8 makes it very clear that the church is not a spectator sport. It is intentionally personal and face-to-face and real. And so this passage speaks of the culture of a local church and the relational fabric of the church, what it looks like when people love one another. And the apostle mentions seven gifts, or actually seven things that people do. They prophesy, they minister to one another, they teach, they exhort, they give, they lead, and they have mercy.

Well, This is known as a list of spiritual gifts. This is the first list in the New Testament. But Paul is issuing an urgent plea. I beseech you therefore, brethren, because the Roman Church is like every other church, they need to be encouraged to be faithful, relationally, and to express their gifts. And what you have as a result is a vigorous, loving, thriving, giving local church where all the members are contributing.

And so the secret to our life together is our union with Christ, our intimacy with Christ. There is this underground spring. It's this inner strength. It's this fountain of wisdom. It's the source of blessing and that's what creates local church life, at least this beautiful life that's communicated in Romans chapter 12.

I'll just read J.C. Ryle on abiding in Christ. To abide in Christ means to keep up a habit of constant close communion with him, to be always leaning on him, resting on him, pouring our hearts to him, and using Him as our fountain of life and strength as our chief companion and our best friend. This is what it means to abide in Christ. Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches.

This beautiful church life, this relational face-to-face real life is really created by a person's intimacy with Jesus Christ. If you want to have a thriving, loving, relational church, every member must be united with Jesus Christ. Every member is important. We should not minimize how critical it is that we seek the Lord Jesus Christ on our own so that we might be a benefit to one another. So stop acting like you're going to the movies.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Scripture Applied is a production of Church and Family Life. Visit ChurchandFamilyLife.com for more resources.