By Rev. J. Loren Russell
“So put to death and deprive of power the evil longings of your earthly body [with its sensual, self-centered instincts] immorality, impurity, sinful passion, evil desire, and greed, which is [a kind of] idolatry [because it replaces your devotion to God].” Colossians 3:5 (Amplified Bible)
Have you ever thought about the church, what it is, and what is it’s purpose? There are some things that everyone knows about the church, whether they attend or not. For instance, we know that it is a place where like-minded believers gather at least once a week to worship and praise the God in whom they believe. We know that the church is called the house of the Lord, but is not really His home because the God of creation is too big to be housed in a building. Many of us know that even though we gather at buildings made of brick and mortar, the church is not a building made of stone and concrete. The church is a building made of the people who attend. It is made of flesh and blood. Then there are some of us who know what Jesus told Peter; “On this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18).
But have you ever thought about the church as being more than a gathering place? More than a place of worship? Have you ever thought that the church is really an execution chamber? That it is a place where people are put to death? A place where old habits and behaviors meet their demise? A place where people are to, according to scripture, “mortify,” or kill all of their sinful inclinations; “fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5)? It is like a purging station where we voluntarily mortify or put to death all our old selves in the flesh and take on the new life in Christ.
Yes, the church is more than an execution chamber. It is also a birthing station or incubation chamber. The church is where we get our new identity, where the old person is laid to rest, and the new man/woman is bought to life.
The church should be so instrumental in our transformation that we should write our obituary and have a funeral service for our past lives.
If you’re ready to step into the execution chamber, I’ll keep an eye out for you this Sunday morning. We have a space that has been prepared just for you.
Be Blessed!
Rev. J. Loren Russell, associate minister at both Goodwill and The Greater Universal Baptist Churches in the Bronx, President/CEO of The JLR Company for Church Financial & Strategic Consulting, host of “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” on Soul 1 Radio, Monday’s 8:00 – 10:00 PM (626-226-1448), author of Matters of Faith: The Book.
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