The Cost of Being a Christian Loner.

That's the topic today on the table because over the next two days we're reading about the one-body text, many members' one body,

that dynamic of the local church that Paul pictures for us in 1st Corinthians chapter 12 versus 12 to 31, which we read

together over the next two days on Friday and Saturday that's coming up. And I know this text

applies to the topic at hand. Today, Pastor John is joining us over the telephone to address

the question from a podcast listener named Joe who lives in New Jersey.

Hello, Pastor John. Joe writes, on social media, you once wrote this.

Christ did not die to create saved loners. He died to create Christ exalting friendships.

Can you please explain this? A lot of Christians are loners, many of them hurting, perhaps

victims of the church, perhaps they are victims of the lies that they believe. Pastor John,

how would you encourage or motivate Christian loners? There are a lot of Christian loners,

some by choice and some not by choice. And my point was

God's aim in the death and resurrection and work of Christ today is to move people beyond that stage.

If they're in it, if you're in a stage where you are a Christian loner because you want to be,

or you're a Christian loner because you feel like people have given you no choice but to be,

God sent his son to change that.

He wants to move you not just to be a soul-satisfied

friend of Jesus, but to be a soul-satisfied friend to friends, so that you experience Jesus

through others as well as directly.

And here's where that came from, Tony.

I preached from 2 Timothy 4 where Paul said,

at my first defense, no one stood by me.

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