If we are honest, all of us have things we could look back upon with regret. I’m sure if you are like me it doesn’t take long for certain things to flood your mind when you consider things you have regretted. However, regret is nothing new and when you go back through the Bible you will find different people who had regrets. Time and space will not permit us to examine all, but a few examples will suffice.

(i)Lot's Regret (Gen.19). Lot had chosen to take his family to live in the city of Sodom. This city was ungodly and God’s wrath burned hot against the city. God decided to destroy Sodom and warned righteous Lot (2 Pet.2:6-8) to get out of the city. Lot lost family members due to their love for the city. No doubt this man Lot regretted ever moving his family into Sodom and then Sodom moving into his family.

(ii)David’s Regret (Psa.51). Here is a man who committed the sin of adultery. In a moment of weakness David allowed him to be tempted and did something he would spend the rest of his life regretting. No doubt if he could go back in time and undo this action he would. David regretted his decision, action, and the consequence of his sin.

(iii)Peter’s Regret (Lk.22). This man was an apostle of Jesus Christ. He had many great memories of his time with Christ. However, one thing he never would have forgotten would be the rooster’s crow. The time he denied the Lord three times and then the rooster crowed calling to his mind what the Lord said He would do. After he sinned the Bible says he went out and wept bitterly. Tears of repentance flowed from his eyes. No doubt he regretted that night of weakness when he denied the Lord.

(iv)Judas regret (Matt.27). In Matt.27:3 the Bible says, “he was remorseful” in other words he regretted his actions of betraying the Lord. However, instead of regret and remorse leading to repentance, Judas took matters into his own hands and took his own life.

(v)Applications: How do we deal with regrets? (1) Face your mistake. We need to face the fact we sinned, blundered, fell short, etc. Will never correct what is wrong if we don’t first admit and confess our sin. (2) Confess it to the Lord. If we have already been baptized into Christ we need to confess our sins (I Jno.1:9) so they will be blotted out. God will blot the sin out of His book and remember it no more. (3) As much as possible; make it right. This will help your conscience and bring about reconciliation with the one you sinned against. (4) Don’t dwell on the past. We all have “cringe moments”, but we should not dwell on the past. If we stay focused on our past blunders it keeps us from living in the here and now. It is sad so many live in regret and not in grace.

There is a lot of grumbling and complaining today by many in regard to the local church. One listens and they hear many different opinions from folks in regard to what they think would make an ideal local church. However, one thing is often left out of the descriptions people give as to their opinion of what an ideal local church should look like and that is what God has said His church should look like. If we want to get a picture of the IDEAL LOCAL CHURCH, we need to look no further than what the Bible says. Let us examine some things that would make an ideal local church (notice I did not say perfect), but one that fits the pattern of New Testament authority. The first thing we need to establish is the only perfect church is the UNIVERSIAL church. The universal church is all the saved of all time in all places. Only God knows who is in the body. The local church is made up of saints in certain locality. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to find a local church that is following the pattern of New Testament authority? Consider some marks of an ideal local church.

(i)The Ideal Local Church is a Loving Church. There are several things the body will love. (1) Love for the Bible the Word of God (Psa.119:107; 2 Tim.4:13). (2) Love for prayer (I Thess.5:17). (3) Love for the brethren (Rev.3:7-9; Acts 2:1; 4:24; 5:12).

(ii)The Ideal Local Church is a Loyal Church. The second thing we can put down is that a local church that fits the bill as being ideal is one that is loyal. (1) Loyal in attendance. We are commanded by the word to assemble (I Cor.4:2; Heb.10:25). We are strengthened by brethren when we come together to worship the Lord (Gal.6:1-2). (2) Loyal in giving. Israel’s cheerful heart to give (Exo.36:5-7). The church at Corinth was instructed to give (I Cor.16:1-2; 2 Cor.9:7). (3) Loyal in attitude. We are loyal to the God we serve and never deny Him. We do not ignore our responsibility to the Lord.

(iii)The Ideal Church is a Laboring Church. The third thing we observe when discussing an ideal local church is that it is one that fits the description of the News Testament is one that works. A body of believers that are laboring to preach the gospel to the lost. This responsibility needs to be done universally (Mk.16:15). There is a great need for the gospel to be proclaimed and when we preach the glorious gospel there should be great joy. We need to stop and consider the blessing and rewards of the gospel being proclaimed in this locality and the support of preachers to go abroad to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph.3:8).

There many other things to describe the ideal local church, but these are sufficient to get us thinking about this local church. What can we do to make it an ideal local church?