How to Be a Healthy Church Member in a Healthy Church
Romans 12
In Ephesians 2, Paul describes the church using the metaphor of a temple. Having shown how we are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:1-10) and how, in Christ, God has brought us together in one body through the cross (Eph. 2:11-18), Paul then writes,
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Eph. 2:19-22)
What is the church like?
The church is like a holy temple—the dwelling place of God in the Spirit. All of us are like living stones that God places together in His spiritual house (see 1 Peter 2:4-5).
But what does this temple look like?
For that, let’s go to another letter of Paul, his epistle to the Romans. Romans 12 is like a blueprint, a template, or a form that lets us see what a healthy church looks like. Although the word “church” is not used in Romans 12, yet there is no question that the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul is writing to all the Lord’s churches in general and His church in Rome in particular. Here Paul gives a blueprint for a healthy church.
FOUNDATION: everyone is consecrated to the Lord. (Romans 12:1-2)[1]
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Rom. 12:1-2).
Paul begins with our relationship with God through Christ and our worship of Him. This comes before anything else. Without this, there is no church, period. In fact, Paul has spent eleven chapters detailing how we are saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and how we receive that salvation by grace through faith. All this doctrine, Paul sums up with the words “by the mercies of God.” Everything we do is in response to all He has done. It is on the basis of God’s mercy shown to us in Christ that Paul exhorts us to healthy church membership.
We consecrate our lives to God through Jesus Christ. Paul urges believers to “present your bodies a living sacrifice.” The word “present” is a technical term that was used to describe the bringing and offering of an animal for sacrifice on an altar, it is a worship word. The tense of the verb indicates this is a decisive dedication of ourselves to God. We deliberately place ourselves on His altar as we live our lives. When Paul calls us to present our “bodies” to the Lord, it means to offer our total being to Him, not just bits and pieces. Romans 6:13 tells us to offer every part of our bodies to Him as instruments of righteousness “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” This is what it means to offer ourselves in a way that is “holy” and “acceptable to God.” This is our “reasonable service” or our “spiritual service of worship” (NASB).
How do we do that?
In Romans 12:2 Paul gives a negative command and then a positive one:
- Do not be conformed to this world.
You don’t have to try to be conformed to this world, the world will conform you to its mold if you simply do nothing. How do we break out of the world’s mold?
- Be transformed by renewing your mind.
At its core, not being conformed to this world, this evil age, is a matter of how we think. How are our minds renewed? By God’s word of truth. We are sanctified, made holy, and conformed to the image of Christ, by the word of truth.
Jesus prayed for His disciples in John 17:
14 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. (John 17:14-17)
Transformation results in proving in practice God’s will. Paul describes the outcome of being renewed in your mind: “that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” When we turn away from the world’s ways and have our minds renewed by God’s word, we demonstrate that God’s will is always good, pleasing, and ultimately perfect.
So the foundation for healthy church membership in a healthy church is when the recipients of God’s mercy, have consecrated their lives to Him, and are focused on becoming more like Him and doing His will.
FRAMEWORK: everyone is growing in Christ. (Romans 12:3-8)
In a house, the framework is the beams that form the rafters and joists, the underpinning, and the studs. It will become invisible to everyone, but if it is absent or done poorly, everything is in jeopardy. The framework is built on the foundation.
The framework is made up of relationships that God builds in our lives and in our church.
Church members must be healthy in relation to:
a) Themselves.
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. (Rom. 12:3).
In verse 3 Paul uses one particular Greek word (and its compounds) four different times. It’s the word that is translated “think.” A literal translation of verse 3 might read something like this: “Do not super-think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but rather think of yourself with sober thinking.” The idea is that Christians ought to have a realistic appreciation of themselves—not puffed up with conceit and not dragging themselves down into the mud.
They are humble. They have a solid, balanced view of themselves as sinners saved by grace, as objects of divine grace. Grace should lead to humility. Everything we are and everything we have is a gift of God. We did not deserve it or earn it. And so, the foundation for true humility is always to keep God’s grace in view.
We are to think with reasonable, sound judgment “as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Literally, it is, “As God has measured out to each one a measure of faith.” Where does faith come from? Not from us. From God. He has measured out to each one a measure of faith. What does this mean? God has given each of us enough faith through His grace in Christ that we can serve in the body of Christ without conceit.
b) The body as a whole.
4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. (Rom. 12:4-5).
The church is like a body. It has many parts with many functions yet they all serve a larger purpose. The principle involved is unity amidst diversity. We’re not all alike in the body of Christ. We have different functions, different gifts, different backgrounds, and different preferences, different measures of faith. God doesn’t make cookie-cutter Christians. A healthy church is one made up of many different people who are united in Christ. We don’t have to share the same politics or like the same music or eat the same food or drive the same cars. That’s not what it’s all about. What we do share, however, is a deep-seated love for Jesus Christ. That ought to be enough to hold us together. Healthy churches are filled with people who have unity in diversity.
Just as a body is not a loose confederation of separate parts all doing their own thing, so the body of Christ, the church, is not a bunch of loosely connected, independent people all doing God’s work. The church is one where we are “individually members of one another.” We are interdependent on one another. We need each other because we belong to each other.
c) Their spiritual gifts.
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. (Rom. 12:6-8).
The body of Christ functions through members who use their spiritual gifts for the benefit of the body. They accept their gifts and use them within the congregation in Christ-honoring and body-building ways. God gives these gifts to every member “according to the grace that is given to us.” None of us can boast about our spiritual gift since it is given by God’s grace. Spiritual gifts are the gracious enabling or ability given to every believer by the Holy Spirit for service in the church. What Paul says about the seven gifts he mentions shows us that the point of the whole passage is that we must exercise our gifts. The purpose of our gifts is to use them to build up the body of Christ as each member does his or her part.
This is the framework—a right understanding of ourselves, a right relationship with one another, and a right relation to the use of spiritual gifts. It is a framework that expresses unity in diversity, interdependence, and building up each other through the exercise of spiritual gifts.
FINISHING: everyone lives by the law of love. (Romans 12:9-21)
Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. (Rom. 12:9).
As with a house, the finishing work is what people see. They do not focus on the foundation or the framework unless something is wrong. It is the finishing work that makes a house attractive and useful. In a congregation, the finishing work is the behavior of God’s people toward one another and the world. It is love in action.
The word here for “love” is the word “agape,” which means unconditional and sacrificial love. It is the kind of love that God showed to us in Christ while we were still sinners (Rom. 5:8). Nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39).
This kind of love must “be without hypocrisy,” unfeigned, sincere (2 Cor. 6:6; 1 Pet. 1:22). Paul does not stop there but explains what that kind of love within the body looks like. After all, love in scripture is never presented as an emotion we feel but as an action we do.
If our love is pure and without guile or hypocrisy, here is what it will look like:
a) This kind of love hates evil.
Biblical love is discerning. Love does not mean ignoring sin. Followers of Christ will hate what He hated: bad religion, corrupt leaders, false teachers, and hypocritical do-gooders, for starters. We will abhor any evil thing that contaminates the body of Christ.
b) This kind of love values good things.
The opposite of abhorring what is evil is to “cling to what is good.” The verb, “cling to,” literally, is to be “glued to.” “The good” is God’s good, acceptable, and perfect will (12:2), His moral will, which is revealed in His Word.
c) This love puts others before itself (Rom. 12:10).
10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; (Rom. 12:10)
In Christ we are a family. We are brothers and sisters, children of God, born of the same womb. Born again by the Holy Spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ. So we are to love each other with a devotion that is characteristic of a loving, close-knit, supportive family.
We are not to seek honor for ourselves, but rather genuinely to rejoice when others receive honor and we don’t. This means that you look for tangible ways that you might honor a brother or sister. You do not let these opportunities come to you; you pursue them. You seek to “outdo one another” in trying to show esteem.
d) This love serves enthusiastically (Rom. 12:11).
Love energizes service. Love not only gives us a willing spirit to serve, but a fervent spirit to diligently serve the Lord. There are three exhortations that go together in this verse. Paul first gives us the negative, then the positive, and then the focus of the instruction.
Love is “not lagging in diligence”—it’s not lazy. Love is “fervent in spirit”—love is the foundation of our zealous service. The focus of our diligence and fervency is “serving the Lord.” If we love little, we likely serve little. If we love much, then it shows up in our service.
e) This love joyfully endures hardship through prayer (Rom. 12:12)
rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; (Rom. 12:12).
The staying power of love is closely related to its constant companions, faith and hope. Here Paul emphasizes love’s endurance in the midst of adversity. Prayer is the lifeline that lays hold of the living God to supply our needs during times of tribulation. Being devoted to prayer is the only way that you can rejoice in hope and persevere in tribulation.
f) This love shares generously (Rom. 12:13).
distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
“Distributing” (Rom. 12:13) is the Greek verb, koinoneo, often translated as “fellowshipping” or “sharing together.” It is used in reference to sharing material goods in several other places (Acts 2:44; 4:32; Rom. 15:27; 2 Cor. 8:4; 9:13; Gal. 6:6; Phil. 4:15; 1 Tim. 6:18; Heb. 13:16). It means more than just tossing a little money to a need. It calls for participation, involvement, and engagement.
Hospitality literally means, ‘fond of strangers,’ implying taking in strangers as guests in the home. Hospitality is a big deal in Scripture (Hebrews 13:1-2 and Matthew 25:40,45). We are blessed with some incredibly hospitable members. I would encourage you to pursue someone for whom you might show hospitality. Minister to them around your table, enjoying fellowship in your home. This verse calls for participation.
g) This love treats enemies kindly (Rom. 12:14,17-20).
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. … 17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
This is in complete harmony with our Lord’s command that we love our enemies (Matt. 5:44). We are to do good, bless, pray, and give to our persecutors. A healthy church finds ways to love their enemies.
h) This love blesses the hurting and the lowly (Rom. 12:15-16).
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
The mindset of the gospel says, “Because God was merciful to me when I was His enemy, I will bless those who hate me and wrong me.” We sympathize with others both in joys and in sorrows. Same-mindedness means that instead of self-preoccupation, self-infatuation, and self-exaltation, we join in Christ-preoccupation, Christ-infatuation, and Christ-exaltation (Piper).
i) This love is an overcoming-with-good force (Rom. 12:21).
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
The Lord’s plan is not to destroy our enemies, but to win them over.
Leeman summarizes the duties of a church member when he writes:
Just as Christ submitted his whole life for our good, so we should submit our whole lives for one another’s good. It’s not as if there is some area of our life that is exempt from considering the interests of others better than our own. Specifically, we should give ourselves to our churches publicly, physically, socially, affectionately, financially, vocationally, ethically, and spiritually.[2]
And,
Christ’s love wonderfully transforms the ugly into the beautiful (see Eph. 5:22–31). Our love for one another should do the same thing—help the ugly become beautiful. Who can love in this way? Only the ones whose eyes have been opened and whose hearts have been freed from the slavery of loving this world: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36 ESV).[3]
The heart of church membership isn’t necessarily having your name on a list. The heart of membership is: “I am committed to Christ and therefore to all of you.” I will share your joy and your pain. I will take responsibility for you. I will love and care for you. That’s the meaning of membership. It’s a deeply biblical reality born of the spiritual union between Christ and His church—the reality that each local church is the body of Christ, and we as individual Christians are members of it.
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[1] Joe McKeever, https://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/joe-mckeever/the-romans-12-blueprint-for-christ-s-church.html. I borrowed McKeever’s outline and drew from some of his points for this study.
[2] Jonathan Leeman, Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus, 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 95.
[3] Jonathan Leeman, ibid, 103.
