Lessons in Christian Community

Biblical encouragement communicates God's truth and hope in ways which personally strengthens us to go on following God's will for our lives. We can encourage one another by affirmation, praise, consolation, and exhortation. It takes practice to become a good encourager in Christian community, but God provides His Word to lead the way.

The Bible calls us to confess our sins to one another to help us overcome the destructive power of sin in our life. Verbally acknowledging our own wrong behaviors or attitudes to another person can bring us healing and reconciliation in relationships. Confession is a crucial part of Christian community and a powerful way to experience God's merciful grace.

Many Christians believe that being part of Christian community is about what you do, but Paul argues in the book of Romans that it is about who you are. If you have come into a personal relationship with Jesus, you are an independent member of Christ's body. To grow in your relationship with God it is important to regularly exercise your spiritual gifts and build Christ-centered relationships.

The only way to preserve closeness in relationships with sinful people is to forgive as God has forgiven us. If we choose not to forgive others it leads to the crushing consequences of bitterness. Experiencing biblical forgiveness includes being willing to act and looking to Scripture to expose any misconceptions that we hold.

To love one another the way God has loved us includes admonishing one another. Biblical admonition is moral correction through verbal confrontation motivated by genuine love. To admonish effectively we must filter correction towards one another through God's grace and hold it up against His word. We should be prayerful and remember that this is a type of sacrificial love.

God welcomes all people into His fellowship through the work of Jesus. His church is called to welcome and accept one another by following His example. Laying aside differences that create barriers, we can look to our shared identity as children of God for the ability to accept one another. By doing this we share who God is with the watching world.