• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Church Leadership Who builds the church?

Who builds the church?

Posted on January 2, 2018 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment


God Builds the ChurchThrough the years, the church has had to endure persecution, neglect, corruption and apathy, but yet she endures.

The church has displayed the best and the worst of humanity. She has both stunning victories and miserable failures on her record. Yet, she endures.

When I am tempted to be overwhelmed by the problems in the church, I need to remind myself that it is not up to men to build the church. Jesus told us that he, himself, is the one who builds his church (Matthew 16:18). (Tweet This)

We can be co-laborers with him, but he is the architect and builder.

This is good news! It is good news because it takes the pressure off of us as church leaders.

Certainly we need to be diligent in presenting the truth of Scripture to those who come under our care. We need to be diligent in reaching out to those in our community who don’t yet have a relationship with Christ. We need to be diligent in equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians. 4:12).

But we must always keep in mind that it is only God who change change hearts and bring people into relationship with himself. It is only God who can cause spiritual growth. God is the only one who builds his church.

One analogy that Jesus used is that of a laborer in a harvest which can be seen in John 4:35. The farmer can plant, water and remove weeds, but he cannot cause the crop to grow. The farmer cannot cause the growth.

In the same way, church leaders cannot cause anyone to grow spiritually. We cannot save anyone. We can only be faithful in promoting conditions that are beneficial to spiritual growth.

We will be judged on how diligently we worked to promote the conditions under which growth happens. We will be judged on how faithfully we worked at the tasks that God calls us to perform.

We will not be judged on the results. The results are in God’s hands.

Ultimately, we can’t mess it up. God will build his church with or without us.


Filed Under: Church Leadership Tagged With: build, Church, leaders, leadership

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

Saint Augustine on Felicity

In 21st Century America, we are unlikely to encounter anyone who is tempted to erect a statue to the goddess Felicity. Yet, we are in danger of worshipping felicity. Happiness seems to be the primary goal of many we interact with on a daily basis.

Rome

Not what I would choose

In Acts 19:21, Paul expresses a desire to go to Rome as part of his missionary efforts. Paul did eventually get to Rome but it is unlikely that he envisioned that he would enter Rome as a prisoner of the state and remain there under house arrest. In the Epistles that Paul wrote while in […]

Composed in the presence of death

Composed in the presence of death

I began a draft of this post a few months ago while I was reading Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray. At that time, I thought the quote below worth sharing. But in late August, I was shocked to learn of the death of the son of a friend of mine. He was a great kid with a promising future and he passed away at the age of 23.

Enemies of Faithfulness

There are many things that can be listed as potential enemies to faithfulness. For the purpose of this post I have chosen three that I think are significant. These three are: Lack of a prophetic voice Lack of discipline Lack of understanding Lack of a prophetic voice Ravi Zacharias has pointed out that one of […]

O Come, All Ye Faithful

This Christmas, may we look beyond the normal holiday stuff to see how the baby in a manger has caused the light of eternity to break into the darkness to give us hope in the midst of our current struggle.

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
February 2023
SMTWTFS
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728 
« Jan    

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2023 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in