The Marks of a Healthy Church

When our physical bodies are functioning properly there are some vital signs that are evident. There are some vital signs that show that a person is alive and well. Doctors are trained to check and inspect our bodies to make sure everything is functioning normally.

Blood Pressure: too high can be dangerous and can lead to heart attack, stroke, etc.

Blood Pressure: too low can be dangerous and lead to black out, fainting, etc.

Heart Rate: a person’s heart rate beating too fast or not beating fast enough is dangerous. A person with an irregular heart beat is in danger as well.

Temperature: When our temperature is too high it is a sign that we have an illness.

Pulse gives indications of our heart beating.

If we do not have a pulse it is a good indicator that we do not have life. Just as there are vital signs for a healthy body there are also vital signs for a healthy church. In unhealthy churches there is:

▪ Fighting, fussing, fuming

▪ Coldness, callousness, and criticism

▪ Dullness, dryness, and deadness

▪ Self-centeredness, self-focus, self-promotion

▪ Lack of participation, lack of praise, lack of people

▪ Dissension, disrespect, division

▪ Worry, weariness, worldliness

▪ Lack of workers, lack of witnessing, lack of worshipers

I heard about this dead church where the pastor did something a little unusual. In the middle of the sermon he had everyone get up and greet one another. A lady that was new to the church approached a man that was sleeping. All the noise and stirring about woke the man up and he looked up and the lady stretched out her hand and said, “Hello, I’m Gladys Dunn.” The disgruntled man said, “Ma’am, I’m glad it’s done too!” That is not a healthy church. I’ve been in some of those churches before. In Healthy Churches there are:

▪ Families, Fellowship, and fun

▪ Praise, patience, and purpose

▪ Christ-centered, Christ-focused, Christ promoted

▪ A lot of participation, a lot of praise, and alive people

▪ Duty, devotion, and dedication

▪ Commitment, caring, camaraderie

▪ Proclamation of God’s word, practice of God’s word, promotion of God’s word

▪ Workers, worshipers, and witnessing

▪ Singers, shouters, servants

Are we a healthy church? Are there signs of life in this fellowship? Are we excited about serving Jesus? Do the people in our community see a difference in us? Luke declared the marks of a healthy church. In healthy churches there will be edification of the church, evangelization of the community, and exaltation of the Savior. We need to do a spiritual check-up today to see if we are a healthy church.

In the October 2006 issue of Reader’s Digest was this story: Retha Mayhew was going over the church finances when she ran across a receipt from a paint store that had been signed by someone named Christian. She wasn’t aware of any such purchase or person in their church so she called the store to address the mix up. When the manager answered the phone she explained, “I’m sorry, but there are no Christians here at First Baptist Church.” We learn from the early church that there was plenty of evidence in the lives of the church to show clearly that they were Christians. This verse gives us some marks of a healthy church.

I. There will be edification of the church (31a)

Luke gives a summary statement of what is going on in the life of the church at this point. We had learned that Saul had come to Jerusalem and was finally received by the church and then he was rejected by the Jews. They sought to kill Saul, but the brethren took him down to Caesarea and sent him back to his hometown of Tarsus.

The main persecutor of the church became the main promoter of the church which in turn he then became the one that was mainly persecuted in the church by the Jews. He was sent away and Luke tells us that all the church in all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace. They had peace from within because they had been forgiven of their sins and were in a right relationship with their Lord. They also at this time had peace from without as the persecutions at this time subsided.

A healthy church will always be at peace with the Lord and with one another, but not always with the world. As a matter of fact the church is often persecuted in the world because they are right with the Lord. Peace: (KJV: Rest) this word pictures their state after the persecution withdrew. The tension and stress; the concern and constant watching were eased. They were not always on edge.

The Bible tells us that because of the peace within the church there was continued edification of the church. Mark it down: In a healthy church there will be edification. Edified: oikodomeo, oy-kod-om-eh’-o; to be a house-builder, i.e. construct or (figurative) confirm:—(be in) build (-er, -ing, up), edify, embolden. This is an architectural term which means “to be built up, to keep a strong foundation and structure.” They were edified by:

￫ the teaching of the word of God,

￫ encouraging the saints of God,

￫ and serving in the Spirit of God.

This word tells us that God was doing a work in the church. Rick Coram said, “God cannot do something through a church until God does something in a church.” Edification is a work of God in the church and for the church. We are to be built up in our faith, built up for the fight, and built up by the Father. Is there edification going on at this church? Are you being challenged, stretched, and strengthened in your faith? Are you closer to Jesus today than you have ever been? Edification deals with our sanctification. When we are built up in our faith we are growing in our faith and displaying our faith in the world. When there is edification in the church the Lord Jesus is the Builder and the building will be strong and secure. The first mark of a healthy church is edification. We learn in verse 31 there will be edification. We also note:

II. There will be glorification by the church (31b)

The Conduct of the church

Walking: poreuomai, por-yoo’-om-ahee; to traverse, i.e. travel (literal or figurative; especially to remove [figurative die], live, etc.);—depart, go (away, forth, one’s way, up), (make a, take a) journey, walk. Luke is describing the lives of the believers. They conducted themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:27 says, “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,” 1 Thessalonians 2:12 says, “that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”

The conduct of the church is paramount to establishing and maintaining a godly testimony and winning people to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Do we walk in the fear of the Lord? Are we godly people in our homes, at our jobs, in the community? Ephesians 3:21 says, “to Him he glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” God gets the glory when His people live in godly fear and conduct themselves in a godly manner. In verse 31 Luke tells us about the conduct of the church. We also learn about:

The comfort of the church

The early church was walking in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. They go hand and hand. When we walk in the fear of the Lord we will have the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Where there is compliance to God there will be comfort from God. When we have a genuine fear of the Lord we will have God’s comfort in our lives. No one or nothing can comfort us like God comforts us! When the church receives the comfort of the Lord we can then relay that comfort to others. When we’ve been comforted by the Lord we can comfort others in time of need. Comfort: paraklesis, par-ak’-lay-sis; (parakaleo); imploration, hortation, solace:—comfort, consolation, exhortation, entreaty. This word is closely kin to the word used of the Holy Spirit. He is known as the Comforter! The Comforter comforts God’s children.

We have the peace of God, consolation from God, and exhortation from God. In this comfort we are lifted up and strengthened and unified in the Lord and His work. This word does not describe God having pity on us because we are pitiful, but He ministers to us and fills us and thrills us so that we can continue to serve Him and bring glory to His name. When a church is healthy there will be edification in the church, but there will also be glorification by the church. The church will live for God’s glory. The comfort of the Lord compels us to faithful praise, worship, and service to our King.

How can we glorify God?

1. Exalt Him with our lips.

2. Magnify Him in our lives.

3. Obey what we have learned.

The early church was obedient to what they had been taught. They were walking with the Lord and in fear of the Lord and they were comforted by the Lord. There truly was glorification by the early church. When a church is healthy there will be edification, glorification, and multiplication. We see that in the last part of verse 31:

III. There will be multiplication of the church (31d)

Multiplied: plethuno, play-thoo’-no; to increase (transitive or intransitive) abound, multiply. This speaks of the evangelistic arm of the church. The church was edified (they were built up) and the church was multiplied (they were built out). We have first got to be built up before we can build out! The Lord’s work in us will precede the Lord’s work through us. We are to be reaching out in the power of the Holy Spirit. God does the multiplying, but He does not do it without the cooperation and compliance of His servants. This tells us that the church was witnessing for the Lord Jesus. They were built up and they were bringing others to the Lord Jesus. Warren Wiersbe wrote, “It was a time of ‘peace’ for the churches, but not a time of complacency, for they grew both spiritually and numerically.” *We are to bring others in, build others up, and send others out with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.*

When the church is edified and the Lord is glorified then the church will be multiplied.

Edified Glorified Multiplied

￫ Excited Exalted Evangelistic

￫ Ministers Magnified Missionaries

￫ Servant Surrendered Soul-Winners

￫ Worshiping Worshiped Witnessing

￫ Glowing Showing Growing

￫ Built up Bowed before Brought In

Brian Harbour sums up what was going on in the church with this equation, “Throughout the Book of Acts: boldness + witness + the power of the Holy Spirit=growth.”

The church grew spiritually and that led to the church to grow numerically. When there is genuine spiritual growth within the church there will be genuine numerical growth from without. A church growing spiritually will be reaching out to a lost and dying world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. A church that is healthy will be an evangelistic church. Again I ask, are we a healthy church? Do we care about the spiritual condition of those in the world? Do we care that people are dying in their sins and going to hell? What are we going to do about it? There is to be edification and when we are truly built up in our faith we will live in the fear of the Lord and seek to bring glory to His name. When we glorify Him in this world others will be drawn to Jesus. The Lord uses a edified church to glorify Him name and multiply His kingdom!

If we are not a healthy church we need to confess sin today and repent of sin and ask God to forgive us. If we are not a healthy church we need to make a visit to “THE DOCTOR!” Doctor Jesus is always available. He is never out of the office. He will not give you His opinion about your problem or give you a medicine that He is not sure about. He will not put you on some pills that will not help or tell you to do something that you cannot do. The Lord will cleanse us from the inside out and heal us, restore us, renew us, strength us so that we can be a healthy church.

Is there edification taking place at? Is there glorification taking place at? Is there multiplication taking place at?