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Is This Church Right?
When people ask this question, it is usually finished with the words “FOR ME.” Inserting my preferences into finding a church will allow me to explore many options. The first option may be comfort or friendliness. Another option might be family programs or activities for children. Another option might be the kind of services offered like daycare, after-school care, teen weekends, a drug recovery program, preschool, or senior events. There are so many options churches provide. Narrowing the choice down to one church is hard. They all offer so much “FOR ME.”
For a church to be right “FOR ME” is one consideration. The other consideration is whether or not the church is “RIGHT.” Some churches offer approval of homosexuals, promoting their lifestyles as right for them. Other churches will form political action groups and campaign for a particular candidate. A church might even give their approval for social drinking. Others will permit divorce for any reason, because happiness and contentment is what everyone needs in a relationship. Other churches have a great musical program with wonderful soloists and choir performances. Some churches never mention anything about sin, but will talk about behavior modification and attitude management involving therapeutic and self-assessment programs. There will be something about one of those churches will just “FEEL RIGHT FOR ME.”
The result of our decision for which church is “RIGHT FOR ME” is often referred to by some as “MY CHURCH.” “At ‘MY CHURCH,’ we have a great youth program.” It is astonishing the numbers of people today who definitely follow the cultural thought of “choosing the church of your choice.” When the process of church choice is made because it is the “RIGHT CHURCH FOR ME,” the church then becomes “MY CHURCH.” This falls right in line with the reason Eve ate the forbidden fruit. “When the woman said that the tree was good for food, and that is was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat” (Genesis 3:6).
Once we have all the self-made requirements for the “right church” out of the way, challenge yourself to look at one more church. It is the church Jesus built - “MY CHURCH” (Matthew 16:18). The church Jesus built has an infinite origin incomparable to any church today which we may deem “RIGHT FOR ME.” The existence of “MY CHURCH” in today’s terms is not the “MY CHURCH” Jesus planned, built, and sustains. The church Jesus built has a design which must be duplicated, not modified. His church is the original. His church is the first. His church is not up for remodeling and renovation to suit what best fits my lifestyle. His church is the “RIGHT” church “FOR ME,” not because Jesus sought our advice before He built it, but because God planned it from before the beginning of the world (Ephesians 3:9-11). Then, if the search for the right church is a true, genuine search for you, the Bible has all the information you need about its beginning and existence. The “RIGHT” decision each of us should make is choosing the “MY CHURCH” Jesus built as the one “FOR ME.” With Bible in hand, begin your search today (Matthew 7:7). It is the only way you will determine “IS THIS CHURCH RIGHT?”
