Rather we are to participate in our faith through the vehicle of the Church. He established his people on Earth first through Israel and then through the Church. Community is woven into the fabric of our being because it is the nature of God. We do not have a personal, private faith because we don't serve a personal, private god. When he wasn't at the synagogue he was often found eating and fellowshipping with friends and ministering to them. He spent much of his time in the Temple and the Synagogues teaching, praying, and worshiping. He was constantly in and around the synagogue. It's also worth mentioning that Jesus went to church regularly so to speak. Jesus is God's means of establishing a new covenant with his people through which his Church will come to life. It's clear from Jesus' ministry that he is not just starting the latest personal self help program. It was not an invention of first century Christians. Yes that's right, Jesus founded the church. Christ chooses this ragtag group of misfits to build his church on. Why did Jesus need disciples? Could he not have accomplished his work without them? It often seems like the disciples are more trouble than they are worth. Jesus' ministry begins with the calling of his disciples. Once again, community and relationality are woven into the very identity of God's people. God's people were about community, brotherly love, and humility. Our customs are all about individualism, self-empowerment, and upward mobility. Their way of life was much different than ours today. The purpose of the law is to set them apart from the other nations and to ensure that they lived pure lives so they could stay in right relation with God and one another. God gives his people very specific laws by which to live. But because relationality is a part of God's being, he founds a nation. God certainly could have used heroic individuals to accomplish all his work. He would be their God and they would be his people. God forms a covenant not only with Abraham but with all of his descendants. He forms a body of believers to be the vehicle of his kingdom on Earth. From this point forward, God does his work through his chosen people. This is the beginning of the faith community. Through Abraham God would form his chosen people. God promised to make Abraham a great nation. Already God realized that it's not good for man to be alone. After God created Adam, he realized that he needed a partner. This tells us that community and is literally a part of the very essence of God. Assuming we believe in the Trinity, we know that before God even got into the creation business, he existed in relationship with himself. Actually, before the beginning.īefore any of us, before the world, before even time existed, there was God. To explain this, I want to start at the beginning.

I will go one step further and say that 'personal faith' is exactly the opposite of what God has intended for us as his followers. As far as I can tell, the idea of a 'personal faith' is completely absent from the bible. The problem is when people take this term to mean that their faith is private and because of this they have no need for the church. I think it's silly but it's used with good intention, so I don't get worked up about it. This is a term that is thrown around a lot in evangelical circles.

Lord mymind