Sunday, May 13, 2012 pm
WHAT IS OUR MISSION AS
THE CHURCH?
A
few weeks ago I presented a lesson dealing with, “the Church that Jesus
Built”. Tonight, let us take
a few moments to talk about what the mission of the church is.
I
have addressed this subject in times past (actually several years ago),
but it a subject we need to revisit from time to time, by way of
reminder for many and for others as a first time introduction.
This particular lesson is important because we live in a society
where the mission of the church is greatly misunderstood.
There are far too many who see the church as nothing more than a
benevolent society, a social program or a political organization.
For many, the spiritual message of the Bible is either secondary
or outright ignored. This is
seen when one comes to a congregation expecting something other than
spiritual guidance. While as
Christians we have a responsibility to do good for our neighbors, is
that really what the Biblical purpose (or mission) of the church is
about? Let us take a few
moments this evening to examine what the Bible says the mission of the
church involves.
By
mission, I mean “a specific task or duty assigned to a person or group
of people.”[1]
WE are talking about the work that God has assigned us as His
church in this community to do.
We will look at what its purpose is and what it is NOT.
I.
Some thoughts about the
church
a.
What is the church?
i.
From the Greek word,
ekklesia, which means, “to call out” and has reference to an assembly.
However, whenever the word “church” is used in the Bible it has
reference to an assembly of God’s people, called out of the world and
together.
ii.
Used in its universal
sense (all who are saved) –
Eph. 1:222-23, Matt. 16:18
iii.
Used in its local sense
– descriptive of a congregation of the Lord’s people who have joined
together to do the work (mission) God has assigned us to do as the body
of Christ – Matt. 18:15-18, 1 Cor. 1:2, etc.
iv.
The term is NEVER used
of a group larger or smaller than a local congregation in any organized
sense.
b.
The church was in God’s
eternal purpose – Eph. 3:10-11 in this text Paul notes that the church
as a manifestation of the manifold wisdom of God (that is, it
demonstrates God’s wisdom).
Vs. 11 states that it was, “according to the eternal purpose which He
accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord…”
Heb. 8:2 tells us, speaking of Christ as our High Priest seated at the
right hand of God is “a minister of the sanctuary and of the true
tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.”
That “True tabernacle” is a reference to His church.
c.
It is a spiritual house
– a key point to remember as we consider the church is to realize that
its nature is spiritual. In
1 Pet. 2:5 we are described as, “Living
stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to
offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
1 Cor. 3:6 Paul there describes the church as “the temple of God, and the spirit of God dwells in you.”
When Jesus stood before Pilate He declared, “MY kingdom is NOT of this
world…” (Jn. 18:36).
It’s mission is designed to promote its spiritual nature.
a.
NOTE: What I am about to
say is not popular, but I ask you to seriously consider it in light of
God’s word. I do not seek to
diminish the importance of such activities in general.
I simply want us to weigh them in light of what God’s word does
say about what the mission of the church is.
b.
It is NOT the purpose of
the church to:
i.
To provide recreation – the church is not in the business of entertainment or
recreation. Nor is its
purpose to “cater to the whole man.”
There is simply NO authority in the Bible, not even a HINT, for
the church to engage in such.
The ONLY mention of “bodily exercise” says it profits little (1
Tim. 4:8) and that is contrasted with godliness which is profitable for
all things.
ii.
Relieve the world of material suffering
– we ought to be concerned about the needy, both our brethren and those
who are not. The Bible is
clear about this, and we need to work on it!
(Gal. 6:10, Jas. 1:27, Matt. 25:31-46, etc.)
But the truth is there is a great distinction between what the
individual Christian can (and ought to) do and what the work of the
church is. While the mission
of the church CAN be accomplished, we are reminded by our Lord, “the
poor you have with you always.” (Matt. 26:11)
iii.
Engage in social issues – similar to providing recreation, the church of the 1st
century was not trying to reform the Roman government (except through
the preaching of the gospel).
There was no lobbying of social issues, counseling and programs
for the troubled of society, etc.
iv.
Engage in business affairs – many churches today are, or have, “for profit” businesses.
Many see nothing wrong with raising money for whatever they want
to do. But such is
unscriptural. We find the
ONLY means of a congregation receiving funds is through the free-will
offering of brethren (cf. 1 Cor. 16:1-2).
v.
Become involved in secular education
– churches didn’t seek to teach secular things.
They didn’t build schools or colleges.
But they were certainly involved in teaching – THE WORD OF GOD!
Let us limit our teaching to the examples we read of in
scriptures.
vi.
Become involved in politics – many churches today engage in politics.
Again, that is not the purpose of the church.
In the 1st century there was no lobbying of social
issues, endorsing one candidate over another.
However, there WAS preaching on moral issues
which Christians ought to consider as they engaged the
government.
c.
Yet such things seem to
be the focus of the work of many churches, AND that which is expected by
society as a whole. As with
so many other things we discuss in God’s word, we need to respect God’s
boundaries in all that we do (cf. 1 Cor. 4:6).
a.
To worship God – in Acts 2:42 we read that the early church “continued steadfastly in
the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in
prayers.”
In Acts 20:7 we read of the disciples assembling “to break bread” and
hear Paul’s preaching.
Paul gave instructions concerning proper worship as the church – 1 Cor.
11:17-24 addresses the proper partaking of the Lord’s Supper; 1 Cor. 14
speaks of proper conduct when we assemble together as the church.
1 Cor. 14:15 specifically mentions singing and praying in the
assembly.
Churches were instructed to read the epistles (Col. 4:16), and letters
were written to preachers instructing them to preach the word to the
assembly (2 Tim. 4:2-4).
b.
To preach the gospel
– sometimes we describe this as evangelism, which means to take the
message of the gospel to the lost (note the word, evangelism is not
found in scripture, but evangelist is).
The apostles were instructed to preach the gospel to the world – Matt.
28:18-20, Matt. 16:15-16.
This was carried out by them, those they taught, and often
supported by churches.
The work of the church is generally described in their sending out those
who preach (in other words they support the preaching of the gospel – 1
Tim. 3:15)
They supported preachers and sent them out – Acts 11:22,23; 13:1-4;
Phil. 4:15-16; 1 Thess. 1:8, etc.
c.
To build up the saints – we sometimes describe this as edification.
The word edify means “to build up” and is actually associated
with a house.
Eph. 4:11-12 speaks of God providing apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors and teachers “for the equipping of the saints for the work of
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…”
Later in vs. 16 we read that when “the truth in love” is spoken, “From
whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint
supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does
its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love”
The word for edification is used some 15 times in the New Testament in
reference to Christians (and 3 times in reference to actual buildings –
Matt. 24:1, Mk. 13:1, 2).
The word, “edify”, another form of the same word is used numerous times
more. In EVERY instance, the
building up is spiritual in nature.
NEVER is the term used to promote recreation or social
activities.
d.
Limited benevolence
– again, I emphasize the importance of benevolence.
Christians are to be benevolent.
AND there are examples of churches engaging in benevolence –
i.
We read of the church in
Jerusalem having a need which was helped financially by churches in
Macedonia and Achaia (Rom. 15:25-26, 2 Cor. 8-9)
ii.
We read of the churches
in Judea having a need because of famine which brethren in Antioch sent
relief – Acts 11:27-30.
iii.
AND we read of needy
individuals within a congregation being helped – Acts 6:1-6 where there
were Hellenist widows being neglected in the daily distribution.
Also, Paul in 1 Tim. 5:3-16 gives instruction for the care of needy
widows among their number.
However, vs. 16 clearly indicates this is to be a last resort, when all
other efforts have been exhausted.
In each of these
examples we note a consistent pattern:
i.
It was ALWAYS to needy
saint, not general benevolence to the community
ii.
It was a temporary need
– (i.e. the church did not create the need, nor create an organization
in anticipation of a need)
iii.
It was handled with all
congregations involved maintaining total autonomy and independence.
iv.
There were no
centralized organizations or sponsoring churches created (nothing larger
or smaller than the local church).
Concerning benevolence
within churches, we find it was never used as a tool to evangelize the
lost. It was intended to
relieve the needs of brethren.
This was NOT a primary work or mission of the church, but rather
something needed so that brethren could get BACK TO the business at hand
– proclaiming the gospel and building up one another.
May
God be pleased with our efforts as we strive to do His work here in this
location. Think about it!
[1]
"mission." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged
10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 11 May. 2012.
<Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mission>.