The Church
Friends, I hope you're getting the basics of the faith down this week. We've spoken about the nature of God, about sin and salvation. We've spoken about holiness and sanctification, which is Article 10. And the next three articles talk about the Church.
The Church as Community
As Article 11 explains, “the Church is the community that confesses Jesus as Lord, the body of Christ, called together by the Holy Spirit through the Word”. And as a church, we believers are mutually accountable to each other. We keep each other in step as we live lives together with a shared mission to tell the world about Jesus so that more and more people can be redeemed and reconciled to God.
The Sacrament of Baptism
And as with most Protestant denominations, we believe in two sacraments that Jesus Himself commanded us to keep, and the first is baptism, which is a means of grace - in other words, a way to experience God's grace, which publicly proclaims that a person has come to faith in Jesus. It's a way for a believer to state unequivocally that they now belong to Him and are part of the Church.
The Church of the Nazarene does believe in infant baptism, because we believe in prevenient grace, that God's grace is on people's lives before they're even aware of it. And so parents will have their children baptized, claiming them for Christ and committing to raising them in the ways of the faith.
The Sacrament of Holy Communion
Then Article 13 talks about the Lord's Supper, a sacrament that Jesus established, proclaiming His life, His suffering, His death and resurrection, and the hope of His coming again. And it's another means of grace in which we can experience Christ's presence in a special way.
And so God's people come to the table in faith, with the love of God in their hearts, to remember what Jesus did and to be nourished spiritually as they meet Him there.
Divine Healing
Then additionally, Article 14 talks about divine healing. The Church of the Nazarene believes that God does still heal today, and so people are encouraged to pray in faith for the healing of the sick. But we also believe that God does heal through medical science.
I want to encourage you to think deeply about your relationship with church. A lot of people have been hurt by the church. A lot of people avoid church because of what they found there. But being part of the church is not just a matter of membership, but it's a matter of unity and being united with the people of God in your community. It is our unity that makes us what we are.
And so we go to church and we welcome new believers in through baptism. And together we feast at the Lord's Supper in remembrance, and we pray for one another for healing of all sorts, because that's who we are. We're a people. We're united. We are one in Christ. We're very different. We come from different backgrounds. We have different understandings of the world, but we are one in Christ.
And you know, I can't wait to start at this new church because how I've missed the family and faith this year as I've been drifting from one church to the next. It hasn't affected my status in Christ as one of His children. But oh boy, I've missed the fellowship and love that comes from being in a local family of believers!
And so I encourage you to call the church your own and to partake in the means of grace at Church Friends, because there's great blessing there for all of us.
