The Church is Christ’s Bride, Not a Marketplace
The Holy catholic Church
Church Shopping
Attention Church Shoppers: Direct your attention to the light show in Aisle 5—our Worship Aisle! We’ve restocked our latest smoke machines with complimentary HALLELUJAH choruses, guaranteed to encourage the Holy Spirit to slay half your congregation every Sunday. Presbyterians, we have something just for you, too! Check out the state-of-the-art Posturepedic Pews. Once your toosh hits that cooch, you’ll never stand again!
Preachers, visit Aisle 7 for our selection of perfectly preached sermons. Next to our convenient pop-up tents, we’re blasting the best viral revivals. Bring that sweet heat with our top-selling hot topics that come with your favorite cringeworthy words like fornication, pagan, and reprobate. And be sure to check out our long-winded display case. Just give our annoyed and hungry deacons any half-decent excuse to bypass the locks!
Don’t miss our youth pastor sale! These so-called ministers come in various colors, shapes, and sizes, and, like Chia Pets, require minimal effort. Sunlight isn’t necessary—they live in church basements, do their business at night, and survive mostly on church mints and leftover potlucks.
We’ve all been church shopping. But let’s be honest—it feels less like shopping and more like dating as we search for compatibility. Looking back, I realize that I’ve visited at least ten churches in my lifetime with the intention of marriage—I mean membership. Here’s the rundown: I was raised Methodist. I accepted Christ in a Pentecostal church. In college, I became a Baptist. I then went to a Presbyterian seminary (PCA). While there, I was a member of an Acts 29 community. Later, I landed a youth job within the PCA. Today, I find myself ordained in the EPC, and God help me—I pray I’m here to stay.
My story isn’t all that crazy. Each church transition was largely due to a move for my education. Research indicates that 60% of church switchers are attributed to relocation. When church shopping, American Protestants typically visit 2 to 3 churches before settling on one. The average adult attends the same church for 13.7 years, and 13% of church members joined within the last year. This means that while long-term membership is common, a segment of every congregation is relatively new.
What’s nuts is that we’ve never known a world without church options. If we don’t like our church, we can visit the one across the street. Some estimates suggest there are 45,000 different denominations to choose from! I’m a Presbyterian, but even that requires clarification. I’m in the EPC—we’re more biblically conservative than the PCUSA. However, the EPC holds some issues more loosely than the PCA. But we’re not as loose as the ECO. And none of us hold to the WCF as closely as the OPC. Are you dizzy yet?
catholic not Catholic
A part of me wishes we could all go back to being Catholic—I long to be one church again! Imagine every believer in your city under one roof! Here’s the good news: spiritually speaking, we actually are!
In the Apostles’ Creed, we confess, “I believe in the holy catholic Church.” Notice catholic isn’t capitalized. Most of you reading this aren’t theologically Catholic. But all believers are catholic. (Unless you’re Catholic, in which case, you believe you have to be Catholic to be catholic… oy vey.) When we confess to being catholic, we’re embracing all Christ’s followers as fellow believers. From ABC Church or XYZ Fellowship, if you follow Jesus as revealed in the Bible, we are one catholic Church.
Holy Bride
Want to watch a grown man cry? Put him in front of the church on his wedding day. There he stands—family, friends, and surrounded by the presence of a Holy God. The piano plays. As we rise, you turn to watch the bride walk down the aisle while I watch the groom. Seeing his joy as he beholds his beloved, radiant and set apart for him, he starts to cry. And so do I.
This is what I picture when I think of the church as holy. The creed declares, “I believe in the holy catholic Church.” Holiness doesn’t come from within us but from outside of us. As the bride is set apart from all other women, the church was set apart by Christ and for Christ.
The church’s holiness is typified in Ephesians 5:
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”
Jesus is our groom, making us His holy bride.
One Body
“Jesus is the head of the body, the church.” – Colossians 1:18
Jesus is not the Greek Hydra. He doesn’t have 45,000 heads, one for every denomination. He is the head of one body. And because of this, we have fellowship among all believers everywhere! We share one Spirit and belong to one Church under one Lord. What could we accomplish if we walked in that unity? Much… But…
Unfortunately, sin can derail our fellowship. In my opinion, whole denominations have abandoned critical biblical commands. I would love to unite with these churches, but some have made compromises that make unity impossible. In truth, I have more in common with believers across the globe than with the churches down the street.
What will bring us back together? Ultimately, we wait for Christ’s return. Until then, I can’t make biblical concessions, but I can seek the peace and love of God that binds us to His Son, Jesus.
My sin can jeopardize the unity I claim to share with fellow believers. So, I will openly admit my sin. I invite you to join me, and in this way, we pray in unity.
Confessing Sin
Holy God, we have treated church like a marketplace instead of a sacred gathering. We sought comfort over faithfulness, preferences over truth, and convenience over commitment. We have divided where you call us to unite and have compromised where you call us to stand firm. Forgive us, Lord. We are one in Christ, united in truth, love, and holiness, for the glory of your Son. Amen.
Thanks for praying; God Bless You! I hope you’ll read and pray with us next Saturday at 8:30 a.m.
❤️
Bo, I am really enjoying and benefiting from your sermonettes. Thank you for the time and prayers and effort you invest in us as a church. Condon