Do you believe you are committed to God?  We all should examine ourselves occasionally to make sure that we are.  One question that we can ask ourselves is, “Am I committed to the Lord’s church?”  If you are not committed to the church, you are not committed to God.  In some ways the two are inseparable.  While there are things that we do for God apart from the church, more times than not, our commitment to God is reflected by our activeness in the church.  After all, the church is the household of God (1 Timothy 3:15).

When I speak of the church, I am referring to the local church.  The church is referred to in two ways in the New Testament—the universal church, which is made up of all the saved (Matthew 16:18), and the local church, composed of Christians who agree to work together in specific locations (Philippians 1:1).  The Lord established the universal church in about A.D. 30 on the day of Pentecost, that is, the first Pentecost after the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:1-47), while local churches are established at various times and places.

Are you concerned about the overall wellbeing of the local church of which you are a member?  How you answer that corresponds to your commitment to God. One of the first indications of your commitment to God and the local church is how you attend the worship services.  We are commanded not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

Hebrews 10:23-25 (NASB)
²³ Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; ²⁴ and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, ²⁵ not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

These verses clearly teach us that when we assemble as we are commanded, we are helping the church by encouraging one another.  Let us never forget that the church is people; thus, to be committed to the local church, is to be committed to the people of God.  We should be committed to helping each other make it to heaven by helping one another grow in Christ. Our assemblings are, not only the primary way that we worship God together, showing our commitment to Him, but also our primary way of being edified personally and collectively.  Knowing this, how could we ever claim to be interested in the wellbeing of the church while habitually forsaking the assembling of saints.

Being a faithful member of the church is more than assembling.  We must also be involved in the work of the church.  The church needs every member to be functioning to be at its best.  We all have different talents that can be used to glorify God and help the church to grow.  We must figure out what that talent is and use it to further the cause of Christ.

Those who are faithful are not spiritually idle.  They do what they can to make a difference.  Are you using the ability that God has given to you to help build up your local church?  God is not indifferent toward the unwillingness to use our talents for His cause.  Jesus gave us a parable about this (Matthew 25:14-30).  Be sure to read this parable before you go to sleep tonight.  Jesus describes the one who will not use his talent as a worthless slave who is cast into outer darkness.

Let us show our commitment to God by being committed to the church.  Let us all strive to be active members, helping the church grow and reach its full potential.  In committing ourselves to the church, we are helping others and helping ourselves at the same time.

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