WHAT IS THE CHURCH?

Everybody knows what a church is, of course. It’s a building where Christians gather to sing hymns, pass an offering plate, hear a sermon that sometimes cheers them up, at other times pummels them with guilt, and other times gives them an interesting story from the Bible. The climax will often be an invitation to come to Jesus (in case there’s a stranger there who might not be saved). 

A church is where you gather for weddings, for funerals, for dedications, for baptisms, and sometimes just for food and “fellowship”. It’s a place where like-minded people can happily and harmoniously schmooze; a place for immediate (well, much of the time) acceptance. That’s a church.

But, you say, there’s much more to it than that. Well, yes, it has a mission – to spread the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. A vehicle to administer funds to missionaries who will go into the whole world, spreading that news. An institution commissioned by Christ to preach the gospel to the world, an instrument of salvation reaching a hand to a needy soul.

But, is this the church? Should it be? It sounds so natural, and we’ve been at it pretty much this way for generations, so it must be right, right? Can you see this church when browsing through the book of Acts? Not likely, unless we superimpose our understanding on the Word, assuming that must be how they did it.

Let’s try a little fresh thinking about the church. What is its makeup? What is its basic ministry? What kind of organization, really, is it? And, let’s look for answers to such questions from the Bible, rather than from our own experiences; perhaps we’ll develop a fresh perspective.

Some Christians (actually, many, perhaps most) perceive the church as made up of a combination of “saved” people and “unsaved” people. They cite the “tares and the wheat” comments of the Lord Jesus, and say, “See there, we should expect both types in our midst.” That being so, they say, we must be sure that an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord is proclaimed clearly and diligently each Sunday.

Lately, a strong emphasis on this has led to the idea that a primary purpose of Sunday Morning Services is to entice and attract the interest of the “unchurched” (a more genteel title than “unsaved”). So, the usual hymns, Bible readings, Biblical jargon, and Churchly activities are muted or even abandoned lest they “turn off” our unchurched friends who are with us this day. Time enough to introduce them to such things after they are gradually won over to Christ. And, after all, isn’t this the most important task of the gathered church – to seek to win the lost?

Well, actually, no, it isn’t. Of course, Christians are, and ought to be, delighted to tell others about the saving work of Christ, and to invite them to come to the Savior. But, that is NOT the mission of the gathered Church. And, although the “unchurched” are to be welcomed and treated as guests, they are NOT the church (not even a part of it) and the Sunday Service is NOT designed for them – if it is biblical.

HERESY!!!, you say? Well, bear with me a bit. Let me suggest that the purpose of the gathered church is clearly spelled out in Ephesians 4:11. It is to equip the saints (Christians) to do the work of ministry (share the Gospel and live the truth), to outfit the saints so they will have solid discernment and thus not be taken in by perversions or caricatures of the truth. Then, they are to scatter to their homes and workplaces, living and sharing the truth in Christ Jesus at every opportunity. Theirs is the evangelistic thrust, not the Sunday sermon.

One other point: The church is not composed of “saints” and “unbelievers”; it is the body of Christ. How in the world can one imagine that a person who has not trusted Christ as his savior is nonetheless part of the body of Christ? How, too, can we forget the message of 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 (look it up), and say that any and every one who sits in a pew on Sunday is part of the church?

But, what about the “Great Commission” of Matthew 28? Well, that’s exactly what Christians are to do as they go about their lives, having been equipped to minister – now, they minister. This was not a command to an organization called “the Church”; in fact, the Church did not exist until the day of Pentecost, some days later. Further, this commandment is, fundamentally, to “disciple” (or, teach) those who are identified with (baptized in) Christ.

Well, how did this idea of the makeup and function of the church change. It changed when Christians began to think of the “church” as an institution, rather than a living organism. This began to happen as the church became “respectable” and accepted in the Roman Empire, and began to be perceived as a power structure. Another time, we’ll explore that idea with you. But first, I want to discuss more about the church internally, its leadership and organization, its ordinances, and related items. So, watch for these from time to time, under the sidebar of “Church”. Thanks for listening. Bill.

BIBLE STUDY – HEADLINING CHAPTERS          © by W.J. Allen 4/2008

I’m always looking for new ways to have a more thorough grasp of the Bible, in my studies. Here’s a trick I picked up in Seminary that I’ve found very helpful, particularly with smaller books.

The idea is to create a “headline” for each chapter – a short, pithy statement of one or a few words that will help you remember the essential elements of that chapter. I’ve found this process drives me to read the chapter more carefully and to think carefully about what it says.

Here’s an example, using the book of Jonah:

Chapter 1 – Jonah Fled

Chapter 2 – Jonah Flung

Chapter 3 – Jonah Preaches

Chapter 4 – Jonah Pouts

See how those simple terms can tell you essentially the book of Jonah, or at least help you to remember the essential details. Here’s another example:

Habakkuk:

Chapter 1 – Listen up, God!

Chapter 2 – Shut up, Habakkuk!

Chapter 3 – Oh, I see, God.

You can make your own headings; there’s nothing sacred about these. But, read through those 2 books and see if you can think through them better with such headings in mind.

To give you a benchmark, I’m going to include my headings for some of the New Testament Epistles. From this, you can see what I’m trying to accomplish with these, I hope. Here are a couple of examples (I’ve done this for all the Epistles, and for some of the lengthy Old Testament prophets; and, I keep working on this for other books.) You can download my Headings for Epistles by going to the Resources Tab and looking for “Headlines for the Epistles”.

James:

Chapter 1 – True Faith Strengthens Properly

Chapter 2 – True Faith Shows Itself Properly

Chapter 3 – True Faith Speaks Properly

Chapter 4 – True Faith Sees Properly

Chapter 5 – True Faith Straightens Properly

Hebrews:

1 – A Better Messenger                          8 –  A Better Covenant

2 – A Better Man                                   9 –  A Better Sacrifice

3 – A Better Messiah                             10 – Final Sacrifice

4 – A Better Rest                                   11 – Faith Displayed

5 – A Better Priest                                 12 – Faith Disciplined

6 – A Better Refuge                                13 – Faith Developed

7 – A Better Priesthood

Try it for yourself; I think you’ll find it helpful, sharpening, and fun.