Why Oaklawn
This is a more than fair question. I would want to know why someone would want me to join their family or organization.
In Ephesians 2:19 it states:
"Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God."
There are some key truths you need to see in this verse.
I. The church is a family. --- We reside in the household of God.
We are the family of God when we become believers in Christ.
This family will spend all of eternity together.
II. God expects you to be part of the family. --- Notice that it says you are no longer strangers or foreigners, but believers are part of
the family. It would be strange if you said, “I want to be a pro football player,” but would not join a team. Or, if you said I am in the
army, but not part of a platoon.
If you are going to be a Christian you are expected to participate in the family structure.
This participation is universal in nature, but it is also individual in nature as well.
The Church is also the local body of believers. When you
read the New Testament, the word church is used most often to describe a local body of believers.
When you believe in Christ, you become part of the universal church. It is an automatic decision.
To become a member of a local family is different.
To be part of the local family requires a decision and a definition. It is an association by choice.
III. A Christian without a church family is an orphan. God has devised the plan so that you fulfill your Christian purpose through a
local family. There are many instructions in the New Testament you can not fulfill apart from the local church.
In essence you can never be the Christian God intended without the support and encouragement of the local body of believers.
Separation and isolation are not what God intended for you Christian Life.
