Church versus Hospital

Mark 2: 15-17 (NIV) While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Hospital - an institution providing medical and surgical treatment and nursing care for sick or injured people.

Church - a building used for public Christian worship.

I am sure you have heard people say: “If I walked in that church the walls would fall down”, or “The church has a bunch of hypocrites”, or “All they want is my money” and on and on. You see, the world has a false view of what church really is.

For some strange reason we think that only the righteous go to church. That is the Pharisee way of thinking, who was the teachers and rulers of the law. They felt that they knew more than anyone else and were also above everyone else. The church should be viewed as a hospital and not a place for the righteous. Can I get an Amen?

Romans 3:10(NIV) “As it is written: there is no one righteous, not even one;”

If there is no one righteous except Jesus then why do we portray that we are righteous? Is it because we go to this building every Sunday and praise and worship God? The true church is the believers in Jesus Christ and not a building.

I see one hindrance in going to church is getting all dressed up. When we get dressed up we feel better about ourselves, when we feel better about ourselves, we portray that we are clean but on the inside we are still sinners. Then we start to believe that our outward appearance is actually portraying our heart. We then think we are not that bad. That is where all the trouble starts. I'm guilty of this.

Jesus says that no one is righteous and that “it is not the healthy who need a doctor”. Most of us go through life completely broken but will not go to a doctor. A good job and nice clothes can cover over a multitude of sins in man’s eyes. BUT NOT in God’s eyes.

We need to start seeing the church for what it is: it is a hospital with wounded and hurt people. You will find messed up, conniving, calculating, imperfect individuals, including yourself. As much as we want to deny it, we all go for the healing.  I know I do.

When the church can stop acting like an institution we have a chance to help people get healed. The healing the church can offer is to introduce them to the real doctor, Jesus. He can heal you temporarily of your ailments, for the moment, but He came to this earth to heal you for eternity. The next time you walk into church instead of thinking how good you look, LOOK for someone who is hurting. Pray that the Lord would direct you to them. The true church looks for sinners and loves instead of condemn.

Every day we need to see who we are in Jesus, not who we are in our self. Self will always get us in trouble, being bought with a price means that our life is no longer ours. When we can grasp that, then we have a chance to love others. Pride will keep you from the Lord and from serving with a servant's heart. You may fool some men but you can’t fool God.

Proverbs 29:23 A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.

So, before walking in through the door of the church building, get your heart right, think like a doctor or nurse. Look for the hurt in the waiting room and get to work. EVERYONE has something that is hurting inside of them, EVERYONE. But you have to be the vulnerable one first. When you show that you don’t have it all together then you can be a doctor for Jesus. Treat them with care, love and kindness despite their rudeness. Then your church will thrive because the Holy Spirit will be there.

Romans 12:17-21 (MSG) Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.” Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

So when you complain about the church, you only complain about yourself, because YOU are the church. Don’t cover your sin but let people know who healed you, who restored you, and who has set you free. That is the true church. Finally, if you are the hurting one, let the others in your church minister to you, if not you rob them of their blessing of helping.

Go be the Church instead of expecting to sit down and being served. You will start to see things you have never seen before.

Matthew 11:28 (NIV) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.