Do you find yourself constantly repeating the same beliefs to the same people who already agree with you in Christian groups? If so, you’re not alone. These groups often resemble the exclusive and insular religious system that we have fought against for so long. This system involves speaking in insider language and catchphrases, making it hard for outsiders to understand. While we may post great content about the death of our sin nature or freedom from the Law, it doesn’t serve a purpose other than to receive likes and amens from those who already agree. We’ve created a new religious system, easily accessible and packaged with a different message, but it’s still the same as the old one. We’ve replaced the building with a social website and the congregation with subscribers, but the problem remains the same.

We must acknowledge that we are still micro-managing people’s behavior, even in these grace groups. While we may have “better theology” than legalistic, law preachers, we are still promoting behavior modification by telling people what not to do. This pressure to act a certain way remains in these groups, which is counterproductive to our goal of building up the body of Christ.

We need to focus on edifying and building up people, not by giving empty compliments, but by providing a blueprint for what it means to be a true follower of Christ. We need to know what we are building people up into, just like we need to know what a completed puzzle looks like. We need to have a clear vision of what it means to live naturally as a new covenant believer, not just adhere to a list of dos and don’ts (but with grace flavoring). As some of us already know, the complete puzzle is Christ! He is what we are building people up into.

So let’s move away from the “new church system” and start building up the body of Christ in a way that honors God and truly empowers His people to live like Jesus lived!