Life Outside The Pew

13“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.14“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15“Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
Matthew 5: 13 - 16 NKJV

I work with a man who puts a lot of emphasis on his attendance record in the local house of worship.  There has been many a conversation where he has fallen back on his own church attendance to compensate for his own shortcomings.  If only I were so fortunate.  Instead, I have been laboring through life forsaking the traditional sunday morning gathering for a deeper relationship with Christ Jesus.  So, who is the 'better" christian?  Well, truth be told, if we each have that Spirit of Christ in us, then there is no difference between the two of us.  Oh, but don't tell that to the traditional, church each sunday christian who dutifully fills his pew each week.  For to them people such as myself might very well be on the jagged edge of losing my salvation.  I've been told by many a christian friend that I need to repent, get closer to God, be more like Jesus blah blah blah.  It's that same traditional institutional thinking that we've been hearing for thousands of years now.  So, am I simply a lost and wayward soul who needs to clean up my act before God cuts me off?  Or, am I a loved and cherished child of God whom Christ Jesus lives through each and every day?  One of my favorite passages of scripture might help others understand just how I would answer that question.  In Ephesians 2: 8-9 the apostle Paul lays it out that we could NEVER work our own way into our Lords salvation.  As Paul tells us, it is but by our heavenly Fathers grace that we have been saved...and that NOT OF YOURSELVES.  It wasn't because of Pauls efforts that Christ came to live in him.  Neither will it be due to my own efforts that I will ultimately see His eternity.  There is no way that I can, as a friend of mine likes to say, punch my own ticket into heaven.  As Paul tells us, this is Gods gift unto us {Ephesians 2:8}.

 4But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,9not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2: 4 - 9 NKJV

I titled this piece "Life Outside The Pew" because I've noticed that far too many christians seem to center their faith and beliefs around the church itself.  Not that they're bad people, it's just what we've been taught for so long.  So what is life outside the pew?  Well, if you want to break it down, life outside the pews of the church is where our real work of evangelism begins.  This is where we are called on to be real in every aspect of our faith.  Jesus did not call upon us to make disciples of all who were in those churches that surround us.  No, Christ called us to make disciples of ALL THE WORLD {Matthew 28: 16 - 20}.  How is it that we can make disciples (followers of Jesus) of all the world if we ourselves do not step outside of the walls of our local church?  I'll tell you how...we can't.  We simply cannot rely on the conscience of others to lead them into church before we tell them the good news of Christ Jesus.  Like it or not, we are ambasaodors of Christ Jesus in all we do.  There are those who will base their opinion of the church on how we conduct ourselves.  There are those who will view Jesus by how Gods own children exhibit Him.  Yes, if we have accepted Christ into our hearts, then we have that opportunity each and every day to exhibit Him for others to see.  It is through Christ Jesus living through us that the world around us will see Him {Galations 2:20}.  Keep in mind that those of Jesus' day would never have seen Him had He not come in flesh form.  It is no different for us today.  The only change is that we ourselves are exhibiting Christ for all around us to see.  So the question I ask is...how will those around you see Christ in you?

20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galations 2:20 NKJV

~Scott~