Matthew 9:12-13
“…Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick… For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”
In today’s post, I want to acknowledge something that is common knowledge to all people who’ve ever been in, around, or who’ve known a church: churches are not perfect. I believe it’s important for us to study this fact when considering why Christians need the Church, since many believers choose not to be a part of the Body of Christ because of the people in it. I started this series last time by sharing two reasons from Scripture about why the Church is important. However, even after reflecting on biblical truths like that, it can sometimes be hard to reconcile those truths with our personal experiences.
People often hurt or disappoint us, and for the believer it’s too often those who are supposed to be our brothers and sisters in Christ. Praise God, though, that there are many passages in the Bible that help us wrestle with this concept—passages that confirm the truths of the current imperfection of the Church and that we are still called to be a part of it. This post will dive into just a few of the places in Scripture that discuss the imperfection of the Church.
So let’s start by looking at the context around the opening verses from Matthew 9. I love this passage because it is Jesus, our Lord and Savior who loves His Church, discussing the people He came to save into it.
Matthew 9:10-13
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Is the Church made up of perfectly righteous and holy people? No! Jesus explains here how He came not to save those who are already “healthy,” or righteous by the world’s standards, but to save the “sick,” the sinners. Jesus never gave the impression that those who follow Him will be perfect. They—we—are all sinners! We need His righteousness in order to have a relationship with God and to grow to “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
As I discussed in my last post, one of the beautiful means that God gives us for growing in Christ-like righteousness is through other believers in His Church. A great passage for us to consider today is Matthew 18, where once again we see Jesus acknowledging that His Church will not be perfect.
Matthew 18:15-17
“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”
Not only did Jesus explain how His followers would not be perfect, He also told us that we as believers are given the responsibility to help others fight and deal with sin. Those verses in Matthew 18 are often used to instruct on how church discipline should occur when there is sin amongst a group of believers. We can also take these verses as a personal call to care about others and realize one of our purposes is to lovingly confront sin and imperfections. But without being a part of the Church, you are not able to benefit from this aspect of our sanctification journey—you won’t have the gift of others intentionally pursuing you, and you won’t have the privilege of getting to come alongside others in their struggles and victories.
Other New Testament writers build on Christ’s teaching about our role in helping others fight sin and to grow spiritually. Paul writes in Galatians 6:1-2,
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Jesus knew His Church wouldn’t be full of perfect people, and the early Church fathers like Paul experienced that. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul is having to combat false teachings through loving confrontation and pointing them back to the Gospel. Paul could have given up or let them deal with the consequences of following wrong doctrine on their own. But he didn’t—instead, he sought to restore them and help carry their burdens. Paul followed Christ’s example in loving sinful, imperfect people by choosing to step into their mess, rather than avoid it.
In a later post I plan to talk about a struggle that many people I know who are not actively involved in a local church bring up: church hurt. But before we get there, I want to continue painting the picture of who and what the Church is called to be, so that we realize more and more how much we need it. My goal today was to start laying a foundation of thinking through how the Church can be imperfect, and the following posts will dive more into the simultaneous truth that every believer is still called to be a part of it.
I look forward to continuing this study of the Church with you, and I want to thank you again for choosing to read or listen to Speaking Truth!
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