Worship Jesus With Us
The path to a right relationship with God begins with Jesus Christ
Join us for teaching, preaching, music, and fellowship
OUR MISSION
The mission of Calvary Bible Church
is to glorify God by making disciples
who will impact our community and the world
with the gospel of Jesus Christ
Latest Sermon
Galatians 5:13-25
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (14) For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (15) But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. (16) But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (17) For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (18) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (19) Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, (20) idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, (21) envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (24) And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (25) If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Maintaining Unity In Local Churches
Local churches need to maintain unity in Christ
The main idea of Ephesians 4:1-16 is the unity of believers in Christ. UNITY! The oneness of believers in Christ is already a spiritual reality and our responsibility is to guard, protect, and preserve that unity. So, we’re already unified, the question is are we maintaining that unity, in Christ? Unity of the body in Christ is very encouraging, disunity creates sorrow, helplessness, and depression.
FOUNDATIONAL TRUTHS FOR UNITY IN LOCAL CHURCHES (v. 4-6)
ONE BODY (v.4) | ONE FAITH (v.5) |
ONE SPIRIT (v.3-4) | ONE BAPTISM (v.5) |
ONE HOPE (v.5) ONE LORD (v.5) | ONE GOD (v.6) who is “…above all, and through all, and in you all.” He is the “Father of all.” |
Unity must be maintained within local bodies because of all that we share in common in Christ. In Jesus we share one body, one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one Father.
ATTITUDES THAT PRESERVE UNITY IN LOCAL CHURCHES (v. 1-3)
- HUMILITY (v.2): having a genuinely humble opinion of oneself; lowliness of mind. It allows us to properly value others around us
- GENTLENESS (v.2): a spirit or affect that is meek and mild; it is not a quality of weakness, but of power under control.
- PATIENCE (v.2): forbearance, longsuffering, slowness in avenging wrongs. When the body consists of members who are not perfect, and often sin against each other, maintaining unity is not possible unless there is a willingness to endure each other’s imperfections; patience is an expression of genuine love.
- BEARING WITH ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE (v.2): to sustain, endure; similar to patience. What makes “patience” and “bearing” possible? Love’
(1 Co 13:4-5) 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful
The virtue of love is the tie that binds all these virtues together.
- EAGERNESS (v.3): to exert oneself, endeavor, to give diligence. This is not natural or easy; maintaining unity is hard work, and there is a need for much effort – we must be eager to bear, eager to be patient, eager to be gentle, and eager to be humble.
GIFTS FOR BUILDING UNITY IN LOCAL CHURCHES (v. 7-11)
(v.7) “…grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”
Christ and His work made it possible for us to experience the grace and riches of God, which includes God divinely enabling us to serve in ministry. By engaging with other Christians in the local assembly, and when gifts are used for Christ’s glory and not for personal gain, it builds unity. Gifts used in the flesh for personal glory can be destructive.
A spiritual gift is a grace of God; a God-given ability to serve God and other people so that Christ is glorified, and believers are edified; it is not a talent or ability or a skill – it is a divine enablement for glorification and edification.
EVIDENCE OF UNITY IN LOCAL CHURCHES (v. 12-16)
Engagement (v.12) A major job of local church leadership is “…to equip the saints for the work of ministry…” “…for building up the body of Christ….” Engage in ministry work and discover your gift.
Spiritual Stability (v.14) Spiritual maturity is being able to discern truth from error; the maturing believer recognizes false doctrine and stays clear of it.
Truth with love (v.15) “Truth without love is brutality but love without truth is hypocrisy.” (Warren Wiersbe)
Immature Christians don’t know how to blend truth and love. They think that if you love someone, you must shield them from the truth to keep them from getting hurt or offended. Dogmatic Christians can risk weaponizing truth.
Cooperation (v.16) Love is the circulatory system of the body of Christ! We belong to each other, we affect each other, and…we need each other. Note how love is emphasized: we (v.2) …bear with one another in love; we (v.15) speak the truth in love. The church… (v.16) “builds itself up in love”. We cooperate in ministry because we’re unified in Christ.
Are you doing all you can as a member of a body of Christ to walk together in unity, and by so doing, walk in “a manner worthy of the calling…?”
“Local churches exist to display God’s glory to the nations. We do that by fixing our eyes on the gospel of Jesus Christ, trusting him for salvation, and then loving one another with God’s own holiness, unity, and love.” (Mark Dever)
Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
CBC Ministries
Upcoming Events
There is no Event
