In I Timothy 3:15, Paul said, “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of truth.”

There is a proper way for us to behave in the house of God.  Since Christ is the head of the church, and the church is the house of God, we must behave in a way that is pleasing to Him in His house.  He tells us how to do that by the inspired text of the New Testament.  This week, our thoughts will center around how we should behave in the house of God.

The first characteristic that we should demonstrate as Christians, and the one that all others should build upon, is love.  We must behave ourselves lovingly in the church of God.  The Hebrews writer simply said, “Let brotherly love continue” (Heb. 13:1).  That is one of the shortest verses in the Bible, yet one of the most powerful and instructive verses we have.  Let brotherly love continue.

With brotherly love, a church can overcome any obstacle.  It can solve any problem and rise above any difficulty that is encountered.  Problems creep into every local church from time to time.  Since the church is made up of people, and people are not perfect, mistakes are going to be made by brethren once in a while.  Sometimes those mistakes will come in the form of mistreating or sinning against other brethren, but love can help resolve that.

1 Peter 4:8 (ESV)
⁸  Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

The love Peter refers to is agapē.  This kind of love involves action, not just feelings or talking.  In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis wrote, “Do not waste your time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him…”

When we put love into action, it not only draws others closer to us, it draws us closer to them too.  This demonstrates the importance of love in a local church.  No wonder Jesus commands us to love one another (John 13:34; John 15:12-14). In 1773, the young preacher of a poor church in Wainsgate, England, was called to a large and influential church in London.  John Fawcett was a powerful preacher and writer, and these skills had brought him this opportunity.  But as the wagons were being loaded with the Fawcetts’ few belongings, their people came for a tearful farewell.  During the good-byes, Mary Fawcett cried, “John, I cannot bear to leave!”  “Nor can I,” he replied. “We shall remain here with our people.” The wagons were unloaded, and John Fawcett spent his entire fifty-four-year ministry in Wainsgate.  Out of that experience, he wrote the beautiful hymn, “Blest Be the Tie that Binds” (pg. 656, Sacred Selections).

The tie that binds us together in the church is love.  Let us treat one another lovingly in Christ.  It will help us to both avoid and resolve problems in the church.  Love is a true sign of our genuine Christianity.  Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another” (John 13:35).  This is what Jesus calls the new commandment.  Let us make sure that we are keeping it.  It is how we ought to behave in the house of God.       

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.