On Sunday mornings, our congregation has been studying the book of Nehemiah. He was cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes who went back to Jerusalem "to seek the welfare of the people of Israel" (Neh. 2:10). Nehemiah cared about the wall because he cared about the people. He knew that the wall was essential to their protection and well-being.
Nehemiah was opposed on all sides (even in a literal sense, geographically) by Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arab. After exhorting the people, "Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem," Nehemiah told their enemies, "The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem" (Neh. 2:20). In other words, because Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem did not belong to God's people, they had no say in the matter. Why? Because they had no legitimate claim or connection to God's covenant people.
That is something the church must keep in mind today as God's new covenant people. We hear a lot about breaking down walls, but not much about building a wall. Yet the church must do both.
We must break down walls that impede the gospel, that are not part of the gospel. The apostle Paul tried to find common ground with everyone, doing everything he could to save them (1 Cor. 9:22). In commenting on this verse, John MacArthur notes that Paul would "modify his habits, his preferences, his entire life-style if any of those things caused someone to ... be offended, or to be hindered from faith in the Lord." MacArthur then adds, "What [Paul] did in this regard was not part of the gospel; it had nothing to do with the gospel. But it helped many unbelievers to listen to the gospel and be more open to receive it."
We must build walls that commend the gospel. Some churches try so hard to create a sense of "belonging" among unbelievers in their midst, that they lose their distinctiveness as a new covenant community. The idea is that if these unbelievers feel like they belong, they'll eventually believe. So they're encouraged to usher, join the music team, help out in children's ministry, etc. Michael Lawrence summarizes this approach well, saying, "Everyone is included; everyone belongs, regardless of belief."
Yet Scripture never condones such a thing. The same apostle who strove for common ground with unbelievers also referred to them, in the very same letter, as "outsiders" multiple times (see 1 Cor. 5:12, 13; 1 Cor. 14:16, 23, 24). While Christians must strive for common ground with unbelievers in order to proclaim Christ, we must never forget that our community as believers is marked by commonality in Christ. Michael Lawrence is spot-on when he declares,
The local church is a community, and at the end of the day, a community is defined, not by its documents, buildings, or programs, but by its people -- and a people whose lives participate in the new creation realities of love and holiness, thereby creating new plausibility structures.
Lawrence goes on to reiterate this point, saying, "the church can be a plausibility structure for faith only if it consists of people who have faith." That's why "belonging before believing" is a bad idea. It "fundamentally redefines the church, which in the long run undermines the power of the church's witness."
Jesus said, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). A Christian community marked by Christ-like love for one another "will provoke those on the outside not only to recognize they are outside, but to desire to come in." So there is a wall, but it's not like a brick wall, It's more like a glass wall -- what Michael Lawrence calls a "transparent barrier." I'll close with this beautiful picture of church community and its compelling witness that Lawrence describes:
The image that comes to mind is of a bakery on a cold, snowy day. Whiffs of delicious bread and hot chocolate occasionally waft outside. And a child has his nose pressed against the window pane. That glass is a barrier. Without it, the warmth and delicious smells would soon disperse in the cold wind, and no one would know there was anything good to be found there. But it’s a transparent barrier, allowing that child to see the good things inside and invite him in. And there is a way in, a narrow door that he must walk through. Until he does, he can see and appreciate what’s inside, but it’s not his to enjoy. Once he walks through, it’s his for the asking.
When non-Christians encounter your church it should be like standing at that window, not staring blankly at a brick wall. They should feel the warmth of your love, as you welcome them and engage them as people made in the image of God. They should see the depth of relationships, as they witness people who have no reason to care for one another go out of their way to serve. They should taste the richness of the gospel, as God’s word is preached and taught in a manner that connects with their lives. And they should hear the inviting sounds of a joyful community, as they listen to the praises and prayers of a people who worship our crucified and risen Lord.
So go out of your way to create a community that welcomes the outsider. Give thought to the language you use. Be deliberate in your hospitality. And be strategic in your transparency. Like a bakery that pumps the delicious smell of its bread outside, publicly celebrate the stories of grace and transformation that are happening in your midst. And then, when you’ve done all else, make the gospel clear and invite people to respond to it in repentance and faith. Call them, not to walk an aisle, but to enter through the narrow door, and join with you in the riches of faith in the gospel.
If the church is to display the good things of the gospel, the barrier of belief must not be removed, for it is that shared belief on display that works most powerfully to invite people in.
