Back row Baptist confronted

I love to sit on the back row. My family, unless we get to church late, always sits on the back row.  However, in our church culture there is another type of “back row Baptist.” Except, these people often sit in the back, middle, or front of the church. I define back row Baptist as those people who come to church on Sunday morning, sit and watch, then leave. Never speaking to anyone (except the.. Hey! Doing good are you?) and never getting involved in the lives of people. In essence they are hiding. Is this a Biblical way to approach church? A better question to ask would be “Is God glorified with the actions of this person.” I say no.

The author of Hebrews points us to the how and why we should meet together as the local church family. Biblically, what does it mean to be involved in a local church? Is it… come here a cool, edgy sermon with a bunch of one-liners or come listen to “awesome” music that I can’t sing to? I hope you will see that when it comes to the local church, interaction is crucial. Here is my breakdown of Hebrews 10:24

²⁴ And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.25.

Let us consider how to stir up one another to….

  Love -Matthew 22:34-40 – What is Biblical love?

Part of the reason we are to be involved in the local church is to live out what we claim to believe! It is easy to love people who agree with you, look like you, and praise you.  But the Bible calls us again and again to forgive those who hurt us, to put others above ourselves, and to be at peace with those in local body. The question must be asked, do people change churches to avoid conflict instead of forgiving the person they have conflict with? Or do people change churches when they don’t get their way, so in protest they leave the church?   They may be taking the coward’s way out instead of living out what Paul writes about in Colossians 3:12-15, “bearing with one another, forgiving each other…put on love…let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” Colossians 3:12-17, 1 Corinthian 13, Philippians 2:1-17

     

Good works

Each family has different members that add various dynamics to the family. The same is true of the local church family. This is the point of Spiritual gifts. Every Christian has a spiritual gift to be used in the local church. However, we must remember that in God’s Sovereignty, He has already planned the works you will do so we can’t take credit for the good work or the spiritual gift. He gets the Glory! Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12 -14 and Ephesians 2:10.

  Don’t neglect to meet together

NO WHERE in the Bible does it say we should not be involved in the local church. In What is a Healthy Church Mark Dever writes, “If you call yourself a Christian but you are not a member of the church you regularly attend, I worry you might be going to hell.” Mark Dever, p. 21. That is a pretty strong statement.

  Encourage one another

Everyone goes through hard times in life. Part of the role of the church body is to encourage each other to continue living for our Lord when trials or hard times come our way. 1 Peter 1: 6-9

In light of this…

How should believers act towards others in the local body?

What can you personally do to be more involved in the lives of the local body you attend?

What is the goal of believers (or what is your goal) for being involved in the local church?

How can you use your time to serve your local church family better