Student Essay on Problem Solving and the Church

Problem Solving and the Church

Summary:   This is a problem solving essay about non-Christians and the church.

When you think of church what do you think of? Do you think of Easter and Christmas, the two most popular church holidays? Do you think of Sundays? Do you only think of what you don't know about, what you haven't experienced? What do you think? Do you think about it being your day to sleep in? Or maybe you think about being judged. You might think about a stranger standing behind a pulpit telling you that your going to Hell if you don't change your ways.

No one wants to voluntarily go to a place every week and be yelled at. They don't want to live in fear and guilt. That's not how it's supposed to be. That's not how it is. We are all sinners and we all make mistakes but that is why we have church. Church is a place where believers can join together and celebrate God and his grace.

Going to church does not make you a Christian, it is not a free ticket to heaven. To be saved under God's grace you have to be more than just a good person or a Sunday-morning Christian. Many people don't see the church in a positive way because it is full of humans. As humans we are not perfect, they see hypocrites.

Christians are covered under God's grace. God's grace is a gift and we obtain it by accepting him and becoming baptized into him. To accept him you must die to your sinful life and be born into God's life. You do not get grace by just going to church. That is not to say that those who go to church don't have grace, most do. It is to say that you have to accept it.

But how far does grace go? Does it cover you forever? Grace, in itself is a gift. God chooses to give us the privilege of his grace. We Christian sinners do not deserve it. "And the righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, there is no difference, for all who have sinned and fall short to the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22-24). This is saying that yes we sin and yes we have our shortcomings but God forgives, he loves us and he will look past it if we are willing to have faith.

Faith is not hard to come by. I am not just talking about faith in God but faith in anything. Faith can be beleiving in yourself or your family. Faith requires believing in something whether it is real or not. One reason that people avoid the church is because of faith. Being a Christian calls you to have blind faith. ."..just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith (Romans 1:17)." We are called to believe in the unknown and in doing that we believe in God. ."..faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17)"

Once again here is another reason that the church is not common place. People don't want to be told what to do. They want to live on their own terms and make their own choices. When you become a Christian you must fulfill your spiritual needs. One main way of doing this is to read his word. The only way we can do as he says is to know what he says. People don't want to read because they don't want to admit that what they are doing is wrong.

Christians are also called to pray. We are called to pray for forgiveness, for healing, for guidance and help. Non-Christians do not want to admit their sins and shortcomings to anyone, not even God. They don't want to feel guilt therefore they do not accept it as being wrong. But by asking for forgiveness we are lifting our burdens to God. Now that is not to mean that we can sin as long as we ask God for forgiveness. We cannot think, "I know this is wrong but I am going to ask for forgiveness," we also can not ask for forgiveness ahead of time. "God I know what I am about to do is wrong but please forgive me" is not acceptable. Non-Christians do not want to believe this. Some non-Christians do pray though, they ask for things that they feel they need. Many turn to God when something horrible has happened. Many ask God to grant them things and they will never sin again. This is not how it works. God loves to hear from us but he wants it to be regularly not only when we need something.

I feel that the church can be a wonderful place if you are willing to accept it for what it is. The church is a place to grow, it is a place to worship, and it is a place of praise. God wants use to seek him and he wants us to do it with others. It is hard to be a Christian by yourself; you need others to support you. The church is just that, a support system. It is a place where Christians can grow together and non-Christians can learn about and see God. If it is a God loving and fearing church than you are able to see God working in it.

We as people need to see the church for just that. We should see that yes the church is full of sinners and yes some church members really are not Christians but we also need to see that the church is the house of God. God dwells in it and if you ask him to he will dwell in you.

."..the world cannot accept him because they neither see him or know him. But you know him for he lives with you and will be in you (John 14:16)." If he lives in you then you separate yourself from the sinful world and become his child. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not parish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:16-17)." The church his not here to condemn but to spread the message of God.

So here is the problem, people don't want to go to church. They come up with excuses like the ones above. Well obviously these excuses don't work. Other people would rather claim ignorance, but ignorance is not an excuse. The church is a large part of society, people need to at least experience it before they dismiss it.