The Local Facebook "Church"

Journal Entry. 24th July, 2026. 1:38AM

Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

Acts 8:4

In modern Christendom, attendance upon the public worship of God is commonly accounted the chief evidence of Christian devotion, though it is often the least costly expression of a believer's profession. It asks but little sacrifice, exposes us to but little reproach for the name of Christ, and requires but little denial of self (I say modern, for it is different in mountain and tribal regions where believers sacrifice walking for hours for fellowship, barefoot through rivers and forests at the cost of life and limb, and back still without anything to eat). Yet there is a solemn difference between assembling faithfully with the saints, according to the commandment of Scripture, and resting in that attendance as though it fulfilled the whole duty of the Christian life.

I sometimes think of men such as Foxe or Purves, not writing of the theology of their subjects, but of the faith manifested in these lowly believers and Scottish Covenanters who counted not their lives dear unto themselves (Revelation 12:11). They have left us the history of men and women who endured unspeakable cruelties and submitted to the most dreadful deaths, not because suffering was pleasant unto them, but because they were fully persuaded that Jesus Christ had indeed risen from the dead, and was worthy of all they could lose for His sake (Hebrews 11:35).

How poor, little to no acquaintance have we with such faith. (A Faith That Doth Not Save)

We read these histories with admiration, and bless God for the grace bestowed upon His servants; yet we remain strangers to the conviction by which they lived. We read the life of dear George Müller, and praise God for granting him such faith; yet how few among us would willingly stand in his place, bearing the daily care of thousands of orphaned children with no provision save the promises of God and endless hours of prayer. We rejoice in the testimony, yet shrink from the path by which the Lord was pleased to bring such faith forth.

Our spiritual compass hath, almost imperceptibly, been turned aside, until we account ourselves faithful for speaking much of those things which bear but little weight in eternity. We readily speak of the daily occurrences of our lives, far of those things which stir the Church unto greater sacrifice, deeper holiness, or more earnest labor for the kingdom of Christ. It is not that these daily mercies are unworthy of our thanksgiving, but that our hearts have become satisfied with what is near at hand, whilst giving too little thought to those things which most magnify the glory of God. Thus we have learned to admire extraordinary faith, yet are unwilling to walk the costly path that produces it.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, there is no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive in this age a hundred times as much – homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, fields, all with persecutions – and in the age to come, eternal life.

Mark 10:29-30

Our Christianity is too often confined to the safety of comfortable fellowship, cheerful meals, and the familiar company of our own congregations. These are mercies to be thankfully received in their proper place, yet they were never intended to become the measure of the Christian life. The faith which once led men with joy to prison, scaffold, and stake now scarcely persuades us to venture beyond the comforts of our ordinary course. The same Lord who strengthened them hath not changed; it is we who have become content with a faith that asks little, attempts little, and therefore witnesses little. Yet our blessed Lord is no less worthy of our whole hearts today than He was in the days of the martyrs.

For whoever wants to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it.

Matthew 16:25

It is perhaps for this reason that, on those rare occasions when I glance through social media, I find its pages occupied almost entirely with family affairs, personal affairs, current affairs, and the ordinary concerns of church life. It is utterly repulsive to me. These things have their proper place, yet seldom doth one meet with anything that awakens greater love to Christ, stirs compassion for perishing sinners, or encourages believers to forsake the familiar for the advancement of His kingdom.

And so, when I hear it said, "Return to church; or you need a church," as if every church you walk into brings you into an intimate knowledge of the Almighty, I must ask, "Yes, yet which church?" Is it merely the nearest assembly available, or one content with a public name and outward appearance? Or is it a congregation that walks the narrow way, proclaims without shame the excellencies of Christ, and seeks the advancement of His kingdom above its own preservation? A hungry man doth not satisfy himself with the first table set before him, but seeks that food which will nourish and strengthen him. How much more carefully, then, ought we to consider that fellowship which is to feed our souls and fit us for the service of our Lord.

Yet, without perceiving it, many of us are governed by another rule. We seek that congregation where discipleship requires the least, sacrifice costs but little, and the reproach of Christ is scarcely known. The acquisition of sound doctrine requires little to no hazard, yet, if it proceed no further than the understanding, it accomplishes nothing. 

Truth was never given merely to enlarge the mind, but to govern the life. Neither doth sound doctrine result in mere morality, but in a more exalted view of God. Correct doctrine is not chiefly the handmaid of morality, but the servant of doxology. 

We are well satisfied when doctrine accords with our convictions, yet seldom inquire whether its life provokes us unto greater obedience and sacrifice, a bolder confession of Christ, and a deeper love to our blessed Lord. Thus self-preservation creeps upon us under the guise of discernment, and the love of ease is too readily mistaken for sound theology.

The true Church doth not exist merely to separate believers from the world, but to prepare them to remain in it as faithful witnesses of Jesus Christ. If our fellowship doth not more and more conform us to His likeness, and constrain us to make Him known among men, we ought to inquire, not only whether we have found the right church, but whether we have rightly understood the end for which Christ was pleased to establish His Church. The life of the Church hath never consisted in her own preservation, but in a willing witness to her risen Lord. 

Tis Christ who preserves His Bride, while she is occupied with making Christ known. The Bride need not fear for her keeping whilst she is faithful to the business of her Bridegroom. 

A faith content to remember yesterday's mercies, yet unwilling to hazard today's comforts for the honor of Christ, hath forgotten that the Gospel was first carried abroad by men and women who counted not even their own lives dear unto themselves, that His glorious name might be made known among the nations.

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts 1:8

There are those who measure success by the judgment of men, and there are others who pass through life scarcely asking whether they have spent it to any worthy end. Yet whichever course we pursue, our best labors still come far short of the glory due unto God. Our gifts are too small, our strength too feeble, and our days too few to accomplish all that our hearts long to do for His name. Yet if we must fall short, let it be in the pursuit of great things for God rather than in attempting nothing at all. Better to burn our strength in the service of His kingdom than to preserve it with a life of ease. Though our labors be imperfect, the Lord delighteth not chiefly in the measure of our success, but in our love for Him. A love manifest in faithfully being about His Father's business while the Groom yet tarries.