Indication of a Healthy Church

What makes a church a healthy one? Is a healthy church one in which there are activities seven days a week? Packed worship services? Constant community involvement? I wonder what the Apostle Paul would say if he were to visit our church today? Well while that's a nice thought we know it's not practical however we do find in Paul's writings to the Colossians several indicators of a healthy church. 

Colossians 2:1-10 -

1. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me in person. 2. I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery—Christ. 3. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him.

4. I am saying this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive arguments. 5. For I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ.

6. Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, 7. rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude.

8. Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ. 9. For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, 10. and you have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

In this passage, we see four indicators of a healthy church.

The first we see is in verses 1&2, and that is the bond of love. Paul's prayer for these believers was that they might be joined together, knit together, and kept together. Paul knew that if they were on their own, they would be weaker prone to wander. This unity is possible only in love. It is the love of God that unites us to him, and it will be the love of God that will unite us with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The next indicator we see is in verse 3-4 and again in 8-10, and that is we are to be resistant to seductive or deceptive teachings. Paul was warning the church to test the teaching they received to ensure that it was sound doctrine. In the Colossian church, they were faced with a heresy similar to Gnosticism and while that teaching was attractive and comfortable to accept it was contrary to God's Word. Combating this is simple, believers must thoroughly become acquainted with God's Word through personal study and sound Biblical teaching. False doctrine could be compared to anabolic steroids, think about it - steroid use can give you a false sense of power and assurance. However, there is a problem. Those same pills that make you stronger at first will eat away at your body, eventually consuming you. Paul is warning the people of Colosse that while that bottled doctrine might sound good and look harmless, it is in-fact spiritual death.

In verses 5-6 we see another indicator of a healthy church, that they are ordered and disciplined. These are military terms with a clear message, this group of believers has become a disciplined group of soldiers. In a battle when everyone does their job, they stand the best chance of remaining stable in the face of opposition. This is the result of careful, rigorous, consistent training. The Colossians arrived at this point because of their attention to Godly discipline and training.

There is also a sense of loyalty when you look at this, think about it - if you are in the US armed forces, you can't just join up with a military of another country, not unless you wanted to defect thus betray your nation. So why is it that we can so easily do this within the church today? Where is the loyalty and faithfulness of the body of Christ?

The final indicator we see in this passage is found in verses 7-8, and that is that a healthy church holds to the faith and abounds in gratitude. Scripture is filled with references to individuals who faced great tests of faith and when they passed their test they were able to give high praise to the Father.

We have been entrusted with a great responsibility as a church, and that is to live out our lives in such a way as to point the world around us to Christ. Are we willing to faithfully pursue Him and walk with Him no matter what?

I heard a long time ago from another pastor - God put the church in the world; Satan tries to put the world in the church. Be Faithful!