You are, and always will be, a member of the catholic Church.
Hebrews 12:18-24 (NIV)
18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 27: The Holy Catholic Church
We believe and confess
one single catholic (universal) church—
a holy congregation and gathering
of true Christian believers,
awaiting their entire salvation in Jesus Christ
being washed by his blood,
and sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
This church has existed from the beginning of the world
and will last until the end,
as appears from the fact
that Christ is eternal King
who cannot be without subjects.
And this holy church is preserved by God
against the rage of the whole world,
even though for a time
it may appear very small
in the eyes of men—
as though it were snuffed out.
For example,
during the very dangerous time of Ahab
the Lord preserved for himself seven thousand men
who did not bend their knees to Baal.
And so this holy church
is not confined,
bound,
or limited to a certain place or certain persons.
But it is spread and dispersed
throughout the entire world,
though still joined and united
in heart and will,
in one and the same Spirit,
by the power of faith.
Summary
Today's passage sets a stark contrast between two different types of God's covenant people.
The first group, people who were biological children of Abraham, encountered God's presence as He descended upon a mountain in the wilderness as they fled slavery in Egypt. They saw fire, darkness, gloom and storms; they heard a deafening trumpet blast and a loud voice terrifying them as it spoke, so much so that they begged Moses to mediate between them and the Voice. Moses went up the mountain on their behalf, and came back with an arm load of laws and commands for his idolatrous people.
But the second group - the group that you and I are part of: the Church, have a far different experience in approaching God. We've come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, alongside thousands of joyful angels. We too have a mediator, just like Moses had promised, but this One is different; He represents a new covenant.
To be clear, all of God's people are members of the one covenant of grace, but the covenant has been progressively revealed in a way that sometimes makes it look different from one stage to the next. Whereas that assembly in the desert was given a set of laws that seemed impossible to keep, the Church has been given the One who kept God's law, and whose sprinkled blood speaks for all of God's people living in all times and all places.
Dig Deeper
The word church is one of our more useful words in English, in that we can use it to mean so many different things. We go to church, which could mean we go to a building used as a church, or it could refer to the worship service itself. Maybe some of you went to church in a campground this summer.
We call our own gathering our church, but we could use the same term to a specific group of churches spread over a large area, such as the Christian Reformed Church. Paul would write letters to "the church in" Ephesus, Corinth, and other large cities, using a singular word to describe places with multiple gatherings.
The word translated as 'church' in our English Bibles is ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia). The word literally means assembly, but it's built on the root word καλέω (kaleō), a verb that means to call. This is what the church is at its core: an assembly of people who've been called by God.
We call the Church catholic, which means universal, because God's called people have been gathered over all times and places, going all the way back to Abel, who was mentioned in today's passage. The Heidelberg Catechism best describes what the Church is:
I believe that the Son of God through his Spirit and Word, out of the entire human race, from the beginning of the world to its end, gathers, protects, and preserves for himself a community chosen for eternal life and united in true faith. And of this community I am and always will be a living member (QA 54).
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the Judge of all;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your primary identity will be as one who is a member of Christ's eternal Church;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 2 Corinthians 4
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