How Is Your Love For The Church?

How is your love for the church? This should be a very heart reaching question. As we have been doing an in-depth study on the church, this has brought a new light on the subject of the church to our hearts. As we have seen the persecution of the first church at Jerusalem and the martyred believers throughout the “dark ages” it has truly opened our eyes to what suffering has been suffered just to keep the perpetuity of the church going.

Today people are running to the reformed churches from the true churches because of the nice buildings and charismatic type worship services and then look back and say “that Baptist church is dead because of the lack of members”. Lets not forget the Lord said there would be an falling away, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” 2^nd Thess. 2:3 (I must say the second part of this scripture excites me most), but I say back to them, how does it feel to be part of “the falling away” from the Lords church? I have seen the worship services in these “churches” and believe me, the Lord is not happy. We the small members that are left are the perpetuity of the church and while we are not suffering the same form of persecution as they did, we are suffering persecution of the “falling away” and the only thing that will keep us in the church is our love for the church and the grace of God. As we look back and see a man named Peter tied to a wagon wheel and rolled over rocks until the bones of his body are all broken, and as he looks at his executioners and smiles only then to be beheaded. And as we see an army of 6,000 Christian men ordered to persecute the Lords churches and refuse the order, only to see every tenth man executed, after refusing again, again every tenth man executed and after still refusing the order all six thousand were killed and not one faltered.

The Lord is coming soon and we need to be ready. The Lord promised the church would still be here and it will be, but will you still be a member of her. As we see the worldly “churches” doing everything possible to cripple and persecute the Lords churches this truth remains, they will not kill them.
It was their Love for the Lord and His church that made the early Baptist suffer what they did and it is that same love that will keep the church going past today. Our love for the church will be our passion to do everything in our power to see that our children have a true church to attend. Sacrifice is the key and as we see in history the sacrifice of our beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ of giving their lives, we today have to sacrifice our time and money to keep her going. This takes love and sacrifice, and I must ask how deep your love for the church and sacrifice for the church is?