Online Articles
The Work of the Church
Any time we are doing any kind of work, we need to consider a couple of things:
- Who am I working for?
- How would they want the work to be completed?
When considering the work of the church, those questions are of the utmost importance. The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to Timothy, says, “I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth” (1 Timothy 3:15, NKJV). Here, Paul is reminding Timothy who it is we work for, a spiritual father, not an earthly one.
In business, we are always looking for more efficient ways to complete the work. We are especially looking for ways we can increase our customer base, and that typically involves figuring out what the customer wants and then figuring out the most profitable way to give it to them. I believe many times, when considering the work of the church, we are trying to please the wrong customer. Society thinks the customer we are trying to please are people, therefore, we try and offer them what they want. This also causes us to look at success with the wrong metrics. We think the most “successful” churches are the biggest churches. What are those churches typically offering though? In general, they are using physical things to bring people in (athletic activities, fairs, banquets, entertainment, etc…). Again, the focus is on the wrong customer. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but it’s end is the way of death.”
The church is designed by God and for Him though, not man. “No man has the right to prostitute the energy, strength, zeal or resources of the church of our Lord to serve human aims or purposes. The church should be kept faithful to the divine mission that was God’s purpose from eternity for her to serve” (Roy Cogdill, Walking by Faith, p. 9). Ultimately, the work of the church is spiritual and can be separated into two categories: 1) The Worship of God and 2) The Saving of Souls. Fortunately, God hasn’t left us to our own devices on how to carry out the work, He’s given us His Word to guide us. In the New Testament, we see how the 1st century Christians worshiped God in a pleasing manner: singing (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; Heb. 2:12) [never a mention of use of instruments], praying (Acts 2:42; 4:24-31), partaking of the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 10:16), teaching/preaching (Acts 20:7; Eph. 4:11-16), contribution (1 Cor. 16:2).
God has also laid out how we are to go about saving souls. In saving souls, there’s never a mention of saying or doing things that are pleasing to people, only preaching Christ crucified, letting the Word and His love draw them. That is how we evangelize to the lost and carry out the Great Commission from Mark 16:15-16. We also must edify one another. We are to help one another “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2Peter 3:18) so that we can “make your call and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10). As we have seen recently with the brethren in Malawi, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, Christians are not immune from difficulties, and we are to help our brethren out in those times. In every instance of benevolent help from the church, the benevolence was for needy saints (Acts 2:44-45; 4:34-35; 6:1-4; Rom. 15:25-31; 1 Cor. 16:1-3).
“For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). The church is a divine institution with a divine mission, not concerned with people’s entertainment but the salvation of their souls. Let’s remember that as we strive to “Do All In The Name of the Lord.”
