"Tell It to the Church"

"And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church." (Mt. 18:17)

Notice, it is not, "tell it to the pastor and the elder board."  No, the Church is not a rabble.  The Church has always been presided over by "ordained" leadership, "bishops and deacons," also, "elders," and, "apostles."  But Jesus does not mention them in our text.  He just says, "Tell it to the church." 

The Bible says of the Church, "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another." I am "of" you and you are "of" me and together we are "of" all who obey Jesus Christ as one Body in Christ, the Church.  To be a member "of" the Church means to be "individually members of one another."  This Church, functioning in our text, is an awesome responsibility and loving privilege.  Now I am a firm believer in authority in the Church, and the "chain of command," but so few individuals see the "Bride of Christ" as a living organism, the physical manifestation of Jesus Christ in the earth, the Body of Christ of which they are an intricate and "needed" member.  The prevailing attitude is, "Oh, that's the pastor's job."  Maybe that's why so many just quit. 

Our text is so infrequently (almost never) practiced because most people just want to run their own lives and simply use the local church as a blessing factory instead of Jesus' Bride, a part of whom we are servants.  A study of the Bible and Church History, and our text in particular, reveals that the church is far more than a meeting place of people with common beliefs.  Many of the sins done in the Name of Christ by the church over the centuries were perpetrated because the "average" members just surrendered their privilege and responsibility to others.  But "the Head of the Church," Jesus, is quite clear.  "Tell it to the church"---- defined in Hebrews as, "the general assembly," or, as the NLT puts it, "the assembly of God's firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven."

One can only speculate as to how many problems, not only in the Church, but also in nations, could be dealt with if "the church" took her rightful privilege, place, and responsibility in society.  If we obeyed, "tell it to the church," maybe so many in "the church" would not be telling it to the courts and the government.

Father, in Jesus' Name, give me new insight into Your Church.  Amen.
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"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2