Blog Archives
Christians are not called to be solo players
Christians are not called to be solo players. This means that a Christian can’t just accept Jesus and then choose not to pray nor interact along with other Christians. Not every Christian may be as talented as you nor they may be as wise as you. However this is not a reason to avoid caring for each other.
The following scripture tells us how being more than a single person can help tackle tough situations much more better:
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
There are Christians who avoid church services at the local church due to the abundance of hypocrites they encounter. This is not a good situation to be in but you can’t just give up on your gathering in the church just because of that. For example, if you say that you won’t board a train unless you have all the “hypocrites” removed would the train driver even agree to you? However, I do agree that if you don’t need to partake of their sins. So if you go to church and realize that certain church members are into drugs, then pray in church, listen to the preacher but don’t waste time with those drug addicts. If they approach you just remind them that God desires holiness in his children so they need to focus on God rather than any worldly thing. Don’t get into a debate but be firm that you won’t sin even if they have many reasons to do so.
It’s not going to be possible that you make friends with each and everyone at church. This could be because of differences in culture, languages, political ideologies, money etc. In certain circles of Christianity speaking to a person of the opposite sex is frowned upon very often, so if you are in this type of place better that you don’t push too hard though you may have noticed a lot of freedom of speech in other churches. Here you can at most say ‘bless you sister’ or ‘bless you brother’ which should be fine enough.
To avoid being a loner at church, try to identify like-minded Christians who agree with you on most doctrinal points of the Bible. You can then reach out to them and find if you are going to be friends. This way you can have common ground to pray on. Also ensure that the other person and yourself are a team for the glory of God and not for mutual benefits. The main focus must be the Lord Jesus and the preaching of the Gospel. Apart from this provided that whatever you do always is in line with the wisdom of the Gospel, you can help each other.
With this being said, you must remember the words of Jesus on what to do if another believer sins against you:
“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. (Matthew 18:15-17)
Also keep in mind what Jesus said next in the same chapter (Matthew 18)
“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matthew 18:19-20)
This means that you can also pray to the Lord for any of your petitions together with another Christian who agrees to it in prayer. Also this means that when people come in the name of Jesus he is there with them, not in the physical sense but surely in spirit.
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
You can learn a lot from other faithful believers of Christ. I myself was good in preaching publicly but not in singing. So then Christian youth group I was part of, kept on encouraging me to sing with them. Sometimes they sang with me even if I went off tune. Then in due course of time I was able to sing all praise and worship hymns in public, be it at church or seminars etc. I had my doubts on praying for physical healing of people of other religions but when I noticed my friends praying for them, I too started praying in faith.
Like always, it’s great to hear from missionaries of their experiences in hostile areas, especially how they managed to preach and yet survived. This can dramatically increase your faith and courage in the Lord. Your faith can also increase when you hear people speak how they left a life of lust and realize the importance of trusting in Christ instead. You then become aware of the traps that these people fell into, so that you don’t fall prey to sin.
Many of these benefits won’t come to you if you are only a solo player. You need to pray to the Lord Jesus for wisdom on this and then reach out to other Christians to team up with. Do this for the glory of God.
Disciples of hope 